Reflections From Sunday (3/8/2009)

Sunday was another good day. My voice was still a little raspy, but as least I didn't loose my voice. The past several months have been very trying for me, emotionally and spiritually, so the message was as much for me as for anyone else. The message was called Renewing Your Faith. The Scripture passage was Hebrews 12: 12-17:12:
Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. 14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

Here are some thoughts about that text:

• We need to strengthen our weak points. You've heard it before, but a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link. If you have a dynamic prayer life, but you refuse to read and apply the Bible, you don't have a strong walk with God. You might resist that, but its true. You know it. No excuses! I really encourage everyone at Eden to take a Spiritual Growth test. We provide these to people at Eden for them to self-test themselves to see where they are weak in their faith.
• The question that this message answers is this: If FAITH is absolute confidence, then how can we keep confidence when we go through life's rough spots?
• If there is something in your life that causes you to either sin or weakens your faith, GET RID OF IT! I am dead serious about this! If you're a recovering alcoholic, you'd be STUPID to live in an apartment over a bar. The same logic applies to our walk with God. If you are addicted to your iPod, get rid of it. If you can't read your Bible because your watching TV, cancel the Cable or Dish! Why would we be so stupid to give up an incredible walk with Jesus simply because we love to watch a certain TV show? Compared to Jesus, T.V. is nothing but worthless junk.
• We Need to pursue Peace with others. Sorry folks, but you can't love Jesus with every ounce of your being and hate ANYONE. It doesn't work that way. If you have any siblings, maybe you can relate to this: If I hate my brother, that hurts my mother and father because they gave life to him just like they did me. God made each and everyone of us with the capacity to know Him and follow Him. To hate anything that He made so special is to spit in the face of Jesus. I know it's not easy to love people, but they might find it just as hard to love you. Think about it...
• Without being Holy, we can NOT EVER see Jesus. A lot of people have issues with this. I take that back; we all probably have issues with this. a few points about this:
  -- Holiness is not based on external appearance. Women don't have to wear ankle long dresses to prove their love for Jesus. It's obvious they shouldn't dress like a porn star. Ladies, if it's not on the menu, don't show it off. If you love Jesus, you don't need the love of a man bad enough to show him what only your husband should see on your wedding night!
  --Holiness is not about following the rules because you have to.
  --We need to realize that TRUE holiness comes only from Jesus. Holiness means perfection and Jesus is the only person to ever live on earth who is perfect.
  --When we follow after Jesus, He changes our hearts and causes us to become more like Him.
• There are 3 or 4 things that are HUGE Obstacles to Renewing Your Faith:
  --Falling short of the Grace of God (v.15). We've all fallen short of God's mark. That's why we need Jesus. Failing to take a hold of the Grace God offers is foolish. It's arrogance and God's Word says that arrogance (pride) is one of the worst things. It destroys relationships, especially those with God.
  --Being Bitter (v. 15). I've met way too many "Christians" who are full of bitterness. Bitterness will destroy you. If I choose not to forgive someone who hurt me, that won't hurt them, it will only serve to destroy my life. Forgiveness doesn't mean that what they did was okay, it means that you won't hold it against them any more. Trust me, Jesus is much better at judgement or punishment than you could ever be. Forgiveness doesn't mean that you trust an unworthy person, it means you simply let it go.
  --Sexual Sin (v.16). Probably the biggest sin problem of this era. Just because you're married doesn't mean that this doesn't happen. If you look at someone with sexual desire besides your spouse, your sinning. Don't argue with me, take it up with Jesus. He's the one who said it in the book of Matthew. Disclaimer: Before I go farther, I need to disclose that I am virgin and the following comes from a close examination of God's Word. Sex is a wonderful gift from God to be enjoyed within the confines of marriage. Sex is not about an orgasm, but about one-ness with your spouse. Sex is sacred and it is Holy. It is as much a part of worship to God as is Holy Communion or Baptism. If you're not married, this is one way of worship you can't experience! The Bible calls sexual sin profane. Why? Because it is taking something Holy and wonderful and dragging it through the mud. Every person you have sexual contact with has become "one" with you. You have given part of your self away. This is why sex addicts suffer so much, because all they have become is a machine, they've literally given away their entire being and only God can restore that back.
  --One more thing--IRREVERENCE. If you don't deal with what is dragging you down spiritually, then you have no hope. If you don't cut up your 10 credit cards, you're never going to get out of debt. YOU HAVE TO BE SERIOUS WHEN IT COMES TO SERIOUS STUFF! THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR STANDING WITH GOD.
• One last point- Esau. Esau was Jacob's twin brother. Esau hunted and was his father's favorite. Jacob was a Mommy's boy and basically stayed at home. One day, Esau went hunting and came back to the tent. He was really hungry and Jacob was making a stew. Esau said he was starving (like us, if didn't eat for a few hours he started to complain). So Jacob (who's name means "deceiver") said that he'd feed Esau if Esau would give Jacob his birthright. Esau (who was born first) would have a double portion of the inheritance. So Esau sold his inheritance for a little bowl of soup! That is the way with sin. Sin is FUN! That's why we do it. But when we sin, we are trading eternal delight away for a little temporary fun. Folks, when we think about it, this is STUPID! Sorry, but it is. It's the equivalent of me paying you $10 dollars every day for the rest of my life if I can have only $70 dollars now. We end up with a huge debt at the end. That's why Jesus came to pay a debt that we never could. He bought us back.
• We need to RENEW our FAITH and get back on track with Jesus!

