I'd rather be wise than smart!

I'd rather be wise than smart!

There are two people (who will remain anonymous) that I was thinking about when I wrote this blog. Before I go to far, I must say I am not writing this out of anger or spitefulness, but out of a deep love and concern for these two and the many more out there like them.

The first individual is a young man who is smart.  Smart, smart.  Not book smart, but savvy.  He's one of the few, who could actually sell ice to an Eskimo.  The problem is he knows it.  I don't know his IQ score, but it certainly is higher than mine and in the times we have disagreed over things I have always felt he had a leg up on me.  It is often difficult to refute what he says.  Not because he is right, but because he is a quick thinker, and proud of his knowledge.

The second individual is book smart.  He knows his stuff.  When he decides he wants to learn about something, he studies it from all sides.  He is currently pursuing a doctorate from Seminary, this dude knows his Bible.  I can appreciate the vast library that runs through his head.  He is smart, book smart.  The problem is he knows it.  He has become proud of his knowledge.  He won't admit it, but everyone who knows this man can see it.

And here is the point of my blog today...wisdom is not knowing a bunch of facts.  Knowledge is not wisdom.  Wisdom rather is taking the principles that God teaches us through His Word and putting them into good practice.  In other words, wisdom is being obedient.

I may not always have all the answers to all the questions.  I may not always persuade petulant youngin' with my oratory skills.  I may not know how to parse Greek and Hebrew, but I do know how to recognize wisdom.  I may not always act obedient, though I do realize that wisdom is found in obedience, even on the difficult matters of life.

So I may never be mistaken for a rocket scientist, or a brain surgeon, but in my own daily struggle with the flesh my prayer is that someone, somewhere will, through my obedience to my heavenly Father, see Christ in me.  I hope that is your prayer for yourself as well.

Let us not tear down and destroy

I have a friend (well I have many, but I am talking about one in particular). This friend, who shall remain nameless is, to say the least, misguided.

Let me explain what I mean. This friend has been to Bible college, is way smarter than I am, has all the right mental capabilities to be an amazing Bible teacher and preacher (as a matter of fact I have heard him preach and came away convicted). However, in the handful of discussions we have had over the past two years he has done nothing but rip people and their ministries.

Granted some of his points were very valid and even had plenty of biblical merit. However, each of these very public, and not very public men alike he has disparaged has held to a Biblical view of the most important doctrines (the doctrines pertaining to man, sin, Jesus Christ, the Trinity, salvation, etc.) And yet, nothing I have heard my friend say about these men is encouraging.

I wonder how much my description of my friend actually describes you? Maybe you do not have all of the degrees my friend has, but is your attitude the same? Do you spend more time tearing down and destroying the bride of Christ than you do building it up and encouraging it? (Yes, I see the irony of that question since this installment of my blog seems to be doing that which I am being critical of). Yet, I am genuinely hurt when the bride of Christ is hurt. I am wounded when she is wounded. There are very few things that I cherish as much as the bride of Christ, the local and global genuine church.

Many in our culture are of the opinion that instead of standing for something greater than themselves it is easier to take a stand against something. I want to be a voice that says otherwise. To stand for Christ and His bride is the greatest honor you could ever have, and you do not have to be a paid pastor to stand for the bride of Christ.

Let me share just a couple of passages that if we did well, would go miles in growing unity rather than division among the family of God.

Romans 15:5, "Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus."

1st Thessalonians 5:11, "Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing."

Philippians 2:1, 2, "Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose."

Lest, anyone think I am saying that we do not take a stance on certain issues that seem to be bombarding the church these days I am not. As a shepherd who has been entrusted to oversee the lambs I have been entrusted with, I will be the first to use my staff as a club to beat off wolves (but that is another installment). Instead I want to end by asking a series of questions...

If we are called to encourage one another, what is encouraging in a spirit of criticism?

If we are called to be united in spirit, what is unifying in a spirit of criticism?

If we are called to build one another up, how can we expect to do that if we are hyper-critical at every turn?

If you are like my friend, you (like he) need to repent of your hyper-criticism. Let us hold things of first importance as first importance, but let us not elevate things of a secondary nature to first importance. I rather like the saying that should be given credit to the original author, but alas I do not know the original source (though I'd like to say I came up with it).

In essentials; unity

In non-essentials; diversity

In all things; charity

In our churches this should be our battle cry. Let us stop criticizing unnecessarily and strive for genuine unity which finds its foundation in the blood of Christ.

Praying for our Children

Parents, how do you pray for your children? As a father of five I have prayed countless prayers regarding the welfare of my children.

Like you, I have prayed for the health of my children. Like you, I have prayed for my children to excel in school. Like you, I have prayed that my children would do well in sports. Like you, I have petitioned the Lord for Christlike characteristics to be displayed in my children; attributes such as, patience with their siblings, obedience to myself and their mother, respect for their elders, teachers, and other authority figures in their lives. I have also, especially for my daughters, been praying for their spouses that they haven't even met yet. I have worn holes in my jeans asking that my children would be caring, that they would have servant hearts, and that they would display humility. All of these things I am certain you have spent time praying your own children to display.

I would contend, however, that as parents who genuinely want the best for their children we can at times ask for the wrong things, or perhaps a better way to say it is that we have elevated secondary things to first importance in our prayer lives.

Consider how Jesus prayed for Peter in Luke 22:31, 32, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

There are a couple of very important things that jump out at me from this passage. First of all, Jesus was well aware that Peter would fail miserably and sin against Him in a very devastating and personal way. As parents we should fully anticipate that our children will also, sometimes rather consistently, fail miserably and sin against us in devastating and personal ways as well. There is a real probability that not only will our children refuse to acknowledge us, but even more painful they will also likely at some point in their live choose to deny their Creator and Savior Jesus Christ.

We should not necessarily take this as some commentary on our ability to parent. If Jesus' most personal disciples can deny Him and it not be a commentary on Jesus' ability to raise up others, neither should we take it as a commentary when our children choose to deny everything that we have brought them up to believe either.

The second thing that so clearly speaks to me from this passage in Luke is how Jesus prays for Peter, the one who He knew would deny Him and reject the faith. Jesus didn't pray for Peter's physical well being, but rather Jesus' main concern was for Peter's spiritual well being. Jesus prayed that Peter's faith would be restored.

All our prayers for our children that I mentioned in the first couple of paragraphs are all well and good, we should want health for our children. We should want them to excel in all that they endeavor. But, if our first prayer for our children is not that when the inevitable difficult times of their faith journey come about, that their faith would be restored we are missing the mark; we are praying for more tangible things and neglecting the most important things.

Parents let us not be neglectful in how we pray for our kids. Spend time praying for their faith to be strengthened. Even better yet, spend some time with your spouse praying for the faith of your children. And like Jesus, pray before hand for your children that when the difficult times in life come, that their faith would be restored and that because of the strength of their faith they would be an encouragement to others.

God bless you, and may God bless your children.

Can you really live the gospel?

"Preach the gospel and if necessary use words." We've all heard this famous quote by Saint Francis of Assisi. The question we need to ask ourselves, however, is this...is this even possible?

Don't misunderstand what I am saying. I completely comprehend the sentiment. Live well, live as if you have been transformed by Christ. But for many people I know they live by this principle. Living to the best of their ability but never sharing the vital truths of the gospel with those whom they care about.

