Progress Report- Give IT Your All

This past week my message revolved around the 180 degree turn King Josiah (2 Kings 22 & 23) made after he allowed the Truth found in the scriptures to transform his life.  Not only did this transform him as an individual, but Josiah also allowed it to transform his kingdom.  In fact, one of the greatest statements made about a person was written about Josiah….

Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.                        2 Kings 23:25 

There are 6 things that Josiah did with the Scriptures (the Bible of his time), which helped him to become such a remarkable leader of Israel.  For many of us, if we could do these same things with the teaching of the Bible, I believe, no I’m counting on God using the Truth found in the Bible to not only transform our lives but also our communities.

1) He FOUND It.   (2 Kings 22:10)    

On average, 85% of U.S. households own a Bible; the average number of Bibles per household is 4.3

Can you find your Bible?

2) He READ It.   (2 Kings 22:10)   

Well, actually someone read it to him.  The great thing about reading from the Bible yourself is that you can go at your own pace.  Yeah, it’s big, and for many of us it is the biggest book we’ve ever picked up to read.  But remember what they say about how to eat an elephant, ONE BITE AT A TIME.   Small portions are best!

3) He BELIEVED It.   (2 Kings 22:11)   

Josiah believed what he read… but that doesn’t mean that he understood all of what he read.  Some of us digest food at different rates that others.  The same is true of how quickly we understand passages from the Bible.

4) He PRAYED ON It.   (2 Kings 22:13)   

Seeking God for understanding and application of the Truth found in the Bible to our lives should be high on our priorities.

5) He COMMITED TO It.   (2 Kings 23:1-3)   

Living by the Truth found in the Bible takes commitment.  Especially when we don’t know where that Truth will lead us.  For many Christians, this is the area that they struggle with the most.

6) He LIVED It.   (2 Kings 23:4-24)   

Josiah was born and raised during a very confusing, dark, and evil time for those following God.  Many teachings by evil men had taken root in their culture to the point that human sacrifices were made outside of their city walls.  Male prostitutes live in the Temple of God.  Multiple false gods were sacrificed to and worshiped in the same Temple that was original built by King Solomon for the worship of the one TRUE God.  Once Josiah read from the Bible and realized that many things he and the people of Israel once believed to be true were in fact misrepresentations of the truth, he took immediate actions to change things.  For him and for those he was responsible for to lead. 

I know, I know, some of you reading this are saying.. “I know, I know…. I get it, I get it!  I’ve heard this all before.  For your information, I’m a believer of Jesus Christ.  I’ve skimmed through parts of the Bible, and I basically get the jest of it.  There’s no need for me to keep reading it over and over.  I GET IT!”

Well, take a look at this blog from Seth Godin about people who said “I GET IT”  

Blowing A Still: A Christian Progress Report

I recently read a great blog by Seth Godin called, “Sure, but that's not a plan”, that caused me to reflect on the “shortcuts to success” that people are spending so much time and energy searching for in hopes of achieving a dream, goal, or a solution to some problem or difficulty they are having (like financial struggles, relational dilemmas, weight or health issues, etc). 

For some, their “financial plan” to success is to continue to play the lottery, picking numbers from a “divine selection process” (meaning they pick numbers and pray that God will intercede and allow the balls to match their lotto picks).

Others pray that God will “bless this food to the nourishment of my body, and help me to reach my target weight goal”, as they bow their heads over their afternoon snack of Moon Pies and Cheetos. 

In my message Progress Report: Blowing A Still  at LifeSpring Church, I shared the BIG IDEA: Continuous steps in the right direction will get us to the right place over time.  This Big Idea is also known as “A PLAN”.

Periodically we need to “Blow A Still” in our lives and review our PLAN and our PROGRESS in working the PLAN.  (Blowing a Still is an old maritime expression still used in the Navy that calls for sailors undivided attention while pausing what they are doing and reflecting on (1) what am I doing, (2) what should I be doing (3) what adjustments do I need to make next (4) redeploy to that activity at the next strategic opportunity).

So, what would happen if Christians, the followers of Jesus, were to regularly “Blow a Still” in their spiritual lives and give themselves a PROGRESS REPORT on how well they are living out their PLAN to do the Great Commandment and Great Commission Jesus asks of us.

The Great Commandment Matthew 2:37-40

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The Great Commission Matthew 28:18-20

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

A Christian PROGRESS REPORT should contain

1)             Honest ASSESSMENT of your progress (answering the question “What am I doing?)

2)             Recast the VISION (answering the question “What am I suppose to be doing?)

3)             Course ADJUSTMENTS (answering the question “What do I need to change and do next?)