A Few other things about Sunday:

• Next week will be my 4th anniversary of being at Eden Church. Wow! Seems like yesterday at times and at other times if feels like 4 decades.
• I came upon a wreck right down the road from the church. I missed it by like 30 seconds. I got to pray for the guy and be there until he was life-flighted. He's going to be okay, by the way.
• I am so proud of our Reedsville Volunteer Firefighters! They do a lot for nothing. Why can't the Church be like that. We're supposed to!
• Christina and I are planning our wedding. Its more difficult being on this side of the wedding than performing one!

Notes From Sunday (3/1/2009)

This past Sunday was a GREAT day! I lost my voice right after preaching in the morning worship celebration, but it was still a great day! God really spoke to me through the message He wanted me to give. The message was called Confident in Christ. The Bible passage was Hebrews 11:1-6--
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken
him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Here are some thoughts that come to mind when we take a look at this passage:

• Verse 1 is not a definition of faith. Rather, it is more of a description of what Faith does. This may not help you much, but the word translated as faith in Greek is the word pistis which means faithful but more than that, it means firm confidence or absolute conviction.
• The word substance means assurance of reality. Why do I bring these last two points out? Knowing NT Greek is not going to radically change your walk with God, but when we understand here what God is really talking about... Wow... We finally get it. Our world tosses around the word faith all the time. "Well I just gotta have faith." That is a common phrase. But the truth is that this faith is unshakable and unmovable. It is absolute conviction that CANNOT change.
• TOO MANY "Church People" don't have this Faith the Bible talks about. What am I talking about? Don't many "Christians" believe? Duh, they do! But the kinda faith that this passage describes is something that is not doubted. We can have confidence, absolute confidence in Jesus Christ. Too many times too many of us (including me) have a very wishy-washy faith. But the truth is, its not faith at all.
• We need to be Confident in Jesus, not in ourselves! I have a real hard time being around arrogant and cocky people. It really grates on my nerves. We all get stuck on our selves at times, but I for one hate when I see it in others. The Bible really speaks out against pride. God hates pride because pride prevents people from having a right relationship with God. On the other hand, having no confidence is wrong, too. I am a person that has more often fallen into this extreme. For much of my life I have had little to no self confidence and as a result, many of my relationships with others suffered. I put friends through some terrible stuff when I was in school. Here's the happy medium we need to strive for: We need to realize that we are all messed up people who are loved and pursued by a perfect and holy God. That confidence we have in Him enables us to live a new life and move mountains of obstacles.
• If We Really Have Confidence in Jesus, We Will Give Him & He Deserves Our BEST! Abel's sacrifice to God was acceptable when Cain's was not because Abel offered God his best. People have always debated and wondered why God chose Abel and not Cain? Was it due to the fact that Abel's sacrifice was a blood offering and Cain's was vegetables and other produce? Not necessarily. All sacrifices don't have to be blood and the Bible doesn't indicate that it had to be blood. No, the main reason, as I see it, is because all sacrifices to God had to be our best offering to Him. CHRISTIANS, DO NOT MISS THIS! Some times we as believers miss out on so many of God's blessings because we refuse to give God our best. Abel gave God his best lamb whereas Cain gave God "some" (not the first or the best) of his produce. When we get out paycheck or whatever, the first check we should write is to God for at least 10%. It's not giving God your best when you chip in $1 at the end of the month when you take home $1200. It's not giving God your best when if you teach in the Church that you look at your lesson late on Saturday Night. God always responds when we give Him our best. It's hard. Abel was killed for it. Yet, if we have absolute faith --confidence-- in Jesus, we can and should give God our best.
• Without Faith, You CAN'T PLEASE GOD! People, please don't miss this-- You can't get to Heaven without faith in Jesus Christ. You can't have your sins forgive if you don't have absolute conviction that Jesus died and rose again and lives forever.
• Churches that don't have Faith in the Mission God has given them REALLY UPSET ME! God made the whole universe and created each and every one of us differently; He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins and now Jesus lives forever. And we respond with INDIFFERENCE?!?!? God is calling us to have great, strong, unshakable, and confident faith in Jesus Christ.

A few other random thoughts going through my mind as I reflect about Sunday:

• I was loosing my voice throughout the message and my voice was basically gone by the time we left. But, if the early Christians faced lions, I can handle being a little horse.
• Sunday night I stayed home rather than lead the GROW IN HIS WORD Bible Study. My lay leader and my mother (she's a Sunday School Teacher) did a great job! The day the church can't survive without their pastor for a service or two is the day that church is in SERIOUS trouble.
• Even though I was sick most of this week, I enjoyed the down time. I didn't feel bad about missing Sunday night. Sometimes as pastors we feel guilty if we're not there all the time. God never called me to do everything. Sometimes, pastors just need break. And why not? Its not like everyone else is always there! Ha ha!
• God has been really speaking to me lately about giving Him my best. I know I talked about that above, but I am really passionate about that. I'll blog about that topic soon.
• I'm getting married in July. WOW! I can't wait, but at the same time I am overwhelmed by all that needs to get done before then.
• If you're in the area, you really need to come to Eden this Sunday! I am SUPER EXCITED to see what God is going to do in people's lives! See you this Sunday at 11 AM!
• REMEMBER TO SET YOUR CLOCKS UP ONE HOUR THIS SATURDAY. We're "springing forward" so you need to go to sleep a little sooner.