Category: Pastor’s Notes

Article updates from the Pastors of Believers City Church, Menomonie, WI.

October 18, 2018 Believers Church

We’re Called to Make Disciples, Not Converts

Has a culture of convenience and consumerism changed the way we preach the Gospel?

(Tyler Edwards, Relevant Magazine, November 24, 2017)

What if I told you that Jesus didn’t want us to win converts? What if I said that in all of Scripture we are never told to convert anyone? What if I proposed that people accepting Jesus into their life does not fulfill our mission?

We may share the Gospel, but it’s not always the same Gospel Jesus shared. Our version can be a little softer. It can be easier. The message, too often, has been watered down. Many of us don’t want to be called radicals. Many of us take the message of Jesus, and we omit some of the more intense parts because they might scare people away.

An Inconvenient Truth

Out of our desire to win converts we’ve often tried to make Jesus more convenient. That’s what our culture is all about. So watering down the Gospel to reflect the culture can be an easy trap to fall into.

We often make following Jesus comfortable and easy, reducing the expectations: You don’t have to do anything different. Just believe.

Carrying our cross has been reduced from a radical relationship of self-sacrificing love and humility to cheap advertisements with bracelets, jewelry and bumper stickers. We turned following Jesus into little more than eternal “fire” insurance. In so doing we made Him something He is not: safe.

What happened to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s idea of, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die”?

The Consumerism Gospel

When we sell people on a Jesus who is easy to follow, can we really blame them for bailing out or drifting off when things don’t go smoothly?

It shouldn’t be surprising living in a consumer-based culture, that many times people bring the same attitudes into church: It’s my way, my preferences, my desires that are important. If I don’t get my way, I’ll take my business elsewhere.

In watering down the Gospel we have taken what is all about Jesus and made it all about us.

Jesus is a part of our lives when He should be our life. He is life. Following Him requires all our life. The disciples ate, drank, sweat and slept ministry from when Jesus called them to the day they died. Jesus wasn’t a part of their lives. He was their life.

We all are guilty of putting things above Jesus. Whether it’s health, wealth, comfort, causes, dreams, hobbies or interests, we all come to Jesus with expectations of what He will do for us. We all have our passions and causes.

But Jesus didn’t come to take sides. Jesus came to take over.

Disciples vs. Converts

Many people come to Jesus thinking it is enough to believe, to stand on the sidelines and root for Him. Jesus isn’t looking for cheerleaders. He is seeking men and women who will follow Him whatever the cost. He is looking for radical devotion, unreasonable commitment and undivided dedication.

Jesus isn’t looking for converts. He’s looking for disciples.

Converts are new believers. We all start as converts. Too often we stop there. We make Christianity all about what we believe. Converts aren’t bad or wrong. They are like babies. There’s nothing wrong with being a baby. The problem comes when that doesn’t change. When a baby acts like a baby, it’s cute. When a 35-year-old does, it’s sad. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”

For years churches have worked to get people to make a decision to accept Christ, which is a great thing. It’s important. But what happens next? Where’s the follow up? How do we train up new Christians?

Our mission isn’t to win converts; it’s to make disciples. So what is the difference?

  1. Converts are believers who live like the world. Disciples are believers who live like Jesus.
  2. Converts are focused on their values, interests, worries, fears, priorities, and lifestyles. Disciples are focused on Jesus.
  3. Converts go to church. Disciples are the church.
  4. Converts are involved in the mission of Jesus. Disciples are committed to it.
  5. Converts cheer from the sidelines. Disciples are in the game.
  6. Converts hear the word of God. Disciples live it.
  7. Converts follow the rules. Disciples follow Jesus.
  8. Converts are all about believing. Disciples are all about being.
  9. Converts are comfortable. Disciples make sacrifices.
  10. Converts talk. Disciples make more disciples.

A disciple is someone who whole-heartedly follows the life and example of Jesus, who makes His mission their mission, His values their values, and His heart their heart.

A disciple is someone who desperately seeks to be like Jesus. A disciple is someone so committed to the cause of Christ that they would follow Him through the gates of hell and back.

