While at Super Summer this week on the Campus of Mary Hardin Baylor University I heard a message from Heb 11:7. “By faith Noah being divinely warned by God about things not yet seen in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world and became the heir of righteousness which is according to faith.” There were several things the speaker said that had a profound impact on me. I sat in the back of the auditorium for a long time and then lay prostrate on the floor asking God what ark He has called me to believe and then asking how to build it.
One of the points that made the deepest impression on me was that every time people saw the ark they saw the reality of Noah’s faith. What can people see around me that is tangible evidence of my faith? What can see around you that exists because of your faith.
I am still wrestling with the implications of those thoughts. I know what my ark is. My ark is the First Baptist Church of Paradise. My ark is four little boys back in Paradise, TX with my same last name. My ark is a house that we believe God for. My ark is a broader and more extensive writing and preaching ministry. My ark is seeing the First Baptist Church of Humboldt, Saskatchewan grow and get a permanent pastor. I found myself prostrate before the Lord asking how I was to build those arks.
Arks are built with enduring faith. It took Noah well over a century to build the ark. At one point would you and I have been tempted to give on the whole thing? A year. Twenty years. Fifty. One hundred years. Noah labored day in and day out. Most of us can get motivated for a day or two. Most of us can be inspired to tackle huge projects for the Lord but very few have the gutsy grit of enduring faith to stay the course day after day, month after month, year after year, and decade after decade. We get bored and lose interest. We find the labor grueling and our resolve turns to powder. We cast longing glances on the other side of the fence where the grass looks so much greener. We find progress slow and the task too difficult and we starting looking for the path of least resistance. Parents do this with their children. Pastors do this with their churches. Presidents do this with their organizations. Peers do this in their witness at school.
Noah fires me up. I want to be an ark builder. I want my life to count for something. His life counted for the salvation of his family. His one hundred and twenty years were given in response to the call of God. What is God calling you to? What is He calling you to do for His glory? What impossible thing, that might take you the rest of your life to build, is He calling you to? If you refuse to endure in your faith in building your ark, what implications will that have on those closest to you?
I found myself asking the Lord what the first steps of obedience are in order for me to build the arks He has called me to build? There has to be steps of obedience. What are they? For me that includes getting God’s vision for the ark. How can I build something I do not have the plans for? God knows what He wants built and He alone can give us His vision to pursue. Do we really want a vision larger than our lives? Do we have the courage to sit before the Lord and ask Him to paint His dream for our lives no matter how small and insignificant or how large and utterly impossible? Not only that but if God reveals His vision for each us about what ark He wants us to build do we have the kind of enduring faith it takes to build arks? That’s what He wants. He doesn’t want us to merely dream dreams for Him. He wants us to pursue those dreams and stay the course until our arks are built and the whole world can see the evidence of our faith and we can point people to the Savior.
God’s ark for me is knee buckling. Nobody will ever see my faith unless I take a step of obedience. I am going to have to take steps in the direction of God’s dream for my life. Even as I write this I am crying out to God in my spirit to show me what those initial steps are. It is downright intimidating to stand before God’s vision and think that I have been called to that vision. It is a humbling thought to wrap my mind around that God has chosen me for a grand vision that will take a life time to fulfill. But what glory will He get when people the reality and evidence of my enduring faith if I will stay the course. It brings great joy to my heart to even think about those possibilities. What a glorious thought to get to join God in His purposes.
I don’t care how outrageous the size of the ark God has called you to build seems. I urge you to pursue it with fearless and enduring faith. I challenge you to be consumed with God’s call on your life to build an ark. May your life long labors prove to be invaluable in providing salvation to your family and friends and as always may the Lord get all the glory.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Trust
Trust is a fragile thing. It can be gained and lost. It can be built and broken. It can be earned and vanish. Some people are more trusting than others. People who have experienced little hurt generally speaking will be more trusting than people who have been deeply wounded by those they thought loved them. Like I said earlier, trust is a fragile thing.
The Fifth Edition of the Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines trust this way; “Assured reliance on another’s integrity, veracity, justice – confidence.” The definition gives a great deal of insight into why trust is so fragile. Trust is built on another person’s integrity. When that integrity is found to be lacking trust can easily be broken. It can be broken between a parent and a child, a husband and wife, best friends, business partners, and in local churches. When people do not act with integrity trust can be and often is shattered into a million pieces.
This is one reason why so many people live in isolation, wounded, bruised, and broken. Christians experience this just like people without a relationship with Christ. The pews are packed with people who smile on the surface and yet keep you at arm’s length in the depths of their souls. It is hard to trust people when you are in self preservation mode with defense mechanisms activated. It is difficult to allow our guard to go down when trust has been devastated. Once you have been hurt and trust has been broken we do not like being vulnerable and put into positions which require us to trust people. Like the old saying goes, “Burn me once shame on you. Burn me twice shame on me.”
We live in an untrusting society. We have all been burned by politicians, con artists, unethical business people, by close family members and friends. Our reaction could be to retreat from people and vow to never trust again. That is a valid option but not the best one.
Look around you and watch the implications of a society where there is no trust. People become hard and jaded. Bitterness ensues. Paranoid grows as thoughts always surface that others are out to get you. It happens in church, government, communities, in the job market, in families, and in foreign diplomacy. How much damage has been done in this world because we hurt and wound each other obliterating trust?
In order for trust to grow there must be integrity. A person must be trustworthy. What happens when a person breaks trust but starts back on the path of living with integrity? Can they ever earn the right to be trusted again? I think the answer is yes. Trust can be lost but it can also be earned again over time. When people become assured that veracity has grown their trust will grow with it.
