Is the Lord with you?

I have been studying the life of Joseph, which I will preach on this Sunday. One aspect of his life that seems to be very prominent is that God was with Joseph. Everything Joseph did prospered. Whether that was in the context of a slave or a prisoner or ruler over Egypt, one could definitely tell the Lord was with Joseph.

Now the morning I was reading 2 Samuel 3,4, and 5 and came to a verse in chapter 5 that says, "And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him." And I had to pose the question to myself, "Is God with me?" I know that I am saved, I know that I am a child of God, therefore God is 'with' me. But, what I really want to know is if God is really with me? Is God in control of my life? Is God pleased with who I am, what I am, and what I do? Can people see the hand and presence of God exhibited in my life. Is God a cognitive reality to those I come into contact with?

This is what I mean when I ask "is the Lord with you?" So, as you can see there is a difference between the fact that we are a Christian and that the Holy Spirit lives within us, and us being controlled by Him, living for Him, and exhibiting His presence towards those that may be around us. Let us yield to Him today, so that He might be 'with us'. Let us surrender to Him that He might live through us, so that He may become a cognitive reality towards those we will be around today.

Be Doers of the Word: James 1:22

This week, in my study time, God has really been speaking to me about some areas in my life. One of the prayers that I have is that I never cease to allow the Word of God to affect, convict, sharpen, teach, and apply to me first, ever before I begin to teach it to people. I pray that I would not merely read the word and get a couple of great points, but that I would follow what the Word is saying.

This will be the measuring stick by which we can measure whether or not we are growing in the Lord. Are we applying His word to our lives? Are we allowing the word of God to invade and change our lives? When we listen to preachers and teachers, are we sitting there desiring to take truth away and apply it to our lives? Are we formulating our opinions, experiences, and beliefs on the conclusion we have arrived at, or are we formulating them based upon what the word of God has to say.

Therefore, if one of the ways we, as believers, can please God is by doing what the word says; how are we doing? Remember, if we are not in the word, we cannot do what it says. If we are not listening to the word we cannot do what it says. If we are not studying the word, we cannot do what it says. Will we commit to reading, studying, and listening to the word of God so that we can DO the word of God?

3 Aspects to Jesus' Ministry and the 1st Century Church

Last night I was reading a book titled "Missional Church" and came across a portion in a chapter that I felt was very insightful. The portion of this chapter pointed to three main tasks that Jesus done as well as the 1st Century church. These 3 activities of Jesus and the church was part of their missional strategy.

This morning I received an email blasting me about my failure to lead Life Point to be more seeker friendly. Obviously this person did not know much about the ministry here at Life Point nor about the future direction that Life Point seeks to embrace. But, these 3 activities we see Jesus and the Church involved in are 3 areas I seek to lead Life Point to embrace as well.

First task was that of healing. Jesus went all over the countryside healing every disease and casting out demons. Also, part of his healing was to heal those who were social outcasts from society such as the prostitute, woman at the well, and Zacchaeus. Also, this was a task of the 1st Century Church as well. Peter and Paul is seen healing people and casting out the demonic in various cities. This healing ministry was portals that lead to invitations and teachings on the kingdom of God.

Today, here at Life Point the direction that we will take in order to incorporate this type of ministry and healing aspect will be our Food Pantry, Clothes Closet, Restoration, Reconciliation, Counseling, Job Skill training, Widow, Orphan, and Prison ministries. This will seek to aid people who are hurting and struggling in the areas listed.

The second aspect and task of both Jesus and the 1st Century Church was Preaching. Preaching is the public proclamation of good news to a community of people. The book said, "Ephesians 3:10 claims that it is through the church that the wisdom of God is to be made known to the rulers and authorities. The church publicly announces the reign of GOd because it is an embassy full of ambassadors of the reign of God (2 Cor 5:20)." The book goes on to say, "The church's task of announcing the reign of God will mean moving beyond the four walls of the church building, out of the safe group of people who know and love each other, into the public square. The missional church will be in the world with good news."

