***Below are excerpts from my response to an email I received today about drinks in the sanctuary. The real underlying question is about tradition. Before younger readers launch into a bariage against tradtion let me say that part of tradition is expecting others to do what you do. Anytime I find myself in a different environment outside of my preferences and struggle to connect with Christ I must ask myself if I am locked into a tradition. I know perhaps as many in the younger generation stuck their form of tradition as the older are in theirs. With that said enjoy...I would love feedback***
Wow, this is such a touchy subject because it really has nothing to do with logic but rather is processed by people at an emotional level.
Most people who feel so strong about no drink in the sanctuary do not feel that way during non service times – such as changing light bulbs, hanging Christmas decorations, etc. Why then at a certain day, certain moment, certain time does something that is otherwise ok become not ok? Obviously the answer is not a logical one but an emotional one. The feeling that drinking a beverage in the sanctuary dishonors God, yet to drink the same beverage at the same time in a different location such as a classroom while studying God’s Word is not dishonoring.
Is God honestly offended on a Wednesday night by a person drinking coffee in the sanctuary studying his Word while at the same time not being offended by someone drinking coffee at the same time in the Young Professionals class studying His Word? The logical answer is clear but once again we are not dealing with logic but people’s emotions.
Paul wrote about this in I Cor 8. Some believers still bound up in tradition felt “sinful” if they ate meat sacrificed to Idols and were trying to oppose their opinion on everyone else. Other believers, especially gentiles, who did not have the hang up of Jewish tradition about “unclean meats” couldn’t understand the problem with eating the meat. After all, what does meat have to do with their relationship with Christ??? While clearly expressing that the act itself of eating of the meat is not “sinful” Paul tries to bring balance to keeping peace among believers of different mindsets. In this case, Paul says that while he himself and others eat meat and don’t worry about it, while in the presence of someone who does he would abstain so as not to cause their faith to weaken. However, at the same time Paul constantly presented teaching on the sufficiency of Christ, rather than outward deeds, so that those same people weak in faith could grow in their understanding to embrace different cultures and different modes and expressions of worship.
My point? The only logical reason to keep drinks out of the sanctuary is 1) is it a cleaning issue – spills, etc. 2) is it a distraction
To me during worship times it can be a distraction as well as a potential mess since there is standing and sitting and much moving around. Bible study times on the other hand it is neither distracting nor any greater risk of mess than elsewhere on the campus.
I know you asked a simple question and I wrote a book response but do not under estimate how significant this question is. It is about way more than drinks in the sanctuary. It is about whether we as a church family will transition to reach out to our community. They don’t come in with our traditions. They act different, think different, dress different, etc. Which is more important to us…to give them Jesus or traditions. These are tough questions because we answer them logically but feel them emotionally. There are many people in our church that are going to have to go through a period of emotional stretching out of traditions to get back to the priority of connecting people with Jesus. It will be felt at all levels – music, service order, service times, dress, etc…
We must continue to pave the way in prayer, be consistent in clear teaching and demonstrate steady love to those experiencing emotional stretching without being moved from the task before us…which is transitioning our church to reach our growing community with the wonderful message of Jesus Christ.
There is a reason why every AG church in South OKC has shrunk over the last 10 years. It isn’t about drinks or no drinks, contemporary or traditional, casual or dress…it is about priority – keeping the traditions or reaching people for Christ. Turning a church from inward focused to outward focuse is the constant task of church leadership.
It is good to take a personal evaluation once in awhile of your own focus. I do regularly. Ask yourself, do I spend more time talking and visiting with new people or people that I already know? The answer to that question reveals our focus – outward or inward.
To see the harvest that we have prayed so many years for it will take more and more people becoming outward rather than inward focused. That transition is an emotional journey that our church family must travel. It is my prayer that the majority will make the journey, but it is a journey that we must take.
Thoughts????
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Something that can change Everything
The REVOLUTION continues within our church family. One by one people responding to the challenge to "BE the change you want the World to be"
What does this change look like? Our idea of change or someone else's? Is there an unchanging change that we can look for or is change subject to mulitple opinions? After all if there is not one change that is correct then why change at all???
The foundation of this REVOLUTION must be the return to and rediscovery of GOD'S WORD. Here is where we will find the power so desperately needed in our day.
Below are my notes for this Sunday's message "REVOLUTION - Power of God's Word". Take a look, let me know your thoughts...
