Category Archives: Teaching

Sunday Recap

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MacGyverSunday was incredible! As I listened to my dude Ralph (@RMG015) speak I came to the quick realization that more often than not I try to solve problems before I pray about them. Ralph emphasized that the greatest work we can do is to ask God what to do. Before we come up with creative solutions, and before we spend our time problem solving, if we are Christians, we should spend our time praying.

Imagine that, asking the Creator of the entire universe for advice! I think He might have the answer you need.

Where does this apply? Everywhere. Marital struggle, with those you love and those you wish you could love, relationship friction, job stress…the list could go for miles.

So join me in putting away your MacGyver tool bag, at least for the next 7 days, and spend the time you would solving problems in fervent prayer instead.

Real Marriage Starts Sunday

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ImageI don’t know a statement more true than the one on the picture above. After 6 years with my wife, 5 of them married, I’d actually say it’s an understatement, but it is definitely true. When something is stagnant it is no longer fresh or life giving. That is what all relationships, but especially marriages, become if they are not growing in and toward something.

This Sunday we begin an 11-week journey through the scriptures on what marriage is supposed to look like. If we can faithfully live out God’s intentions for this relationship, we can almost certainly do it in any other. Please don’t miss this opportunity to be challenged, affirmed, and encouraged by what God has to say about all human relationships, but especially about marriage.

Victory

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God has created us, all of us, to worship Him, love Him, glorify Him, have Him as our deepest affection and live for His glory. We are meant to glorify God in every conceivable way because it’s what we were made for, and it’s how we express our love and devotion to Him, and the world, though arbitrarily defined,  is anything that tries to prevent our doing that.

This isn’t just about watching porn or telling lies; it’s not that simple. Just because you don’t do certain things that are considered taboo or sinful, doesn’t mean that the world and the ruler of it is not fighting against you or influencing you. Your pride for not doing certain things is just as venomous and destructive to glorifying God as the one who can’t stop giving in to lust.

But the follower of Jesus has been given the power to overcome, to master the world by the power of the Holy Spirit. God doesn’t mean for us to just survive the onslaught, nor does He mean for us to take pride in our ability to religiously abstain from certain things while worshipping our ability to do so. No, we have been given victory, and that victory is our faith in the One who paid the price for the win.

As a follower of Jesus we have a promise in verse [4] of 1 John 5 that everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. Everyone who has God’s seed, God’s breath of life, has received the gospel, acknowledged their adoption and been filled with the Holy Ghost overcomes the world!

This means that we are not bound by lust! We are not bound by perversion! We are not bound by low self-worth! We are not bound by a need to achieve! We are not a slave to our past! We are not a slave to our sin! We are not a slave to pride! We are not weighed down by guilt! We are not weighed down by the lies of the enemy! We are not a slave to what they say about us or what somebody did to us! And we have nothing to fear from the powers of hell, death or the grave because we have the seed of God, the breath of life, the Holy Ghost and we are free! By faith we overcome the world and receive the victory that ends in the promise of eternal life.

This is the declaration of the Lord, that the victory that has overcome the world— [is] our faith. God has deposited something of Himself in you, and you have victory by faith! You are an overcomer by the power of God and your trust in Him! He that is in you is greater than he that rules over this world or the ones he uses!

Wiggle Room: How Some “Christians” Are Reconciling the Hard Saying’s in the Bible

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In the gospel of John, chapter 6, Jesus says

“44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 it is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be  taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me….47Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life….and 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Following Jesus’ saying

52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

And Jesus responded

53 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.

And what follows Jesus final statement is at the heart of so much of post-modern faith that it is daily exchanging the truth for the lie about God, who He is, and how He has revealed Himself.

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”

It is a HARD saying…who can listen to it? Apparently not many. How do we know this, because they killed Jesus for this and many hard sayings, and it seems that many today are covertly and overtly killing Him over again by misinterpreting, misrepresenting, and misappropriating scripture to make it say what they wish, because the saying is hard, so they refuse to believe it…even though they purport to be Christians.
I recently read this article. You will have to go and read to understand the nature of the remainder of this post.

