Tag: Love

Love One Another

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In the 1980’s, Tina Turner asked the infamous question, “What’s love got to do with it?” According to John, it has a lot to do with it. The key passage for today is 1 John 4:7-16.

This month Skip has been preaching out of First John, a series about Learning to Love God’s Way. It seems to me that love is a funny word. We use it to describe the intense feelings that we have, but the word is somewhat limiting.

In the New Testament, there are primarily three separate words used for LOVE, and all of them are translated into English as “love.”

  1. Agape is a word used to describe the unconditional love that God has for us, a divine sort of love that comes from the nature of God.
  2. Phileo is more of a brotherly love; like Philadelphia is actually the city of brotherly love.
  3. Eros is a word use to describe the intimacy we find within marriage, like the erotic love that binds together a husband and wife.

We use the word love today in regard to things like, “I love my wife” to “I love the Auburn Tigers,” to “I love pizza.” It would be a good thing not to confuse my love for Kim and my love for pizza by using the word phileo or even eros.

Love can also bring up WARMTH as we think about that special someone in our lives, or it can bring FEAR, and maybe even COLD SWEATS because we know this relationship is getting serious.

So today, I’m going to talk about love. Now men, I know this is a tough topic for all of us. We are not too strong on expressing our feelings. Our wives and daughters can be crying over something and we have no clue what to do or how to make it better, so most of the time, for good or bad, we just leave them alone.

And then there’s the church. It’s a place that is FULL of feelings. When we begin to understand the sacrifice of Christ, and the depth of love that sent Jesus to the cross, it is emotional, and we don’t often know what to do with that emotion. So, if we are unsure or uncomfortable, we simply do our best to avoid the situation. That’s tough when it comes to church. Let me tell you, I’m uncomfortable talking about love; I’m no expert and I don’t have it all together when it comes to love, but this letter of First John is WAY TOO FULL of love to simply ignore it.

I sense that many men don’t come to church because it’s just not all that manly to hear about a guy name Jesus who loves us. We sing about love, in public, and declare our great love for Jesus, who after all, is another guy. Wrapping his arms of love around us just seems uncomfortable to men who are not yet believers. At times I wonder if we need to “man up” the church so that we don’t set up unnecessary barriers to reaching unchurched men for Christ. But today, this message is about the Love of God, a love that so many people often do not understand.

John had a lot to say about love, he comes back to this theme over and over in this little book. The Holy Spirit obviously wants us to understand love from a much deeper perspective.

Let me submit to you that there are two things about love that I notice in this chapter:

  1. What Love Proves
  2. What Love Produces

What Love Proves (1 John 4:7-11, 14)
How often do we read stories or watch movies that have a theme of proving one’s love or loyalty? How many times must we QUALIFY our love since it can mean so many different things to different people? For instance, conditional love sets up restrictions. It says,

  1. I will love you BECAUSE; (you have done something for me in the past).
  2. I will love you IF; (you will do something for me in the future).

But I doubt many of us enjoy this conditional form of someone’s love, because it appears to be a selfish kind of love. People will love someone else for what THEY get out of it. We don’t find this sort of love in John’s letter. I think the better way to describe God’s love is: “I love you ANYWAY.” JJ Heller has a song on K-love and she puts it this way: I will love you, for you. Not for what you have done or what you’ll become. That is God’s kind of love. So, what exactly does love prove?

1. Our love for God is proven by our love for one another (1 John 4:7-8, 11): 7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.

