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!