This Sunday I am beginning a series on the Fruit of the Spirit. I'm going more in depth using the blog posts I've previously written as a base for the sermons. I'm then taking other parts of scripture show the affect it is to have on our lives.
This first Sunday the topic is "But the Fruit of the Spirit is..." I'm using Romans 6.1-14. As I have been reading my mind is trying to wrap itself around how big a deal baptism is. Back in the first century baptism wasn't an option, but an almost immediate action that took place after a person was saved. It was, and still is, the outward sign of the inward change. It was, and is, a public declaration that we no longer will live as slaves to sin, but as Children of God.
But I think we've lost the sense of urgency. Now we seem to focus on getting people saved and then walking with them through what that means, then once they grasp it we baptize them, months or possibly years later. Maybe we've got this backwards. Maybe that's why people walk away from the faith. They don't realize what they are getting into, they expect Jesus to fix everything and their lives will instantaneously be perfect, and when He doesn't come through like He's "supposed to" they leave.
Maybe our focus should be on better explaining everything that is involved with following Christ before people commit. It will take longer than the emotional response which may or may not be lasting, but the result is a relationship with a person who needs Christ, and an individual who knows exactly what they are accepting when they say "Jesus forgive me and be the Lord of my life."
Maybe when that happens baptism will become a more common thing. I think back to the last six years, and I can think of four baptism services that I have witnessed. In six years I have only seen four baptism services!
Baptism isn't an option. Jesus commanded it, "Baptising them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Baptism doesn't save us from our sins, only the forgiveness of the Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ does that. But through baptism we publicly declare that Jesus is the Lord of life. That life is dedicated to the glory of God and the building of the Kingdom.
Peace be with you
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
He is Risen
It was early morning, and she was tired. The last few nights hadn’t yielded much sleep. Every time she closed her eyes the scenes of Friday vividly filled her mind. The reality still hadn’t sunk in, He was gone. She, along with so many others, had thought He was the Messiah, yet now He was dead, killed by the Romans because of the high priest. He was so kind, so gentle, so loving, and yet they had brutally beaten Him. He hadn’t deserved that. He had healed so many, done so much good, He had freed her from demons, but she had watched those demons crucify him. Sadly she couldn’t save Him the way He had saved her, but she had stayed at His side through all of it. That was the least she could do. Now she would go and do the final thing she could, anoint His broken body so that he could have a proper burial, her final act of respect.
It was still dark when she got to the garden where the tomb was located. There was no one there, the guards were gone, where had they gone? Why had they left their post? It didn’t matter, at least now no one would try to stop her from anointing Him, but how would she get in without their help to move the stone? But as she approached she saw that the stone had already been moved, the tomb was open! She raced to the doorway and looked inside. He was gone, His body wasn’t in the tomb where it had been placed just three days ago. The linen that had covered His body was there, an empty wrinkled cloth laying where His body had been placed. Anger and sadness filled her mind. Who had taken Him? Where? Why? Hadn’t they already done enough? Why couldn’t they just leave Him alone to rest in peace? She had to find Him, she had to return His body to its resting place. She couldn’t do it alone though, she needed help.
She ran back to the city as fast as she could. She had to find the disciples, they needed to know, and they were the only ones who would care to find Him. They would hopefully know what to do. She got to the place they were staying and threw herself against the door pounding on it. No one answered. Again she pounded on the door, and again no one answered. Gasping for breath she called out his name, “Peter!” She heard footsteps inside, slowly the door was unlatched, as it opened she fell forward. Peter caught her, as John closed the door. Through tears and panting she told them what had happened. The stone was moved, the body was gone.
Immediately Peter and John ran out the door, headed for the garden; leaving her to catch her breath, but she couldn’t rest, not until she knew where He was. She got up and began to run back to the tomb. Her bare feet beat against the hard stone streets, her broken heart pounded in her chest. Her legs ached, but she forced them to keep going. Her lungs burned, but she kept running. Back to the tomb.