As of right now we seek to move outside our 4-walls by our involvement in our local schools, recreation league involvement, and our community events. I still believe we can do a better job in our intentionality about pointing people to the Lord. As I read this statement as well I begin to think of other ways we can engage and our community with this proclamation about the Lord. I thought about using technology and other forms of communication that is used everyday. Such as radio, television, commercials, billboards, and blogs. I saw these avenues, not as avenues to necessarily point people to a church, but point them to a thought. To stimulate their minds and hearts to begin to think about who they are, where they are at, and who God is. This would be a form of Mars Hill like we see in Acts 17. Paul engaged the community and the philosophical and spiritual thought of the day by bridging their world with the world and reality of God.

The last task would be that of teaching. I see this taking part in our corporate gatherings on Sunday morning and as well in our small groups throughout the week. It is the leaderships responsibility to equip the people to do the work of the ministry. One way we do that is through our teaching ministry. Jesus engaged in this task. Probably the most famous is Jesus' Sermon on the Mount where He taught the people what it meant to be citizens in the kingdom of God. 'Missional Church' says, "Those who hear the good news and want to become citizens of the reign of God will need teaching... The Church should not expect new people in its midst to know these things automatically."

This leads me to a foundational and fundamental question; "Who is Sunday's for? The saved people or the lost people?" I say it is for those who are part of the Kingdom of God. This doesn't mean that lost people or unchurched people are not present, nor does it mean that we shouldn't invite them. It does mean that we should invite them to participate and observe other believers in the context of what it means to worship, praise, and hear from God. It is vital that we equip and teach believers what it means to live and be part of the Kingdom of God. We cannot do this effectively by watering down the Word, nor can we do that by becoming seeker-driven by watering down what we do, so that a lost person can understand.

Unless the Father draws them they will not come to God, and unless the Spirit of God gives them wisdom and understanding to comprehend, they will not. Therefore it is extremely important for us who are part of the Church, the Kingdom, the Reign and Mission of God to participate in these 3 tasks; healing, preaching, and teaching. Healing and Preaching takes place throughout the week, in the community, while teaching takes place while we are corporately gathered.

To Obey or Sacrifice: 1 Samuel 15:1-23

We come to a passage here in 1 Samuel where we are taught a valuable truth about our relationship with God. To make the long story short, God told Saul, the first king of Israel, to devote the Amalekites to complete destruction. This means that Saul was to leave nothing alive (man, woman, child, and animal). As Saul took over the city, he and his man kept the king alive as well as all the spoil and best looking animals. They neglected to do all that the Lord had said.

God came to Samuel, which was the priest at the time and told him how much He regretted that He had make Saul king. Here is what God said, "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments." Truth is, this was not the first time Saul had disobeyed commandment in his short rule as king. When Samuel approached Saul and told him of what the Lord had revealed to him, this was Saul's reaction and response, "I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the kinng of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took the spoil, sheep oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal."

What an unbelievable, cowardly, response. This shows no leadership whatsoever as the king. He blamed his people, that he led, for his disobedience. So, he is lying on top of the disobedience of not devoting the Amalekites to utter destruction.

Here is what Samuel says, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams." God doesn't care what you give him, if you don't obey Him first. You can give him all the money you have. You can come to church every time the doors are open. You can give of your time and serve in the nursery or clothes closets. But, if you don't obey Him and His commandments He doesn't care. He would rather you obey Him and not offer sacrifices, than to offer sacrifices and not obey Him.

Obedience is a pre-requisite for sacrifice. You can sacrifice without obeying. I would say obedience is the ultimate sacrifice. So, the question is: are we merely so-called 'sacrificing' or obeying God? Are we saying to God, 'Oh God, look what I am doing for you, and in your name." Or are we saying to God, "Here is your servant, I am humbly submitting myself to You and Your will and ways."

Sacrifice to God without an obedient heart is in the words of Samuel, "rebellion and a sin of divination and presumption as iniquity and idolatry." It is also a "rejection of the word of the Lord." May that not be said of me. May that not be said of you today, this week, and in our lives.

It's Not Part of our Life it is our Life

I want to speak to the whole idea of what it means to be Christian. What does it mean to be Christian or a follower of Christ or a believer? Many today think it means or describes a religion of someone. Which, if you follow that train of thought, means it is what we do. We act or behave in a certain way. We go to church, try to behave in a moral way, love people, and serve those less fortunate. That is not all that bad. If people do those things, that is great. More power to them. The problem is two-fold: many who profess Christ don't do this, while those who do not profess Christ do them, and this way of thinking make being a Christian a part of a life, not the entirety of a life.