How many times have you been on both sides of this coin? There have been times when you were the one violated and trust was broken. There have also been times when you were the one breaking someone else’s trust. Is God not sovereign over both? Our God can take wounded and shattered hearts and put them together again with His tender touch. [Ps 34:18] “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” God is the healer of brokenhearted people whose trust has been broken. He is also the Lord over the ones who have broken other’s trust. He is the one who can produce the fruit of integrity in our lives over the long haul and restore our trustworthiness. [Ps 51:10] “Create in me a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
We cannot operate as the body of Christ when we do not love and trust one another. If I know you really love me, even though trust might have been broken, I know it can be earned again. Love covers a multitude of sins. Peter asked Jesus how many times a person could sin against someone and still be forgiven. He thought seven times was extremely gracious. What was his reaction and what is our reaction when Jesus answered, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” [Matt 18:22] A lot of trust can be broken in four hundred eighty nine offences. Likewise a lot of grace can be extended too. The more loving we are the more likely we are to forgive and to allow trust to be earned again. Paul defined love this way in, “does not act unbecomingly, it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered.” [I Cor 13:5] Where there is no love there will be no forgiveness. Where there is no love and no forgiveness there will be no trust. May we all learn to trust God enough to trust people and become trustworthy.
May it start with our living trustworthy lives filled with reliability and integrity. Let our love for other people be so grand that grace can be offered, wrongs can be forgiven, and trust can be rebuilt. In this way our souls can be knit to the souls of other people and by this deep connection and communion with other people the world we know we are followers of Jesus Christ. [Jn 13:34-35]
The Fifth Edition of the Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines trust this way; “Assured reliance on another’s integrity, veracity, justice – confidence.” The definition gives a great deal of insight into why trust is so fragile. Trust is built on another person’s integrity. When that integrity is found to be lacking trust can easily be broken. It can be broken between a parent and a child, a husband and wife, best friends, business partners, and in local churches. When people do not act with integrity trust can be and often is shattered into a million pieces.
This is one reason why so many people live in isolation, wounded, bruised, and broken. Christians experience this just like people without a relationship with Christ. The pews are packed with people who smile on the surface and yet keep you at arm’s length in the depths of their souls. It is hard to trust people when you are in self preservation mode with defense mechanisms activated. It is difficult to allow our guard to go down when trust has been devastated. Once you have been hurt and trust has been broken we do not like being vulnerable and put into positions which require us to trust people. Like the old saying goes, “Burn me once shame on you. Burn me twice shame on me.”
We live in an untrusting society. We have all been burned by politicians, con artists, unethical business people, by close family members and friends. Our reaction could be to retreat from people and vow to never trust again. That is a valid option but not the best one.
Look around you and watch the implications of a society where there is no trust. People become hard and jaded. Bitterness ensues. Paranoid grows as thoughts always surface that others are out to get you. It happens in church, government, communities, in the job market, in families, and in foreign diplomacy. How much damage has been done in this world because we hurt and wound each other obliterating trust?
In order for trust to grow there must be integrity. A person must be trustworthy. What happens when a person breaks trust but starts back on the path of living with integrity? Can they ever earn the right to be trusted again? I think the answer is yes. Trust can be lost but it can also be earned again over time. When people become assured that veracity has grown their trust will grow with it.
How many times have you been on both sides of this coin? There have been times when you were the one violated and trust was broken. There have also been times when you were the one breaking someone else’s trust. Is God not sovereign over both? Our God can take wounded and shattered hearts and put them together again with His tender touch. [Ps 34:18] “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” God is the healer of brokenhearted people whose trust has been broken. He is also the Lord over the ones who have broken other’s trust. He is the one who can produce the fruit of integrity in our lives over the long haul and restore our trustworthiness. [Ps 51:10] “Create in me a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
We cannot operate as the body of Christ when we do not love and trust one another. If I know you really love me, even though trust might have been broken, I know it can be earned again. Love covers a multitude of sins. Peter asked Jesus how many times a person could sin against someone and still be forgiven. He thought seven times was extremely gracious. What was his reaction and what is our reaction when Jesus answered, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” [Matt 18:22] A lot of trust can be broken in four hundred eighty nine offences. Likewise a lot of grace can be extended too. The more loving we are the more likely we are to forgive and to allow trust to be earned again. Paul defined love this way in, “does not act unbecomingly, it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered.” [I Cor 13:5] Where there is no love there will be no forgiveness. Where there is no love and no forgiveness there will be no trust. May we all learn to trust God enough to trust people and become trustworthy.
May it start with our living trustworthy lives filled with reliability and integrity. Let our love for other people be so grand that grace can be offered, wrongs can be forgiven, and trust can be rebuilt. In this way our souls can be knit to the souls of other people and by this deep connection and communion with other people the world we know we are followers of Jesus Christ. [Jn 13:34-35]
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Confession is Good for the Soul
While in Saskatchewan on our mission trip we had the opportunity to visit the Saint Peter’s Catholic Church in Muenster, Saskatchewan which is about eight kilometers from Humboldt. The entire church cathedral is decorated with several murals on the ceiling and the walls. As we walked through the church I noticed the confessional booths located in the back and one person asked when do you people come for confession. Catholics believe they must confess their sins to the priest who in turns tells them what needs to be done to be absolved of those sins.
I am so glad that I do not have to go to a priest or any other person to confess my sin other than to Jesus Himself who is our great High Priest. [Heb 3:1] What does it mean to confess our sin? Is it really necessary? Are there times to confess sins in private and are there times to confess sins publicly?