A disciple is someone who finds their entire identity, purpose and meaning in Jesus. Jesus is the center of their lives. They are all in, fully committed.

Not only is a disciple willing to die for Jesus, but they are dedicated to living every day of their life for Him.

A Change of Heart

Jesus doesn’t call us to be converts or to win converts. Jesus calls us to make disciples.

Jesus offers us grace and love without condition, but not without expectation. When we try to water down the message by saying things like, You don’t have to give up sin. You don’t have to change. You don’t have to be transformed. You don’t have to die to yourself. You just need to believe. In doing this, not only are we depriving people of the truth. We are denying them access to a real, transforming relationship with the almighty God.

Christianity isn’t just a system of belief. It isn’t a lifestyle. It’s a life transformed by Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t call everyone to leave everything every day. He calls us to be willing to give up everything at any point.

His call for each of us is different. He has uniquely gifted every person to carry out a unique and valuable function in His kingdom. While what we are called to may be unique, the call is an extreme standard: Jesus must be greater than everything else.

Tyler Edwards is a pastor, author, and husband. He currently works as the Discipleship Pastor of Carolina Forest Community Church in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He is passionate about introducing people to and helping them grow in the Gospel. He is the author of Zombie Church: breathing life back into the body of Christ. You can find more of his work on Facebook or you can follow him on Twitter @tedwardsccc.

Read more at relevantmagazine.com

 

August 31, 2018 Pastor Jason Gilbert | Menomonie

What does it mean to be “established”?  Googling the word “establish” brings up several results including (1) to set up on a firm or permanent basis; (2) to achieve permanent acceptance or recognition for; (3) to show something to be true or certain by determining the facts…  Looking at those definitions, what would you say is “established” in your life?  Maybe your home is established.  You’ve paid the mortgage payments to the bank.  You have a clear deed of title.  You have lived there for years.  Your cat and your dog are there.  When you speak of “home”, people know where it is.  Maybe your marriage is established.  You had a large crowd of witnesses at your wedding.  Your marriage certificate was signed and filed with the court house.  When you do your taxes, you mark married in the checkbox.  When you open a bank account or take out a loan, you do so jointly with a spouse.  When you go home, there is someone there to meet you who also calls that place home.  It’s easy to recognize someone who is established in a certain area of their life, whether that be in a home, a marriage, a sport, a business, or a career.

But when someone does achieve the status of established in a certain area of their life, have you noticed how often they try to motivate others by saying something like, “with enough determination, you can do it too!”  Or, “with enough hard work, you can make your dreams come true too!”  Many of us hear this worldly mantra and subconsciously determine to work hard in order to establish our own relationships, our own businesses, our own positions, our own careers, and our own social structures.  A few of us achieve our goals, only to perpetuate the mantra to others.  But many of us never reach our lofty goals.  Why?  Is the whole thing some giant Roulette game in which some of us came up short?

Biblically, we look at a guy like King David.  We can quickly recognize him as a hero and as an example to follow (at least in his early life).  After all, as a young shepherd he rescued sheep from the mouths of lions and bears.  As a teen he took down Goliath without any armor or sword.  He went on to slay tens of thousands of Israel’s enemies as a commander of Israel’s armies.  He was then unjustly hunted down due to jealousy and persevered in the wilderness for several years.  In the midst of all this, he rallied worthless men around him and transformed them into mighty men of valor.  When David was finally anointed King of Israel, He of all people could point to all he had done as the reason for why he was King… But he didn’t.  In 2nd Samuel 5:12 we read, “And David knew that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.”  David recognized his Kingship as the LORD’s work, not his own.  Because of this, David wanted to honor the LORD by building Him a house of cedar.  And this is how the LORD responded to David just a few chapters later in 2nd Samuel 7:12-16, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son… And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.”  It wasn’t about what David would do for God, but what God would do through David.