If we dumb down what it means to be a Christian or a believer to what we do, we miss the big picture. Being Christian means that we are part of the kingdom of God. Just because people do moral things and help the poor and less fortunate, does not mean they are part of God's kingdom. It is sad that many other religions and cults are more moral and humanitarian than Christians.

This kingdom, that the bible teachers us about, as of right now is spiritual. When Jesus came on the scene, he brought the clear revelation and teaching on the kingdom of God. He says on numerous occasions that the kingdom of God is at hand. The kingdom of God as of right now is spiritual. All those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice, in order to have a right relationship with God, are all part of this spiritual kingdom. In this spiritual kingdom God is the Supreme ruler and authority. We are His possessions and part of His reign and rule.

Now this spiritual kingdom also is a forerunner or foreshadowing of the physical kingdom that is coming. There will be a day when God sets up this spiritual kingdom as a physical kingdom, where He will rule and reign. So, as you can see, it is not so much about what we do, or even about a religion, but it is about who we are. We are citizens of God's kingdom. He is the ruler and authority of our lives. He is our God, we are His people. Being American, is not about what we do, it is about who we are! Same goes for being a Christian or believer. We are part of a kingdom that is not of this world. Therefore, we should be living, thinking, and acting accordingly.

Therefore, we go to church because we are part of the kingdom of God and we want to gather with other kingdom citizens and worship our God and ruler! We help out the poor and less fortunate, not for a humanitarian prize, but because in God's kingdom, He takes care of these people. We love each other and even our enemies, because in God's kingdom love is in the air. God is love, therefore He wants His citizens and children to love. We can be unified, although we may disagree of certain issues, because in God's kingdom it is all about Him.

Since we are part of this incredible loving, gracious, merciful, holy, godly, fulfilling, purposeful, and spiritual (soon to be physical) kingdom; we should want to invite others into this kingdom. In fact, God wants us to invite others to be part of this kingdom! This is His whole Mission: to make disciples or followers of Christ and to teach them what it means to be part of this kingdom. In order to be part of this kingdom, you have to be saved from your sin. You have to be pure and holy and righteous. That is why Jesus came, to be our sacrifice for our sin, so that we can be part of this kingdom.

But, we cannot do that if we perceive that being Christian is what we do! If we begin to view our lives as being part of God's kingdom and reign, this should change the way we live and perceive what it means to be a Christian or a believer.

Who Can Stand Before the Lord

I have been reading through 1 Samuel. Today I read chapters 4-7. Within these chapters we see the main subject and object being the ark of the Lord. Now, the Philistines which were arch-rivals of Israel or you could say that they were Israel's nemesis. We see them battle one another on numerous occasions throughout the Old Testament. This particular time, God allowed the Philistines to have the upper hand. Israel was not living for the Lord at this particular time in their history, and they were defeated very easily. As you read the story we find some humor from the Holy Spirit who inspired this to be written down. Since Israel lost, they figured we need some motivation. They thought that if they go and get the ark of the Lord or the ark of the covenant then that would be the edge they need to pull off victory. Never mind seeking the Lord, they just needed an ornament a 'rally cap'. So, they bring the ark into camp, the camp goes wild, the Philistines hear it and get a little scared. They said to themselves when they heard the noise, "gods have come into the camp." Well, Israel's 'rally cap' failed and they lost 30,000 foot soldiers in battle, and they lost the ark. The Philistines now were in control of the ark of the covenant. It wasn't that the ark failed, Israel failed to worship the God of the ark. Anytime we fail to give God glory and honor, then we lose.

So, the Philistines take the ark back to their town and place it in their shrine that they have made in honor of their god Dagon. The next morning when they wake they find their statue of Dagon of the ground face down before the ark of the Lord. They set it up once again. The next morning, they find Dagon once again face down before the ark of the Lord. This time the head and limbs of the statue are detached. Next, the Philistines got together and said to themselves, "What can we do with the ark of the Lord?" They decided to send it to their brothers in the next city. The ark arrives in Gath. Shortly thereafter, people started to get tumors. The bible says, "the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old..."

The Philistines cannot endure this so they decide to return the ark of the covenant to Israel. They make all the necessary provisions to return it. They return it with pure cows to carry the ark. They also send a guilt offering of gold with the ark. Now the city the ark came to was called Beth-shemmesh. Now here's the crazy thing: people in this city looked on the ark of the Lord and God struck down those who looked on the ark. They want to get rid of it, so they send it to another city where they consecrate a man named, Eleazar, to take charge over the ark. The ark stays in that city for 20 years. During those years, the people of Israel lamented after the Lord.