  1. Love is a Test: Love is actually a test of our fellowship in God, and our worship of God, because John tells us that “God is Love” (1 John 4:8). Love is at the center of God’s being; it is his nature. Since God’s nature is love, it becomes the ONLY test of the reality of our spiritual life. If God is living through us, his love WILL shine through.
  2. Love is a Guide: Not only is love a test but love is a Guide. Think for a moment about sailing. A navigator depends upon a compass to help determine his course, but why a compass? It’s because a compass determines our direction. The needle points north. Why? It’s because the compass is responsive to the nature of the earth. God’s nature is love and it acts as a guide in life, so we act out his love the way he has already demonstrated his love.
  3. Love is Responsive: Not only is love a test and a guide, it is responsive. Since the nature of God is love; then the person who knows God and has been born of God will respond to God’s nature. As a compass naturally points north, a child of God will naturally practice love.
    1. So this type of love for one another is proof of our love for God and is a test of a sincere and true faith. Believers claim a special relationship with God, having become “born of God” (1 John 4:7). If we are children of God, we share his divine nature. Although we are not perfect, we have a higher calling in life, to become more into the image and likeness of Christ.
    2. Not only are we born of God but we have the capacity to know God. This word “to know” (in 1 John 4:7) is much deeper than to simply have an intellectual understanding of God. The word has been used in Genesis 4:1 to describe the intimate union between the first husband and wife. So, “to know God” signifies a DEEP relationship with God, to share his life and to enjoy his love.
    3. John goes on to tell us that the one who does not love God, does not know God (1 John 4:8). To me, this indicates the lack of a personal experience with God. How could someone know God yet not love as God has commanded? It could be that this person has the knowledge in his head, but he has never allowed that knowledge to travel the 18 inches down into his heart. This person has sincerely deluded himself into believing he is one of God’s children. This is a dangerous position to be in. Our eternal destiny hangs in the balance!

2. God’s love for us was proven by the sacrificial death of Christ (1 John 4:9-10, 14): 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

  1. Love is Real: John tells us, “THIS is REAL love.” Not “I love you because,” or “I will love you if,” but “I will love you unconditionally.” Romans 5:8 tells us that God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Now that’s real love. Bruno Mars sings about a girl he’s in love with, “I’ll catch a grenade for ya, throw my head on a blade for ya, jump in front of a train for ya,” but Jesus willingly gave his life so that the whole world might have everlasting life through his sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection.
  2. Love is Active: Not only is love REAL, but it is also ACTIVE. All you need to do is look at Paul’s description of love to discover that love is NOT a feeling, or an emotion; it is a verb, and it is active. Here is what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13: 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Now that doesn’t sound like an emotion or even a warm fuzzy feeling when she walks into the room.
  3. Love was Sent: Not only is love REAL, and ACTIVE, but it was also SENT to us from the Father. Did you notice that three times in three verses John mentions that Jesus was SENT? We know that Jesus was BORN into the world, that’s the essence of the incarnation; the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Children are BORN into the world, but John says Jesus was SENT; God had a mission from the beginning to reconcile all people to himself.
  4. Love was Sacrificed: So, love is REAL, it is ACTIVE, love was SENT, and it was also SACRIFICED. We may have asked the question at some point in our spiritual journey, “Why did Jesus have to die?” “Was there not some other way?” Look again at 1 John 4:9, it says, God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. His death was NOT an accident; it was intentional. A sinner’s greatest need is for life (according to Ephesians 2:1) because, without Christ we are dead in our sins. So, it is ironic that Christ had to die in order for us to have life. Second Corinthians 5:21 says, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

God is love. Have you really grasped the impact of that message? Have you embraced the love that God offers? Singer/songwriter, Chris Rice, understood this fact when he wrote a song called, Untitled Hymn, the first verse goes like this:

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

God is love, and his love allows us to be reconciled to the Father. John challenges us to love others because God so loved us anyway (1 John 4:11, 7). Remember we are not saved by loving Christ, or loving others, or being good (or believing that we’re better than the next guy). We are saved only by believing in Christ, trusting Christ, receiving Christ. Once we understand the magnitude of his sacrifice, our normal response must be to love God, and to love others. This is a spiritual transformation that takes our heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh.

Hey, let me bring this to a close, so I’m going to save the second part of this message (What Love Produces) for some another time. Right now, we need to focus on our relationship with God. In this passage, John tells us what love proves:

  1. Our love for God is proven by our love for one another: If we say that we love God, let’s evaluate our current relationships: spouse, kids, neighbors, co-workers, your boss… are we demonstrating an “I love you anyway” sort of love?
    1. If not, what personal changes do you need to make?
    2. Who do you need to go to, in order to reconcile a relationship?
    3. Who do you need to forgive and demonstrate the love of God?
  2. God’s love for us was proven by the sacrificial death of Christ:
    1. Do you not yet understand the magnitude of God’s love for you?
    2. Have you experienced God’s love first hand? Or have you just become familiar enough with a few Bible stories? Maybe your faith is really just second-hand, like people in your family believe, so maybe that covers you good enough. Don’t deceive yourself with poor theology.
    3. God wants to take all the scraps, the left over pieces of the broken dreams of your life, and all the junk, and make a great piece of art, a masterpiece that resembles the one who sacrificed himself so that you may have life.
    4. So, have you embraced the love of God and personally accepted Christ as your Savior? That was the reason he was sent, to take you from death into life, to save your soul, and give to you everlasting life that can start right now.
    5. Or perhaps you have been playing around with church just being close enough to be comfortable with God.