4)             Start to REDEPLOY (Begin again at the next strategic activity with your adjusted plan)

 Next week I will talk more of specifics you and I can do to help us improve our PLAN as well as systems and motivation to live into that PLAN.

What Does LOVE Require Of Me?

Recently, my messages for LifeSpring Church were based on a similar sermon series and small group study taught by Andy Stanley called Christian, It’s Not What You Think. 

         Over the last couple of weeks I’ve tried to raise the awareness of our congregation that “Christians” and “Disciples of Jesus” are not always the same thing.  I did this by placing an emphasis on Jesus’ teaching & His modeling of what many call The Great Commandment found in Matthew 22 with His followers (insiders) and others (outsiders), along with Jesus’ own definition of what the defining characteristic of His Disciples…

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”   John13:34-35

This past week, I concluded the message by challenging everyone to ask of themselves (at least once a day) …

WHAT DOES LOVE REQUIRE OF ME?

I have received several texts, emails, and I have even had multiple conversations with people who have been wrestling with this question since last Sunday’s message.  The comments range from

“I don’t know what love requires of me” to “I think I know, but don’t think I can do it”. This combined with other comments like “I don’t think I’m worthy to be a Disciple of Jesus”, “I love God, but struggle with loving others”, “thinking about what Love requires of me makes me very uncomfortable” leads me to believe that I have touched on a very important issue for many. 

Well I have good news for those of you who are struggling with this question! This Sunday, June 2^nd, I will give everyone the answer to this question.  The answer is based on what the Bible teaches and will be life altering for many people who hear it.  You do not want to miss this message.  If you are unable to attend personally, please visit our website and listen to the podcast or watch it online.  

Inside vs. Outside the Church

Hey Everybody,

I cannot BELIEVE what a Sunday we just had. Thank you SO much for coming out.

As a follow up, we posted this on our Facebook page to see our what type of responses we would get.

"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
1 Corinthians 5:12

How does this passage challenge your assumptions about what the Bible says regarding judging others? As Christians we have to hold ourselves accountable rather than judging nonbelievers.

 In response, I just wanted to give you guys my answer.

In this past Sunday’s message, I used 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, I also used 1 Corinthians 9:19-22, and connected them to John 13:34-35

I explained that when we Love one another as Jesus Loves, then we will be recognized as Disciples of Jesus. This type of love draws “outsiders” or “non believers” toward Jesus and encouraged “insiders” or “believers” to learn more of Jesus teachings and together with the encouragement and help of others, live them out daily.

I summed it up by saying…

Loving one another as Jesus loves means:

• Loves both Insiders and Outsiders
• Stop judging OUTSIDERS
• Hold Insiders ACCOUNTABLE

Too often, followers of Jesus do exactly what Paul chastised the Corinthians for doing—judging nonbelievers, while failing to hold themselves and other followers of Jesus accountable for their behavior.

It’s not a Christian’s job to judge the behavior of a nonbeliever.

In fact, followers of Jesus lose influence when they approach nonbelievers with anything but love.

When we connect this with Matthew 28:19-20, we find that Jesus commissioned us (His Disciples) to “go and make disciples…”. In other words, help “outsiders” become “insiders”.

Now, let’s clear this up here and now.

1) It’s not a disciples place to try and do the job of the Holy Spirit.
2) The Holy Spirit guides people toward the choice or decision to accept the Truth of Jesus or reject it (John Wesley would call this the Prevenient Grace of God.)
3) The Holy Spirit uses the actions of the Disciples, as well as many other ways, to accomplish this.
4) Just because the Holy Spirit works through the actions of a Disciple, it doesn’t make that Disciple the Holy Spirit… just an instrument of the Holy Spirit.

Once an “outsider” accepts the Truth of Jesus and becomes a believer, or “insider”
(John Wesley would call this the Justifying Grace of God),
then the Holy Spirit guides the “insiders” to learn and obey the things that Jesus taught… “Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you….”
(John Wesley would call this the Sanctifying Grace of God.)

When I read “teaching them to obey”, I feel this is the point where accountability comes in for Disciples.

Notice in the great commission that Jesus gives His Disciples, that it is only “AFTER” the outsider has been baptized into the body of believers, AKA “insiders”, that the “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” occurs.

You see, for the most part, Jesus is saying “I taught you 1st, you must teach them, but it won’t make sense to them and they won’t be able to fully give themselves to this way of living until they accept me as their Lord and Savior. Because once they accept me, then I will send them the Holy Spirit to help them in their efforts to obey my commands. And remember this, You are not alone, nor are they. I will be with you all, to the ends of the time. So what are you Disciples of mine waiting for….”

