'SHIP 004

'SHIP 004

Obedience.  Where do I start?
How about here?

Psalm 51:17 ESV
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. "broken"  Heb. "sabar" = crushed, maimed, crippled, crushed, burst
"contrite"  Heb. "daka" = crushed, broken, sore
"despise"  Heb. "baza" = hold in contempt or worthless

Luke 18:9-14 ESV
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: [10] "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' [13] But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' [14] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

Any quesitons?

Luke 7:2-4, 6-10 ESV
Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. [3] When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. [4] And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, [6] And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. [7] Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. [8] For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." [9] When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." [10] And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

Does that help?

We see here the clear distinction between lukewarm and not.  We see here brokenness and contritenss and pride.

Revelation 3:17 ESV
For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

"not realizing"  Greek:  Not seeing, not knowing.  In the perfect tense indicating completed action/results.  Unable to know/see/understand, hence they are "blind."

What a condition for a believer to be in and how common.  I've known myself to be thus and find it very hard work to not fall into it again and again.  There is a difference between being "comforted" and being "comfortable."  It is in distress we are comforted.  Comfortable tends to lead us in to lukewarmness.

Consider:
Proverbs 30:7-9 ESV
Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: [8] Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, [9] lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the LORD?"or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

So, obedience?  Yes.  We can begin our obedience by examining our hearts through the Word and prayer.


Luke 12:34 ESV
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

John 7:38 ESV
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"

Romans 6:17 ESV
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,

Colossians 3:12-17 ESV
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, [13] bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. [14] And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. [15] And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. [16] Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. [17] And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Obedience flows from faith.  Faith (trust) in all He has said about who we were and who we are is the foundation of our brokenness and contriteness of heart.  Too often we charge forward joyous in who we are and we forget the cost.  No, we aren't to dwell on our lives before our redemption but then we can not allow ourselves to forget either.

Perhaps the clearest picture of examining our hearts as an act of obedience is gound in the following:

1 Corinthians 11:28 ESV
Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

Though we should labor to never forget the wonder of our redemtion and the cost, it is at the Lord's Table that this is most magnificently presented.  We remember His body and His blood that He freely gave for us and we remember that He will come again and we will feast with Him.  There is, for me, no more appropriate and powerful time to examine my heart and its need and His provision than in the rememberance of His great grace.

Me 081312 - What a blessed day!

Me – 081312  what a blessed day!

Today has been unusual.  God is – well – really really neat ;-}.

I had the privilege today of having two incredible conversations with two believers I had never met.  They were complete strangers and for one reason or another (long story) they came over and asked if they could talk to me. 

One was a young lady with a heart for missions who was interviewing at Bou.  The other was a gentleman who had just seen me in Caribou several times.

The conversations began simply but quite soon focused on the faith and serving God and how people were hungry for that today.  Actually, hungry for it to be simple – vanilla – not complicated – with no agenda other than Him.  The richness of what they shared was a very great blessing to me.  We are a little distant from one another in some ways but regardless we all have a hunger for the church to just be the church and for believes (that would be ourselves first) to grow in Him.

Now I ask – why did God make this happen?  Certainly it was a diversion from my worries and anxiety but it became so much more.  It was like we had not “just” met but rather like we had “known” one another prior to.  There was a commonality between us that seemed to be the “heart” part of the faith.

Not the mushy, gooey, loosy-goosy kind of heart stuff but real “heart for God” stuff.  I was just amazed by them both and blessed.  Their desire to serve Him was very clear and it was also clear he was working in their lives, leading them closer and closer to finding the how of it.

The question remains, “Why was I so blessed.”  The answer I like is, “Cause He wanted to bless you – you needed it.”  Obvious huh? 

But God never does anything that He does doesn’t have a lesson attached to.  I have learned that I have brothers and sisters out there who are yearning to grow in Him.  I learned that some of my desires and hopes are shared by complete strangers.  I’ve learned that there is a need in the really big body for encouragement and open dialogue.  For sharing a little more intimately than we would with someone we know. 

These weren’t what I would call theological or doctrinal discussion but just a conversation between believing people who want and have a need to serve Him and know Him better.  It was all about Him and our hearts and the hopes and dreams He puts in them. 