The bible is clear about how someone becomes established.  Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”  In other words, hard work and determination, though necessary, do not complete the recipe for success.  I cannot establish anything strictly in my own effort.  It is the LORD who establishes.  I don’t know about you, but I have to remind myself of that daily.  There was a verse I had on a yellow post-it which stuck to my monitor throughout my 20s.  The verse is now captioned on a portrait in my home of a light house that is under construction.  It hangs at the bottom of the steps to remind me as come down the stairs each morning.  It is Psalm 127:1 and reads, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”  In other words, unless God is in what I am pursuing, all my time, energy, plans, and strength to make it happen will come to nothing.  It is the LORD who establishes.  And unless the LORD keeps what he establishes in my life, all my efforts to protect it, maintain it, and hold onto it will come up short.  I’ll be grasping at the wind.  It is the LORD who keeps that which He establishes.

So, what would you say is established in your life?  Is your home established?  Is your marriage established?  Is your career established?  Certainly, these earthly aspirations may or may not be a part of our lives depending on God’s individual will for us.  But what about the areas you biblically know to be God’s will for all Christians?  Are you established in your relationship with God?  Does your daily bible reading, prayer life, and worship of God reflect that?  Are you established in a local church family?  Are you invested in their lives?  Can others vouch for you on that?  Do you have the “paperwork” to prove it?  Are you established in the unique place that God made you for within Christ’s body, the church?  Do you know where that is?  If you asked someone, would they know where it is?  If you can’t answer yes to these questions and are a relatively new Christian, take a deep breath and jump in.  God has a wonderful, exciting, scary, and adventurous journey in front of you.  And through it, God will reveal his plan for your life.  But if you’ve been a Christian for years and aren’t established in these areas, it’s time to be honest with yourself.  Is it because you have no commitment to God’s revealed will?  Is it because you refuse to walk in the path God has shown you?  Is it because you are to busy pursuing your own plans and have no time, energy, and strength left over for God?  If so, I would encourage you with Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your work to the LORD and your plans will be established”.  God isn’t hiding His will from you…  He is asking us to accept it and walk in what we know to be true…  His desire is that we all might be established in that which He has called us to.  That we may know, like King David, that which “the LORD has established” in our lives.  And that we may live out God’s plan for us both in this life and in the eternal life to come.

August 1, 2018 Believers Church

DISCOVERY

In a recent discussion in the School Discipleship, we were engaged in a conversation about the apostle Peter and his “commitment issues”. No doubt, Peter’s story is an insightful one to us. He walked with Jesus and was taught by him. Peter walked on water when the Lord called him out of the boat. He even stood in the very presence of a radiantly transfigured Jesus. But in the modern church age we often quip about Peter like he was some idiot. You know the stories… He pulled Jesus aside and rebuked him for talking about being arrested and killed (Matt. 16:22). Also, when Jesus was humbly washing the feet of the disciples, Peter proudly shut Jesus down, “You shall NEVER wash my feet!” (John 13:6-8) Even in the book of Acts, he was experiencing a vision from God and promptly said “No Thanks!” to the command God was giving him (Acts 10:13-14).

Now, before we get too judgmental about Peter, anyone out there want to put their ministerial life up against his? Nah, I didn’t think so. Peter indeed had his failures, but his life tells a different tale.

People today seem to be mostly committed to themselves. It’s kind of ugly and it’s not the way of the Christian

OBSERVATION

Commitment is often a curiously absent characteristic in the modern age. People don’t remain committed to really much except to their own lusts, desires, comforts and personal well-being (or perhaps their favorite sports team). I am awestruck when I legitimately see it today. I see it in many members of the military, for sure. Negatively, I have seen it in religious radicals, too (suicide bombers, etc.). Do you know that people used to be commonly more committed to things like their jobs, spouses, family members, or even good causes? People today seem to be mostly committed to themselves. It’s kind of ugly and it’s not the way of the Christian.