Let us turn our attentions to [I Jn 1:9]. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is a very powerful verse about the need to confess our sins. First, notice the word “if”. This is a conditional verse. There are conditions that must be met on our end before the Lord will uphold His end of this agreement. Our part is to confess our sins. The word “confess” means to “speak the same thing, to declare, to admit, or to agree with.” Whom are we speaking the same with or agreeing with and to who do we declare or admit our sin to? To Jesus. He is the faithful and righteous one alone who has the ability to cleanse and to forgive.
The word “faithful” in this verse can also be translated as reliable. Jesus is reliable and to be counted on to not only forgive but to also cleanse. In this day and age there seem to be fewer and fewer people who are reliable. People do not keep their word. There was a time with a person’s word was their bond. Now we have all sorts of legal and binding contracts because people are not reliable. Jesus is reliable. He can be trusted even with our confession of sin.
The condition on our part is that we must admit and declare that what He calls sin we also call sin. That means we cannot try to maneuver our way out of it or try to use semantics to justify our actions. Sin is sin and before we can move through the process of forgiveness and restoration there must be the admission of guilt. Our society wants to justify the actions of people. People are made out to be helpless victims instead of each person taking personal responsibilities for their actions. We choose to sin.
Paul puts it this way, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not all you to be tempted beyond what you are able but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”[I Cor 10:13] We lust and we are envious and we choose to sin. We give into to our fleshly desire to sin and trade the glory of God for broken cisterns that do not hold water. [Jer 2:13] [James 4:1-2] Looking in the mirror and declaring yourself guilty of breaking the laws of God is not a fun way to spend an early morning, afternoon, or late night. It can be painful, shameful, and humiliating. But it is necessary to maintain communion Christ.
David confessed his sin with Bathsheba and poured his soul out before the Lord like water from a glass in Psalms 51. He agreed with God about his sin and admitted his guilt. Read what he prayed. “For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned.” [Ps 51:3-4]”Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.” [Ps 51:9] “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” [Ps 51:17]
If we take care of our part in confessing our sin then Jesus will be faithful to forgive. That means He will send away our sin debt and remit it. What a glorious truth. Our sins, which are very real and destructive, will not be counted against us if we confess them to the Lord. Big sins. Little sins. Sins of both omission and commission. Sins of thoughts and actions. There is no distinction with the Lord. If we confess those sins to Christ He is faithful to forgive. He forgives them when we confess them the first time and trust Him for salvation. [II Cor 5:21] [Rom 5:6-9] He forgives when we stumble and trip over the same sin time and time again. His grace is sufficient to cleanse us from our sins.
He doesn’t just forgive our sins but He also cleanses us from unrighteousness. He frees us from the defilement of sin and purges us from our acts of wickedness. He removes the stains from our sin that pollute our hearts. No earthly priest can do that. No human being has the power to do that. What a liberating truth. We can be cleansed from the inside out. Human beings try to cleanse from the outside in and it never works. We say we will change our behavior externally with out being transformed internally. Jesus is the only one who can change us from the inside out. He is the only way to true forgiveness and salvation. [Jn 14:6]
Confession does good for the soul. We need it. God‘s word commands it. It doesn’t matter the type or the magnitude of the sin. Admitting it and declaring to God is good medicine for the soul. Are we supposed to do this privately between us and the Lord or with others in a public setting? A good rule of thumb is when the sin is done in private you confess it in private and if it is done in public you confess it in public.
Before ending there will be some who will believe they have done things so horrible and offensive to God that there is no forgiveness. I would have to pay attention to a little three letter word in [I Jn 1:9]. “All.” Jesus is faithful to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. You name it and His grace and forgiveness is able to not only cover it but to also forgive and to cleanse it as well.
Why not take some time today to sit at His feet and confess your sin before Him one by one. I promise it will be a freeing and reconciliatory experience with Him. You do not have to go to a priest, a pastor, an elder or deacon to do this. You simply need to go to your Great High Priest and confess it to Him. It will be good for your soul.
I am so glad that I do not have to go to a priest or any other person to confess my sin other than to Jesus Himself who is our great High Priest. [Heb 3:1] What does it mean to confess our sin? Is it really necessary? Are there times to confess sins in private and are there times to confess sins publicly?
Let us turn our attentions to [I Jn 1:9]. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is a very powerful verse about the need to confess our sins. First, notice the word “if”. This is a conditional verse. There are conditions that must be met on our end before the Lord will uphold His end of this agreement. Our part is to confess our sins. The word “confess” means to “speak the same thing, to declare, to admit, or to agree with.” Whom are we speaking the same with or agreeing with and to who do we declare or admit our sin to? To Jesus. He is the faithful and righteous one alone who has the ability to cleanse and to forgive.
The word “faithful” in this verse can also be translated as reliable. Jesus is reliable and to be counted on to not only forgive but to also cleanse. In this day and age there seem to be fewer and fewer people who are reliable. People do not keep their word. There was a time with a person’s word was their bond. Now we have all sorts of legal and binding contracts because people are not reliable. Jesus is reliable. He can be trusted even with our confession of sin.
The condition on our part is that we must admit and declare that what He calls sin we also call sin. That means we cannot try to maneuver our way out of it or try to use semantics to justify our actions. Sin is sin and before we can move through the process of forgiveness and restoration there must be the admission of guilt. Our society wants to justify the actions of people. People are made out to be helpless victims instead of each person taking personal responsibilities for their actions. We choose to sin.