But living well, living a moral life, living with exceptional ethics is not the gospel. The gospel rather is the truth that we are all willing sinners who break the statutes of a holy and just God. This holy and just God loves the epitome of His creation, you and I, to the degree that He sent His one and only son, who never sinned Himself, to pay the penalty of our sins, which is something we could never do on our own. By His substitutionary death on the cross Jesus has made it possible for us to be called sons and daughters of our Creator God.

That is the gospel. Not right living!

How do you say all of this by "living right"? The answer is that you can't. Preaching involves words not actions. And no matter how many times you try and show someone the gospel through actions alone you will fail. To share the gospel you must open your mouth. To share the gospel means you must speak the gospel.

That does not mean that we do not try and live right, but if we are to make disciples our conduct alone will not cut it. To preach the gospel by its definition means we must use words. The question that remains is are you willing to do so, or are you going to continue to walk the path of least resistance and hope your actions are enough to get someone else into God's good graces.

The Importance of Genuineness

Being a young Pastor with the ambition of next year transporting my family back to my home town to begin a church plant I am often times peppered with questions as to the what, where, when and why's. Most of the time those questions just seem like the polite things to ask and that people are really disinterested or at most trying to figure out why I feel a need to start one more church when the "world already has so many."

However, every once in awhile some will ask a question along the lines of, what do you feel this current generation is searching for? In my albeit somewhat nontraditional experience I would say that whereas the previous generation seemed to be drawn by professionalism, things need to be very polished and pristine, most in my generation are concerned first and foremost with genuineness. People what to know that we believe (to use sales vernacular) in the product we are selling.

They want to know that we are not "fake", that we have faults and will admit to them, that we won't say one thing to their face all the while practicing something completely different. People are not searching for the correct answer on the test (though we sometimes seem to think they are with the amount of "truth" we push on them, please do not misunderstand I am as willing to die on many a theological hill as the next), they are however, concerned with seeing our faith in action. I am not talking strictly in the working at the local soup kitchen sense (though presenting the Gospel with our hands and feet is a good indicator of our genuineness).

However, we need to ask ourselves are we living a life trying in vain to keep people at arms length so that they do not see our personal sins, because after all we should know better. Or are we inviting people into our lives in order that they can see that we are an imperfect people in desperate need of a perfect Savior. Are we allowing people to see our weaknesses and vulnerability in order that they may also see and experience they strength and power of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ as He gives us victory over our trials and temptations.

I recently spent a weekend at a men's retreat at was encouraged by the amount of time we spent in hammering home the point that we need to be authentic and accountable to other men (not a new concept, but a very good reminder). It is not very difficult to become too busy in life to feel that we can pour ourselves into others and make disciples. Have you ever stopped to think how that looks to "outsiders"?

If our neighbors, who do not go to church, have a basic understanding of our beliefs (and they do), that apart from saving faith they are going to spend eternity in hell and we are not doing all we can to cultivate a relationship with them, how does that look? Disingenuous to say the least.

I am convinced that one of the things that keeps people from coming in the doors of the church is our vain attempt to keep everything squeaky clean, pristine and white within the walls of the church. Life is not pristine. Life is ugly. Life is painful. Can we admit that? Can we allow others to see how painful our personal lives are? Can we be genuine?

The Idol of Traditionalism

"This is the way we've always done it." The last words of countless dying churches and other para-church ministries. Dying in two ways, one the are dying because their numbers are growing smaller and the cannot afford to keep the doors open any longer and dying because the have become cold and callous towards those whom the proclaim the are trying to reach with the gospel.

I have for several years now had a concern over traditions found in many churches. Do not misunderstand if push came to shove I would certainly affirm many traditions within the bride of Christ, the ordinances aside (which are not actually traditions but commandments by Christ), many churches hold to traditions which are beautiful, beneficial, and biblical. For instance, even though I Pastor a non-denominational community church, I am fan and believer of the various creeds, which when they are put into their historical context help us to be understand and more important better verbalize our faith.

However, I am fearful and disgusted by many man made traditions that many churches hold to. I find that often times churches have forgotten the words and encouragement of Paul to "become all things in order to save a few" (1st Corinthians 9:22); and instead often times they expect all people to conform to our practices.

I am not going to use this forum to decry any particular practices of any particular church, because each church needs to look at itself and ask the question why do we do what we do. I will, however, take the opportunity to prescribe the antidote for the sinful practice of traditionalism. I believe that the reason that most churches hold fast to tradition rather than contextualize their practices is because they have forgotten who the audience is on Sunday mornings (or any other worship service for that matter).

Let me explain. When we gather in God's house, whether it be Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday evening, or any other time for that matter; we are gathering to adore, praise, worship, and thank God the Father for the many blessings that He has bestowed upon us. We are not there for ourselves, we are there for God. He is the audience, we are not! I fear, in fact I have seen many feel that church is mainly for them, that they are there to receive something. And it is for that reason that they are quick to hold on to traditions, because it is what comforts them, it is what pleases them. Indeed, tradition, is what gives some their worth.

As I have already said, I am not against all tradition. Many traditions are very much beneficial to the individual as well as the Bride of Christ as a whole. While there may not be anything sinful in our practices in and of themselves, I worry that we have forgotten that we are to esteem others above ourselves and that could very well mean that we need to set aside practicing our favorite things (as long as they are not actual commandments) in order that we might include those to whom our traditions mean next to nothing and have wonderful fellowship with one another, particularly the unchurched.

I want to end this entry with a quote from a man who was a greater pastor/preacher than I will ever be. This man's lecture series which became published under the title Preaching and Preachers has been invaluable to me and it is from this book that this quote comes. In it Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones also addresses the idol of traditionalism, and he says this, "How different the state of our churches would be if we were all as concerned to be orthodox in our beliefs as we are to be orthodox in our conformity to 'the thing to do' and 'the done thing' in the churches."

God's Blessings Through His Commands

It has been a little over two years since I have blogged. With the boom of everything viral and on the internet in general, I am quickly coming to the understanding that to be relevant to the next generation of unbeliever's I need to be more intentional and diligent in attempting to blog.

If you know me personally, you most likely know that my wife just gave birth to our fifth child. We are now the proud parents of three boys and two girls, ages 11-new born. Some may read that previous line and be expecting some parenting advice. That will not be the case. I am a father who fumbles over his duties more often than he would like to admit. (Though my wife I am sure would be able to share some wonderful insights if she ever chooses to blog.)

However, one thing about our son being born did strike me as a wonderful reminder of the blessings that God gives us through of all things the Law and His commands. When our first two boys were born they ended up being circumcised in the hosptial a day or two after they were born. However, two weeks ago when Alexander was born we were notified that there was no one on duty to perform the circumcision and so we took him home and called our family doctor (who is a believer) to perform the circumcision on what happened to be the eighth day since our baby boy's birth.

Which got me to thinking about the commandment God gave the Israelites about circumcising infants on the eighth day (Genesis 17:12). I have heard the comments in my limited experience as a full time Pastor that God has imposed harsh and unrealistic commands and expectations on us. Now I am in no way comparing Israel to the church in this little blog, it is a discussion for a different medium (and by one more trained then I), but I do want to discuss God's "imposition" on us.

