Do Not Fix Your Hope on Uncertain Riches

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.
1Ti 6:17

If you live in America, you are likely among the richest people in the world. So, this verse applies to us. We have so much. Our natural tendency is to begin to trust in those riches. How can we avoid this tendency? The next phrase tells us: fix our hope on God. He is the one who gave us all these things for our enjoyment. Let's not lose sight of the giver in our enjoyment of the things He has given.

Lord, please help me not to be distracted by the many gifts You've given me. Help me to continue to fix my trust on You and not on myself. I choose to keep You first in my life, and I ask for Your help in doing so.

What Should Christians Pursue?

pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
1Ti 6:11

Paul gives us clear direction on what we should be seeking in life:

1. Righteousness: doing what God asks us of.
2. Godliness: being like God in His goodness, generosity, love, truth and etc.
3. Faith: believing that God will do what He has promised.
4. Love
5. Perseverance: continuing to do these things even when the going gets tough.
6. Gentleness: kindness, meekness

Lord, help me to pursue these good things instead of pursuing wealth, power, gain or fame. Help me to seek Your approval and not worry about the approval of other people. I choose to seek You.

A Morbid Interest in Controversial Questions

he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.
1Ti 6:4-5

How often do we fit this description? How many "spiritual" discussions fall under the category of "controversial questions and disputes about words"? I think Christians need to be more careful discuss "things which make for peace and the building up of one another." Rom 14:19

Lord, help me to avoid questions that are controversial and only create strife. Help me to speak things that build up those around me. I want You to control my tongue in everything I say. I ask You to speak through me so that my words may be a blessing.

Let No One Look Down on Your Youthfulness

Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe
1Ti 4:12

In the Bible, much is made of the wisdom and experience that comes with age. This is in sharp contrast to the American culture of youth. We can learn a lot from those who are older than we are. Over time, they have learned what is important in life. They've learned a balance that most younger people do not posses.

However, in this chapter, Paul tells Timothy not to let anyone look down on him because of his young age. We should aim to be young people that other folks look up to The second half of the verse tells us how to do that: "in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe."

Lord, help me to be a younger person who is blameless in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. I want to be someone who is an example of a younger person serving you. Help me to point those around me to You.

Hoping in the Living God

we have fixed our hope on the living God
1Ti 4:10

Who better to fix our hope on. Who could be more trustworthy. He is the only person we can know will never disappoint. And, He's the living God. He is powerful and able accomplish everything for us. Let's put our complete trust in Him.

Lord, help me to completely trust You. Help me to never doubt our question. I choose to place my hope in You. I thank You for never failing me. I praise You for your faithfulness.

Use Your Gifts

Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.
1Ti 4:14

Paul tells us to put our spiritual gifts to good use. We shouldn't hide them under a bushel or leave them on the back burner. As humble people, we sometimes feel that we need to hide our gifts lest we look proud. Quite the contrary, if God has given us gifts, we are to display and use them for His glory and for the growth of His kingdom. We will actually be judged by God if we bury our talent.

Lord, help me to use the gifts You've given me. Help me to edify the body and glorify You with what You've given me. I surrender my talents to You to use however You  see best.

Discipline Yourself

discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness
1 Timothy 4:7b

I'm afraid that we have a difficult time following this verse in a balanced way. We either tend towards the "discipline is everything" belief or the "freedom is everything" mindset. As humans, we tend towards excess. Personally, I tend towards the discipline side. I demand excellence of myself and those around me. I tend to look down on those that allow themselves "too much freedom." Yet, I probably allow myself too much freedom at times. I believe that Paul was instructing us to find a balance. Our discipline needs to be for the purpose of godliness, not to bolster our reputation and make ourselves look good. We shouldn't be deriving our self worth from our self discipline.

Lord, please help me to discipline myself for the purpose of godliness. I also want to experience Your freedom. I pray that You would help me find that balance with the guidance of Holy Spirit.