Paul puts it this way, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not all you to be tempted beyond what you are able but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”[I Cor 10:13] We lust and we are envious and we choose to sin. We give into to our fleshly desire to sin and trade the glory of God for broken cisterns that do not hold water. [Jer 2:13] [James 4:1-2] Looking in the mirror and declaring yourself guilty of breaking the laws of God is not a fun way to spend an early morning, afternoon, or late night. It can be painful, shameful, and humiliating. But it is necessary to maintain communion Christ.
David confessed his sin with Bathsheba and poured his soul out before the Lord like water from a glass in Psalms 51. He agreed with God about his sin and admitted his guilt. Read what he prayed. “For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned.” [Ps 51:3-4]”Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.” [Ps 51:9] “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” [Ps 51:17]
If we take care of our part in confessing our sin then Jesus will be faithful to forgive. That means He will send away our sin debt and remit it. What a glorious truth. Our sins, which are very real and destructive, will not be counted against us if we confess them to the Lord. Big sins. Little sins. Sins of both omission and commission. Sins of thoughts and actions. There is no distinction with the Lord. If we confess those sins to Christ He is faithful to forgive. He forgives them when we confess them the first time and trust Him for salvation. [II Cor 5:21] [Rom 5:6-9] He forgives when we stumble and trip over the same sin time and time again. His grace is sufficient to cleanse us from our sins.
He doesn’t just forgive our sins but He also cleanses us from unrighteousness. He frees us from the defilement of sin and purges us from our acts of wickedness. He removes the stains from our sin that pollute our hearts. No earthly priest can do that. No human being has the power to do that. What a liberating truth. We can be cleansed from the inside out. Human beings try to cleanse from the outside in and it never works. We say we will change our behavior externally with out being transformed internally. Jesus is the only one who can change us from the inside out. He is the only way to true forgiveness and salvation. [Jn 14:6]
Confession does good for the soul. We need it. God‘s word commands it. It doesn’t matter the type or the magnitude of the sin. Admitting it and declaring to God is good medicine for the soul. Are we supposed to do this privately between us and the Lord or with others in a public setting? A good rule of thumb is when the sin is done in private you confess it in private and if it is done in public you confess it in public.
Before ending there will be some who will believe they have done things so horrible and offensive to God that there is no forgiveness. I would have to pay attention to a little three letter word in [I Jn 1:9]. “All.” Jesus is faithful to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. You name it and His grace and forgiveness is able to not only cover it but to also forgive and to cleanse it as well.
Why not take some time today to sit at His feet and confess your sin before Him one by one. I promise it will be a freeing and reconciliatory experience with Him. You do not have to go to a priest, a pastor, an elder or deacon to do this. You simply need to go to your Great High Priest and confess it to Him. It will be good for your soul.
Undeserved Grace
When was the last time you came face to face with your sin before the Lord? When was the last time you were really broken and really convicted by some sin or any sin in your life? It happened for me in a very real way while on mission for the Lord in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. There was sin. There was deep conviction. There was brokenness and humiliation. There was repentance and confession.It is easy for me to preach about grace because I have needed and received so much of it from the Lord and the Lord's people. None of us deserves grace. It is a precious and amazing gift. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God; not as a result of works so that no one may boast."
When broken down to is simplest definition grace means "unmerited favor." God's glorious grace that has been lavished out on us cannot be earned, achieved, or bought. The only means to of partaking of it are to receive it by faith. Most of us can wrap our minds about needing grace to be saved in the first place. How many of us contemplate how much we need grace day by day?
At heart each of us are depraved sinners who are in a constant battle with our sin nature. More often than any of us would like to admit that sin nature takes over and we find ourselves not only in need of forgiveness but also in need of undeserved grace. Praise the Lord for Jesus who not only forgives but showers us with grace. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace which He lavishes on us..." [Eph 1:1-7-8a]
My task in simple. Since I have received so much undeserved grace in my own life I am to follow the pattern of David in Psalm Fifty One. "Restore to me the jou of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to you."
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Go
Later this morning, I will once again be packing my old worn out suit case for yet another gospel trip for my Lord. Most of my travels have always been associated with preaching and laboring for the Lord. I have traveled to three countries and eleven states all to serve Christ in preaching and witnessing. This afternoon I will be leaving for Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for another trip along with eleven others from our church to preach, to pray, to witness, to serve and labor for Christ.
I know that part of submitting my life and ministry to the Lord means that I will continually be on the road again and again. Last night I was talking to Brenda and asking if she ever got tired of me leaving for trips and she said that she knows God has called me and though she misses me she manages to get along without me. It is sacrifice for her as well as for our boys who have already started telling me how much they will miss me. It is sacrifice for our people who will be making this trip also and their families. All of them are sacrificing their time at work and with their families to come on this trip. It is a joy to watch each of them put those things aside as they get on mission with God.
Have you ever given much attention to how many times we are called to “go” in the Bible? I just entered the word “go” in my computer concordance. There were 245 references in the New Testament alone. In the Old Testament there are an additional 1,100 references. It seems pretty clear to me that God has always called His people to be on mission for Him and that involves going. Going to houses to talk to both friends and strangers about Christ in our own communities, going to other cities or countries to promote Christ stretches us and calls way out of comfort zones. Our trouble is we don’t like to go with the gospel but are contented to stay in the safety and comforts of our own homes and congregations. True going does also involve leaving. As we go we also have to leave. The leaving can be extremely difficult. It is never easy to part with our loved ones for mission trips or to leave our secure environments to walk across the street or to drive across town to take the gospel to someone.