As I read it I was saddened and confused at this blatant abuse of the scriptures, and their twisting it to be interpreted the way the author wished because the author can’t or won’t reconcile God’s grace and benevolence with the hard sayings regarding how those outside of Jesus will spend eternity. Below is my response which I felt made a fitting blog post.

Though I see the point he is attempting to make, it is derived from a blatant isolation of this particular text apart from those that precede it as well as those that follow it. With that said, even looking at it in the isolated manner by which you present it, it still does not say what you are attempting to make it say. Sorry to be so direct, but the “truth,” which is absolute and not to be placed on the sliding scale of post-modernity, is that you have misappropriated scripture to make your point thus making it say what you wish.

To the point–this scripture is delineating between Jews and Gentiles, not “non-believers and believers” this is not only a biblical interpretation of the text, but a historical one as well.

This is, as was often the case in many of Paul’s arguments, an argument for the salvation of the Gentiles [Romans, Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Ethiopians etc.] over and against any adherence to the law, which the Jewish Christians were at the time trying to force on them. Issues such as but not limited to: dietary restrictions, circumcision, celebrating the Jewish feasts, etc.

Paul’s argument was clear…they have the law on their hearts, and a conscience given them by God, by which they will be judged. In that way, you were correct, but in that way only. You see the point Paul is making is that they don’t need to adhere to the law [of God given by Moses] to be saved in Jesus, why? Because their conscience, and the law God has “written on their hearts,” have compelled them to Jesus, so following [as explained above] the law is immaterial to their salvation.

The lynch pin in this text? “By Jesus Christ” that’s how God is going to judge. Don’t quote this verse for your purposes and forget to dissect that little phrase, for without it you lose everything, and without Jesus you lose everything. This leaves no room, no way, but One. And rationalizing around it brings us no closer to understanding the truth or who God is.

Regarding the closing, “Everyone must take this journey of faith for themselves, however they conceive God to be.” We must conceive God in the manner in which He has revealed Himself or we will as Romans 1:25, which precedes the verse you manipulated, “exchange the truth about God for a lie.” I write this in love, but with truth, as a brother, and I hope you receive it as such.

I end this post as I did the comment that has made up the bulk of it. I write this in love, and in hope that we will stop seeking wiggle room for the hard sayings of the bible, and reconcile them in the character, nature, and love of our good and gracious Father, and what He has done for us, His rebellious creation, in Jesus.

From the Crowd to the Cross-The Radical Call to Discipleship Part 3

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But what do the scriptures tell us about disciples? Six things I think are obvious

Disciples come to:

  • Count the cost
  • Love Jesus more than anything
  • Bear their Cross
  • Follow Him
  • Renounce all they have
  • Relinquish Everything

Showing up  on Sunday morning, feeling ‘justified’ by your religious activity has nothing to do with the gospel or Jesus death on the cross. Jesus is saying come to Me, let Me be your greatest treasure, all that you love in life and then you will know what life truly looks like…how it was truly meant to be lived.

We should come to Jesus through sacrifice, not simply to try and consume what He has provided through the cross. But because of sin, we find ourselves relating to God and His purposes as though they serve us, and not the other way around. We follow to consume the benefits, remaining in the crowd, while Jesus is calling those who would follow Him to give all to Him and submit to His way, His will, His word, and His work-becoming disciples. This is not a call to come and consume, but a call to come and die!

Some want to resist this, against the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts because:

  • It requires sacrifice
  • It requires commitment
  • It requires obedience
  • It requires the worship Jesus alone
  • It requires a relinquishing of control
  • It demands total allegiance
  • It confronts our selfishness/self-centeredness
  • It confronts our misconstrued ideas of who Jesus is
  • It confronts our understanding of what’s valuable in life
  • It threatens the relationships we have placed above Jesus

But this is what Jesus is calling us to, and either you follow Him, or you don’t.

If you want to move from the crowd to the cross, becoming a disciple, He will give you the means, and the desire, if that is what you seek.