While my wife and I were in the hospital this last time, we were told by the nurses that one of the shots they administered to the new borns was a shot of vitamin K. Vitamin K we were told was instrumental for our bodies to help clot our blood. We were also told that the human body does not produce vitamin K on its own until...can you guess it? Day 8!

Could you please explain to me how God through the command to circumcise on day 8 and not sooner can be considered harsh. God created us, He knows how our body works, He afterall formed it. When God told us to circumcise on day 8 he knew that the human body would finally be able to clot the blood that inevitably comes when a young boy is circumcised.

It is a blessing that God told us to wait! I hate to imagine how many tragadies would have happened before the Israelites figured out not to circumcise as soon as the babies were born, or on day two, or on day three...

If it is true that God actually blessed us when considering the command to circumcise on day 8, could it not be true for other commands as well? I am convinced that yes, God does makes commands of His creation (and He has every right to do so) because it brings Him glory. But, He also makes commands of us, because it blesses His creation, which in turn brings Him glory. It is a cyclical argument. And we cannot afford to miss it.

If you and I simply recognize God's commands as bringing Him glory, we can easily and quickly perceive Him, as many do, as a harsh dictator. However, if we recognize only that His commands are for our benefit, we end up promoting the "social gospel", benefitting others, without calling sinners to repentance.

To sum up. God has the right to make demands of His creation; and His demands are indeed instilled to bring Him glory. However, God's commands also bring upon us, His creation, blessings.

Will you not choose today to obey His commands to bring Him glory AND to be blessed?

Who are you a slave to?

Who will you follow?
Slave or free?

In the time we have had together this weekend we have been challenged considerably. We started out Friday evening comparing and contrasting the leadership qualities of Jesus Christ versus the religious leaders of His day. We followed that up with a close look at the Holy Trinity and the unique relationship they had with each other. We discovered or were reminded, that while each member of the Trinity is equal in worth, both God the Son and God the Spirit have subjugated themselves to another authority namely that of God the Father.

With that foundation laid down we were able to better appreciate Nick’s topic yesterday afternoon, the topic of the Biblical Structure of the home. While each member of the family is equal in worth, some are called to lead with love, while others are commanded to submit with humility.

Nick did a wonderful job yesterday afternoon confronting us parents in a loving way to model the characteristics of servant leadership in our homes, and just in case you took issue with anything he had to say, for a couple of bucks I could give you his phone number.

But, seriously this is a tough subject to work through. It is difficult to ponder the truths of leadership by biblical standards versus what the world portrays to true leadership. We have all seen countless movies or other dramatizations of the “My way or the highway,” screaming and cursing football coach who leads his team to victory through nothing but spite, or some other character who shows what some call “true grit.”
Might makes right we are told.

Where as we are told that is “real” leadership, we are taught something completely different in the pages of scripture. I hope that we have made that abundantly clear this weekend, I hope that we have challenged you to model, that which Christ has modeled, namely servant leadership.

But, Chris, some of you might be saying. I don’t really believe the Bible. I am not constrained the same way that you are to its teaching. Sure it is a book calling us to morality and for that I am grateful, but I am free to make my own choices, and to be honest I feel I am a pretty good person. I am not a murderer; I don’t make a habit out of lying. I obey the laws, and pay my taxes. I’m a good o’ boy or girl.

If you haven’t listened to what anyone else had to say this weekend, I pray you listen to the message this morning. The message I have prepared took on a life of its own. It isn’t the message I planned on preparing, but as I began working on it I really felt the Lord drawing me in this direction. I have probably prayed and pondered over this message more than any other I have prepared before.

We are surrounded by a culture that tells us that we can be our own person. Even within the circles of so called evangelism we hear cries of be the best person, you can be. We can have what we want, when we want it, and there are really no consequences for a selfish lifestyle of me, me, me. The common cry of the salesman is “Don’t you think you deserve this, or finally get what you have always deserved.” Unfortunately, that cry is becoming more and more the cry from behind the pulpit. But, is that what scripture teaches? Does the Bible really say that you can have your cake and eat it too?

No, here is the dichotomy that scripture teaches; what we truly do deserve, no one really wants, and what we really want we don’t really deserve. What we want is for everyone to follow our rules. We want to be the moral compass; we want all the power with none of the responsibility. And what we do indeed deserve, is eternal pain and suffering. Not a very popular stance. God has a very high standard for us to live, a perfect standard actually and no one sitting in here this morning has met that standard. And if we miss this standard, which we all have, God says there are eternal consequences for disobedience.

Now play along with me if you would. Some of you may be asking yourself what are God’s standards? (Wait for response) Well, thank you for asking; let’s take a look at them:

(Read from Bible) Exodus chapter twenty verses 1-17, “Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2’I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3You shall have no other gods before Me.

4You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the firth and the forth generations of those who hate me, 6but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

8Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

13You shall not murder.

14You shall not commit adultery.

15You shall not steal.

16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

So let’s review quickly the Ten Commandments are what?

1) You shall have no other Gods before me.
2) You shall not make yourself an idol.
3) You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.
4) Remember the Sabbath.
5) Honor your father and mother.
6) You shall not murder.
7) You shall not commit adultery.
8) You shall not steal.
9) You shall not bear false witness (lie).
10) You shall not covet.

Look over them real quick. How do you fair? Well most of us would pass #6 I think. But, I know I have often in times coveted especially the latest and greatest of gadgets, like Tyler’s Blackberry. And much to my wife’s delight I am ok on #7. But, I know I have lied countless times, like if I were to say Tyler let me see that Blackberry, I promise I’ll give it back. This really would be breaking three of the commandments, coveting, lying and stealing.

I attend church every week as I am sure some of you do too. But, I have not always been honoring to my mom and dad, and neither have our ranch guys or they wouldn’t be here in the program.
But, I want you all to take a moment and look at these and really try to measure up. Still think you are a “good” person? (Pause for a moment)

I want you now to look at something Jesus said in Matthew 5:27, 28, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 28but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’”

So just by looking at a guy or girl lustfully, I have already committed adultery? Yup! A radical statement, and let’s be honest guys, we all have done that. So according to Jesus, all of us men have committed adultery. How do you look according to the Ten Commandments now?

Let’s just say for argument’s sake that you have never made an idol, never took the Lord’s name in vain, always honored your parents, never coveted Tyler’s Blackberry or anything else, not murdered, or looked after someone lustfully. You have always honored God as God, always honored the Sabbath; never stole a thing. But, there was a time (and since it is a fictional story it was a very long time ago, you were still in diapers) where you told a little white lie, nothing major, but it was dishonest none the less. I don’t think there is anyone like that on the entire planet, let alone in this small room. But, what if?

Listen to what Jesus’ own brother said. James 2:10 tells us, “For who ever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point he has become guilty of all.” If you have ever miss stepped, now matter how small the offense, no matter how short the time, no matter how long ago, you have become guilty of all the law!

Listen to Romans. A lot of us know these passages, but they are an important reminder. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We see something similar in Romans 3:12, “All have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.” This is a quote from both Psalm 14 and Psalm 51.