Over and over again the message from the Lord is go. [Mark 16:15] [Matt 28:19] [Matt 5:41] [Matt 10:6] [Matt 19:21] [Matt 26:36] [Mark 10:21] [Luke 7:22] [Luke 9:60] [Luke 10:3] We are called to go and proclaim, to go and sell, to go and pray, and to go and preach. The message reverberates through the ages. Don’t get too comfortable. Don’t get too settled because we must go. [Is 6:8] asks who will go? Throughout the ages people like William Carey, John G. Patton, Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, Lottie Moon, David Livingstone, David Brainerd, and many others have gone. They have surrendered their lives wholly to the Lord and they were called to go. Some to India, China, Africa, Native Americans, and the New Hebrides Islands.
I’m equally excited that people like Ren, Michael, Darrell, Linda, Leisha, Christi, Annette, Kainen, Courntey, Laura, and Haylee all have taken the Lord’s call to go to heart and they are willing to go on mission for the Him. I am equally thrilled that Darrell, Roy, Bob, Jennifer, and Larry went and are still going for the Lord in rebuilding houses for those whose houses burned in the fires back in February. I am grateful for those who go to the shut ins and those in the hospitals. I am thrilled that people all over the world are continually going.
My last official mission trip was back in March. It was very interesting to me as we were going through the airport in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to see a large group of people congregating in a circle and then they all bowed and prayed together. We learned later that those people were going on a mission trip somewhere. I found it exhilarating that as were ending our trip someone else was just starting theirs. It was like we were handing off the gospel baton to the next leg of the race and when they returned it was handed off to someone else. In this way, the gospel in being taken to the remotest parts of the earth. [Acts 1:8]
Where is God calling you to go? Where are you supposed to leave for a short time or perhaps permanently to be on mission for God? Is He calling you to go next door, down the street, across town, to another state or country? Is He calling you to go to your secret place to intercede for people? I know as sure as I write this He is calling you to go somewhere and to do something. Will you go? Will you throw off the illusions of safety and security and simply give the Lord your “yes”? He is a sending God and we are to be a going people.
I recently heard the story about a former missionary lady who was forced to retire when she turned seventy two! What did she do after that? For twenty more years she kept going any place the Lord would open doors for her to testify and teach for Christ. Some of that going was local and but often times she was called to go to other states to minister. When she turned ninety two she was invited back to the country she had labored for her Lord in more than forty years. She thought she would be forgotten but she was surprised when there was a large parade given in her honor. At ninety two she left the comforts of home to board a plane and literally fly to other side of the world. That inspires me. There is no retirement from going. We are go all our days as long as we are able.
When our bodies begin to break down and our health becomes feeble we can still go to the prayer closet and pray. I will say it again. There is no retirement from going. Who will go for the Lord? Where is He calling YOU to go next? He is a sending God and all our of days we are to be a going people.
I know that part of submitting my life and ministry to the Lord means that I will continually be on the road again and again. Last night I was talking to Brenda and asking if she ever got tired of me leaving for trips and she said that she knows God has called me and though she misses me she manages to get along without me. It is sacrifice for her as well as for our boys who have already started telling me how much they will miss me. It is sacrifice for our people who will be making this trip also and their families. All of them are sacrificing their time at work and with their families to come on this trip. It is a joy to watch each of them put those things aside as they get on mission with God.
Have you ever given much attention to how many times we are called to “go” in the Bible? I just entered the word “go” in my computer concordance. There were 245 references in the New Testament alone. In the Old Testament there are an additional 1,100 references. It seems pretty clear to me that God has always called His people to be on mission for Him and that involves going. Going to houses to talk to both friends and strangers about Christ in our own communities, going to other cities or countries to promote Christ stretches us and calls way out of comfort zones. Our trouble is we don’t like to go with the gospel but are contented to stay in the safety and comforts of our own homes and congregations. True going does also involve leaving. As we go we also have to leave. The leaving can be extremely difficult. It is never easy to part with our loved ones for mission trips or to leave our secure environments to walk across the street or to drive across town to take the gospel to someone.
Over and over again the message from the Lord is go. [Mark 16:15] [Matt 28:19] [Matt 5:41] [Matt 10:6] [Matt 19:21] [Matt 26:36] [Mark 10:21] [Luke 7:22] [Luke 9:60] [Luke 10:3] We are called to go and proclaim, to go and sell, to go and pray, and to go and preach. The message reverberates through the ages. Don’t get too comfortable. Don’t get too settled because we must go. [Is 6:8] asks who will go? Throughout the ages people like William Carey, John G. Patton, Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, Lottie Moon, David Livingstone, David Brainerd, and many others have gone. They have surrendered their lives wholly to the Lord and they were called to go. Some to India, China, Africa, Native Americans, and the New Hebrides Islands.
I’m equally excited that people like Ren, Michael, Darrell, Linda, Leisha, Christi, Annette, Kainen, Courntey, Laura, and Haylee all have taken the Lord’s call to go to heart and they are willing to go on mission for the Him. I am equally thrilled that Darrell, Roy, Bob, Jennifer, and Larry went and are still going for the Lord in rebuilding houses for those whose houses burned in the fires back in February. I am grateful for those who go to the shut ins and those in the hospitals. I am thrilled that people all over the world are continually going.
My last official mission trip was back in March. It was very interesting to me as we were going through the airport in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to see a large group of people congregating in a circle and then they all bowed and prayed together. We learned later that those people were going on a mission trip somewhere. I found it exhilarating that as were ending our trip someone else was just starting theirs. It was like we were handing off the gospel baton to the next leg of the race and when they returned it was handed off to someone else. In this way, the gospel in being taken to the remotest parts of the earth. [Acts 1:8]
Where is God calling you to go? Where are you supposed to leave for a short time or perhaps permanently to be on mission for God? Is He calling you to go next door, down the street, across town, to another state or country? Is He calling you to go to your secret place to intercede for people? I know as sure as I write this He is calling you to go somewhere and to do something. Will you go? Will you throw off the illusions of safety and security and simply give the Lord your “yes”? He is a sending God and we are to be a going people.
