Recieve the Word

This is an assignment for my Christian Counseling class. It is a reflection on James 1:22-25 (really vs. 19-26). The first part is personal reflection and the second part is how I would use it in counseling someone else. Just thought I would share

I grew up as a church kid. I was in the doors of the church building just as soon as my parents could bring me. Every time the doors were opened I was there, whether I wanted to be or not. I heard a lot of preaching. I heard a lot of Bible class teaching. I heard scripture, Bible stories, funny stories, good ideas, good theology, bad theology, and everything in between. When I was a young boy I loved it, but as time went on I began to despise going to church. I did not enjoy it and nothing was produced in me. I was blessed with parents who loved God and loved me, but I did not have and supernatural blessing of fruit springing forth from my life. I went to church and I did not cuss, drink, do drugs, or have sex. I thought I was being a doer of the word.

Something changed in my heart. I wish it was a fanciful story that happened in the midst of worship one night, but it did not happen like that. The first time I was awakened that there was more to God than church was in worship at a summer camp, but the road was longer than that. Jesus changed my heart and my actions. Deep inside I felt like I would never be able to be a good Christian because I could never measure to the perfection that I always heard about and that was portrayed by so many people I saw around me, but God taught me about a relationship with him. He showed me that true worship required more of me than singing a song in the correct form; it meant presenting myself as a living sacrifice before my king and singing with a heart full of love, joy, adoration, and praise during those times of corporate worship.

I thought I was being a doer of the word, but I did not know what being a doer of the word really meant. It means being quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, putting away filthiness and rampant wickedness, and receiving the word. When I began to receive the word and let it transform me, blessing began to flow out. When I step where God has spoken, blessing flows out. When I let anger and my ideas rise to the top, blessings are stopped up.

Many people who come to us with problems are those who are in church. They sit through all kinds of services and seminars and hear the word. These people still come to us because their lives are a mess. Often we blame the word they are hearing and try to develop more relevant curriculum for students and preach in a more engaging manner. The problem is not always presentation; the problem is often a failure to receive the word. We do not need to send people to read more books and hear more sermons. We need to teach people how to receive the word.

The people who come to us must learn to let God transform their hearts. When they read scripture, hear a sermon, or read from a book, they need to let those words penetrate their hearts. This happens when they take the word they have heard and meditate upon it. When hearts are transformed and the word is received, blessings can begin to flow. The blessing of Spirit-empowered transformation can happen. The angry person who explodes with rage can become a peaceful listener when the word is received.

Often times we hear a word from the Lord, we know it is from the Lord, and we still do not receive it. James reminds us that we are only deceiving ourselves. We cannot think ourselves to be Christians if we sit in church and hear great messages but continue in filthiness, rampant wickedness, and raging anger. We must learn to, through the blessing of the Spirit-empowered life, to sin longer and partake in the righteousness given to us in Christ Jesus.

God has transformed me. When I began to receive his word deep into my heart, I was able to give up my raging anger, secret pornography addiction, and live in the blessing of which James speaks. I went from despising church meetings to actively being a part. Fruit is now produced through my life because I am where he has told me to be and am living by the word he has spoken. The blessing still leaves me when I leave partnership with him and do not receive the word and do not participate in what he has said.

What To Do With Weariness

This is an assignment for my Christian Counseling class. It is a reflection on Psalm 32. The first part is personal reflection and the second part is how I would use it in counseling someone else. Just thought I would share

I am the righteousness of Christ. God has predestined me, called me, saved me, and given me a purpose in life. He has me going along a path in my life and he has blessed me beyond measure. I actually have his Spirit and presence dwelling right inside of me, and he works in and through me in mighty ways. God is incredibly good.

Yet, more often than I like to admit, it seems that a gap appears between all these truths and my own experience. One of my core beliefs is that we should be going somewhere in our Christian walk. We should be headed somewhere and be getting farther along and growing as time goes on. Many times I see people in our Sunday morning assemblies who, week after week, come to the Lord broken, in need of prayer, confessing sin, and weeping at the altar. Then the next week they are right back there doing the same thing. This happens for weeks on end. I believe we should be going somewhere. Christ fixes us and doesn’t leave us broken when we come to him, he works when we pray, he forgives our sin when we confess it, and he wipes our tears when we weep. I do not want to be one of these people who seems to be stuck in a cycle. I want to move forward. Yet sometimes I think I am farther along than I am and kid myself into thinking I cannot and do not mess up.