She entered the garden and saw John standing in the entrance of the tomb looking in, but Peter was standing inside where His body had been placed. He saw the linen He had been wrapped in, he held it in his hand. She went to stand next to John but as she approached he entered the tomb and stood with Peter. He placed his hand on his shoulder and whispered something to him. Peter dropped the cloth and turned to stare at John, his mouth dropped open. They stood there silent for a moment and then turned and walked out of the tomb headed back to Jerusalem, neither one of them speaking, but something about them was different now. What was it?
She stood there, once again alone. The sun was just beginning to break the horizon. In the silence the past began to flood her mind. She thought back to her time in Magdala, when she had been the prisoner of seven demons. She had been an outcast. No one would speak to her, those who looked at her were either terrified or scornful. The only thing anyone would give her were the rocks they threw to drive her away. No one had hugged her in so long that she couldn’t even remember what an embrace felt like. Not until Him.
That day her life had been changed. He had seen her not as a demon possessed outcast, but as a woman who needed help, and the freedom only He could give. He reached out and took her hand. The demons had resisted, they screamed as they tried to pull away from Him, but they were no match for His strong hands or the authority of His voice. He commanded them to release her. She remembered the feeling when they left, all of the strength and energy had been sucked out of her, she collapsed, but then she had been lifted. He gently pulled her to her feet and wrapped His powerful yet gentle arms around her, hugging her, the first gesture of love she had experienced in years. Her tears soaked his robe as He whispered in her ear, “Daughter, it’s over, you are free.”
As it all came back the tears began to flow down her cheeks again. She knelt to look in the tomb one more time. Peter and John had come out of it different. Maybe they had seen something. Maybe if she looked again this time she would see it. As she stared at the stone walls suddenly two angels where there sitting where He had been, one at the head and the other at the feet. She heard them ask, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Did they not know where they were, or what had happened? How could they not know? “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him” she responded, and the tears fell heavier.
She turned to walk back to the city, she would find no answers and no peace here. But as she began to walk a man stood on the path before her. He, like the angels in the tomb asked, “Why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” He must be the gardener, who else would be here this early. Maybe he had moved Him for some reason, maybe he knew where He was.
She turned away from him, sobbing still, and through the tears she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will go and get Him.” She simply prayed that he would know, prayed that he would tell her. “Mary!” was His reply. That voice, she knew that voice, it was Him, but how? She had watched them crucify Him. She had seen Him die. She had seen them place Him in the tomb and seal it. “Teacher!” she exclaimed as she turned to look at His face, she hugged Him. She had so many questions, but at the moment she simply hugged Him and cried tears of joy, just as she had three years ago when they first met.
“Mary, you must stop clinging to Me. I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My disciples and tell them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.” He vanished from her presence, but she knew she had seen Him. She had hugged Him. She knew He was alive. There was peace, there was joy. She laughed as she got up and began to sprint back to Jerusalem. Her legs had been strengthened, and her lungs were full of breath as she proclaimed, “He’s alive!”
She ran to the disciples, though joyous laughter she exclaimed to them, “I have seen the Lord! He is alive!” She told them everything that He had said to her. “He is alive!”
Her story has been told for close to 2,000 years and everywhere her story is shared, her message is proclaimed, “Jesus has overcome, and the grave is overwhelmed! The victory is won, He is risen from the dead!” The tomb is empty and He is ALIVE! Glory to God
It was still dark when she got to the garden where the tomb was located. There was no one there, the guards were gone, where had they gone? Why had they left their post? It didn’t matter, at least now no one would try to stop her from anointing Him, but how would she get in without their help to move the stone? But as she approached she saw that the stone had already been moved, the tomb was open! She raced to the doorway and looked inside. He was gone, His body wasn’t in the tomb where it had been placed just three days ago. The linen that had covered His body was there, an empty wrinkled cloth laying where His body had been placed. Anger and sadness filled her mind. Who had taken Him? Where? Why? Hadn’t they already done enough? Why couldn’t they just leave Him alone to rest in peace? She had to find Him, she had to return His body to its resting place. She couldn’t do it alone though, she needed help.