*The more we love God, the more we understand the love of God.
*The more we understand God’s love, the more we will love him and love others.

If you need to know more, or get things right with God, don’t delay. Don’t put it off another week.

If you need to receive Christ, I’m asking you to move out from where you are and come up toward the stage area and talk about getting right with God.

If you need to recommit yourself to Christ and begin demonstrating God’s love or get involved in God’s mission in this congregation, don’t leave this building the same as when you came in. It’s time to make a change.

If you have been debating on whether to join this church, what better time to unite with this congregation than right now? Get involved and connected to what God is doing in this place. He has created you for good works, acts of kindness and love, and for service within a local body of believers. Let the Love of God make something beautiful in your life.

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What Does God Want?

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It’s probably the most asked question in the early stages of our Christian experience. We understand the sacrifice of Christ, what he did on our behalf, and the question just comes out, “What do you want from me in return?” While our salvation is not based on our good works (Ephesians 2:8-9), God does have something for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). We are created for good works.

Perhaps we even offer to God some great sacrifice. The ascetics used to deny self to the extreme in order to appease God. Is that what God wants? Does he want me to be a missionary in Africa? Does he want me to sell all I have and give it to the poor? Does God want me to be in church every Sunday? Check out this verse:

“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony? Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting—they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. (Isaiah 1:11-13)

Wow, that hurts.

Maybe this image brings back memories. A small child pulls a variety of ingredients from the pantry and refrigerator (cereal, orange juice, potato chips, bread, ketchup, and other interesting choices) and blends them together in a bowl in hopes of surprising Mom with “dinner.” When Mom receives the “gift,” how do you think she’ll react? Despite the mess, both inside and outside the bowl, I’m sure she will express gratitude and joy, grateful for the sincere expression of love.

But what if the child missed the point and thought the gift was more important than the motive and attitude behind the giving? And what if the child continued to make similar presentations, year after year to Mom in hopes of appeasing her and earning her love? “It wouldn’t happen,” you answer. “Because the mother wouldn’t put up with it!”

Now look back at the Isaiah passage (Isaiah 1:11-13). God doesn’t sound very happy with the “gifts” of his people; because they had it all wrong! They had confused the animal sacrifices with the reason for making those sacrifices in the first place. So they worked hard at their religious works, and they missed the point. Did they really believe that God needed dead animals and blood? Didn’t they know that, instead, he wanted their hearts?

That’s the difference between “legalism” and “grace” and Christianity is all about grace. That’s why Jesus came to earth, to satisfy the demands of the law, to give himself as the ultimate sacrifice, to open the way for us to come directly to our Father (see John 3:16, 17, 18).

Yet, sadly, we often continue to mix our potions and religious ingredients and miss our reason for life, our Savior. Just like that loving mother, God is standing at the edge of the kitchen with arms wide open with an invitation: “Come to me, child. I want your love. I want your trust. All I really want is you.”

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Priorities in Marriage

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No one has it all together in their marriage. We are like pilgrims on a journey trying to figure out how to survive and thrive in this most important human relationship. The point is that God has called us to love our wives like Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25-26). The point is that it is quite difficult to love anyone else that much. Christ loved the church so much that he died for us all. You may also love your wife enough to die for her, but do you love her enough to live for her. That is the great challenge. That takes sacrifice.

Priorities and Unity:

Have you ever been at a place in your marriage where you and your wife were not aligned in your priorities? Maybe you wanted to focus on items 1, 3, and 5, but she thought items 2, 4, and 6 should be given higher priority. This can quickly begin a cycle of strife and stress that will not be resolved until root issues causing the division are dealt with.

I read recently that much marriage division is the result of DI-vision (meaning two visions). My vision is different from her vision. I see things from one perspective, and she sees them from another. I place greater importance on certain things, while she places higher importance on something else.

I have found that talking things through, thinking aloud together, and trying not to be overly defensive with “my position” can help. Men need to share “why” they feel a certain way about a matter, while she should try to see things from our perspective.

Doing this may not resolve differences in quickly, (but then again it might) so it’s worth trying. We also need to pray and seek Divine guidance in the areas of our division. There may be fears, insecurities, or other areas of sin that need to be confessed and corrected. It may help to get together with another couple you both respect and share with them the challenges you are facing in your marriage.