So, what if God doesn’t think that I am a good person, I think I am a good person. It is easy to feel that way in our culture. We are told from our earliest age that we are a by product of either our nature (how we are made), or our nurture (how we were raised). Either way our faults are to be blamed on our parents, after all their DNA produced who we are, or the way they brought us up did, or some combination of the two.
It’s all their fault.

Which kind of makes me laugh; we don’t give our parents credit for our accomplishments. Shouldn’t the same rules apply? Either their DNA or how they raised us really made us achieve what we did. That is the same argument, and yet no one wants to give someone else credit for the accomplishments, why then do they try to blame someone else for their short comings? You can’t have it both ways it is one or the other.

Make no mistake, our choices have a much bigger impact on who we are than we will hear from the society that surrounds us. And we know that to be true. We understand right and wrong, we understand good and evil. We were created by a God who leaves His imprints around and within us.

If you have been around me enough you will have heard these verses before. Romans 1:19, “Because that which is known about God is evident with them; for God has made it evident to them.” How does God make Himself evident to us? The very next verse says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

We can see God in creation, but is that the only place He makes Himself evident to us? Well I am glad you asked, Romans 2:15, “They show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.”

Ladies and Gentlemen: within each of us is enough of an understanding of God and His law for us to understand at any given time if what we are doing is right or wrong, honoring to God or honoring to ourselves, glorify God or serving our own selfish desires. Whether we have a relationship with Jesus Christ or not.

What does that mean? To surmise, we all understand that we are a sinful people. We all understand our need for a Savior. We all understand without it, we will suffer eternal consequences. Exodus 34:7b, “Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” Romans 6:23a, “For the wages of sin is death.”
This is great Chris, as if I didn’t have enough complexes in my life thank you for showing me how ugly person I really am. That is not really my intent, but we need to all start from the same place. Before we can build and grow in any sort of faith we need to start from the same foundation. Believe me, I do feel like the last person who should be teaching on a subject like this, and that statement is not some attempt at false humility. I truly feel the closer I get to and the better I understand God, the more dirty and ugly I am.

We are in the same boat here. The only difference might be in our response to the texts we have read this morning. We need to ask ourselves who we are going to follow.

We now all have a choice; we can be a slave to sin. We can choose to not follow Christ; we can try to fool ourselves into being our own person. But, the fact of the matter is, that there is no such thing as being your own person. This was actually a major contributor to original sin.

Let us look back at the scene in the Garden of Eden. God finished His greatest creation, that of man, He gave Adam a companion, recognizing that it is not good for man to be alone. And then who enters the scene next? (Wait for response) The serpent right? And what does he say to Eve? (Wait for response) Yeah, he says God didn’t really say what He actually said. He plants a seed of doubt in Eve. He prompts Adam and Eve to disregard God’s authority and instead make a claim at their own authority, which they had no right to make.

Play by your own rules he says. Do what you want, get that thing that you have always deserved. (Remember the salesman’s greatest pitch that is sounded more and more often from behind the pulpit?) What did Adam and Eve do? They by the pitch hook, line and sinker. That sounds great, they said. I am always wanted to be in control, I have always to make my own rules.

The original sin wasn’t just a direct disobedience of God, though it was that, the underlining and greater offense was Adam and Eve’s attempt to over throw the throne. And instantly they and in turn all of us became slaves to sins powerful and unrelenting grasp.

I am not a slave to any one or anything. You are being a little hyper-critical of people. Slavery is not an image I am comfortable with, after all aren’t you aware of our history in this country, it still has repercussions today.

Yes, of course I am aware of the history of this country and yes, I am too a bit uneasy with the language, but it is not a word I choose to use. The Bible uses it; the Bible teaches that you are either a slave to sin or a slave to Christ. I am just doing my best to teach what scripture teaches.

Listen to Romans 6:6, “Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.” Now this might not be true of everyone in this room, but, if you know Christ as Lord and Savior of your life then he has freed you from the slavery of sin. If you don’t know Christ as Lord in your life then you are still a slave to sin. That what this verse is saying, they are not my words, but indeed the Word of God.

I wish I had time this morning to go through Romans chapter six in its entirety and all of its implications this morning but I do not. I would challenge all of you, however, to read it for yourself. It is a poetic song of joy for those of us who have Christ. It is a victorious march of His conquering of sin on our behalf. And it is a challenge to search your conscience for those who don’t know Christ as Lord and Savior. It is one of the most fantastic and one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible.

I do, however, want to go to one more verse that I feel is the flip side of the coin to verse 6. Romans 6:22, says, “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”

Verse 22 says; that if Christ is Lord in our life, we are still slaves, but no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to Christ, God Himself. Verse six says that without Him we are slaves to sin. Verse 22 says that if we know Him, we are still slaves, but now we as slaves answer to a Master who cares for us.

We have seen clearly that the Word of God tells us that without following Christ, we are indeed being fooled by Satan and are slaves to sin. No matter what society would tell you, you are not your own person. If you choose to not follow Christ, you are choosing to be a slave to sin. You are not, nor can you be your own person.

How can a slave be his or her own person? A slave has a master he or she is to answer to. If you are sitting here this morning thinking you are your own man or woman, let me say you are a fool; you are actually a servant to a harsh master a master that goes by the name of sin.

There is a choice though; you can choose to follow a kind and gentle master, you can choose to follow a master who cares for you; Jesus Christ.

Let me ask you, what does a slave have to do? (Wait for an answer) Well, in short a slave does whatever the master asks of Him, especially if he wants to earn his masters favor. What does Christ our Master ask of us? Quite a lot actually, in John 14:15 Jesus says, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

Not just some of His commands, but all of them. Jesus asks a lot, He gave us a lot of commands. If any of you want a good read on this topic, I would encourage you to pick up a copy of John Piper’s book, What Jesus Demands from the World, it is a wonderful read.

But, in the context of this weekend, I would remind you that Christ, God the Son, led with love and He also submitted with humility. Even though He needn’t have submitted to anyone, He lived it out and He asks us to do the same.

If you are already following Christ, if He is already your Lord and Savior, how well are you emulating Him? Are you leading through servant-hood or are you brash and harsh with those He has entrusted to you?

If you do not know Him, let me ask, how does your master sin treat you? Does your master treat you with love and humility?

Today is the day to make a change. Change is never easy. No one likes change. We still though, are all called to be conformed into the image of Christ, and it is worth the struggle. The question now remains, to whom or what are you willing to follow? Or perhaps a better question is to whom or what are you a slave to?

Servant Leadership of the Holy Trinity

Authority Structure of the Trinity

This morning we are going to talk about the subject of the Authority Structure of the Holy Trinity. But, before we begin, let me ask, was anyone else challenged last night?
I think Brent did a wonderful job of setting the stage for this weekend, so thank you Brent.

What might the Authority Structure of the Trinity have to do with Servant Leadership you might be asking yourself right now? Maybe a better way to say it is the relationship that the members of the Trinity had with one another. I hope to being laying some important ground work for what Nick will be talking about later today. He has the unique pleasure of speaking to you all about the Authority Structure of the Home from a biblical perspective, but none of that will matter at all with out the understanding that the Trinity too has an Authority Structure.

To start off this topic of the authority structure of the Trinity we need to first take some time to in greater detail explain the unique personhood of the Holy Trinity.