Text: II Kings 22: 3,8,11-13
Intro.: -One of the saddest passages of scripture is found at the very end of the book of
Judges
Judg 21:25
25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
-A time when the Word of God and the MEN of God were silent
*A time when man was left to make his own decisions, his own set of
Ethics which of course led to no distinction between God’s people & the
world
-This is exactly what has happened again in our text
-King Josiah has taken over the throne & the Word of God is absent
*in fact, there is now a generation alive that does not even know about the
Word of God
*As a result scripture records that the temple was in shambles, Passover
was not being observed, and sin had taken over the hearts of the people:
-To the point they were even sacrificing their own children
(You can read more about Josiah in II Chron. 34)
-In our text, however, something happens that changes EVERYTHING
*it is a changes that creates a REVOLUTION - revives the people, reunites them with God, purges the sin out of their life and restores their relationship with God
-What happened that was so profound, that had such an impact, that fueled a
REVOLUTION??? THE WORD OF GOD WAS FOUND!
I. The Word of God Brings REVOLUTION
-Many people are looking for revival, the renewal of the church
*it is no secret that the church needs revived today!
-What will revival look like when it comes?
*Does revival have a certain look? Does it have to be packaged in a
certain manner? Is revival an experience or a lifestyle? Can the church
live in revival (it certainly cannot live in a constant EMOTIONAL HIGH)
-Make NO MISTAKE about it, God is stirring a REVOLUTION in our church
*What all will that entail? What will it look like?
*I do not know what all a supernatural move of God in our midst will
look like BUT I DO KNOW THIS…
A TRUE MOVE OF GOD WILL BRING THE CHURCH BACK TO GOD’S WORD
John 1:1-2
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
*To know God is to know His Word
*Jesus is God’s Word incarnate
II. Every REVOLUTION begins with an awakening!
-II Chron 34 - tells us that in the eighth year of his reign King Josiah began to
seek the Lord (he was sixteen)
Teenagers listen:
1 Tim 4:12-13
12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
-An awakening begins as God stirs a hunger in our hearts for Him
*there is increasing dissatisfaction with the status quo
-As our hunger increases, BELIEVERS WILL BEGIN TO DRAW CLOSER TO THE LORD
James 4:8,10
8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up
-(Chron 34:8) As Josiah’s hunger for the Lord grew he began to purify the land
and the temple
-even without being told, Josiah knew to draw close to the Lord it was going to
take some changes!
*Josiah had hunger BUT WHAT WAS HE TO DO?
-He had to discover God’s WORD!
III. Discovering God’s Word
-It is great to have a hunger for God but without the Word of God that hunger has
no direction
Prov 19:2
2 It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.
-So many believers have gotten of track in their spiritual walk because they have
neglected the Word of God
*estimated only 10% of Christians understand and have a Christian
Worldview
-Without the Foundation of God’s Word TRUTH erodes
*Jesus warns only the TRUTH sets us free & has power
-any lesser form of Truth is not the TRUTH and therefore does not have power
*Is maybe man’s “good teachings” but it does not have God’s supernatural
power – I Cor 2 – only TRUTH undiluted has power
-When we don’t know the Word we are left on our own power/strength and will
inevitably fall back into the sinful nature
IV. When Josiah Found the Book of the Law (God’s Word) Three Things took
place:*He was CONVICTED, He was CHANGED, He was CHALLENGED
Josiah was CONVICTED
*Without the book of the Law, Josiah was left to live the best He knew how
-Sin nature always takes over!!!
-Barna research reveals “born –again Christians” live at the same standard as non-
Believers…why? No conviction
*The Word of God revealed to Josiah how far He had fallen from God
2 Kings 22:11-13
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. 12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king's attendant: 13 "Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the LORD's anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us."
*The Word of God is meant to invade our lives!!!
Heb 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
-God’s Word does more than comfort it CONVICTS
*God’s Word is designed to point sinful man to a Holy God!!!
Josiah was CHANGED
*true REVOLUTION will bring people beyond emotion and into CHANGE
*God’s likens His Word to a mirror that is meant to show us what we look like so that we can CHANGE to become what we should look like!
James 1:22-25
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does.
-To hear the Word of God and not be changed is to deny the purpose of the Word!
*Great DECEPTION is to confuse hearing with doing
*Josiah was changed by the Word of God
2 Kings 23:3
3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD-to follow the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.