Honoring Your Wife:

Finally, we husbands are advised to honor our wives:

In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered (1 Peter 3:7).

Let’s not get sidetracked on the “weaker” comment, but notice that how you treat your wife will influence your spiritual life… like hinder your prayers!

If your marriage is challenging right now, is there any way in which you are not honoring your wife? Are you giving her the value that is due her as a woman, wife and mother?

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Reflecting on Valentine’s Day

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Today is Valentine’s Day. A young lady asked me at church yesterday if Valentine’s Day is for girls or for guys. I said I thought that it was for girls because they need to hear how much they are loved by the ones who love them. Men are rocks and don’t need to be on the receiving end of flowers, chocolates, cards and hearts. My wife and daughter are the treasured women in my life, so my goal is to let them know how much they are loved. But men also need to hear how much they are loved, in spite of their faults, failures and denials. I am reminded of the words of Jesus in Luke 6:27-36 regarding that we are to love our enemies. Here is the key portion of Scripture for me:

“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!” (Luke 6:32)

Valentine’s Day is a day set apart for celebrations of romantic love, but let me offer my thoughts on this passage that focuses on love.

The origins of this holiday are somewhat unsure. Several men named “Valentine” (Valentinus) were recognized as martyred saints by the church. One of these was buried near Rome on February 14. Medieval tradition held that this particular Valentine, a priest, was marrying Christian couples in a time when the Roman emperor prohibited young men from marrying. For this crime, he was arrested and killed by the Roman government. In recent times, an addition to this story claims that Valentine, before his death, sent a love note to a young girl whom he loved, signing it, “From your Valentine.”

Unfortunately, there is little reason to believe that any of the historical saints named Valentine actually did any of these actions that might be associated with romantic love. Apparently, the connection between St. Valentine and romance was popularized by Geoffrey Chaucer, the 14th-century English writer and poet. Later writers on the saints embellished Chaucer’s story, leaving us with the Christian saint who honored marriage and sent the first Valentine’s Day card.

I grew up hearing very little about St. Valentine. February 14 was simply a day when we did special things to express affection for our friends and family members. The “big event” happened at school, when we would exchange valentines with our classmates. As soon as I got home after school, I’d dump out my pile of valentines to see if any of them included special notes from any of the girls in my class or perhaps finding those little candy hearts.

At this point, you may be wondering what any of this has to do with Jesus’ call to love. Our Valentine’s Day traditions seem to be completely disconnected from what we read in Luke 6:32: “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them.”

Yet, in a way, my childhood Valentine’s Day practice did express love like that of Jesus. I did not give valentines only to my friends or to the girls I hoped would like me in return. My fellow students and I were expected to give valentines to every person in the class, including those whom we didn’t care for, those whom we judged to be “weird,” and those we might have considered to be our “enemies” on the playground. We even gave cards to the kids who did not participate. Ironically, our valentine exchange was more a reflection of the kind of love Jesus commends in Luke 6 than it was a celebration of exclusive, romantic love.

I think it’s fine to be reminded to express love to those who are most special to us. If Valentine’s Day encourages spouses to say “I love you” to each other and friends to celebrate their friendship, that’s great. Certainly the world would be a better place if people expressed their love more often. But Jesus encourages us to love, not just those who love us back, but also those who do not love us at all. We all have people in our lives, at work, in the store, perhaps even in our families or our church. Our calling, as followers of Jesus, is to love them and do good to them, not in order that they might respond, but so that we might live each day in obedience to our Savior who loves us.

God help us to express our love for those who are closest to us, but, even more pray that God help us to love others as he has loved us.

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The Discipleship Method of Jesus

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At King’s Grant, I am the Pastor of Discipleship. While not an expert on all matters of discipleship, I have a passion and goal for people to grow in their faith and relationship with Christ. I believe that all followers of Christ need to be FAT (faithful, available and teachable). If we are no longer learning, we fail to be a disciple. The vision of the discipleship ministry is to “move people toward higher levels of commitment to Christ and his church.”

We measure maturity a lot of different ways in our churches. Sometimes it’s measured by church attendance. Other times it’s measured by Bible knowledge. But the biblical evidence of maturity is fruit. (For a great study on what it means to bear fruit, check out the teaching of Bruce Wilkinson’s Secrets of the Vine). In Matthew 7:17-20 Jesus says, “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit, thus by their fruit you will recognize them.” Maturity is all about fruit. I like what Rick Warren has to say about authentic discipleship.