There are some important points that make up this very unique Holy Trinity. First there is but one true God. Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!”

Listen again to what the Lord says in Isaiah 45:5a, “I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God.”

And then there are Paul’s words in 1st Corinthians 8:4, “Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol on the world, and that there is no God but one.”

Second within this unique Godhead there are three persons. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

How does one plus one plus one equal one? Well God’s math is not the same as our own. You’ve heard the Biblical teaching of marriage. That, “the two shall become one flesh.” It is the same concept. The husband and wife do not literally become the same body. The two should become so close that they are in all intents and purposes they same person. Their thoughts, motives, experiences all driven by the will of God, who brought them together in the first place, there should be a single-mindedness about them.

It is foundational that we understand that when talking about the Holy Trinity that we do not make the mistake of making one plus one plus one equal three separate God’s, a concept known as poly-theism.

With that being said, the three persons of the Trinity have all the same qualities. Each is holy, each is all-powerful, each is all-knowing and each is ever-present.

The Father, the Son and the Spirit are each God, not each a God, but each The God. Believe it or not, this is a major debate amongst well know theologians, names some of you might recognize and it is of foundational importance for Christians especially American Christians to fight for this truth with every fiber of our being.

Here are some verses that argue the complex truth of the Holy Trinity.

Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth.”

In the original language of Hebrew the word of God used here is Elohim. It is God in the plural form.

Genesis 1:26a, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our imagine, according to Our likeness.’”

If God is using a pluralization, who is He talking to? Well combine this verse with what we saw in Deuteronomy, Isaiah or 1st Corinthians and the obvious answer is He is talking to the other members of the Trinity. There is only one God and yet there are multiple beings at the time of creation. The only logical reasoning for this is that God is speaking to the other persons of the Trinity.

Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Of course the Word is Jesus Christ, John is telling us that Jesus was there at the moment of creation, not that He was created but that He took part in the creation process.

Listen to Colossians 1:16, 17, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

Paul is supporting John chapter one here. He is telling us that through Christ creation was, well created. Not only that but it is through His power that we are still held together. It reminds me of that Louie Giglio video, remember Laminin? If you have no idea what I am talking about you need to check out that video, it is titled How Great is Our God, it will blow your mind! It still gives me goose bumps to think about.

Moving on, Matthew 3:16, 17, “After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” Here we see each member of the Trinity in the same scene. God the Son is being baptism, God the Spirit descends and God the Father speaks.

And finally Romans 8:28-30, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

This last passage in my opinion is one of the strongest passages there is that proves that the Spirit and Son are indeed God. Only God, our creator can or even has the right to bring us to salvation, and here we see the role each member of the Trinity has in bringing us to a saving faith. Let’s look at it again:

Romans 8:28-30, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30and these whom He predestined (The Father’s work), He also called (The Spirit’s work); and these whom He called, He also justified (The Son’s work); and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

Only God our creator who is omni-present, not just in place but also in time has the power and sight to predestine us to salvation. Only He can call us to salvation. In Matthew Jesus says the Father draws us to Him. And only God can call us justified in His sight and that is what Jesus accomplished on the cross. Not only is our sinful account cleared, but Christ’s perfect account is credited to us.

Only God can accomplish those things, and each member of the Trinity has a role to play in our salvation. Each part of the Trinity is equal. Each was there at creation. And each deserves our worship and gratitude.

I know this was a really quick fly by of teaching on the roles of the Holy Trinity but, I hope that I have succinctly established the truth of the person of the Godhead; now let us move toward the relationship they have with one another.

One of the major characteristics that are shown in the relationship of the Holy Trinity is that of submission. I know that that word, submission has a negative connotation in our society. No one likes to have to submit. However much we have a distaste for that word; we are still required to submit too many people, if we fail to do so we run the risk of consequences, another word no one likes.

We are required to submit to our parents or we run the risk missing out on earthly and heavenly blessings; Nick will talk about this some more later. We are required to submit to our bosses or we run the risk of losing our jobs. We are required to submit to governing authorities or we run the risk of fines or incarceration. The list could go on and on.

But the question remains, why should we submit to anyone? It’s a dog eat dog world after all, besides I don’t see it modeled for me, you might say. I would respond to such questioning, by saying, we are to be a servant least of all because God says so. But, also because it is indeed modeled for us if we only take a deeper look into the pages of the Holy Scriptures.

In John chapter 16 Jesus tells us that the Spirit who He calls the Helper is submissive in nature. Listen to John 16:7-15, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. 12I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.”

There is some really good meat, in here that I want to point out from this passage. First check out verse 7, the Spirit came because of what reason? (Wait for response) Yeah, He didn’t come on His own accord, but He came because Christ sent Him. He obeyed, He submitted.

Second, look at verse 13, who’s authority is the Spirit speaking from? (Wait for response) Yeah, the Helper has not come to speak from His initiatives but whose? (Wait for response)

It is vital again to point out, that the Spirit has the authority to speak on His own. He is a part of the one true God. He shares the same qualities that God the Father shares, and yet, the Helper does not speak from His initiative. Only what He hears the Father speak does He speak. In a word the Spirit submits.

And lastly, look at verse 14, the Helper has come to what? (Wait for response) Yeah, He came to glorify who? (Wait for response) He came to glorify another, not Himself. Though the Holy Spirit has every right to glorify Himself, after all He was at the beginning, He has all the attributes of God the Father and God the Son, yet He chooses to glorify another.

Let us turn now to the attitude of Christ. Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer, most of you know it, and it goes like this:





Our Father who is in heaven
Hallowed be Your name
Your Kingdom come
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts
As we also have forgiven our debtors
And do not lead us into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever. Amen

Notice what Jesus was in the forth line. Jesus isn’t merely simply acknowledging that indeed God’s will, will be done, but He is asking God for His will to be done.

Listen to what Jesus has to say about servant hood in Matthew 19:30, “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.”

If you always put yourself number one, always want to be the top dog and never consider others more than yourself, Christ says in the end, come judgment time your account will be nothing. However, if you will humble yourself, be a servant to others you will be exalted in heaven.

Again listen to Christ’s teaching in Luke 22:24-27, “And there arose also a dispute among them (the disciples) as to which one of them was regarded as the greatest. 25And He said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ 26But it is not that way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. 27For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.’”

But, perhaps more important than Jesus’ teaching on servant leadership is that fact that He absolutely modeled it for us. In John chapter 13 we find the story of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. It was a scene of immense humility if there ever was one. The Lord of creation, the author of our salvation took time to literally stoop down before those He was about to rescue, and He performed something that only the lowest of house servants carried out. To help us understand the feet washing a little better it is important for us to remember that in those times people wore sandals, most if not all shoes were open shoes, no laces, no socks.

The roads that they walked on were dusty and dirty, often times covered with animal waste. You can understand why only the lowest of servants ever performed this action, and yet Jesus washed dirt, and waste off of His disciples feet.
And then He says in John 13:14, 15, “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”

Jesus wasn’t only telling His disciples to continue to wash one another’s feet, though he was telling them to do that. He was telling them to live a life of submission to one another, to think of others as more worthy than themselves, to truly be servants.