I recently heard the story about a former missionary lady who was forced to retire when she turned seventy two! What did she do after that? For twenty more years she kept going any place the Lord would open doors for her to testify and teach for Christ. Some of that going was local and but often times she was called to go to other states to minister. When she turned ninety two she was invited back to the country she had labored for her Lord in more than forty years. She thought she would be forgotten but she was surprised when there was a large parade given in her honor. At ninety two she left the comforts of home to board a plane and literally fly to other side of the world. That inspires me. There is no retirement from going. We are go all our days as long as we are able.
When our bodies begin to break down and our health becomes feeble we can still go to the prayer closet and pray. I will say it again. There is no retirement from going. Who will go for the Lord? Where is He calling YOU to go next? He is a sending God and all our of days we are to be a going people.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Expanding the Kingdom of God
[Matt 4:23-25]
How much thought have you given lately to the building and expanding of God’s Kingdom. Let me go further than that. When was the last time you gave any thought to the kingdom of God? What is the kingdom of God? It is something that we have most likely read about but have we never defined what exactly it is? How can you build and expand something you do not know how define or identify?
I have been pondering these questions a lot lately. How would I define the kingdom of God? I would define it simply as the rule and reign of God in Heaven and on earth. Every place the rule and reign of God are celebrated and acknowledged is part of His every expanding kingdom.
What do I mean by the word expand? The word expand can mean to become widely opened or enlarged and to increase in number or scope of. God’s kingdom can be expanded in an individual’s heart as God rules more territory and reigns supreme in more places. God’s kingdom can advance as one sinner after another come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. His kingdom can advance as communities, counties, and even countries submit to Him and submit to His rule and reign. This has happened quiet effectively in places like South Korea. God’s kingdom can expand as churches grow and as new churches are planted around the globe.
God is passionate about the expansion of His kingdom. We tragically are more often passionate about the building of our own personal kingdoms with our possessions, power, and promotion of our own glory. Churches sadly do the same thing seeking to exalt their name more than the name that is above every other name. [Phil 2:9] We want the credit and glory for things in our church that go to God alone. I am ashamed I have been caught up in this same sinful attitude more times than I can count.
Jesus told us in [Matt 6:33] to seek the Kingdom of God first. Not second, third, fourth, or tenth. First! Part of this means we must desire this first. We desire all sorts of things but do we desire God’s kingdom or put another way the rule and reign of God in our own hearts and upon the hearts of those around us first and foremost? Sadly the desire for God’s kingdom has dropped way down the list for far too many of God’s children.
Not only should we desire the kingdom but we should also plot to see it advance. We plot our financial futures, our next career move, how to gain any advantage over our opponents in athletic competition but very little plotting is going on in the minds and hearts of believers about how to advance the kingdom. Many people with strategic titles brainstorm events and catchy phrases which most often accomplish little and amounts to little more than shuffling papers around on a desk in their effectiveness. There are some who plot to really make a difference.
I love what I heard one pastor say at a conference once. He commented, “We are not trying to start a church. We are trying to start a movement!” Guess who gets the credit for that? God and many pastors don’t like that. They have a great ego built around the great attendance at their churches. They do not understand that when a person is focused on seeking and plotting for the advancement of God’s Kingdom, God gets the glory and His servants are left in the shadows where we ought to be. It was never about us making a name for ourselves. It has always been about and will be about for all eternity exalting the Lord Jesus Christ.
God has delivered me from the need to be biggest church, to have my name remembered, or to be prominent. I just want to be involved in whatever part of God’s plan He has appointed me in whatever field He chooses to set me to labor for Him. That helps me remember that His kingdom is bigger than me and it is bigger than the church I serve. His kingdom is global and encompasses millions of other believers. It is arrogant to think that our churches and our agendas are the focal points of our lives. How easy it is to get tunnel vision and miss the bigger picture. Advancing God’s kingdom should be the thing that captures our hearts and moves us to action and devotion.
How I pray that we get a greater vision for living than simply to attend church or see our churches increase in attendance. I am all for churches growing but I am more for God’s kingdom being advanced around the world. That might mean as a pastor I forsake church growth in the traditional sense as I continually challenge people to lay their lives down for the kingdom and leave our church to be a part of planting churches elsewhere. That means that every dollar that is given sacrificially to our church does not have to stay in our church but can be given back to communities and other countries. That means that I may have to completely surrender some of the brightest, most devoted, and most generous people in our church to leave go somewhere else to expand God’s kingdom.
May each of us learn to celebrate and embrace the expansion of God’s kingdom. That is what we should live for and desire, plot, and celebrate. It is a total different mind set but it is the will of God. In the end, it is all about Him. May our egos decrease and the fame of Jesus Christ increase. [Jn 3:30] It is after all, all about Him anyway and the glory of His name.
How much thought have you given lately to the building and expanding of God’s Kingdom. Let me go further than that. When was the last time you gave any thought to the kingdom of God? What is the kingdom of God? It is something that we have most likely read about but have we never defined what exactly it is? How can you build and expand something you do not know how define or identify?
I have been pondering these questions a lot lately. How would I define the kingdom of God? I would define it simply as the rule and reign of God in Heaven and on earth. Every place the rule and reign of God are celebrated and acknowledged is part of His every expanding kingdom.