  • The gospel says God came because we are not a good people, but  lost people
  • The gospel says that true fulfillment is found in Jesus, not in all of our temporal things
  • The gospel says that if you love Jesus more than anything you will love your family better, and live your life better
  • The gospel says God’s glory is your greatest joy

And the Gospel says that by His grace, you can give the whole of your life as a living, loving sacrifice to Jesus, for His purposes, as a disciple. You can move from the crowd to the cross

God wants you to be a loving, Spirit-led, joy filled disciple…that’s why He died, so that we could live for His glory and the extending of His kingdom. This makes a difference for us right now, today, because practically it:

Allows us to truly know the person of Jesus, and the fullness of Him

Allows us to live our faith with passion and depth, following Jesus with everything

It compels you to stop seeking identity from who you are, what you have, where you work, what you’ve accomplished, and your relationships

We are better fathers, brothers, mothers, sisters, friends, students, employee’s etc. when our lives are wholly given over to Jesus as His disciples’

We more diligently and faithfully serve the church, compelled by gospel love

And what a world we would live in if those who professed to serve Jesus would live this way…would live as disciples and not consumers. The church would rise, the gospel would spread, and people would be made free. In fact, historically, wherever the gospel has been preached, churches, schools, hospitals, social improvements, and advances in civilization have followed. It is in our striving to move from the crowd of consumers to the cross that those who don’t believe cease to see us as hypocrites, fakes, and phonies.

So go, live with Gospel love for the lost, be Generous in your giving to the church you serve. Live sacrificially and be consistent in who you are among Christians and non-Christians.

Commit to the Church, being a Servant in the church and the world; and be a good neighbor. Give your life away for Jesus and His Gospel! This extends the Kingdom of God, and invites the non-Christian into the redeeming love, grace, and mercy of Christ. It was for this reason that you were born, to carry out Christ glorious mission of redeeming our world.

The crowd comes to consume, but the cross demands disciples, are you in the crowd or under the cross!

From the Crowd to the Cross-The Radical Call to Discipleship Part 2

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Matthew Henry says it this way, “How foolish is the builder who leaves a building unfinished because his funds run out before he anticipated. How foolish, too, is the army commander who does not reckon upon the strength of his army before engaging a stronger foe in battle. And how foolish it is for the Christian to say I will follow Jesus as His disciple, and bring with me all of the other things I love more than Him. No, you will not follow, but remain in the crowd!”

If I could restate that…you will remain a consumer, looking to get what you can along with the rest of the crowd that shows up, but you will not be counted a disciple!

Jesus said, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

This is a strong exhortation…give it all away, give your whole life to me, or you cannot be my disciple! Are you doing that? Believer, is this how you live? Or do you give bits and pieces, remaining in the crowd, and hoping that God is satisfied by your efforts?

Now some of you may want to resist this truth right now, but this is what the scriptures say. The scriptures tell us that Jesus wants everything. Every part of us, down to the deepest recesses of our souls…and some of you aren’t prepared to give it. Some of us are daily refusing to bear our cross, but instead seeking more ways to consume from this world, and Jesus is just added to the diet, seen through the grid of that consumerism. You are refusing His call to true discipleship.

So what do we know from the gospels about the crowd? The crowd came to:

Be Fed-Preaching better be good

Be Healed-Make my life better

Be Taught-Give me more information that I can use for my own desires

Be Served-Meet my needs

Be Known-Look how great I am, look how hard I work for God

Be Judges-I am better than them, because I obey God’s law

Be Critics-This isn’t as good as my last church; I don’t like the music; that preacher is ok

Be Curious-I don’t want to commit, but I’ll go on Christmas and Easter…I’ll check it out when it’s convenient

The crowd expects all of the wrong things. That’s how they go to church, that’s how they approach Jesus, and treat faith! They don’t come to serve, but be served. They don’t come to hear and learn, but to be critical…Stop it! Stop reducing Jesus to a genie in a bottle. Stop viewing Him through the lens of  consumerism.

I know preaching on television encourages this…send in your thousand dollar seed…make a pledge…give a gift…pray this prayer…and God will do what you want Him to do…that is evil perversion, it is not the gospel, and it will be judged. And even though a lot of us would say we disagree with or even despise those guys, we live the same way they do. We just do it silently, hanging in the crowd, and the crowd will never fully know Jesus, from Pharisee to curious on looker, they will be left wanting.

Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition (4th ed.) (Lk 14:25). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.