The next verse we learn the reason why these things happened to Israel, from losing to the Philistines to dying when looking at the ark. "Samuel said to all the house of Israel, 'If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines."

We learn a valuable lesson and truth: God is not to be taken lightly. God desires to be worshipped unadulteratedly. He demands purity and holiness and uprightness. He desires to truly be the one and only God of any people, but especially His own. Israel hadn't lived up to God's commands nor desires.

These passages remind me of Ps 24:3-4, "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.

So Who can stand before the presence of the Lord? Those who meet His requirements and demands. Those requirements and demands are simple: be pure, holy, blameless, and make sure you have no other gods before Him. This seems quite impossible! So, who and how can we stand before the Lord? That is where Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit comes in. Jesus, because of His sacrifice and the substitutionary atonement, we are covered by the blood of Jesus. Therefore, no matter what we have done or what we will do, when God looks at us, He sees His Son. He sees us as if we have never sinned before. That's incredible. Now, don't get me wrong or misunderstand; this does not give us a license to sin. This should give us a license to never forget the price that was paid so that we might be in relationship with a Holy God.

Also, the Holy Spirit fills us up and also convicts us of sin in our life and convicts us of other gods we might put before our Heavenly Father. These gods might be the gods of lust, career, materials, money, priorities, recreation, self, or people. It is also the Spirit that continues to sanctify us, meaning continues to make us more and more godly and holy, that we might please Him. So, be reminded today that God requires the upmost respect and reverence along with holiness and purity in His presence.

What Propelled the Church in the 1st Century?

Today we live in a church culture that is always seeking to find what is the next best thing to grow a church. Is it a hip sign? Is it a racy billboard? Is it a eye-catching series? Is it a top-notch band with all the sound and lighting effects?

Sometimes I feel as though the church gets caught up in a rat race of just growing in numbers for the sake of growing in numbers. They want to be successful in the eyes of other churches and people outside the church. They want the eyes to pop when they tell people how many their church runs. Therefore, I believe we set up church today for the unchurched. When people set up the way they do church for the unchurched and the lost, I believe they lose the sense of what the New Testament Church experienced. I believe we water down the nature of the church.

Especially in our society, when we set up church for the unchurched, that means we will create a pseudo-spirit of heightened music and emotionalism and excitement, like that of an American Idol tele-cast. Also, church, if set up for the unchurched and unbelieving, will be slanted towards the consumer. We live in American, the capitol of capitalism and consumerism. Everyday people buy goods that catch their eye, that meets their needs. They are rarely today loyal to a brand. If another store or another brand has what they need on sale, they are there.

I am not saying that we do not seek to be culturally relevant. I believe we need to be culturally relevant, but at the same time, biblically faithful to what we find in Scripture. For instance, Martin Luther during the Reformation would take bar tunes and turn them into spiritual songs. I think there is a way we take things in our culture and turn them into something that focuses on Christ, not the consumer of spiritual things.

So, have churches missed the big picture and the essence of the nature, foundation, and DNA of the church. Have the environments that have been created to move the emotion and give the consumer a great experience taken the place of spirit-filled worship, transformed lives, and gospel-centered expository preaching?

I think it is always wise to go back to Scripture to find out what propelled the 1st Century to grow in such a pagan culture. They did not live in a Judeo-Christian culture. They lived in a polytheistic, pagan, and immoral culture. It was the Roman Empire for crying out loud. Whatever they did, we need to adopt.

I believe they possessed spirit-filled lives that translated into spirit-filled worship. Their lives were lived for the glory of God, not just on Sundays but on every day. Their lives were marked by prayer and holiness. These are truly two aspects and dynamics missing in todays churches. Also, instead of having great music with great vocals, we need to have spirit-filled music, with godly musicians leading us to worship God. It is not enough to have great talent when leading a church to sing about its Savior and God. We need musicians who have met with the Lord, who understand what they are singing, and who can lead others to embrace the truth of the song. We need pastors, teachers, leaders, and believers who have met with God and prayed that God would do a work in them and those around them. We need to beg the Spirit of God to move, not for it to be a great experience.