She ran back to the city as fast as she could. She had to find the disciples, they needed to know, and they were the only ones who would care to find Him. They would hopefully know what to do. She got to the place they were staying and threw herself against the door pounding on it. No one answered. Again she pounded on the door, and again no one answered. Gasping for breath she called out his name, “Peter!” She heard footsteps inside, slowly the door was unlatched, as it opened she fell forward. Peter caught her, as John closed the door. Through tears and panting she told them what had happened. The stone was moved, the body was gone.
Immediately Peter and John ran out the door, headed for the garden; leaving her to catch her breath, but she couldn’t rest, not until she knew where He was. She got up and began to run back to the tomb. Her bare feet beat against the hard stone streets, her broken heart pounded in her chest. Her legs ached, but she forced them to keep going. Her lungs burned, but she kept running. Back to the tomb.
She entered the garden and saw John standing in the entrance of the tomb looking in, but Peter was standing inside where His body had been placed. He saw the linen He had been wrapped in, he held it in his hand. She went to stand next to John but as she approached he entered the tomb and stood with Peter. He placed his hand on his shoulder and whispered something to him. Peter dropped the cloth and turned to stare at John, his mouth dropped open. They stood there silent for a moment and then turned and walked out of the tomb headed back to Jerusalem, neither one of them speaking, but something about them was different now. What was it?
She stood there, once again alone. The sun was just beginning to break the horizon. In the silence the past began to flood her mind. She thought back to her time in Magdala, when she had been the prisoner of seven demons. She had been an outcast. No one would speak to her, those who looked at her were either terrified or scornful. The only thing anyone would give her were the rocks they threw to drive her away. No one had hugged her in so long that she couldn’t even remember what an embrace felt like. Not until Him.
That day her life had been changed. He had seen her not as a demon possessed outcast, but as a woman who needed help, and the freedom only He could give. He reached out and took her hand. The demons had resisted, they screamed as they tried to pull away from Him, but they were no match for His strong hands or the authority of His voice. He commanded them to release her. She remembered the feeling when they left, all of the strength and energy had been sucked out of her, she collapsed, but then she had been lifted. He gently pulled her to her feet and wrapped His powerful yet gentle arms around her, hugging her, the first gesture of love she had experienced in years. Her tears soaked his robe as He whispered in her ear, “Daughter, it’s over, you are free.”
As it all came back the tears began to flow down her cheeks again. She knelt to look in the tomb one more time. Peter and John had come out of it different. Maybe they had seen something. Maybe if she looked again this time she would see it. As she stared at the stone walls suddenly two angels where there sitting where He had been, one at the head and the other at the feet. She heard them ask, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Did they not know where they were, or what had happened? How could they not know? “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him” she responded, and the tears fell heavier.
She turned to walk back to the city, she would find no answers and no peace here. But as she began to walk a man stood on the path before her. He, like the angels in the tomb asked, “Why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” He must be the gardener, who else would be here this early. Maybe he had moved Him for some reason, maybe he knew where He was.
She turned away from him, sobbing still, and through the tears she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will go and get Him.” She simply prayed that he would know, prayed that he would tell her. “Mary!” was His reply. That voice, she knew that voice, it was Him, but how? She had watched them crucify Him. She had seen Him die. She had seen them place Him in the tomb and seal it. “Teacher!” she exclaimed as she turned to look at His face, she hugged Him. She had so many questions, but at the moment she simply hugged Him and cried tears of joy, just as she had three years ago when they first met.
“Mary, you must stop clinging to Me. I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My disciples and tell them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.” He vanished from her presence, but she knew she had seen Him. She had hugged Him. She knew He was alive. There was peace, there was joy. She laughed as she got up and began to sprint back to Jerusalem. Her legs had been strengthened, and her lungs were full of breath as she proclaimed, “He’s alive!”
She ran to the disciples, though joyous laughter she exclaimed to them, “I have seen the Lord! He is alive!” She told them everything that He had said to her. “He is alive!”