What do I mean by the word expand? The word expand can mean to become widely opened or enlarged and to increase in number or scope of. God’s kingdom can be expanded in an individual’s heart as God rules more territory and reigns supreme in more places. God’s kingdom can advance as one sinner after another come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. His kingdom can advance as communities, counties, and even countries submit to Him and submit to His rule and reign. This has happened quiet effectively in places like South Korea. God’s kingdom can expand as churches grow and as new churches are planted around the globe.
God is passionate about the expansion of His kingdom. We tragically are more often passionate about the building of our own personal kingdoms with our possessions, power, and promotion of our own glory. Churches sadly do the same thing seeking to exalt their name more than the name that is above every other name. [Phil 2:9] We want the credit and glory for things in our church that go to God alone. I am ashamed I have been caught up in this same sinful attitude more times than I can count.
Jesus told us in [Matt 6:33] to seek the Kingdom of God first. Not second, third, fourth, or tenth. First! Part of this means we must desire this first. We desire all sorts of things but do we desire God’s kingdom or put another way the rule and reign of God in our own hearts and upon the hearts of those around us first and foremost? Sadly the desire for God’s kingdom has dropped way down the list for far too many of God’s children.
Not only should we desire the kingdom but we should also plot to see it advance. We plot our financial futures, our next career move, how to gain any advantage over our opponents in athletic competition but very little plotting is going on in the minds and hearts of believers about how to advance the kingdom. Many people with strategic titles brainstorm events and catchy phrases which most often accomplish little and amounts to little more than shuffling papers around on a desk in their effectiveness. There are some who plot to really make a difference.
I love what I heard one pastor say at a conference once. He commented, “We are not trying to start a church. We are trying to start a movement!” Guess who gets the credit for that? God and many pastors don’t like that. They have a great ego built around the great attendance at their churches. They do not understand that when a person is focused on seeking and plotting for the advancement of God’s Kingdom, God gets the glory and His servants are left in the shadows where we ought to be. It was never about us making a name for ourselves. It has always been about and will be about for all eternity exalting the Lord Jesus Christ.
God has delivered me from the need to be biggest church, to have my name remembered, or to be prominent. I just want to be involved in whatever part of God’s plan He has appointed me in whatever field He chooses to set me to labor for Him. That helps me remember that His kingdom is bigger than me and it is bigger than the church I serve. His kingdom is global and encompasses millions of other believers. It is arrogant to think that our churches and our agendas are the focal points of our lives. How easy it is to get tunnel vision and miss the bigger picture. Advancing God’s kingdom should be the thing that captures our hearts and moves us to action and devotion.
How I pray that we get a greater vision for living than simply to attend church or see our churches increase in attendance. I am all for churches growing but I am more for God’s kingdom being advanced around the world. That might mean as a pastor I forsake church growth in the traditional sense as I continually challenge people to lay their lives down for the kingdom and leave our church to be a part of planting churches elsewhere. That means that every dollar that is given sacrificially to our church does not have to stay in our church but can be given back to communities and other countries. That means that I may have to completely surrender some of the brightest, most devoted, and most generous people in our church to leave go somewhere else to expand God’s kingdom.
May each of us learn to celebrate and embrace the expansion of God’s kingdom. That is what we should live for and desire, plot, and celebrate. It is a total different mind set but it is the will of God. In the end, it is all about Him. May our egos decrease and the fame of Jesus Christ increase. [Jn 3:30] It is after all, all about Him anyway and the glory of His name.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Life on the Altar
[Rom 12:1]
I had preached my heart out to a group of one hundred students and adults about trusting God and fully surrendering to His will for us no matter how frightening that might look at a youth camp in Trinity, TX last week. I was extremely tired as I made my way back to my hotel room where I sank into bed and began reading the scriptures. I was so tired I drifted off to sleep and then would wake up again to try and read some more. It was during this time that the Lord grabbed my attention.
I was challenged that I called others to give God their yes and do whatever He led them to do but the question put before was I willing to live up to my own sermon. At that point God laid a task before me so gigantic that I found myself chuckling on the inside. I thought I had God figured out in what He was doing to me. I thought it was just a big test to see if I would give my life and my yes to Him to do anything! My thought was that I would say “yes” and pass the test and this whole encounter could be put behind me.
It soon became apparent that this was no a test as I tossed and turned all night long wrestling with God’s mammoth call on my life to trust Him and to follow Him. This was real and the struggle in my soul was agonizing as I labored in prayer giving God my tentative yes and then questioning what He was really up to. I affectionately call this whole encounter with the Lord my “train wreck experience.” That was what it felt like in my heart. Finally in exhaustion both physically and spiritually I knelt at the end of my bed in that tiny hotel room and gave God as firm and clear a “yes” as I could. I laid my life on the altar. The rest of the night each time I would wake up I would ask if the Lord if that encounter had been real. I was assured that it was and slept little as I mulled over what giving the Lord my “yes” might mean.
The following morning I walked to the prayer garden nestled among the pine tree thicket at the Trinity Pines Conference Center located on the shore line of Lake Livingston. In the back of the prayer garden was a small sanctuary with rock walls and wooden benches but no roof. In front of this area was a stage and altar area which was also made out of rock. I sat on one of the benches in the cool east Texas morning pouring my soul out before the Lord like water. I withheld nothing and told Him my life was surrendered to His plans and purposes. Then I walked to the rock altar and got down on my knees and once again surrendered my life, my family, and my ministry on His altar underneath the towering pine trees and the rising sun.