An element that came out of our discussion was something I found quite revealing. For all of Peter’s “commitment issues” in those three stories (and others), we must admit Peter was still a great servant of God, full of the spirit of God, and a fighter for the Kingdom of God. Looking at his life, no one can argue, Peter was a clear representation of a “Christian” by the strictest definition. With that said, I’d like to point your attention to the common thread in these three stories about Peter. The common thread is that Peter was engaged with God and God with Peter. Even though foolishly sometimes, Peter was clearly in relationship with God.

It could even be argued that in each of the stories, Peter had sincere motives for telling God “no!” With his rebuke of Jesus, maybe Peter did not want to see Jesus die perhaps because he thought if Jesus died it would mean the end of what he had left his old life for.  With his rejecting Jesus’ foot washing, maybe he thought so highly of Jesus that perhaps the idea of foot-washing should have been beneath Jesus. And finally with the command in the vision from God to kill and eat unclean animals, what if Peter was trying to honor what he had learned of the law of God? This is just conjecture but, in each story, there is at least a commitment (albeit misguided) to Jesus’ life, Jesus’ honor or God’s law. This is a far cry from what is seen today.

APPLICATION

Today’s church-goer (maybe you) looks at “commitment” and says, “Commitment means I go to church and read my devotions and say my prayers… believe in God. Non-commitment means I skip church, miss my bible readings, and neglect my prayers.” There are problems with these definitions. The first question I would ask you is, “Why do you do such things (church attendance, devotions, and prayers)?” My guess would be that, while you might never say it out loud, you hope that by your good committed behavior, you’ll get something from God. That is, by definition, “manipulation”. [Manipulation: 1. controlling someone or something to your own advantage, often unfairly or dishonestly. –Cambridge Dictionary]

So, perhaps you have created a list of things you believe will make you “acceptable” in the sight of God, and therefore “committing” to do those things should grant you God’s favor; eternal life. God is not blind, stupid, or gullible. He calls false motives out from a thousand miles away. Honestly, that type of life is far from the commitment of Peter or of the scriptures. The reality is, living that way is not actually commitment but compliance; a compliance that is ineffective with God and is not effectual… empty.

Commitment is liberty and compliance is legalism

So, I leave you with these definitions and a question:

Commitment: 1. The state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.

Compliant: 1. Disposed to agree with others or obey rules, especially to an excessive degree; acquiescent.

Question: Which one describes your Christian life? …Are you a person behind the cause or one who seeks to fulfill his quota?

-=pastor tom

June 30, 2018 Pastor Tim Dodson | Menomonie

The Dilemma

It seems that many of us have “lost our compass.” Maybe we never had one. For the fact is, many of us have no clue where we are going. Some folks want to be selective in the answer to this question. They say yes, God has a sovereign plan for our lives…a specific “best road” scenario in order to fulfill our purpose for His glory with the time that we have here on this planet. But then those same folks will claim…much to their own fleshly wants, that this item or that issue is not part of the mix. For example, I have had such folks tell me that God has not chosen a specific mate for our lives and decry the idea of “Soul Mate.” The argument is presented thus: what if my spouse dies? Can I not remarry? What if I miss my soul mate, am I therefore relegated to a life of being single? What happens if I marry someone who I now think is not my “soul mate”? Should I…can I, then divorce to marry someone else?

Of course, here and in so many other such situations we are placing a non-linear time based God into a linear time based scenario and expecting to make sense of it. I don’t pretend to know the mind of God or how that exactly works in my world. I however see no “permission” to operate outside of God’s direct and express will and plan for my life in any matter, and I find that scripture only paints a picture that He has a quite specific plan for me. There appears to be no “exempt” issues, and if there are, what are they? If I can “choose my wife off the shelf” then can I do so with my career? What church I go to? …the town I live in? or what friends I hang with? How much of my finances I give to God? And if they answer is “no” to these questions, then what is the criteria for such a godless endeavor on my part? The Bible tells me that God “knows how many hairs are on my head.” Job 23 :10-14 says

“But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food. But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind? Whatever he wants to do, he does. So he will do to me whatever he has planned. He controls my destiny.”

Well? Is the Word of God true or not? Does He control your destiny? All of it or just part of it?