Her story has been told for close to 2,000 years and everywhere her story is shared, her message is proclaimed, “Jesus has overcome, and the grave is overwhelmed! The victory is won, He is risen from the dead!” The tomb is empty and He is ALIVE! Glory to God
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Turn The Page
At this moment I'm sitting in my office at the Nazarene Church in Canal Fulton, Ohio. I'm a senior pastor now, and the thing that is continuously running through my mind is "What the heck have I gotten myself into?" Nothing has even started yet. Only the church board knows I'm in the office today, the rest of the church is waiting for Sunday, oh yeah, Easter is my first Sunday in the pulpit as senior pastor.
It's fitting really, and honestly when I started this whole process I was really hoping it would work out for Easter to be the first Sunday. It's the most important day in History, the day that sin death and hell were finally defeated. It's a day of celebration, of life, of hope.
It'a exciting, and absolutely terrifying. I am now responsible for the spiritual leadership of a group of people. I'm just a 24 year old kid who has no idea what he's doing and most of the time just makes it up as he goes. But honestly I think that's kind of how it should be.
Today as I got to the church, I went to the sanctuary and got in a position I haven't been in for a while. I laid down on my back and simply surrendered to God. I believe the first words out of my mouth were, "Oh boy."
As the pages of my story now turn to this next chapter I have to remember a few things. First is that none of this is up to me, the success or failure here is not going to be determined by me. It's all up to God, so that should really take a ton of pressure off. I've written before about Robin Mark's song, "When it's all been said and done" and really that's what it comes down to, "God while I'm here help me simply to do the best I can to live for truth and to live for you."
Secondly, I need to remember the encouragement of friends, mentors, and professors. A few weeks ago I was given the greatest compliment of my life by one of my professors. In the last few weeks I've talked with my mentors about me feelings and they have given me nothing but encouragement. Friends have poured reassurance into my life. With all of that the prayer is one my mentor Doug shared with me, "God make me the man everyone else already sees me to be."
Third, remember my training, both in school and in the field. I have been prepared for this by some of the greatest pastors who have ever lived. I have seen what to do and what not to do, the way to lead and how not to. And honestly this is simply another opportunity to learn. This is simply another gauntlet to prepare me for whatever the plan is.
And finally, I'm not in this alone. God brought me here, and He isn't leaving. My mentor Doug has already told me that he is walking with me through this first year. My professors are simply an email away. Family and friends are close by.
I close with the words of Jabez, "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!" (NASB)
Peace be with you
It's fitting really, and honestly when I started this whole process I was really hoping it would work out for Easter to be the first Sunday. It's the most important day in History, the day that sin death and hell were finally defeated. It's a day of celebration, of life, of hope.
It'a exciting, and absolutely terrifying. I am now responsible for the spiritual leadership of a group of people. I'm just a 24 year old kid who has no idea what he's doing and most of the time just makes it up as he goes. But honestly I think that's kind of how it should be.
Today as I got to the church, I went to the sanctuary and got in a position I haven't been in for a while. I laid down on my back and simply surrendered to God. I believe the first words out of my mouth were, "Oh boy."
As the pages of my story now turn to this next chapter I have to remember a few things. First is that none of this is up to me, the success or failure here is not going to be determined by me. It's all up to God, so that should really take a ton of pressure off. I've written before about Robin Mark's song, "When it's all been said and done" and really that's what it comes down to, "God while I'm here help me simply to do the best I can to live for truth and to live for you."
Secondly, I need to remember the encouragement of friends, mentors, and professors. A few weeks ago I was given the greatest compliment of my life by one of my professors. In the last few weeks I've talked with my mentors about me feelings and they have given me nothing but encouragement. Friends have poured reassurance into my life. With all of that the prayer is one my mentor Doug shared with me, "God make me the man everyone else already sees me to be."
Third, remember my training, both in school and in the field. I have been prepared for this by some of the greatest pastors who have ever lived. I have seen what to do and what not to do, the way to lead and how not to. And honestly this is simply another opportunity to learn. This is simply another gauntlet to prepare me for whatever the plan is.