How many times have you heard that “God doesn’t expect us to be successful. He expects us to be faithful.” That’s only half true. The Bible makes it very clear that God expects far more than faithfulness. He also expects fruitfulness. This is taught all throughout the New Testament. Many people will be surprised when they get to heaven and God says, “You didn’t bear any fruit?” Remember, Jesus cursed the fig tree because it didn’t bear fruit (Mark 11:12-14)!

God expects fruitfulness in our lives, and he says it over and over and over again. But how do we help people bear spiritual fruit in their lives? How do we turn them into mature, mission-minded believers who minister to others? I’m not interested in the modern way, the postmodern way, the emergent way, the missional way, the seeker way, the charismatic way, or even the purpose driven way. I’m interested in how Jesus helped people become fruitful.

In Jesus’ prayer in John 17:4 he says, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” He hasn’t gone to the cross yet, so what work has he completed? It’s the finished work of Christ that most churches never understand – making disciples.

How did he finish the task? His prayer in John 17 tells us.

1. He led them to salvation: Jesus prayed, “For you granted him authority over all men that he might give eternal life to all those you have given to him” (John 17:2). This should be obvious. Discipleship begins with evangelism. Of course, we want to disciple people who are already Christians. But remember, Jesus started with lost people. We’ve got to win people to Christ before we can train them. The spiritual birth always precedes spiritual growth.

2. He taught them the Word: Jesus taught his disciples the Word of God. There is no spiritual growth that’s not based on God’s Holy Scripture. In John 17:8 Jesus prays, “For I gave them the words that you gave me and they accepted them.” And in John 17:14 he says, “I have given them your word.” The Word of God is the foundation for all discipleship. Want people to grow spiritually and be fruitful? Get them in the Word every day. Just sitting in church and listening to sermons won’t help people be as fruitful as getting them into the Word for themselves.

3. He prayed for them: To see people grow spiritually, we need to pray for them. Jesus said, “I pray for them. I’m not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours” (John 17:9). We need to pray with them and pray for them. Paul followed this example of Christ as well. In fact, he starts almost every letter in the New Testament he wrote with a prayer for the church.

4. He checked up on them: Jesus says, “While I was with them…” (John 17:12). We can’t disciple somebody that we’re not with. We’ve got to be with people if you want them to grow spiritually. We’re not going to be able to personally check up and mentor everyone, but our church needs a system of coaching, mentoring or discipling. We need small group leaders who will follow up on people. Jesus protected his disciples from false teaching and kept them from backsliding. He guarded them. At the end of his ministry on earth, he says “I haven’t lost a single one of them – except Judas to fulfill Scripture (John 17:12). If we want people to grow, we need some sort of accountability in our ministry.

5. He sent them on mission: Then Jesus says, “As you sent me into the world I have sent them into the world” (John 17:18). Who do we think are the most mature people at our church? Could it be the people who’ve gone overseas on mission. It changes people. When they come back, they’re not thinking about materialism or consumerism anymore. Once people have served around the world, it changes our value system. We care more about people overseas, and we care about people in your own community, too. These short-term missionaries have come back and loved the poor, and get involved in the lives of others. Now that’s maturity.

The goal of discipleship in any church must be ministry and mission. Maturity is never an end in itself. In fact, you can’t be mature until you’re ministering and living on mission. Jesus said “I didn’t come to be served. I came to serve and to give my life as a ransom” (Mark 10:45). The words give and serve define the Christian life. If we want people to be like Christ, teach them to give and serve.

6. He expected reproduction: We know he expected reproduction because in John 17:20 he says, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” He not only sent the disciples out into the world, but he implied that he’s expecting reproduction. Because they went out, there are nearly two billion people who claim the name of Christ around the world.

7. He focused on character: Jesus didn’t simply expand the knowledge, perspective, skills, or conviction of the disciples. He focused on their character. Spiritual maturity is about character and conduct, not just content. We don’t want to just fill up people’s minds with facts and figures. Paul says, “I want to present every man perfect in Christ” (Colossians 1:28). If people we’re training aren’t more like Jesus after we’ve worked together, we’ve missed the point.