-You can read for yourself BUT the Word of God CHANGED the way Josiah
lived, what he did and what he allowed!
*we are called to be Followers of Christ (I Jn. 2:6)
*If God’s Word doesn’t change our actions than our hearts have not been
changed
Josiah was CHALLENGED by the Word of God
*to often all we hear about is the “No’s” of scripture
-don’t do this, quit that, stop this
-and for many of us we do need to be told NO!
*However, the Bible is not written to take away from our life BUT to lead us to a HIGHER LIFE
-the Word of God CHALLENGES us to a REVOLUTION of a higher level of
Living
*Scripture shows us a different way of living…apart for the world’s standard
*This is the call of Christianity…this is the REVOLUTION
-living in the world but not of it…foreigners, ambassadors
-living by a higher standard that lifts our life, our family, our community,
humanity up rather than keeping them down
*ACCEPT the challenge to live at a higher place…join the REVOLUTION
-“Be the Change You Want the World to Be”
-Let God’s Word set the standard of our life
*not looking to bring Christ down to us but rather letting God lift us up to HIM
-life of good works, higher purpose, greater values, agents of change
IV. If you want a REVOLUTION in your life, in your family, in our church, let us
REDISCOVER THE WORD OF GOD!
*let the Word of God begin to change you through the preaching of the Word and
the DAILY reading of the Word.
(Revolution Bible reading journal, commit to Live It group)
V. CLOSE
-Let’s begin our journey towards a REVOLUTION by letting the Word of God
CONVICT & CHANGE us today
Heb 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
-Is the Word of God penetrating you today? Is God speaking to your heart and
drawing you to Him?
-Gut check honesty this morning…if you want a REVOLUTION in your life you
will have to let the Word of God Convict and Change you
-God has held up the mirror of His Word this morning?
*What do you see?
-Is there Conviction?
-Is there need for Change?
-Begin the REVOLUTION in your life at the altar this morning!
What does this change look like? Our idea of change or someone else's? Is there an unchanging change that we can look for or is change subject to mulitple opinions? After all if there is not one change that is correct then why change at all???
The foundation of this REVOLUTION must be the return to and rediscovery of GOD'S WORD. Here is where we will find the power so desperately needed in our day.
Below are my notes for this Sunday's message "REVOLUTION - Power of God's Word". Take a look, let me know your thoughts...
Text: II Kings 22: 3,8,11-13
Intro.: -One of the saddest passages of scripture is found at the very end of the book of
Judges
Judg 21:25
25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
-A time when the Word of God and the MEN of God were silent
*A time when man was left to make his own decisions, his own set of
Ethics which of course led to no distinction between God’s people & the
world
-This is exactly what has happened again in our text
-King Josiah has taken over the throne & the Word of God is absent
*in fact, there is now a generation alive that does not even know about the
Word of God
*As a result scripture records that the temple was in shambles, Passover
was not being observed, and sin had taken over the hearts of the people:
-To the point they were even sacrificing their own children
(You can read more about Josiah in II Chron. 34)
-In our text, however, something happens that changes EVERYTHING
*it is a changes that creates a REVOLUTION - revives the people, reunites them with God, purges the sin out of their life and restores their relationship with God
-What happened that was so profound, that had such an impact, that fueled a
REVOLUTION??? THE WORD OF GOD WAS FOUND!
I. The Word of God Brings REVOLUTION
-Many people are looking for revival, the renewal of the church
*it is no secret that the church needs revived today!
-What will revival look like when it comes?
*Does revival have a certain look? Does it have to be packaged in a
certain manner? Is revival an experience or a lifestyle? Can the church
live in revival (it certainly cannot live in a constant EMOTIONAL HIGH)
-Make NO MISTAKE about it, God is stirring a REVOLUTION in our church
*What all will that entail? What will it look like?