From the Crowd to the Cross-The Radical Call to Discipleship

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Interestingly when the Roman Empire crucified a criminal or captive, the victim was often forced to carry his cross part of the way to the crucifixion site. Carrying his cross through the heart of the city was supposed to be a tacit admission that the Roman Empire was correct in the sentence of death imposed on him, an admission that Rome was right and he was wrong.

So when Jesus commanded His followers to carry their crosses and follow Him, He was referring to a public display before others that Jesus was right and that the disciples were following Him even to their deaths, and all except John, who was boiled in oil and exiled, did:

James-Beheaded in Jerusalem 44 A.D.

Peter- Crucified upside down in Rome b/t 65-67 A.D.

Andrew-Crucified in Greece

Philip- Stoned and Crucified in Galatia

Thomas- Lanced in India

Matthew-Martyred in Egypt

James (Jesus Brother)- Thrown from a building; Stoned; Hit with a Club-62 A.D.

Bartholomew- Skinned Alive in Armenia

Simon- Sawed in Half in Persia

Jude-Killed with a battleaxe in Persia

Matthias-Crucified in Jerusalem

(McBirnie, William Stewart. The Search for the Twelve Apostles. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 1973)

These men gave everything, their very lives, and yet we can’t give a Saturday to live missionally among our neighbors.

So what does it mean to “carry the cross”? It means daily identification with Christ in shame, suffering, and surrender to God. It means death to self, to our own plans and ambitions, and a willingness to serve Him as He directs. It could mean even physical death, maybe not in America, but certainly in the rest of the world where some 200 million Christians in over 60 nations face persecution each day, 60% of these are children. And 150,000 to 165,000 are martyred each year. This is the cost of discipleship, and there is no room for the crowd, no room for consumerism…not in passionately following Jesus.

Renovation Vimeo Link to Preaching

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I have had a few people ask where they can find sermons I’ve preached. When you are a journey-man/church planter like me it can be hard to come by. Renovation has a Vimeo channel where two sermons(one from A29 conference), and our promo video can be found. All of this content will be available when the website launches, and at least two more will be loaded inthe next week or so once they are done being edited. If you have asked, here is your link.

Renovation Church Vimeo Page

The Aims of Idolatry and the Postmodern World

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“When men and women engage in idolatry it is an attempt to either; localise God, or in our minds contain the creator, “we can put God in here”; or to domesticate Him, making the Sustainer of life somehow dependent upon us; or to alienate Him, by blaming Him for His distance and His silence, when in reality He actually rules the nations and isn’t far from us; or to dethrone Him by demoting Him to some image of our contrivance or craft or creativity, when in fact He is the Father from whom we derive all of our craft and creativity; there is no logic in idolatry, it’s a perverse expression of our human rebellion against God.”-Stott

Four words in bold stand out in this quote. Four words that I am indeed guilty of….we are all guilty of. Idolatry is a strange and powerful thing, yet subtle in its in working and out working. When we hear the word “idol” we either go to pop cultures definition of someone famous or infamous who we want to be like, with, or a part of their world. Or we run to a more ancient picture that relegates the definition to primitive people worshiping primitive gods in a primitive manner. But the reality is that idolatry is the removing of any of the fullness of God, and His attributes from the place of honor which they do and should hold. this is idolatry in its truest sense, making the One true God any less than He is, and any less than how He has revealed Himself.

I am an idolater. I have tried with great vehemence to localise God, putting Him in a box for which He is not made and can not fit. I have often sought to domesticate Him, believing that somehow His joy was wrapped up in my worship and obedience of Him. I have alienated Him, blaming Him for not doing what I wanted Him to do, and not answering my prayers the way I wanted Him to, though He is omniscient and all-knowing and I am not. And I have dethroned Him, making so many temporal and useless things my God of the moment, and making Him to hold a lesser position in my eyes than that which He holds in the full scope of our reality. Yes I am an idolater, and so are you. But there is an out, and it is the gospel…through it, belief in Christ sacrifice for sin and absorbing of God’s wrath, and the following of His word, will, and way, my idolatry diminishes as my worship, affection and satisfaction in God expands. Thank God for His Christ and His gospel, believe and be free from idolatry.