Jesus also says in John 4:34, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” That is quite the statement. Jesus obviously wasn’t saying that He didn’t ever eat anything. What might He be saying? (Wait for response) Exactly, I think what Christ is saying is this: He is so moved to do the Father’s will that it sustains Him. How many of you in here today have ever been on some sort of fast in their life? Go ahead and raise your hands. (Wait for a show of hands) And I don’t mean as a means to lose weight. If you have perhaps you can understand where Christ is coming from.

There is a life sustaining power when you are so connected to God; that your entire purpose, your entire being is to do His will. That is what Christ is teaching.

Finally, listen to the prayer of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. It is something many of you have heard before I am sure. Jesus says in Matthew 26:39, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”

Jesus, who though was God, was also 100% man. He knew what was ahead of Him. He knew the beating He was about to endure. He knew the excruciating pain He was about to face. He wanted no part of it. He told the Father He didn’t want to have to go through it. But, He also understood what His Father’s will was; and the importance of what was about to take place.

And so, Jesus, submitted!

God, Jesus, understood His Father’s will and put it ahead of His own will. Now might be an appropriate time to ask the question, when is the last time that you did that? When did you put someone’s will ahead of your own?

We can see that clearly that Christ has not only taught, but also lived out the attribute of submission. Is it always easy? Of course not! But, whether something is easy or not does not ever release us from the responsibility to do it.

In closing, either one, the Spirit of God, or Jesus Christ could have lead by walking around and carrying a big stick. We all countless times could have been snuffed out, had our lives ended for disobedience and rightly so. God says that the punishment for disobedience is death. However, Christ modeled something different entirely. He modeled to us that we should lead through submission. That is a radical thought in our society these days.

But the flip side of the equation is that there are certain people who wield more authority than others. It isn’t my standard; it isn’t even Nick’s or Brent’s standard. The standard we are to live by is the one that is laid out before us in the Holy Scriptures, namely the standard modeled to us in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Are you willing to be led by those who are an authority to you? Are you willing to use the authority you have been given properly? Are you willing to submit to those authorities God says you are to submit to?

Adoption

Adoption is a very personal subject. And chances are if you actually take the time to read this whole blog, you will become offended. However, my intent is not to offend, but make people think and raise some questions in people's minds about adoption and maybe more so about the young people so many of our nation ignore.

If you ask most people they will tell you that adoption is a very noble and heroic thing. Most even will say they have a desire to adopt themselves. If you press these people as to why they have not followed through with their desires to adopt, the most common response is that it is too expensive. I used to use this excuse myself. But, then I learned about an awesome ministry in the state of Washington called Antioch Adoptions. Started as a ministry in a local church in Redman.

The members of the church wanted to give money to those families who wanted to adopt but couldn't afford it. And it has since exploded! I don't want to give a number of how many families Antioch has helped, cause I don't know, but I know they are helping us and many other families.

I realize that not everyone has a desire to bring another child into their family, however, I do not think that excuses anyone from looking after orphans. The Bible commands us Christians several times to look after them. I would say if you can't bring someone into your home, you are still commanded to look after the fatherless. Maybe that means giving to ministries such as Antioch, maybe that means supporting those you know who have adopted, maybe by baby sitting for them. I don't know how it would work for you exactly, but I know you are required to do something.

Before I finish let me just say the American church is failing this command! There are far more churches than there are kids that need to be adopted. If one family from every church in America would step up to the plate, we would not have this epidemic. I would encourage all of you to look at my links for Antioch Adoptions and The Northwest Adoption Exchange and then challenge you to not get involved somehow. Maybe you truely are not in a situation where you can't adopt one of these children. But, you can get involved. You can give, time and money in an effort to help these young ones or you can help spread the word.

These children need a loving home, they need to be rescued from a somewhat broken system of violence and lack of care both physical and emotional.

Please, starting today, help!

Comfort

Why is it that we think that because we have accepted Christ, He then owes us something? We are so spoiled as Christians in this country and even though I and my family are dependant on others to suppliment our income, honestly, I am ashamed at how comfortable my living situation is.

If God called me to be missionary in another country, would I still feel this grateful? I would like to say so...I just don't know.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are told that persecustion will come! Why is it that we then shake our fist at God? We should be thankful that we are the robbed and not the robber! (I know this from first hand experience, and many of my dear friends do too!)

We aren't called to be like others who have all the latest toys, we are call to live meekly and humbly and look forward to the blessings that are to come in eternity.

What is truth?

Why do we allow truth to be objective? Why do we claim to have the Bible as an authority in our lives and yet conform to what the world says is true or isn't? Why do we value the opinion of our friends and family over the value of scripture?

If scripture is true in part, it is true in all that it says. And might I add not only in spiritual things, but also in its claims in the realm of history and science too!

When are we as a society going to stop giving lip service and our second best to God and His word? We say we are angry about the morals in our society and yet we are still willing to not live up to some of the most basic teachings of the Bible.

I could spend a great deal of time talking about where I think we are lacking in our theology, but if we commit ourselves to knowing and reckoning that the Bible is in true in all it says, the rest will work itself out.

My hope and prayer is that in 2009 the people of God will be intentional in their commitment to the truth in the Word of God!

Forgiving Others

Summer Family Resolve 2008
Reconciliation
Forgiving Others

The first thing I would like to do this morning is spend the first couple of minutes to review what has been taught this weekend. I am not going to spend too much on these subjects but I felt a quick reminder would be good for everyone. Unless I tell you otherwise my quotations come out of the New American Standard Bible.

We started off on Friday night talking about guilt. We were all reminded that we are guilty and that we know that we are guilty. We all have the knowledge of God and His law is engrained in us. It is written on all of our hearts.

Romans 1:18,19 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.”

Romans 2:15”Since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.”

I disagree with some who teach that guilt is only a tool of the enemy. It can be but, I believe that often times it is a gift from the Holy Spirit prompting us to look and deal with unresolved sin issues in our lives.

We need of course to turn away from sin. We need to confess and repentant of those things that the Holy Spirit has caused us to feel guilty about. Following confession and true repentance guilt should not be part of our lifestyle.

1st John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

We also need to understand the fact that our sins have been cast away. Once we confess and repent they are dealt with and forgotten.

Hebrews 9:28 “So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”

We need to replace our guilt with correct thinking.

Philippians 4:6-8 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

Paul understood that our focus often times becomes our reality. He implores all of us to focus on the things that are true, and honorable, pure and lovely, instead of focusing on our past hurts and our past guilt’s. We should be focusing on the truth that those things no longer have any power over us.

On Saturday morning we then moved into discussion on confession and repentance. We were shown how confession is necessary for true healing.

Psalm 32:5 “I acknowledge my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord;’ and You forgave the guilt of my sin.”

2nd Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Confession involves commitment.

Ephesians 4:22-24 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (NIV)

We need to be vigilant in being rid of the “old man” and cover ourselves daily with our “new self,” covering ourselves in the armor of God.

Saturday afternoon we talked about seeking forgiveness. The first thing we talked about is how God will forgive our sins.

Romans 8:1, 2 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Chris Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

God’s forgiveness is complete.

Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Isaiah 38:17”Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness; it is You who has kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, for You have cast all of my sins behind your back.”

Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”

Micah 7:19 “He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

Asking for forgiveness is more than a good idea, it is a requirement.