The second thing we need is more believers who possess and live out what it means to be transformed by the gospel! In the 1st Century you knew who was a Christian and who wasn't. It was displayed in their lives and what flowed out of their lives. They were no longer the same person. They had been changed by the gospel! Today, many believers have the label and title of being a Christian and nothing else. The words they use are no different than before. The way they lead their family is no different. The focuses of their life are no different. They still spend all their money on themselves! For real, how in the world can we set up church for the consumer in mind and then tell them when they get there, that it is all about. That seems like an oxymoron to me. The landscape, by and large, of Christianity in America, is fixated on easy-believism.

The third thing we need to catapult the church to where it was in the 1st Century is biblical, sound, expository preaching/teaching. Read the Scriptures and you will not find water-down, fuzz ball, fuzzy feeling content and truth. You will find hard to believe, hard to handle, hard to hear truth! Jesus' teachings were not easy to hear or sometimes even to understand. In fact, we know that unless the Spirit of God enlightens a person, they will not be able to understand truth! Why would the Spirit of God show up at places that do not honor Him, rely on Him, live for Him, represent Him, and who are faithful to Scriptures? Even Peter even said that Paul's teachings were sometimes hard to understand.

The 1st Century Church grew in a day that had no phones, no internet, no iphone or blackberries, no poster-boards, billboards, television commercials, banners, facebook, myspace, and mass mailers. Don't get me wrong, we would not be wrong in utilizing any of these. I am just saying that the 1st Century Church did not possess these and yet they grew, not just numerically, but also spiritually and in favor with those outside the church. Today those outside snub their noses at those labeled Christians because of their lives being contrary to their doctrine. believe that if we re-capture what the 1st Century Church possessed (Spirit-filled worship, transformed living, and biblically sound/expositional teaching) then we will be headed in the right direction.

Living on the Edge: Samson

As many know, from VBS, Samson was one of the Judges of Israel and one of the strongest men who has ever lived. The secret of his strength lied in the presence of God on his life. The presence and power of God was manifested in the vow of Samson being a Nazarite. Now a Nazarite, could not cut their hair, be near nor touch a dead carcass, and could not drink wine or anything from the vine. In reading Samson's story you see him begin down the path of the slippery slope. He first married a Philistine. He then killed an animal and went back to the dead carcass, that now had honey, scraped some out of it and ate it. He grabs a skeleton from a donkey that he uses as a weapon. He goes into be with a prostitute from the Philistines. Then he meets a woman named Delilah. He falls in love with her. She is approached by the leaders of the Philistines to inquire Samson on where he gets his strength. It takes her awhile to pry the information from Samson. The bible says, "And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death." He then told her where his strength lied. It was in his hair. She, that night, brought in someone to shave his head while he slept. When the leaders of the Philistines came into bind him, the bible says, "And he awoke from his sleep and said, 'I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.' But he did not know that the Lord had left him."

Samson started down a road that eventually led him to lose the presence and power of the Lord on his life. He began to inch his way to defeat. How many of us, including myself, have inched our way to defeat? How many of us try to get as close to the edge as we can without going over? How many of us test the Lord with our disobedient actions? Maybe we reason and say, 'Oh, I have done this before and the Lord hasn't done anything to me yet.'

I see the story of Samson as one of the saddest stories of the bible. Here is a man that had the full on blessing of God. He was the leader of God's people, possessed supernatural strength, yet he lost it all. Other than Delilah shaving his head, what led Samson to lose it all?

1) His pride. He was a prideful man who thought life centered around him and not the Lord. The only time that he does talk to the Lord, it is about avenging himself.

2) His habitual lifestyle. He made it a lifestyle to live contrary to the Lord. He is always going and entangling himself in the affairs and life of the Philistines. He touched not one dead carcass, but two. He has a consistent lifestyle of living contrary to the ways of God

3) Doesn't flee sin. He gives into it. The account with Delilah says it all. He kept on and on letting her press him about his strength. He eventually gave in. If we flirt with sin, we will eventually succumb to sin. If we continue to entertain thoughts, we will eventually fulfill those thoughts.

What can we learn? Stay away from pride of self, an habitual lifestyle of sin and disregard of God, and sin. Learn not to entertain sinful thoughts. If we choose to live on the ledge, eventually we will fall off.

Took off this week for more study time for Easter