God Put Me Into His Service

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service
1Ti 1:12

Paul thanked God for putting him into service. Do I do that. Sometimes I don't feel glad to be in God's service. Sometimes I feel like serving myself. Yet, I know I'm blessed to be able to serve God.

Lord, help me to appreciate being in your service. Help me to choose joy in hard times and easy times. Help me to revel in Your love and approval. Thank You for giving me the gift of faith and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Goal Is Love

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. for some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the law, even though they do not understand what they are saying or matters about which they make confident assertions.
1 Timothy 1:5-7

How many church leaders today would say that the goal of their instruction is love? Even if they would say that their goal is love, when you look at their lives, sometimes you wonder if it's true. It's sad, but too many leaders have an unspoken goal of politics, power or control in their instruction. What a blessing it would be if we had more leaders like Paul: leaders who are selfless and are leading for the benefit of their followers and the glory of God. Let's band together and pray for our leaders and pray that God would raise up more leaders whose goal is love.

Relationships in the Kingdom of God

http://shalombiblefellowship.org/messages/?download&file_name=2013-01-20-Relationships%20in%20the%20Kingdom%20of%20God.mp3

This is a continuation of last Sunday's sermon. It expands on how we should relate to people inside and outside the church. The church isn't just our congregation or church group. It is the body of Jesus Christ worldwide.

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything on 'Casting for Christ. One of the things that God has been teaching me is that He loves me unconditionally. I am starting to believe and accept it in my heart. I still have a lot of growing to do yet.

One step on this journey was a sermon that I shared on Sunday. Please pray for me that God's love would reign in my heart.

Here are my notes from the sermon:

Jesus Loves Me

His name was Bill.  He had wild hair, wore a T-shirt with holes in it, blue jeans and no shoes.  In the entire time I knew him I never once saw Bill wear a pair of shoes.  Rain, sleet or snow, Bill was barefoot.  This was literally his wardrobe for his whole four years of college.

 He was brilliant and looked like he was always pondering the esoteric.  He became a Christian while attending college.  Across the street from the campus was a church full of well- dressed, middle-class people.  They wanted to develop a ministry to the college students, but they were not sure how to go about it.

 One day, Bill decided to worship there.  He walked into the church, complete with wild hair, T-shirt, blue jeans and bare feet.  The church was completely packed, and the service had already begun.  Bill started down the aisle to find a place to sit.  By now the people were looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one said anything.

 As Bill moved closer and closer to the pulpit, he realized there were no empty seats.  So he squatted and sat down on the carpet right up front.  (Although such behavior would have been perfectly acceptable at a college fellowship, this was a scenario this particular congregation had never witnessed before!)  By now, the people seemed uptight, and the tension in the air was thickening.

 Right about the time Bill took his "seat," a deacon began slowly making his way down the aisle from the back of the sanctuary.  The deacon was in his eighties, had silver-gray hair, a three-piece suit and a pocket watch.  He was a godly man -- very elegant, dignified and courtly.  He walked with a cane and, as he neared the boy, the church members thought, "You can't blame him for what he's going to do.  How can you expect a man of his age and background to understand some college kid on the floor?"

 It took a long time for the man to reach the boy.  The church was utterly silent except for the clicking of his cane.  You couldn't even hear anyone breathing.  All eyes were on the deacon.

 But then they saw the elderly man drop his cane on the floor.  With great difficulty, he sat down on the floor next to Bill and worshipped with him.  Everyone in the congregation choked up with emotion.  When the minister gained control, he told the people, "What I am about to preach, you will never remember.  What you've just seen, you will never forget."