In both conversations there was sharing of God dealing with us and us dealing with others “right where they are” instead of where we think or even know they should be.  We talked of the mission field in the world and the mission field in the church. 

It was a blessing to talk with like hearted folks – and I am grateful to Him and them (and to David J. – long story).

Walk with P and me 11

Walk with P & me  11

It’s Saturday and we’re at the Bou.  My “Mary” and “Martha” (Patti and Gloria) and I were going over the Us in Him plans and just encouraging one another.

What’s is interesting is though we all know the task is daunting, when we’re together and trusting Him, is seems less daunting.  There was a serious joyfulness as we discussed the “stuff” we needed to and the personal sharing that flowed through the conversation was a real blessing.

We realized that when we were focused on Him and honoring Him and serving Him a great deal of the tension and anxiety about our circumstances seemed to melt away.  Some might call it simply a distraction but in my experience distractions are not so, well, comforting.

I realized how blessed I am to have brothers and sisters who are supportive and willing to express their views honestly and lovingly.  Patti, Glo, Sinclair, Jim and Bruce are just a few of those He has brought alongside to help craft the work He has for us to do.  Many others, in various ways, also provide griss for the mill even though I don’t think they are aware of it.  It is a real blessing and comfort to not be alone or even “in charge” of this.

One of the things that came to mind from our talk was that we need to leave time and space for God to work among us.  Sure, you need order and some kind of form but sometimes that can hinder or inhibit attention to Him.  I don’t want there to be a need for Him to “intrude” if you will – rather I want there to be ample opportunity for Him to do whatever He wants to do.

I am learning my limits and interestingly enough I am learning that although I am capable and skilled in doing this or that – He has this or that for others to do – not me.  Even when it comes to the “vision” for the group I am learning to shut up and listen and wait.  That used to frustrate me because I was the “man with the plan.”  Now, I am just “a man in the plan” and it is nothing short of wonderful.

I got some good feedback from one of the “come alongside to help” people that made me aware of being too definitive and too narrow about some things.  Not doctrinal essentials but other peripheral stuff.  Re-reading what I sent him to review I saw his point.  It wasn’t that what I had written was not right – rather it was not written well.  It built a fence that didn’t need to be there.

I am drawn to think about what the Lord said:

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."   (Mat 11:29-30)

There is a certain legalism that can creep into any work – even for Him.  It’s that hellish demand that one get everything right, that one be successful.  It’s that carnal legalism that imposes the criteria of the culture upon the work of the Kingdom.  That’s the ungainly and oppressing “burden” that keeps wantng to climb on your back. 

Just before verse 29 in Matt. 11 the Lord says:

All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.   (Mat 11:27)

What I have to keep in mind is that when the Lord says, “all things,” He means all things.  Not just cosmic things, not just theological things, not just high and lofty things – but “all things” like Us in Him – and every detail in and of it.

I don’t have a sense of “letting let go,” which is nice.  I do have a sense of, “let someone else.”  I wonder if in this type of effort what we come to see as “my problem,” isn’t simply that we are doing what He has prepared someone else to do.  It’s only a problem because we’re trying to do it and keeping His guy or gal from their work.

That moves my mind to Paul’s teaching:

All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be?   (1Co 12:11-19)

Pray that this lesson will not be lost on any of us.  Pray that we will celebrate, be grateful for and make use of all the body parts He provides.  Pray especially that we each remember and comfort each other with, “If all were a single member, where would the body be?”

Patti and Michael Sanders

ms@tc2v1.com

pattiami@gmail.com

Last Words – almost part 16 

We’ve taken a whirlwind tour of this passage in 2 Peter and I pray you have been provoked by it.  The reason for the series is my love for those who follow the Great Shepherd. 

Much is being written about the church and her ills and errors – and I have to agree that they are mighty and plenty.  The history of the Body of Christ is filled with examples of how easy it is to stray from the way (Acts 24:14) He called us to walk in.

I have prayed and thought and read much about this and have come to the conclusion that if we are to lay responsibility anywhere, it has to be at the feet of those He has called to lead His flock.  Huh?

OK – let me put it this way.  If you are attending a church where the priority of the leadership is not the following – you have a problem!