*I do not know what all a supernatural move of God in our midst will
look like BUT I DO KNOW THIS…
A TRUE MOVE OF GOD WILL BRING THE CHURCH BACK TO GOD’S WORD
John 1:1-2
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
*To know God is to know His Word
*Jesus is God’s Word incarnate
II. Every REVOLUTION begins with an awakening!
-II Chron 34 - tells us that in the eighth year of his reign King Josiah began to
seek the Lord (he was sixteen)
Teenagers listen:
1 Tim 4:12-13
12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
-An awakening begins as God stirs a hunger in our hearts for Him
*there is increasing dissatisfaction with the status quo
-As our hunger increases, BELIEVERS WILL BEGIN TO DRAW CLOSER TO THE LORD
James 4:8,10
8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up
-(Chron 34:8) As Josiah’s hunger for the Lord grew he began to purify the land
and the temple
-even without being told, Josiah knew to draw close to the Lord it was going to
take some changes!
*Josiah had hunger BUT WHAT WAS HE TO DO?
-He had to discover God’s WORD!
III. Discovering God’s Word
-It is great to have a hunger for God but without the Word of God that hunger has
no direction
Prov 19:2
2 It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.
-So many believers have gotten of track in their spiritual walk because they have
neglected the Word of God
*estimated only 10% of Christians understand and have a Christian
Worldview
-Without the Foundation of God’s Word TRUTH erodes
*Jesus warns only the TRUTH sets us free & has power
-any lesser form of Truth is not the TRUTH and therefore does not have power
*Is maybe man’s “good teachings” but it does not have God’s supernatural
power – I Cor 2 – only TRUTH undiluted has power
-When we don’t know the Word we are left on our own power/strength and will
inevitably fall back into the sinful nature
IV. When Josiah Found the Book of the Law (God’s Word) Three Things took
place:*He was CONVICTED, He was CHANGED, He was CHALLENGED
Josiah was CONVICTED
*Without the book of the Law, Josiah was left to live the best He knew how
-Sin nature always takes over!!!
-Barna research reveals “born –again Christians” live at the same standard as non-
Believers…why? No conviction
*The Word of God revealed to Josiah how far He had fallen from God
2 Kings 22:11-13
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. 12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king's attendant: 13 "Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the LORD's anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us."
*The Word of God is meant to invade our lives!!!
Heb 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
-God’s Word does more than comfort it CONVICTS
*God’s Word is designed to point sinful man to a Holy God!!!
Josiah was CHANGED
*true REVOLUTION will bring people beyond emotion and into CHANGE
*God’s likens His Word to a mirror that is meant to show us what we look like so that we can CHANGE to become what we should look like!
James 1:22-25
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does.
-To hear the Word of God and not be changed is to deny the purpose of the Word!
*Great DECEPTION is to confuse hearing with doing
*Josiah was changed by the Word of God
2 Kings 23:3
3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD-to follow the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.
-You can read for yourself BUT the Word of God CHANGED the way Josiah
lived, what he did and what he allowed!
*we are called to be Followers of Christ (I Jn. 2:6)
*If God’s Word doesn’t change our actions than our hearts have not been
changed
Josiah was CHALLENGED by the Word of God
*to often all we hear about is the “No’s” of scripture
-don’t do this, quit that, stop this
-and for many of us we do need to be told NO!
*However, the Bible is not written to take away from our life BUT to lead us to a HIGHER LIFE
-the Word of God CHALLENGES us to a REVOLUTION of a higher level of
Living
*Scripture shows us a different way of living…apart for the world’s standard
*This is the call of Christianity…this is the REVOLUTION
-living in the world but not of it…foreigners, ambassadors
-living by a higher standard that lifts our life, our family, our community,
humanity up rather than keeping them down
*ACCEPT the challenge to live at a higher place…join the REVOLUTION
-“Be the Change You Want the World to Be”
-Let God’s Word set the standard of our life
*not looking to bring Christ down to us but rather letting God lift us up to HIM
-life of good works, higher purpose, greater values, agents of change
IV. If you want a REVOLUTION in your life, in your family, in our church, let us
REDISCOVER THE WORD OF GOD!
*let the Word of God begin to change you through the preaching of the Word and
the DAILY reading of the Word.
(Revolution Bible reading journal, commit to Live It group)
V. CLOSE
-Let’s begin our journey towards a REVOLUTION by letting the Word of God
CONVICT & CHANGE us today
Heb 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
-Is the Word of God penetrating you today? Is God speaking to your heart and
drawing you to Him?
-Gut check honesty this morning…if you want a REVOLUTION in your life you
will have to let the Word of God Convict and Change you
-God has held up the mirror of His Word this morning?
*What do you see?
-Is there Conviction?
-Is there need for Change?
-Begin the REVOLUTION in your life at the altar this morning!
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