And finally, I'm not in this alone. God brought me here, and He isn't leaving. My mentor Doug has already told me that he is walking with me through this first year. My professors are simply an email away. Family and friends are close by.
I close with the words of Jabez, "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!" (NASB)
Peace be with you
Friday, April 1, 2011
Mission Statement
This is a sermon I'm using this Sunday at a church I am interviewing to be the senior pastor at. It is a combination and expansion of a few blogs I've written. This is my mission statement.
Mission Statement
All businesses, Schools, Organizations, and Churches have something in common, a mission, something they strive to accomplish. The mission statement for Nike is, “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” Ford motor company is, “We are a global family with a proud heritage passionately committed to providing personal mobility for people around the world.” Microsoft, “At Microsoft, we work to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential. This is our mission. Everything we do reflects this mission and the values that make it possible.” These statements tell what the aim of the company is, it tells what the company wants to accomplish with the products and services they provide. It tells why the company exists. Over the last year I’ve developed a mission statement for my own life, they reason why I do what I do, the goal I try to accomplish. It can be summed up in four words. LIVE, PREACH, GLORIFY, LOVE.
LIVE
Galatians 5.16-18, 22-25, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law... But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”
Live in the Spirit. The very first verse of Galatians 5 declares, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” The freedom we are given is not the freedom to indulge in any pleasures that we desire, it isn’t a freedom to live as we please, but it is freedom from slavery to sin, from the lower life of corruption. Christ has set us free to live the life He has called us to live, the life He desires for us to live. We are set free from sin, and empowered to walk with the Spirit.
He outlines the things of the flesh, the things that we are enslaved to apart from God, and he says that those who practice these things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Apart from God, there is no real life. At the moment we accept Jesus into our lives as our Lord and Savior, we are no longer slaves to sin, but rather we are children of God. We are no longer to live in sin, but in the Spirit. And that life is completely opposite.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, this is the fruit of the Spirit. These are the characteristics that are to fill the life of the Christ follower. Love, seeks the best for everyone, even our enemies. Joy, the reason to rejoice even in the midst of fear or uncertainty. Peace, contentment and satisfaction, serenity not anxiety. Patience, the ability to endure trial and hardship without complaining or retaliation. Kindness, accepting and welcoming, goodness expressed through action. Goodness, moral excellence, striving to be like God in character and action. Faithfulness, being trustworthy and reliable, dependable. Gentleness, being humble, teachable, and considerate. Self-Control, being in control of you motives and actions, with the help of God, so that you can be a servant to others.
When we accept Jesus, we accept His freedom; we receive the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. We live in this power and presence. These things are evident in our lives. Paul says in Philippians 2.15, “so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,” The first part of the mission statement of life has to be to live in the Spirit. If the way you live your life doesn’t reflect Christ, then nothing else matters. It all begins here. Live in the Spirit.
PREACH
Jesus gives a command in Matthew 28, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…teaching them to observe everything that I commanded you;” We are commanded to proclaim the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, not just through how we live our lives, though that is the most important way, but also through our words. Live in the Spirit, Preach the Gospel of Jesus.
2 Timothy 4.1-5, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
Paul starts by saying Christ is the judge, and one day everything we do will be judged by Christ. Therefore everything must be done so that it can be offered to Christ. Our lives need to be fit to be offered to Christ. So he begins by saying to live in the Spirit. Seek nothing but the will of God and long only to hear Christ say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
We are to preach the word, the Gospel of Jesus. It is urgent that this message is proclaimed, because it literally is a matter of life and death. Proclaiming the Gospel is an essential part of the mission. The message has to be proclaimed, but at the same time it must be done with gentleness and respect. We must meet people where they are.
The Gospel will show sin to be sin, the message and the Spirit will convict. We must be willing to give words of warning and correction when they are needed and as the Spirit guides us. But we must also offer encouragement we must give hope. The message of Jesus is ultimately the message of hope, life, and love.