8. He loved them: Jesus said, “You sent me and I have loved them as you have loved me” (John 17:23). This is so typical of Jesus. All that Jesus did for his disciples was in a spirit of love. We must love those we train. If we don’t love them, it doesn’t count. If we don’t have a sincere abiding love for the people in our church, then do you know what discipleship is? It’s manipulation. We’re just manipulating them toward a goal.

Sometimes we forget that Jesus is the best model we have when it comes to ministry. No one in the history of the world discipled people more effectively. Jesus was able to say at the end of his ministry that he had finished his work. I hope we can all say that as well.

LifeShape 3 the Triangle

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This information is not original with me, but from a fascinating book I found entitled, “The Passionate Church: The Art of Life-Changing Discipleship.” Since I am a visual learner, I have included my personally designed diagrams along with my own notes to help in my disciple-making and teaching efforts.

The three dimensions found in the triangle are necessary for us to live a balanced life.

He has shown you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you. To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. –Micah 6:8

To receive balance in our lives, we must experience fruitfulness in our ministry, relationship and spiritual walk. These are the three dimensions in the lifestyle of Jesus (Luke 6:12-19).

  1. Jesus got up – He went out to pray, nurturing the up relationship with his Father. Every time you pray, you are simply responding to God’s call to your heart.
  2. Jesus invited others in – He came back to call together his disciples. They were to be with Him, before He would send them out to preach (Mark 3:14). Life should come with a warning label: Do not Attempt This By Yourself.
  3. Jesus reached out – He never lost sight of the Father’s mission and vision, to reach out to a lost and dying world.

Two-Dimensional Churches:

  1. Up and Inners – lots of praise and worship, study of the Bible, and do a good job of building community; but people can come and go anonymously, and in the larger crowd people can attend without making commitments.
  2. Up and Outers – committed to the Upward and high regard for the Bible and prayer, also concerned with reaching outside of the walls of the church, lots of outreach, strong support of missions; but the Inward is lacking, small group ministry is more duty than desire, “we” is not as important as “they.”
  3. In and Outers – perhaps in older mainline denominations stressing incarnational ministry, with a heart for the cities, caring for the hurting and lost; prayer is more by rote rather than due to passion or personal petition, Scripture reading is part of the service format but not expounded.

Balancing our Relationships:

A culture of disconnection – fractured families, disenfranchised friends, independent individuals, reality TV that allows people to experience living together by proxy.

Jesus was not worried about being fair – many pastors keep their distance from their people so as to not play favorites. Jesus had three very close friends, the inner circle. What did the other nine think of this? Apparently Jesus did not care what they thought! What did the 72 think about the 12? He did not try to be fair.

Balancing outreach – we must get out of our comfort zones and find that uncomfortable balance.

We are to live out of purpose – how can we find our personal mission in life? The authors tell of a story about a man who put an ad in the paper that said, “Join me, send on passport-sized photo.” They eventually needed a reason for the movement, and the man came up with doing random acts of kindness every Friday.

Practice will get you into this rhythm of walking, and walking with God is the definition of a disciple.

Spiritual Weapons and Warfare

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We must remember that we cannot live the Christian life on our own and that the enemy will come at us with all he can to disable and distract the followers of Jesus. It is a spiritual battle that affects life in the real world. Stand strong and use your weapons.

Quotes:

Our authority comes out of who we are in Christ, and our capacity to intimidate the enemy comes out of our intimacy with God. — Graham Cooke

God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to permit no evil to exist. — St. Augustine of Hippo

Victory is the normal experience of a Christian; defeat should be the abnormal experience. — Watchman Nee

Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God. — Jim Elliot

Top 10 Weapons of Spiritual Warfare:

  1. Self-control and vigilance: Be of sober spirit, be on the alert Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8).
  2. Obedience: For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).
  3. Confidence and Perseverance: Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. (Hebrews 10:35-36).
  4. The Word of God: For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12).
  5. Justice: And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. (Revelation 19:11).
  6. Worship: Therefore urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2).
  7. Truth: Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, (Ephesians 6:14).
  8. Prayer: With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, (Ephesians 6:18).
  9. Faith: Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13).
  10. Love: “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (Matthew 5:44).

Expressing Passionate Faith

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Passion is generally defined as intense emotion; and when we have passion for God, we live differently than simply living a casual existence, just simply getting by. We develop purpose and meaning and direction. We are then motivated to serve because it is the right thing to do, not out of guilt or for any rewards or recognition that might come. Imagine pursuing God with the same passion we had for our wives, before we got married.