Mark 11:25, 26“Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father will also forgive you your transgressions. 26But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”

Matthew 18:21, 22 “Then Peter came to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

God offers complete restoration. Here we come back to:

2nd Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.”

All of this weekends teaching has lead to today’s subject of forgiving others. I believe forgiveness really is a process. Without understanding that first of all we are all guilty, we won’t have any reason to confess anything. Without a desire to confess and repent we won’t have any desire to seek out forgiveness. And without knowing that we have been forgiven first, we will have little to no reason to forgive someone who wrongs us.

All of that leads us up to this morning; forgiving others. As people commit to Christ as Lord in their lives and consequently make an effort to be conformed into His image they find that the Christian walk isn’t all about what He can do for us, but it is also about what He expects from us; you could even say what He demands of His followers.

Now I could spend all of our time this morning and give a list of such expectations, our focus, however, this morning will be on just one of these commands; that is to forgive others. For anyone who would be interested in a more exhaustive list of what Jesus does demand of His followers let me recommend “What Jesus demands from the world,” written by John Piper.

But, back to this mornings subject. Forgiveness isn’t an easy topic. It isn’t easy to teach on, because for me forgiveness is not always easy. And I know from talking to lots of people in my years in ministry it is not always a subject people like to be taught. For a large number of people, they enjoy holding grudges. I know because more times than I would care to admit to everyone this morning I have fallen into this category. Pride will always try to get in the way of forgiveness. It will try and justify the harboring of ill feelings. It will make attempts to rationalize our thoughts of our duplicity. By duplicity I mean, when we are honest with ourselves we all want to be forgiven, we just don’t always want to forgive. But:

-Forgiving others is not an option.

In Matthew 6:9-15 Jesus teaches us a pattern for pray and follows it up with a very important message about forgiveness.

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12And forgive our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’ 14For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But, if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”

Jesus says again!

Mark 11:24-26 “Therefore I say to you, all things which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. 25Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father will also forgive you your transgressions. 26But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”

If you truly want your sins to be forgiven Jesus says you must be willing to forgive others of their sin against you.

Another reason to forgive is because we are reminded to:

-Forgive because you have been forgiven.

Colossians 3:12, 13 “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a compliant against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”

Ephesians 4:31-5:2 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with malice. 32Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. 5:1Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

Matthew 18:23-35 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents (millions of dollars) was brought to him. 25But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him and the debt. 28But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii (three days wages); and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29So his fellow slave fell to the ground and to plead with him saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

It is pretty apparent to me the implications of this story that Jesus told. We can take from this story that you and I have been forgiven much more than we will ever be asked to forgive someone else. And if we chose not to forgive our brother or sister it will only serve to anger God who has forgiven us much. That isn’t a popular stance to take in today’s society; that of an angry God. But, it is clear to me, from this story in particular, that our lack of forgiveness towards others does indeed cause God to become righteously angry at us. And let me just say that He has every right to do so.

At times it is easy for us to rationalize our lack of zeal to forgive by what we perceive to be an unpardonable act; whether it is because of the offender or because the act itself was so horrifying. We need to remember:

-God offers forgiveness to all who ask.

Psalm 130:3, 4 “If you Lord should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.”

Romans 8:1, 2 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Chris Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

Another way to say that would be to say, “Therefore there is now forgiveness for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Micah 7:18, 19 “Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love. 19He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

We too need to remember:

-There is no limit to forgiveness.

Luke 17:3, 4 “Be on guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents forgive him. 4And if he sins against you seven times a day and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Matthew 18:21, 22 “Then Peter came to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

Jesus is not saying literally we only need to forgive four hundred and ninety times. His point is that we should not count at all how many times we are asked to forgive someone nor keep count of how many times we actually forgive, even if it is the same offense on the same day.

I would challenge you today to start to start using Christ as our example of forgiving others. In my study on this subject to prepare for this weekend I came to realize that nowhere in scripture does it tell us to forgive only when it is asked for.

That one really stunned me for a moment. I’ll be honest and tell you that I didn’t really like that too much. There have been times where I rather enjoyed holding on to a misdeed done to me because the individual never asked me to forgive them. It seems that once again I failed to understand the underling principle. That we all have been forgiven much, and we are expected to forgive back; and in the big picture what we are expected to forgive is miniscule compared to what we have been forgiven.

Jesus came into His life not having any guilt; there was nothing for Him to be guilty of. Yet he took our guilt as His own. He sought forgiveness for us and forgave us by taking our sin as His. He took ownership of it, and released us from it; by spilling His blood as a perfect sacrifice freely given so that His Father could have a relationship with every single one of us.

Shouldn’t we then be willing to confess our own guilt to others and to God Himself and seek forgiveness from those we have wronged? And in turn shouldn’t we be willing to forgive as much as we have been forgiven? No matter the offense or the offender?

I would like to end my time with you this morning by asking a few questions:

Who if anyone have you been harboring ill will towards? More specifically is it your husband? Is it your wife? Or maybe one of your parents?

I would encourage any of you who have been holding on to old hurts to commit to forgiving whoever it is in your life that you need to forgive.

Remember “Just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”

Prayer

Why is change so difficult?

Let me start by saying this...There are absolute's! Most of us who are born again understand this fact! People will argue even in Christian circles what those absolutes are. Now to help me make my point I will name just a few.

1st-We are all sinners
2nd-We are in need of a Savior
3rd-Jesus is that Savior

Now there are other Theological important issues, such as the need to observe the Lord's Supper and Baptism. pre-destination and eternal seurity and I know dear brothers who differ on some of these issues.

However, the big three as I sometimes call them are the real issue at hand. Not what worship music the church has or the order of service or even men's bible study material. Our calling as Christians is to reach a dying world and to use our individual and corperate talents as a means to do so.

Sometimes that means change. We should embrace this as a church. Change is heathly and most of the time welcomed by those outside of the church walls. I am not saying we should change the message. I am saying that we need to make sure it is heard. That doesn't mean bright lights and smoke. That doesn't mean make your neighbor feel comfortable with their sin. It simply means understand the culture around you and don't be afraid of it!

News from the ranch

We recently sent the boys home for a week to spend time with their families and also so that we could have some staff training. We do this four times a year as well as have the families come up twice to do what we call Family Resolves. It is a good opportunity to see just how much the boys as well as their parents have really changed. Because whether mom and dad want to admit it or not, they made some poor choices in raising their son to get to the point of sending him to the ranch in the first place.

I would ask for you to pray for the safe return of some of the boys, they are all to return tomorrow (Sunday the 6th). Some have threatened to run away tonight from their homes instead of return to the ranch. Some parents are fearful and some are not strong enough to stand up to this kind of threat from their son, so pray for the parents as well.

Now to talk about the staff retreat. I could really use your prayer supprt. It has become increasingly aware to me that some of the philosophy and theology of the leadership I do not agree with. I won't go into great detail, but I will say that at times I have become very frustrated. Please pray for the leadership of the ranch their job is not easy, but we are in need of real leaders not just pleasers. (I will assume you all no what I mean by that).