There will be times when people have no desire to listen to the truth. People seek what they want to hear. When Paul wrote this there were men who would go from city to city and teach whatever people wanted to hear as long as they were paid for it. I think this happens today not only in the secular world, but also in some churches. Pastors don’t want to step on people’s toes so they water down the message to give people what they want, so they stay happy and keep tithing. That isn’t the call, that’s not the mission. “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
Be sober, look at things clearly and see them for what they are. Don’t get sucked into trends stand firm on the truth. It won’t always be easy, but we are to endure hardships and pay the price. The call is to do the work of an evangelist, to proclaim the Good News. We are to fulfill the ministry; we are to build the Kingdom of God. Preach the Gospel of Jesus.
GLORIFY
Live in the Spirit, Preach the Gospel of Jesus, and when we do these we will Glorify the Father. We serve a Triune God, a God with three parts. God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. Each one of these members plays an active part in our lives.
Philippians 2.5-11, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Here we see that everything is to be done to the glory of God the Father. Jesus Himself, who was God, does not regard it as something to be embraced, but empties Himself in order to point everyone to God. God is supreme, 1 Corinthians 15.28, “When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.” Jesus draws people to Himself in order to draw them to God. God’s will is for everyone to declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, one day it will happen; but His greatest desire is for every person to submit willingly to the Lordship of Jesus.
The will of God is for us to submit to Christ so that we may become like Christ. Jesus entire mission was not to focus people’s attention on Himself, but on God. That is why He came as a servant; that is why He went to death, to give glory to God. This is the attitude that we as Christ followers are to have. Not to attain glory and honor for ourselves, but to give God the glory that He alone is worthy of. Our lives are supposed to point others to God, not to draw them to ourselves. Jesus did everything to the Glory of God the Father. We are to Live in the Spirit, to be empowered to Preach the Gospel of Jesus, in order that we may Glorify the God the Father. But there is one more essential part, without this next piece all of these would be meaningless.
LOVE
Live, Preach, Glorify, Love. In Matthew 22.37-40 Jesus says, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Jesus says the most important thing is to love. First we are to love God, everything begins here. In love we commit our lives fully to God. This love for God dominates our lives. It consumes our emotions and guides our thoughts and actions. Love for God is the first and most important thing for us to do.
The second most important thing is for us to love each other. Our love for God will bring us to love others, and in order to really love God we must love others, 1 John 4.20 “If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. “ But again our love for God is primary more important, 1 John 4.19, “We love, because He first loved us.” 1 John is an incredible passage about love. Love God, then love others, because only when we love God are we able to really love others. Only when we know who love is are we able to give love away.
Jesus says that all the law and the prophets hang on these two things. Think about it, if I really love God then I won’t worship an idol, I won’t have anything before God, I won’t miss use His name, I will keep His day Holy. If I really love people I won’t steal, murder, covet, lie, violate a marriage, dishonor my parents. That is the law. The prophets came to communicate God to the people, a lot of the time the prophets came to call the people back to God, back into a loving relationship with God because they had forgotten or ignored God.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says that three things remain: faith, hope, and love. Love is the greatest because love lasts forever. In eternity hope ends, we don’t need hope anymore because we will be able to see the face of God. In Heaven we no longer need faith because we will be in the very presence of God, but Love remains for all eternity, because God is love.
1 Corinthians 13.1-3, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”
If I don’t love, it doesn’t matter how I live my life, without love it profits me nothing. We looked at the fruit of the Spirit, the first part of that is Love. Without love it is impossible to live in the Spirit. It doesn’t matter what sermon I preach, it doesn’t matter how well I can speak, without love the words are meaningless. The message of Jesus is love, so if I don’t have love I can’t proclaim the Gospel, the good news, of Jesus. 1 John 4.8, “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” If I don’t have love, the Bible says I don’t even know God, if I don’t know Him how can I glorify Him?