Your Pastor,
Dorsia

Text the Pastor Answers: Why did wars begin?

Recently during one of our worship services we decided that the sermon message would be based off of questions that our congregation "Texted to the Pastor". Because of time, I was not able to answer all the questions during the service, so over the next several weeks, I will be answering the ones I didn't get to in my blog. Some may be long answers, others shorter, but hopefully they will stimulate you to consider your own answers to these questions. So, here we go!

Why did wars begin?

Wars on earth are merely a result of (or an extension of) a war (battle/conflict) that occurred in heaven between Satan and God and continues today on earth.

In Revelation 12:7-12 we read about this war between Satan and God; between Satan and his angels (Satan’s followers) and God and his Angles (God’s followers, lead by Michael).

We see that this battle originally took place in heaven, with Michael winning this particular fight. Satan is overpowered and cast to earth (forced to retreat) with his followers.

Note:

1) Satan was not destroyed, simply caste out of heaven.

2) Satan didn’t change his ways, rather he just change the location of where the future battles would take place.

So, what caused this fight to begin in heaven in the first place? I mean its heaven, right? Everything is all good, streets of gold, peace & harmony, right?

If we take a look at Ezekiel 28: 14-17 we get what I think is a description of what the cause of this war was back then and it is still the cause of many wars today.

Satan was an “anointed cherub” who was in heaven “the holy mountain of God” and walked and moved about with God. He was “perfect in his ways from the day” he was created.

Note:

3) This does not mean that Satan was perfect on the inside…just at that point his actions were perfect.

It is then that there was an “iniquity found in” Satan. Whatever this “iniquity” was, it caused him to be “filled with violence” and led Satan to sin.

Note:

4) What was inside of Satan (the “iniquity”) took over Satan and began to drive his action, causing Satan to move form being “perfect in his ways” to sinning against God.

We then read that Satan was cast out of heaven “the mount of God”. Then in verse 17 we start to read about what might have been the “iniquity” that drove Satan to sin (and still drives many of us to sin…and is the cause of many of the wars that have ever been).

Satan’s heart became PROUD because of his 1) beauty 2) wisdom 3) splendor.

Note:

5) Other angels in heaven followed Satan into battle, so the Pride in Satan must have been contagious to some of those around him.

So, what was the source of Satan’s contagious pride that changed him and some of those around him? Let’s take a look at Isaiah 14: 12-15

Isaiah describes Satan’s down fall in verse12. Then in verses13 & 14 we see it. Isaiah describes the root of what was going on in Satan’s heart (the root of Satan’s pride).

Satan wanted to take over God’s throne in heaven!

Satan wanted to be like God.

In some warped way Satan thinks he can be God by defeating God. Satan, who hasn’t created anything, nor can create anything, is trying to destroy the Creator. Since that isn’t going to happen, Satan then turn to God’s creation (the cosmos… AKA: Earth, and its inhabitants… AKA: Humanity) and tries to get them to join him.

And when would Satan try to do this? … look at Genesis 3:1-19

Pay close attention to the actual temptation of Eve… it’s not the apple… the temptation is found in verse 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil”.

Up to this point, things were perfect; Adam and Eve’s actions were perfect (like Satan’s were at one time). But like Satan, something wasn’t right in the hearts of Adam and Eve, and Satan could see it (ever heard that phrase “it takes one to know one”? That phrase holds true here).

Satan tempted humanities heart with the same temptation that his heart yielded to…. wanting to be “like God”. And what sin did this cause? Disobedience to God. (not a good thing.) How things might be different with more self-discipline when it comes to temptations like this…

Guess what. Even though humanity was tempted into sinning against God, that still didn’t make Satan God. So, Satan’s focus turned to destroying the one and only heir of God, the one who would one day take over the throne of God… God’s one and only Son, Jesus the Christ.

Having said all that, I’m back to the original question… Why did wars begin?

Because humanity continues to succumb to the prime deception of Satan that one day some person (or group of people) might be in control of everything (like God is) and can implement their own will (how they want things to be) on all that they control.

So one side fights to do it their way… and another fights to stop it.

One side starts out defending something (like freedom or democracy, etc) only to fall to the temptation of becoming the Master of (Controller of, God of) freedom and democracy.

One side’s passionate fight for justice leads them down a slippery slope called pride, where they implode in the battle because they lose sight of why they went to war in the first place.

The internal urges to “be like God” (doing things “my way”) when unchecked by the self-discipline provided to those who love God and are guided by his Holy Spirit, to live and love as His one and only Son Jesus does, will always lead to wars and rumors of wars.

Hopes this helps.

Dorsia