Quotes:

I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God. The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate. The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire. Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He waits to be wanted. Too bad that with many of us He waits so long, so very long, in vain. — C. S. Lewis

There is no emptiness of soul ever for those whose life is devoted to God. — William Lawson

Few delights can equal the mere presence of One whom we fully trust. — George McDonald

Top 10 Expressions of a Passionate Faith:

  1. Worship freely: let your body mirror your soul.
  2. Pray continually: speak with feeling and intensity.
  3. Share openly: Do not filter your spirituality around unbelievers.
  4. Live intentionally: fill every day with Kingdom content.
  5. Serve radically: lead your family into spiritual connection.
  6. Love deeply: love for and respond to people’s urgent needs.
  7. Listen carefully: take time to hear people’s true hearts.
  8. Protect vigilantly: know the enemy’s schemes and cut him off.
  9. Speak honestly: Don’t mask your soul in religious veneer.
  10. Rest thankfully: invest wisely in Sabbath renewal.

Loving When It’s Hard

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We are called to love God and love others as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39), and by our love all men will know that we are His disciples (John 13:35), and we are to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44), but sometimes it’s pretty difficult to do all this. Isn’t it great that God doesn’t leave us to do it on our own? He wants to live through us (Galatians 2:20).

Quotes:

Our love to God is measured by our everyday fellowship with others and the love it displays. — Andrew Murray

There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread. — Mother Teresa

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them? — Abraham Lincoln

Top 10 Ways to Love When It’s Hard:

  1. Pray regularly for that person, even if he feels like an enemy.
  2. Look for practical ways to serve him, even if he doesn’t know.
  3. Be available; time is the most precious gift you can offer.
  4. Take opportunities to honor and speak well of that one.
  5. Include him, when appropriate, in special activities.
  6. Sometimes a hug or brief touch can communicate what words cannot.
  7. Take the risk to share your heart with that person; be the real you.
  8. If possible, worship or pray together or in a small group.
  9. Journal your desire for God’s good in his life.
  10. Thank God for changing your thoughts about that person.

How to Avoid Burnout

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I’ve been studying the life of Paul over the past couple of months and wanted to pass on this information, perhaps you can relate:

Life is so busy these days, family, work, church, and we try to schedule a little time for leisure activities. As in any church, there is a large group of people who do a tremendous amount of volunteering. While many serve with joy, we can easily move toward burnout and lose that joy, forgetting the purpose we serve in the first place. I have discovered from Paul that the best time to deal with burnout is before you burnout. Take a look at Second Corinthians chapter four where Paul tells us how to go the distance.

Remember God’s mercy and don’t lose heart (2 Corinthians 4:1): God has given us our particular ministries. We don’t have to prove our worth through our ministry, and we don’t have to wallow in our mistakes. It is God who calls and gives us strength.

Be truthful and honest in all you do (2 Corinthians 4:2): Maintain our integrity because integrity produces power in life. Guilt zaps your energy. You need to finish with your character intact. Your integrity includes how you handle the Word of God. Don’t distort it or make it confusing. Don’t serve others out of guilt.

Be motivated to work for Jesus’ sake, not out of selfish desires (2 Corinthians 4:5): We need the right motivation to serve others. We have to start as servants and end as servants, not celebrities, like people can see all that we do for God. We need to learn to live our lives for an audience of one, and that one is Jesus Christ, our only motivation.

Realize that Christians are only human (2 Corinthians 4:7): We must accept our limitations. The quickest way to burn out is to try to be Superman. Humility is being honest about your weaknesses, and recognizing that we don’t need to do everything in order to be faithful. Pace yourself for the important things, not just the urgent things.

Develop a true love for others (2 Corinthians 4:15): Churches and believers thrive, grow, and survive when love is present. We must love the people we serve or we won’t last in the ministry God has for us. Love even covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).

Allow time for inward rejuvenation (2 Corinthians 4:16): Serving others can be hard and take a lot out of us, so it is important to allow the inner person to be renewed. Take time for reflection, solitude, reading and prayer.

Stay focused on the important things (2 Corinthians 4:17-18): Let’s keep our eyes on the goal, not the difficulties we might encounter. I’ve heard it said that only God who sees the invisible can achieve the impossible. To be a winner in this marathon of faithful service, we need trust God and press on even when things don’t make sense.

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