“Our work must be such that it will stand the scrutiny of Christ. Our lives must be such that they will welcome the appearance of the King. Our service must be such that it will demonstrate the reality of our citizenship of the Kingdome of God.” LIVE, PREACH, GLORIFY, LOVE. Let’s pray.
Benediction:
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
(-1 Thessalonians 5.23-24)
Peace be with you.
Mission Statement
All businesses, Schools, Organizations, and Churches have something in common, a mission, something they strive to accomplish. The mission statement for Nike is, “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” Ford motor company is, “We are a global family with a proud heritage passionately committed to providing personal mobility for people around the world.” Microsoft, “At Microsoft, we work to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential. This is our mission. Everything we do reflects this mission and the values that make it possible.” These statements tell what the aim of the company is, it tells what the company wants to accomplish with the products and services they provide. It tells why the company exists. Over the last year I’ve developed a mission statement for my own life, they reason why I do what I do, the goal I try to accomplish. It can be summed up in four words. LIVE, PREACH, GLORIFY, LOVE.
LIVE
Galatians 5.16-18, 22-25, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law... But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”
Live in the Spirit. The very first verse of Galatians 5 declares, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” The freedom we are given is not the freedom to indulge in any pleasures that we desire, it isn’t a freedom to live as we please, but it is freedom from slavery to sin, from the lower life of corruption. Christ has set us free to live the life He has called us to live, the life He desires for us to live. We are set free from sin, and empowered to walk with the Spirit.
He outlines the things of the flesh, the things that we are enslaved to apart from God, and he says that those who practice these things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Apart from God, there is no real life. At the moment we accept Jesus into our lives as our Lord and Savior, we are no longer slaves to sin, but rather we are children of God. We are no longer to live in sin, but in the Spirit. And that life is completely opposite.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, this is the fruit of the Spirit. These are the characteristics that are to fill the life of the Christ follower. Love, seeks the best for everyone, even our enemies. Joy, the reason to rejoice even in the midst of fear or uncertainty. Peace, contentment and satisfaction, serenity not anxiety. Patience, the ability to endure trial and hardship without complaining or retaliation. Kindness, accepting and welcoming, goodness expressed through action. Goodness, moral excellence, striving to be like God in character and action. Faithfulness, being trustworthy and reliable, dependable. Gentleness, being humble, teachable, and considerate. Self-Control, being in control of you motives and actions, with the help of God, so that you can be a servant to others.
When we accept Jesus, we accept His freedom; we receive the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. We live in this power and presence. These things are evident in our lives. Paul says in Philippians 2.15, “so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,” The first part of the mission statement of life has to be to live in the Spirit. If the way you live your life doesn’t reflect Christ, then nothing else matters. It all begins here. Live in the Spirit.
PREACH
Jesus gives a command in Matthew 28, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…teaching them to observe everything that I commanded you;” We are commanded to proclaim the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, not just through how we live our lives, though that is the most important way, but also through our words. Live in the Spirit, Preach the Gospel of Jesus.
2 Timothy 4.1-5, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
Paul starts by saying Christ is the judge, and one day everything we do will be judged by Christ. Therefore everything must be done so that it can be offered to Christ. Our lives need to be fit to be offered to Christ. So he begins by saying to live in the Spirit. Seek nothing but the will of God and long only to hear Christ say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
We are to preach the word, the Gospel of Jesus. It is urgent that this message is proclaimed, because it literally is a matter of life and death. Proclaiming the Gospel is an essential part of the mission. The message has to be proclaimed, but at the same time it must be done with gentleness and respect. We must meet people where they are.
The Gospel will show sin to be sin, the message and the Spirit will convict. We must be willing to give words of warning and correction when they are needed and as the Spirit guides us. But we must also offer encouragement we must give hope. The message of Jesus is ultimately the message of hope, life, and love.