I.                   Introduction

a.       Goals

                                                              i.      Understand God’s heart of love better

                                                            ii.      Open our hearts to God’s love

                                                          iii.      Become channels for God’s love to flow through our hearts

b.      My journey

c.       Credits

                                                              i.      Jack Frost

                                                            ii.      Experiencing Father’s Embrace

                                                          iii.      From Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship

II.                Love is greater

a.       Speaking in tongues (very important) – like an annoying sound

b.      Prophecy

c.       Faith

d.      Giving

e.       Martyrdom by fire

III.             Love described

a.       patient

b.      Kind

c.       Not jealous

d.      Not boastful and arrogant

e.       Does not hold grudges

f.       Does not rejoice in unrighteousness

g.      Rejoices in truth

h.      Bears all things

i.        Believes all things (gullible?)

j.        Hopes

k.      Never fails

l.        Love is not what we do, it’s who we are.

m.    Love works. Works don’t love

                                                              i.      I struggle to put this into practice

                                                            ii.      I do my duty and feel satisfied, but when works don’t flow out of love, the benefit is reduced dramatically.

1.  We sing Sweet Hour of Prayer and are content with 5-10 minutes a day.

2.  We sing Onward Christian Soldiers and wait to be drafted into His service.

3.  We sing O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing and don't use the one we have.

4.  We sing Blest Be the Tie That Binds and let the least little offense sever it.

6.  We sing Serve the Lord With Gladness and gripe about all we have to do.

7.  We sing I Love To Tell the Story and never mention it at all.

8.  We sing We're Marching to Zion but fail to march to worship.

9.  We sing Cast Thy Burden on the Lord and worry ourselves into a nervous breakdown.

10.  We sing The Whole Wide World for Jesus and never invite our next-door neighbor.

11.  We sing Throw Out the Lifeline and content ourselves with throwing out a fishing line.   

IV.             God’s love as an example

a.       He created us for relationship with Himself and others

b.      He gave us beauty

c.       He gave us abilities

d.      He gave us autonomy

e.       He died

f.       He rescued us after we turned away from Him

                                                              i.      Imagine if God kept score

                                                            ii.      Imagine if he was always “fair” or didn’t want to go beyond the call of duty as we sometimes don’t

V.                We can only truly love, after we’ve received God’s love

a.       This is a process

b.      1 John 4:16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

VI.             Why can’t I love

a.       Rejection from people in the past – we build walls and keep people at a distance

b.      We are afraid of intimacy

c.       We have agreed with a lie from Satan

                                                              i.      God only loves us based on how well we perform

                                                            ii.      This carries over into our human relationships

                                                          iii.      We only love the people around us based on their performance

d.      We believe that God is like our parents. If they were angry, distant, hard to please, unloving; that’s how we see God unless He has healed us from those wounds.

e.       Our culture (especially in previous generations and in the Anabaptist world) says that men are tough, without feelings and emotions. They don’t need to receive or give love.

f.        We've never received unconditional love.

                                                               i.      Maybe very little love at all

                                                             ii.      Maybe love based on performance

                                                            iii.      We have no love in our emotional bank account to give.

g.       We are serving God for what we get from Him instead of for a relationship

                                                               i.      Money

                                                             ii.      Community

                                                            iii.      Healing

                                                           iv.      Emotional support

                                                             v.      Prodigal son rejected a relationship in favor if money

                                                           vi.       if that is where we are, God longs to welcome us back

                                                          vii.      When he came back into his father's love, he received all the physical blessings of his father's house as well.

Fable:

A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in

her front yard.  She did not recognize them.

She said "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry.  Please come in and have

something to eat."

"Is the man of the house home?", they asked.

"No", she said. "He's out."

"Then we cannot come in," they replied.

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had  happened.

"Go tell them I am home and invite them in!"

The woman went out and invited the men in.

"We do not go into a House together," they replied.

"Why is that?" she wanted to know.

One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing  to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, "He is Success, and I am Love."  Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home."

The woman went in and told her husband what was said.  Her husband was overjoyed. "How nice!!" he said.  "Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!"

His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?"

Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house.  She jumped in with her own suggestion:

"Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!"