In one way that was exhilarating but on the other hand it was also terrifying. Completely offering your life as a sacrifice to the Lord with no strings attached and with no safety nets to catch you other than knowing you are following His plans and His will can appear frightening. I say appear to be frightening because the reality is He promised to never leave nor forsake us even when we are called to things that are bigger than we are, more challenging than our resources and abilities, and that call us out of our comfort zones.
Kneeling before the Maker of this Universe in that rock sanctuary was refreshing. I know I did not hold anything back and now I get to spend the rest of my days backing up what I prayed. Will I go? Will I do? Will I be? Will I believe? My life offered as a living sacrifice on His altar will answer those questions.
Paul urged us to present our lives has a holy sacrifice on the altar before God which is pleasing to Him and is our act of worship. I have such a long way to go to fulfill this challenge as you do. What response is there for God’s mercy and grace poured out upon us in Jesus Christ. We did not deserve it. We cannot earn it. We surely cannot pay Him back. What we can do is give Him the ultimate worship which is our very lives, all our days, our every talent, our hopes and dreams, our families, our careers, and our bodies laid on His altar as a living sacrifice to Him. That means He can do with us what He pleases. He does not have to ask our permission to call us to do anything or to go anywhere. He is God and Master and we are His creation and loyal servants.
I urge you with Paul to lay your life down. I mean really lay it down on the altar until it is no longer you living but Him living through you. Let Him have His full way in you.
Last week when I had that encounter with the Lord in my hotel room it felt like a train wreck in my soul. I was shaken. My soul was really tested and is still being tested as I work through the long term implications of that encounter. When you lay your life on the altar you are continually reminded that your life does not belong to you anymore. It is His! He bought it and He owns us. That is the least I can give after my soul was redeemed, pardoned, delivered, and reconciled. May you and I ever live on the altar in response to His marvelous grace. May His glory be furthered with such living.
I had preached my heart out to a group of one hundred students and adults about trusting God and fully surrendering to His will for us no matter how frightening that might look at a youth camp in Trinity, TX last week. I was extremely tired as I made my way back to my hotel room where I sank into bed and began reading the scriptures. I was so tired I drifted off to sleep and then would wake up again to try and read some more. It was during this time that the Lord grabbed my attention.
I was challenged that I called others to give God their yes and do whatever He led them to do but the question put before was I willing to live up to my own sermon. At that point God laid a task before me so gigantic that I found myself chuckling on the inside. I thought I had God figured out in what He was doing to me. I thought it was just a big test to see if I would give my life and my yes to Him to do anything! My thought was that I would say “yes” and pass the test and this whole encounter could be put behind me.
It soon became apparent that this was no a test as I tossed and turned all night long wrestling with God’s mammoth call on my life to trust Him and to follow Him. This was real and the struggle in my soul was agonizing as I labored in prayer giving God my tentative yes and then questioning what He was really up to. I affectionately call this whole encounter with the Lord my “train wreck experience.” That was what it felt like in my heart. Finally in exhaustion both physically and spiritually I knelt at the end of my bed in that tiny hotel room and gave God as firm and clear a “yes” as I could. I laid my life on the altar. The rest of the night each time I would wake up I would ask if the Lord if that encounter had been real. I was assured that it was and slept little as I mulled over what giving the Lord my “yes” might mean.
The following morning I walked to the prayer garden nestled among the pine tree thicket at the Trinity Pines Conference Center located on the shore line of Lake Livingston. In the back of the prayer garden was a small sanctuary with rock walls and wooden benches but no roof. In front of this area was a stage and altar area which was also made out of rock. I sat on one of the benches in the cool east Texas morning pouring my soul out before the Lord like water. I withheld nothing and told Him my life was surrendered to His plans and purposes. Then I walked to the rock altar and got down on my knees and once again surrendered my life, my family, and my ministry on His altar underneath the towering pine trees and the rising sun.
In one way that was exhilarating but on the other hand it was also terrifying. Completely offering your life as a sacrifice to the Lord with no strings attached and with no safety nets to catch you other than knowing you are following His plans and His will can appear frightening. I say appear to be frightening because the reality is He promised to never leave nor forsake us even when we are called to things that are bigger than we are, more challenging than our resources and abilities, and that call us out of our comfort zones.
Kneeling before the Maker of this Universe in that rock sanctuary was refreshing. I know I did not hold anything back and now I get to spend the rest of my days backing up what I prayed. Will I go? Will I do? Will I be? Will I believe? My life offered as a living sacrifice on His altar will answer those questions.
Paul urged us to present our lives has a holy sacrifice on the altar before God which is pleasing to Him and is our act of worship. I have such a long way to go to fulfill this challenge as you do. What response is there for God’s mercy and grace poured out upon us in Jesus Christ. We did not deserve it. We cannot earn it. We surely cannot pay Him back. What we can do is give Him the ultimate worship which is our very lives, all our days, our every talent, our hopes and dreams, our families, our careers, and our bodies laid on His altar as a living sacrifice to Him. That means He can do with us what He pleases. He does not have to ask our permission to call us to do anything or to go anywhere. He is God and Master and we are His creation and loyal servants.
I urge you with Paul to lay your life down. I mean really lay it down on the altar until it is no longer you living but Him living through you. Let Him have His full way in you.
Last week when I had that encounter with the Lord in my hotel room it felt like a train wreck in my soul. I was shaken. My soul was really tested and is still being tested as I work through the long term implications of that encounter. When you lay your life on the altar you are continually reminded that your life does not belong to you anymore. It is His! He bought it and He owns us. That is the least I can give after my soul was redeemed, pardoned, delivered, and reconciled. May you and I ever live on the altar in response to His marvelous grace. May His glory be furthered with such living.
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