At times it feels like we want the program to change the boy and if that doesn't work we just need to be harsher on them. More rules=change at times could be our montra. But scripture gives serveral warnings especially in Proverbs against this type of thinking. Thus, my frustrations. Please pray that I would be submissive to my God given authority without mistreating those who God has entrusted into my care. Just because they are "ranch boys" doesn't give anyone the right to look down upon them. I try very much to treat these boys like I would see myself treating my boys when they become teenagers. I don't know if everyone here does. And that is a concern of mine.

Also, leadership has shown a do as I say not as I do approach to leading. It is very hard to follow that type of leadership as I am sure you all know from experience. Pray that our leadership would "pull the plank out of their eye, before pointing out the speck in others." As well as saying one thing and then doing another themselves. Maybe, it is because they thought of something better. But, doesn't scripture tell us to "let your yes be yes and no be no?" Communication could go a long way in mending so of these frustrations. If you say something, I expect you to do it. (And scripture tells me I should be abel to expect you to do it) If you change your mind and want to do something else, at least show me a little bit of value and tell me.

I know it sounds like I am being too negative and maybe I am. But I have others who work daily with me who sare all of these concerns. If we are being too negative however I pray that God would show that to me and convict me to repentance. In my heart I want very much to be able to support and follow my leaders, it is becoming increasingly difficult to do. That makes me think of Daniel who refused to sin or cause others too, but obeyed his sinful leaders. I am not saying our leaders are out right sinning please don't misunderstand the comparison. It was more a truth about how I should act. (Don't you hate it sometimes when God convicts you)

I do love being here. Ministering to these young men is my calling. I think at times I am being hindered, not purposly, but hindered none-the-less and that is what makes my heart ache.

If you read this and have words of encouragement or advice please respond to this post.

News from the ranch!

We need prayer! It seems as though everyone is catching the "bug!" Staff and students alike. I am one of the fortunate ones not to have caught it yet; though my wife is sick now so I am sure it is only a matter of time.

Coming up very soon is Spring Leave. The boys will be sent home for eight to ten days depending on their standing here at the ranch. It is a time for mom and dad and us as well to get a good understanding of how much of the boys growth is real and how much is being in a different environment. The same can be said of the parents.

I would ask that you pray for safe travel as some of the boys have to travel some distance. Also, that when temptation comes they will be able to be strong, and would remember the truths that they have all been taught.

Pray too, for the staff as this is mostly a relaxing time, but we do have a little bit of house keeping to take care of, as well as some staff training. It is never an easy thing to do, teach or be taught in a non-denominational, para-church group, some theology differences as well as some personality differences sometimes cause strife, so please cover us all in prayer on Saturday the 29th.

Also on a more personal note, the pastor at the community church here in the Nile Valley is leaving after many, many years. It is the church that the majority of the ranch staff attend and it is with much longing that we see he and his wife depart. They are beginning a new ministry planting churches in Alaska. Pray for the transition of the new pastor who begins the week after Easter.

Thank you all so much for your support financially and prayfully for my family and our ministry here at the Flying H!

Yours to count on,

Chris

I recently heard...

someone say that you get 80% of what you ask for. And I will admit my first thought was, I should ask for a whole lot more toys (i.e. books, video games) from my wife and I will get 80% of what I ask for. Selfish I know, but that is what first crossed my mind.

Then I started to think about how I communicate with my wife. I must admit and a great deal of how I communicate with her is truely selfish. It usually is, I want, I want, I want. This is a poor attitude to be sure. It shows me how impersonal I can be at times with my wife.

But, the effect runs much deeper than me proving I am a selfish individual. This attitude also keeps my wife and I from having a more intimate relationship. If I am so focused on my wants and can I provide my wifes needs? (And there is a difference between wants and needs) I am not talking about financial needs, I am speaking of emotional and spiritual needs. If I am constantly trying to make myself "feel good," how is that loving my wife?

The bible speaks to the husband having the responsibilty to love his wife. The wife in turn is to respect her husband. Nowhere does it tell the wife to love her husband. That really hits home for me. If I ask for things from my wife, even intimate things and I do so selfishly, that is not loving my wife that is loving myself. I will admit I more often than I would like to admit, love myself more than I love my wife.

Maybe I wll start asking God to help me love my wife 100% of the time instead of myself and hope she can except the 80%!

Why is it....

that we are so quick to sign away our check books but more importantly our values to so called "professionals?" It really was not that long ago that our pastors served as our counselors. That their counsel was the first we sought out. And whether we liked the advice or not we took it to heart. So often now, even professing Christians, turn and run when faced with crisis to the closest pyschologist or pyschiatrist instead of finding counsel from those who know what the bible teaches.

Why is it that we are so quick to turn and ask for counsel who we don't even know and who don't hold the same values we claim? The answer is our continued desire to sin. If we are unwilling to hear biblical advice, it smacks of a desire to sin.

It is my desire to see more biblical counseling. I believe that churches and pastors in particular need to set time aside for this type of ministry. Those teaching or counseling obviously need to have a passion for biblical wisdom and a greater passion for those hurting.

I'm curious....

How many times have you asked someone in passing "How you doing?" and not even listened to their response? Or how many times has that happened to you? This is a very simple and practical example to show how really superficial we can be sometimes.

I'm curious how often someone has ever responded with "Not that great," or "Pretty bad," and we haven't heard them? Talk about self-centered. It pains me to say that I know that I have been that person that is too busy. We live in a broken and hurting world that needs to hear of the hope that we have, and we are too busy to hear how someone is doing?

Compare this attitude to that of Jesus, who sought out those people who were hurting and it reflects poorly on us sometimes. It is sad to say, that often times the people we should be reaching out to, the ones we should be searching out to tell the Good News to are the very ones we don't want to be around because they are bad people, not socially acceptable.

I'm curious how many people once thought of you as socially unacceptable, or as a trouble maker? How many people wrote you off, thinking there is no way he or she will ever come to his or her senses and see the light?

It offends me when I hear people who I know are saved, who ought to know better talk like this. I know too, that it offends God. So my challenge is this, watch to those around you. Befriend those "untouchables" you know. And when you ask "How are you doing?" Listen!

Flying H Stuff

We got a new boy at the ranch last weekend. His name is Herb and is from the San Deigo area. Please pray for him and his family during this time of transition. Herb is very much struggling with having to be right all the time, he doesn't know when to be quiet when someone is correcting him. He is very homesick right now and shed some tears (something his parents can not remember him doing in years). Pray for Karen and I as well as we will be the mentoring family. Herb's parents are very much on the same page in what Herb needs to work on and what they need to work on as well pray that they will follow through with all of their commitments over the next year or so. I would ask too, that you keep the leadership of the ranch in your prayers as we are still short a second in command here at the ranch which adds strain to others in certain positions to pick up the slack. It is a burden that is tough to balance. Please remember Karen in your prayers also as she has taken on the responibility of the Food Services with another lady on the ranch, it is definately a time of transition. Pray for patience for me as Karen and she continue to work on balance between getting the job done and family time.

The father/son outing when very well and some dads are very excited for their next visit. The boys of course are missing their dads right now after seeing them for four or five straight days. We also have a new staff family here, it is exciting to have another young family on the ranch. Keep in your prayers the Tindell's they are from Kansas and were here for a interview and a visit. They have been invited to come aboard, so are starting to raise support. Pray for them as it will be hard to move so far away from family. Also, pray for the Huntings as they are still raising their support.

That's all for now!