"Let us heed our daughter-in-law's advice," said the husband to his wife.  "Go out and

invite Love to be our guest."

The woman went out and asked the 3 old men, "Which one of you is Love?

Please come in and be our guest."

Love got up and started walking toward the house.  The other 2 also got up and

followed him.

Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: "I only invited Love.  Why are you coming in?"  The old men replied together: "If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would have stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!!!!!!"

h.      We have a religion based on fear

                                                               i.      There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 1Jo 4:18

                                                             ii.      Do you live every day with a fear of

1.       hell

2.       God's anger

3.       Offending God

4.       Displeasing God

5.       God wants us to live in love that casts out fear

6.       Live loved

                                                            iii.      If we sin and we are afraid of God, we run away from God instead of running to Him for forgiveness

                                                           iv.      We run to:

1.       addictive behavior

2.       hyper religious activities

                                                             v.      We believe that we can earn God's love by works

1.       After we began attending Shalom, I realized that a big part of my fulfillment and value in life came from works.

2.       I'd been very involved in church activities

a.       Superintendent

b.      Sunday school teacher

c.       trustee

3.       Now I didn't have those activities to give value to my life

4.       It was God's way of showing me that those things were a crutch in my life that were blocking me from receiving His unconditional love.

5.       This is why we see so many people of God fall into sin. They have been filling the void of intimacy with God with good works.

                                                           vi.      What we need is a new picture of God

1.       If we look at Jesus life on earth, we can get a picture of who God is

2.       He wants to bring life, healing, compassion and joy to us

VII.              Living without God's love

a.       When we live without God's love, we can never give true love to others

b.      We desire intimacy with God

c.       we live with a void in our lives we seek intimacy elsewhere:

                                                               i.      Even our spouses cannot fill that void

                                                             ii.      Fulfilling marriages, can only come as we first have a close relationship with God

VIII.            Learning to love

a.       See ourselves as God sees us

                                                              i.      We tend to believe that we are unlovable

                                                            ii.      We are damaged beyond repair

                                                          iii.      God sees us as His beloved children

                                                          iv.      We are created in His image

                                                            v.      Our worth comes from God, not from us or our performance

                                                          vi.      a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, " ' 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." Mat 22:35-40

                                                        vii.      Jesus said that this is the most important commandment. Yet, many times we want to put the Great Commission before the Great Commandment

                                                        viii.      Sing "Jesus Loves Me" with understanding and believe that it's true.

                                                           ix.      Jesus loves me when I'm bad and when I'm good.

b.      Realize our need for intimacy

                                                               i.      We all need it, men included.

                                                             ii.      We need God every step of the way.

                                                            iii.      We need to know and be known by God and by the people in our lives

c.       Take personal responsibility for intimacy

                                                               i.      It's easy to blame others for the lack of intimacy in our lives

1.       My parents didn't show me love

2.       I've been heart too many times

3.       My spouse doesn't accept it/doesn't deserve it.

                                                             ii.      God we hold each of us accountable

d.      "Be" then "Do"

                                                               i.      Being creates doing, but being is first and foremost.

                                                             ii.      I find this very difficult.

                                                            iii.      I tend to find fulfillment in doing.

                                                           iv.      I tend to look for the praise from people instead of God

                                                             v.      As we abide in God's love, we will become like Him

e.      Speak God's love

f.        The solution to having no love to give

                                                               i.      Forgive the people in our past who have hurt us

                                                             ii.      Repent of the lies we've believed about God because of the hurts we have from other people

                                                            iii.      Learn to experience God's unconditional love

                                                           iv.      Only God loves us perfectly

                                                             v.      Finish with a story that illustrates this well:

I was watching some little kids play soccer.  These kids were only five or six years old, but they were playing a real game –- a serious game – two teams, complete with coaches, uniforms, and parents.  I didn’t know any of them, so I was able to enjoy the game without the distraction of being anxious about winning or losing – I wished the parents and coaches could have done the same. 