Psalms 37:23-24 says “The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.”
Psalms 139: 1-6 “O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!”
Jeremiah 1:5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.”
Psalms 139:16 “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

Do I need to continue? Any argument that God is “standing down” in any aspect of the destiny of our lives is based on human reasoning but not scripture. And we all know where human reasoning takes us! It’s just a case of the answer making us uncomfortable so we rewrite scripture to allow us the path we want to take. Such is the same case with the “Family First” doctrine so popular today. No such scriptural directive is found anywhere in the Bible. This is played out throughout Christendom by those who would claim that Christ is in control and that He is “Lord” except for… This path is a slippery slope and many of us eventually find ourselves adrift in a sea of uncertainty and without purpose.

Some of us have chased our own passions and desires for so long, we are miles off course. Perhaps that makes you panic and hyper-ventilate a little. But I assure you that if you are still breathing, it is not too late. You are not “too far out” for God to rescue. Again, let us remember Psalms 37:24; “Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.”

Change

The idea that God has a perfect will for our lives can often cause a paralyses in our movement…fear immobilizing us. Yet “perfect love casts out all fear.” God’s intention was that we do not live recklessly, but that we do live boldly. That we take time to “wait on the Lord.” Psalms 27:14 “Wait patiently for the LORD. (BUT) Be brave and courageous!” (emphasis mine)

“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:4

Yes, be patient when God is preparing you and the way before you. But keep moving Christian! Ps 37:34 “Put your hope in the LORD. Travel steadily along his path.” Keep dreaming and keep praying! God loves to give good gifts to His kids. (Matthew 7:11) and “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’’ (1 Cor 2:9.) It is so important to you and those in your immediate circle of influence that you have both dreams and vision for your future. Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The NLT renders that passage thus: “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild.” Hmmm. That seems fitting!

What is the plan that God has for your life? Do you know? Are you even looking?

Psalms 37:4 “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.”

(For more information on seeking Gods will: http://jfbelievers.familyds.org:5000/fsdownload/x4Yurc1Iv/Sermon%20Archives
Follow: Tim Dodson – Topical – “Hearing God’s Voice in a Noisy World”)

June 1, 2018 Pastor Jason Gilbert | Menomonie

Where are you going?

That’s a question I’ve been asking myself because its been on my mind as of late.  Part of the reason is because I just finished the book of Deuteronomy, where Moses is given a view of the Promised Land from Mt. Nebo after spending forty years wandering in the wilderness with the Israelites.  But I’m also seeing that question, whether verbalized or not, playing out in the lives of the vast majority of us who have experienced the “Exodus” of salvation but are still wandering in the wilderness concerning our relationships, our vocations, our stewardship (time, finances, and health), our commitment to our churches, our ministries, and the pursuit of our calling.  Why are we not entering the “Promised Land” in these areas?

What is God’s plan for you?

First, let’s be clear… God has a plan for you!

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” -Jeremiah 29:11-14 (ESV)

Not only that… But God has a specific plan for you!

“For we are his workmanship (also translated ‘poem’), created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” -Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb… our eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” -Psalm 139:13,16 (ESV)

This means God has already written out every detail of your life.  If you are to be married, God has arranged a specific person for you.  Or single, God knows and will give you the gift of singleness for your good and His glory.  If you are able to work, God has designed and prepared you for a certain job.  In fact, the word vocation comes from the Latin word vocare meaning ‘to call’.

God has called you to a job and has allotted you a set number of days and certain amount of resources, including your very own body, to be stewarded for His glory.  He knows what local church you are to be at and who your pastors are.  God has uniquely gifted and equipped you to serve in a particular ministry, that you would be most useful for His kingdom.  God has predestined, pre-ordained you to find fulfillment as you fulfill a distinct calling within His grand story…

So where are you now?