A year or so ago, everyone I met called me a man of peace. I had the peace of God so alive in my heart that I could not be shaken. I remember they found a mass on my dad’s pancreas, but I was not shaken. I trusted God, and he took care of it. People who met me would always comment on it, even nonbelievers. They could not understand how I did not get bothered or upset by anything; the only thing they could come up with is that I smoked a lot of marijuana, but I would simply tell them the Prince of Peace dwelt inside of me. Lately I have been stressed, tired, and easily frustrated. I have sinned against the Lord through my own rebellion and going my own way. I have tried to do things on my own and stepped out of partnership with him. I have felt weary and without strength. Yet when I finally came to him, really and truly I found that rest. I found the blessing, relief, and joy. Blessed be our God.

I do not believe I am the only one who has felt this way. Many times leaders, church volunteers, worship leaders, teachers, pastors, preachers, professors, and many other people feel like they have gotten somewhere and to have sinned or fallen is unthinkable at their current point. It would be healthy to look at sin not as going backwards, but as simply veering off track. I do not agree with the assumption of many that, because we are human, we will sin multiple times everyday; Christ has paid for our freedom and the Spirit empowers us. It is also foolish to think, as some do, that we will never sin because we do. As the first part of Psalm 32 say, we are blessed when we are forgiven and when the Lord has removed our transgressions.

Many times we get stuck in verse 3 and 4. We live under the weight of sin. We groan because we feel tired and frustrated and there is no relief. We even feel like the Lord is against us sometimes and start to question our calling and our standing before him. Yet we keep silent about our sin because we think we are beyond that. We think we have come to a point of sinlessness and falling would be inconceivable.

The good news is relief is available. Instead of remaining silent, as in verse 3, we should acknowledge our sin to God as in verse 5. We should lay our hearts open before the throne of God and hide nothing from him. He will forgive our sins when we come to him and confess our sins before him.

If we truly desire to be Godly, we have to come before him often in prayer is what verses 6 and 7 talk about. Our weariness and frustration comes if we do not do this because the storms of life come all the time. Things come at us and stress from work, school, bills, relationships, and other commitments can build up and make it seem like there is no getting out. Yet it seems we have a refuge and a hiding place always available and it is Him who sits on the throne. He will deliver us in no quiet or feeble manner!

Verses 8 and 9 say how he is to lead our lives. The will keep his eye and counsel on us as we follow his leading, but he will not if we go our own way. He will not force us to go his way, yet his presence, counsel, and peace lifts when we try to do things in our own strength and might. We must stay with him. Verses 10 and 11 remind us that there is sorrow in the lives of the wicked but we have joy when we walk with the lord. So when someone is under that weight and weakness, we could take them through this Psalm as I just have and remind them to be open before God and let him guide our path. Joy and relief will come!

Move That Mountain. (No really!)

He said to them, “Because of your little faith [you could not cast out this demon]. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
What are you thinking right now after reading this verse? A few weeks ago I remember listening to a sermon and a preacher read this verse and I was thinking, "There is no way I could really speak and a mountain would move. That's just mot possible." But immediately Holy Spirit said to me, "No, that is not true. This is my Word and it is true and it says that if you have faith like a mustard seed you can tell a mountain to move and it will move. This is true."
Okay.
I recognized something. I recognized that I didn't have faith. I'd seen God do some amazing things, but I was still lacking faith. I had also prayed for people and nothing happened. God was showing me that faith is the key here.
But there is a funny thing about faith and it is that I can't make it. I can't muster up or attain faith. God gives it. 1 Corinthians 12 has a long list of gifts of the Holy Spirit like healing, tounges, and miracles and in that list, faith is included. Faith is a gift from God and nothing else. So I asked for faith.
Less than a week later my friend was preaching at a church so a bunch of us went to support and pray for the people there during ministry time. Afterwards,  another friend of mine, Denis, came to me and said he had a headache and wanted me to pray for healing. After a second, I remembered this word God was speaking to me. I had asked for faith, and I had some. So I put my hand on his head and boldly, in faith I asked God to heal his headache and I told the headache to leave in the name of Jesus. After I was done, Denis looked up, sat there for a second, and then looked at me and said, "It's gone!" It was awesome and I shared what God was speaking.
That night he went home and prayed for his roommate who had a cold for a week and it immediately went away.
So right now it is headaches, fingers (maybe some on that later!), and colds. Tomorrow it's on to mountains. Either way, God Almighty is moving!