The teams were pretty evenly matched.  I will just call them Team One and Team Two.  Nobody scored in the first period.  The kids were hilarious.  They were clumsy and terribly inefficient.  They fell over their own feet, they stumbled over the ball, they kicked at the ball and missed it but they didn’t seem to care.  They were having fun.

In the second quarter, the Team One coach pulled out what must have been his first team and put in the scrubs, except for his best player who now guarded the goal.  The game took a dramatic turn.  I guess winning is important even when you’re five years old-because the Team Two coach left his best players in, and the Team One scrubs were no match for them. 

Team Two swarmed around the little guy who was now the Team One goalie.  He was an outstanding athlete, but he was no match for three or four who were also very good.  Team Two began to score.  The lone goalie gave it everything he had, recklessly throwing his body in front of incoming balls, trying valiantly to stop them.  Team Two scored two goals in quick succession.  It infuriated the young boy.  He became a raging maniac-shouting, running, diving.  With all the stamina he could muster, he covered the boy who now had the ball, but that boy kicked it to another boy twenty feet away, and by the time he repositioned himself, it was too late-they scored a third goal.

I soon learned who the goalie’s parents were.  They were nice, decent-looking people.  I could tell that his dad had just come from the office-he still had his suit and tie on.  They yelled encouragement to their son.  I became totally absorbed, watching the boy on the field and his parents on the sidelines.

After the third goal, the little kid changed.  He could see it was no use; he couldn’t stop them.  He didn’t quit, but he became quietly desperate; futility was written all over him.  His father changed too.  He had been urging his son to try harder – yelling advice and encouragement.  But then he changed.  He became anxious.  He tried to say that it was okay – to hang in there.  He grieved for the pain his son was feeling.

After the fourth goal, I knew what was going to happen.  I’ve seen it before.  The little boy needed help so badly, and there was no help to be had.  He retrieved the ball from the net and handed to the referee – and then he cried.  He just stood there while huge tears rolled down both cheeks.  He went to his knees and put his fists to his eyes – and he cried the tears of the helpless and brokenhearted.

When the boy went to his knees, I saw the father start onto the field.  His wife clutched his arm and said, “Jim, don’t.  You’ll embarrass him.”  But he tore loose from her and ran onto the field.  He wasn’t supposed to – the game was still in progress.  Suit, tie, dress shoes, and all – he charged onto the field, and he picked up his son so everybody would know that this was his boy, and he hugged him and held him and cried with him.  I’ve never been so proud of a man in my life.

He carried him off the field, and when he got close to the sidelines I heard him say, “Scotty, I’m so proud of you.  You were great out there.  I want everybody to know that you are my son.”  “Daddy,” the boy sobbed, “I couldn’t stop them.  I tried, Daddy, I tried and tried, and they scored on me.”

“Scotty, it doesn’t matter how many times they scored on you.  You’re my son, and I’m proud of you.  I want you to go back out there and finish the game.  I know you want to quit, but you can’t.  And, son, you’re going to get scored on again, but it doesn’t matter.  Go on, now.”

It made a difference — I could tell it did.  When you’re all alone, and you’re getting scored on — and you can’t stop them — it means a lot to know that it doesn’t matter to those who love you.  The little guy ran back on to the field — and they scored two more times — but it was okay.

I get scored on every day.  I try so hard.  I recklessly throw my body in every direction.  I fume and rage.  I struggle with temptation and sin with every ounce of my being — and Satan laughs.  And he scores again, and the tears come, and I go to my knees — sinful, convicted, helpless.  And my Father — my Father rushes right out on the field — right in front of the whole crowd — the whole jeering, laughing world — and he picks me up, and he hugs me and he says, “John, I’m so proud of you.  You were great out there.  I want everybody to know that you are my son, and because I control the outcome of this game, I declare you –The Winner.”