Does your current dating or marriage relationship (or lack of) reflect his specific plan for you?  Are you sure you aren’t settling for something less than His plan because of continuing unfaithfulness?  Are you working the job he designed you for?  How would you know?  Are you managing rightly the time, the finances, and the physical body he has allotted to you on this earth?  Is He getting a good return on His investment in you?  Are you committed to and supporting a specific church where God has placed you?  And are you humbly submitting to and honoring that church’s leadership?  Are you serving in a ministry that utilizes the unique gifts God has equipped you with.  Can you confidently say you are fulfilling the distinct calling He has predestined and pre-ordained you to?

I believe, if we were to be totally honest with ourselves, nearly all of us would answer no to at least one of these questions.  Many would answer no to most of them.  If that is the case, what are we doing about it?  Are we addressing these issues?  Don’t get me wrong… God isn’t asking for perfection in any of these areas… Nor were His people who eventually entered the Promised Land ever perfect.  However, that being said, are we where God wants us to be, with whom God wants us to be with, doing what God wants us to do, being who God wants us to be?  If the answer is “no”, or “I don’t know”, to any of those questions, we are not living in the “Promised Land”.

How do we find it?

So how do we find this “Promised Land” that God prepared beforehand, that we might walk in it?

First we need to recognize that God is a communicator.  He is not a God who asks us to speculate, but a God who reveals.  He reveals His will to us through His Word (Ps 119:105), through creation (Rom 1:19-20), though pastors and teachers (Eph 4:11-12), though the church (Acts 13:1-3), and through His Spirit (Rom 8:26-27).  God wants to reveal his will to us.  He doesn’t want us to speculate about His plans for us.  He wants us to know.  Are we utilizing all the avenues He has made available to speak to us.  If we do, He will answer us…

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” -Matthew 7:7-8 (ESV)

Second, we need to be surrendering our bodies to Him, holy and acceptable, and turn away from all worldly influences. This means we can’t be practicing any known sin and expect to discover God’s will for our life. This also means we can’t look to the world or unbelieving friends for advice on the direction of our life.  However, if we do surrender our bodies and turn away from worldly influences, we will come to know God’s will as good, acceptable, and perfect.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” -Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)

Third, we need to commit…  It’s one thing to be flexible and available to anything God “might” call us to when we’re in our twenties.  Its quite another thing to not be committed to any specific direction in our life when we are forty and have been a Christian for twenty years.  At some point being flexible and available is no longer a virtue, but a vice that keeps us from committing to God’s specific will.  Once God has revealed His will to us, He expects us to put our foot down and plant ourselves there.  He’s not a casually God who asks us for a tacit participation in any of these areas.  He’s a covenantal God who requires an all-in commitment to His will.  If we are ever going to see any of God’s will established in our life, it is going to require commitment.

“Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.” –Proverbs 16:3 (ESV)

So I ask you again, where are you going?  Perhaps you’ve been wandering around in the wilderness in a certain area of your life and have no idea where it will lead.  Let me remind you that God has a plan.  Our churches see this need and will be addressing it.  This summer we will be spending considerable time discussing the Holy Spirit, His work, and His role in our lives.  May we take advantage of this time that we might discern God’s will for our lives.   Let us make a concerted effort to hear what He will communicate to us, to submit our bodies holy and acceptable to Him, to turn away from all worldly influences, and to fully commit ourselves to what He has prepared for us.  Perhaps then we too will be standing on Mt. Nebo, ready to enter the glory of the Promised Land.

May 1, 2018 Believers Church

There are times I find myself in predicaments and situations that could bury me if I let it. I can find myself drowning beneath a whole spectrum of things that I can’t control; things that can paralyze me with anxiety and fear; tossing and turning at 3am wondering what’s going to come of it all. These experiences reveal to me my limitedness. I can get exhausted wrestling to change the future or control the outcome of my circumstances. God never made us with those abilities.