There will be times when people have no desire to listen to the truth. People seek what they want to hear. When Paul wrote this there were men who would go from city to city and teach whatever people wanted to hear as long as they were paid for it. I think this happens today not only in the secular world, but also in some churches. Pastors don’t want to step on people’s toes so they water down the message to give people what they want, so they stay happy and keep tithing. That isn’t the call, that’s not the mission. “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
Be sober, look at things clearly and see them for what they are. Don’t get sucked into trends stand firm on the truth. It won’t always be easy, but we are to endure hardships and pay the price. The call is to do the work of an evangelist, to proclaim the Good News. We are to fulfill the ministry; we are to build the Kingdom of God. Preach the Gospel of Jesus.
GLORIFY
Live in the Spirit, Preach the Gospel of Jesus, and when we do these we will Glorify the Father. We serve a Triune God, a God with three parts. God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. Each one of these members plays an active part in our lives.
Philippians 2.5-11, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Here we see that everything is to be done to the glory of God the Father. Jesus Himself, who was God, does not regard it as something to be embraced, but empties Himself in order to point everyone to God. God is supreme, 1 Corinthians 15.28, “When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.” Jesus draws people to Himself in order to draw them to God. God’s will is for everyone to declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, one day it will happen; but His greatest desire is for every person to submit willingly to the Lordship of Jesus.
The will of God is for us to submit to Christ so that we may become like Christ. Jesus entire mission was not to focus people’s attention on Himself, but on God. That is why He came as a servant; that is why He went to death, to give glory to God. This is the attitude that we as Christ followers are to have. Not to attain glory and honor for ourselves, but to give God the glory that He alone is worthy of. Our lives are supposed to point others to God, not to draw them to ourselves. Jesus did everything to the Glory of God the Father. We are to Live in the Spirit, to be empowered to Preach the Gospel of Jesus, in order that we may Glorify the God the Father. But there is one more essential part, without this next piece all of these would be meaningless.
LOVE
Live, Preach, Glorify, Love. In Matthew 22.37-40 Jesus says, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Jesus says the most important thing is to love. First we are to love God, everything begins here. In love we commit our lives fully to God. This love for God dominates our lives. It consumes our emotions and guides our thoughts and actions. Love for God is the first and most important thing for us to do.
The second most important thing is for us to love each other. Our love for God will bring us to love others, and in order to really love God we must love others, 1 John 4.20 “If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. “ But again our love for God is primary more important, 1 John 4.19, “We love, because He first loved us.” 1 John is an incredible passage about love. Love God, then love others, because only when we love God are we able to really love others. Only when we know who love is are we able to give love away.
Jesus says that all the law and the prophets hang on these two things. Think about it, if I really love God then I won’t worship an idol, I won’t have anything before God, I won’t miss use His name, I will keep His day Holy. If I really love people I won’t steal, murder, covet, lie, violate a marriage, dishonor my parents. That is the law. The prophets came to communicate God to the people, a lot of the time the prophets came to call the people back to God, back into a loving relationship with God because they had forgotten or ignored God.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says that three things remain: faith, hope, and love. Love is the greatest because love lasts forever. In eternity hope ends, we don’t need hope anymore because we will be able to see the face of God. In Heaven we no longer need faith because we will be in the very presence of God, but Love remains for all eternity, because God is love.
1 Corinthians 13.1-3, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”
If I don’t love, it doesn’t matter how I live my life, without love it profits me nothing. We looked at the fruit of the Spirit, the first part of that is Love. Without love it is impossible to live in the Spirit. It doesn’t matter what sermon I preach, it doesn’t matter how well I can speak, without love the words are meaningless. The message of Jesus is love, so if I don’t have love I can’t proclaim the Gospel, the good news, of Jesus. 1 John 4.8, “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” If I don’t have love, the Bible says I don’t even know God, if I don’t know Him how can I glorify Him?
“Our work must be such that it will stand the scrutiny of Christ. Our lives must be such that they will welcome the appearance of the King. Our service must be such that it will demonstrate the reality of our citizenship of the Kingdome of God.” LIVE, PREACH, GLORIFY, LOVE. Let’s pray.
Benediction:
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
(-1 Thessalonians 5.23-24)
Peace be with you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)