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!-- assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.   (Eph 4:11-24)   ESV

You see, it is not about programs, worship style, missions or ministries.  It is not about your preferences and proclivities.  It is not about numbers in the pews or in the bank.  It is not about buildings or furnishings.  It is about not being conformed to the world (i.e., being “seeker sensitive”); it is about being conformed to the likeness of the Christ.  And that’s pretty much all it’s about.

Read Acts 2:42-47 – read it again!!!!!

Do you “get it?”  Do you see the simple sanctified Body of Christ?

Yeah, I guess I am being hard on those who in the name of Christ have built great structures to their own flesh.  Those who have erroneously decided, “if you build it, do it, say it, etc., they will come.”  Oh, come they do – but who are they?  They are rarely the called – the elect.  But they are those who having a form of godliness – well, Paul says it best….

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power (authority & ability). Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. (2Ti 3:1-7)

It is not the truth that each individual believer is solely responsible for their growth.  How could it be when God has provided “ministers” or “officers” or “designates,” to equip believers to live as believers?  Yes, it is the responsibility of the individual to seek out sound biblical teachers and to learn and to grow beyond them if possible.  But as Bonheoffer wrote in Nazi Germany, we prefer cheap grace – which is a grace without the cross – a grace without a Christ.

Of those who come to the Body simply to have their ears scratched Paul goes on:

But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men. You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra--which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.   (2Ti 3:9-17)  ESV

We are engaged in a great conflict.  No, it is not a conflict over culture or national interests, or morality or even competing belief systems.  None of that is OUR fight.  Our fight is against the (actually OUR) flesh.  Oh but it is soooooo much easier to take on the ACLU or the President or whatever – than it is to take on, “Be holy as I am holy.  It is soooo much more fun to do neat marketing projects to get people in the door than it is to live the life that shines in the darkness.  It is sooooo much easier to lift up self-esteem, prosperity, even Israel’s safety than it is to lift up a crucified Messiah.  It is soooo much easier to say, “god loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” than is it to cry “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”

The church has become a place where gimmicks, gadgets and graffiti have replaced the gospel.  The unredeemed are enticed to come and to worship the God who their every breath offends.  They come and sing praises to the God whose wrath is looming over their heads.  They come – and if they stay long enough, contribute enough and shine enough they can even become elders.

There was writing over the gate to the temple which warned Gentiles that to pass beneath the arch into the Temple would mean their death.  There is an important point here.  To intentionally create an environment where the unredeemed are comfortable in the presence and worship of the God they do not acknowledge – the God they rejected and replaced - makes it possible for them to come to believe that they are in good stead with Him.  That, my brothers and sisters, is, at least to me, a cruelty beyond bearing.

Faith is NOT a virus; one does not “catch” it.  “Doing,” does not make believers.  God does.

Remember where we started?

I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. (2Pe 1:13-15)  ESV

Peter gives us his motivation for this letter.  It’s what he believes is his last shot.  Will we heed it or not?

Mmmm how about some feedback?

Here’s my -------

Ya know, I had written "vision" but maybe it's really my delusion or even my hallucination.  All I know is that this is how it was done in the book of Acts (kind of - did they have warehouses?)

The faith (The Way Acts 24:14) is not about the church !!!  The church isn't the point!  He is the point and serving Him (gathered together) is the purpose of those He has called out to Himself (ecclesia).

Well - anyway - maybe I haven't washed my coffee cup and there's something growing there that has affected my mind -- regardless --- read on... and how about letting me know what you think.

A great big warehouse (heating and a/c would be nice and a restrooms of course).  But when the church gathers it’s BYOB&C – bring your own Bible and chair.  This is where the church gathers.

Now, when the church “gathers” ;  “ . . . .they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Act 2:42)

Wow

What if while they are gathered:  “. . . . all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. (Act 2:44-45)

Uuuuuuuu

Then when they weren’t gathered together in total they gathered together in other ways like:  "And day by day, attending the temple (ok-no temple but there is Caribou) together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, "(Act 2:46)

Kool – really cool beans here

Then maybe:  “. . . .  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." (Act 2:47)

Hey Jen' what do you think????