Where do we get the idea we can? For the answer to that, we need to rewind the tape to the beginning of Genesis. The “temptation” in the Garden of Eden finds its fingers in every avenue we try to live today… without God, that is. Satan was speaking with Eve in chapter 3:4-6 saying, “‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” Why did she believe Satan? He stirred in her the notion that God was keeping something good from her. Bottom line, she desired to be like God (and not in the way we seek to be by the Holy Spirit today). Satan said, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Don’t we all want to be like God in that way? She didn’t want world domination per se, but to be limitless. It is interesting how today we gravitate toward comments like, “Honey, you can be ANYTHING you want to be. You can do anything you set your hands to.” How disappointing it is to learn when you are older that this is simply not true. One drunk driver drifting across the line, one organ disease, one cheeseburger too many will reveal quickly that we are limited. I get the sentiment, right? We want our kids to try hard and to excel. It’s the backbone of America, but this world is broken. Can you see how, perhaps, this has set up generations with the false idea that they can live without God? We are very limited. We only have so much energy, and so much strength; only so much endurance and intelligence, only so much time. Our vitality is on a nonstop conveyor belt downward. If you think you can do anything, go ahead and try to swim from California to Japan. Be sure to wear a beacon so we can find your remains when you don’t make it. When we think that way, we’re confounded when we try to rectify the “I can do ANYTHING!” mentality with Jesus’, “Apart from me, you can do NOTHING.” How do you live in that?

Embracing your limitedness is quite radical, don’t you think? Or maybe you think I mean that we’re to become lazy sloths with ho-hum attitudes. “I can’t do that… I can’t do anything… waaaa waaaa!” Ha! …um, no. What I mean is, it is time to get over ourselves. I am human, therefore I am limited! I know it! And it is totally okay! When we embrace the fact that we are limited it causes us to become dependent. A man in a wheelchair, like my aged father, needs to embrace the fact that his motor skills are limited by his condition. He will need help to change clothes, eat, bathe, or even to use the restroom. He is totally dependent. The difference between us and the man in the wheelchair is that he knows he needs help with everything. Being dependent often gets looked at as a negative attribute, and it definitely should be when capable people manipulate others or abuse support systems to put off living in an independently sustainable way. But now let’s turn that statement over to say we are not capable of our own Christian salvation, holiness, perfection, or ministry. Sure, in our society, you can find a way to live safely. You can find a vocation and even get a sense of purpose from it. You can regiment your time and finances to make a name for yourself in business or in life. You can differentiate a foolish choice from a wise one. (Keep in mind most of us are starting off our lives with an advantage here in the US. Many others are born into a limiting difficulty). BUT you cannot do enough good to make yourself righteous. You cannot lead yourself into ministry. You cannot empower yourself for ministry work. You cannot make God-aligned choices with your own logic. You’ll never, because of your own goodness, inadvertently happen into righteousness and Godliness. You WILL NEVER BE GOD, though you may feel like you can (that’s the Edenic temptation); you can never partake of the divine nature by your own will and muscle. He is eternal; we are created …and there is a huge chasm between us.

When we embrace our limitedness, we’re forced into undeniable dependence on Another; the Eternal One. Paul once quipped, “I CAN DO ALL THINGS!!!!! …through Christ who strengthens me.” From the outside, Paul may look like he, himself, was one unstoppable machine of ministry; a great man of religious integrity. Gutsy. Fearless! But that would be missing the full picture. Paul embraced his limitedness. In fact, he told us that anything from his own strength was something he looked at as dung (Phil 3:2-11). Let me help you with this one. Dung is off-putting and repellent. There’s a lot of it in our backyard, now that the snow is gone, thanks to our dog. We don’t host dinner parties in the middle of the backyard this time of year. It’s offensive. That is how Paul saw his own abilities and strength; off-putting and offensive. Because of that, he knew he was limited and had to become heavily dependent on the Holy Spirit. With his limits fully understood, he called on the limitless one to come. It was the Spirit of Christ at work inside Paul that made Paul unstoppable. It wasn’t Paul’s natural ability and he didn’t just happen to be this type of man. Paul “strove”… he “fought”… he “beat himself into submission”… not to be a better man but to know God; to engage God, who has no limits.

My prayer is that we grow in knowing just how very limited we are without Him; and that when we embrace our limitedness, we would become more and more dependent on God.

-=pastor tom