Walk In the Light (The Gospel from Creation)

This is my manuscript for my first in-class sermon for Introduction to Preaching" In the beginning there was darkness. There was no earth, only total and complete darkness; a darkness so thick that you wouldn’t be able to see your hand right in front of your face. Then the voice of God Almighty thundered through the darkness. With the Word of God creation took place. With the simple Word, light spewed forth from the mouth of God. This light came into creation and walked with his special creation: mankind. The light was bright among men and all creation but then darkness creeped into this picturesque creation. A snake slithered in and deceitfully convinced God’s special to rebel against him. God took care of this darkness and restored the light in part with some restrictions. But darkness came, yet again, into this existence. This darkness increased and the light decreased. Darkness overtook God’s special creation and God did something about it. God destroyed the creation that was overtaken by darkness and left the light. 

John 1:1-5 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

Light again moved into the center stage. God’s special creation, mankind, again grew and populated the earth. God then chose a man and promised blessings over him and his supernaturally-provided family. Things were bright for a while but creation soon turned into a cycle of intense light followed by intense darkness. Light and then darkness. From light to dark and back again. Even when the light was bright, it only shined in one part of a dark world and was governed by the Law. And then it happened. God said, “I wish that one of you would just shut the temple doors,” and then he stopped speaking. Darkness seemed complete again. No words booming through the sky, no crazy prophets coming from the mountains, no dreams, no visions, and no still small voice. 420 years of complete silence and complete darkness. 

And then it happened again: a small light appeared in the distance. There was a crazy man in the woods that started talking about a light that was coming. He would say, “The light is coming! Prepare yourselves and repent! The kingdom of God is near! I am not the light, but the light is coming!” 

John 1:6-8 6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 

The light rested in Bethleham. The light of the world inside a small baby. The hope of glory and the bringer of grace and truth was inside the inconspicuous Jewish boy. No crowns, no jewels, no crowns. Just a seemingly regular Jewish boy. But this boy was anything but regular. He brought light to the world. He was the Word of God which lived among the very thing it created. Moses brought Law but he brought something different: grace and truth. He came to save the world and offered the chance for his special creation to become children of God and filled with light. But there is something funny about those who live in the darkness: they like it there. They rejected the opportunity to step into the light and looked for an opportunity to extinguish it. They eventually decided they would kill this Jewish man and that is exactly what they did. 

John 1:9-13 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Again the world seemed plunged into darkness. This darkness was so complete that the sun wouldn’t show. Then one morning, one Sunday morning we will never forget, the tomb the buried that man in was empty. An angel stood close by and said that this man had risen from the dead! He was dead and now he was alive! This man appeared to his disciples and showed them that he was alive and they were amazed. Light burst forth from the empty tomb in the world and this light was placed into everyone who would simply believe this story, this crazy story that the Word of God came and lived with us and dwelt among us. That the light of the world took on complete darkness, died, with it, and defeated it by rising from the dead and leaving it in the tomb. Now we can all become children of God. We can receive a grace that was almost unimaginable before. No one has seen God our Father but he has been reveal to us through this light and Word in whom we have salvation! 

John 1:14-18 14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15( John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'") 16And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. 

John paints a beautiful picture in this passage of the Gospel. The pure and simple Good News of Jesus Christ. From the beginning, he points back to creation showing how God was working throughout history to bring Jesus. Jesus was not plan B and was not the last resort. Jesus provides us with a unique opportunity to become children of God Almighty and carriers of the light just as he was. This was God’s plan from the very beginning. He put his son into his creation to redeem it and then plans to use his creation to spread the news about his son and about the light. 

We have all received this light and we all carry it inside of us. We are all minister of this light and have the amazing opportunity to be ministers of reconciliation by sharing this story with those around us and letting the light increase and pushing back darkness. We are called to live in a way that the world sees us as lights shining in the darkness. Like lighthouses on the shore, we should be guarding against the destruction of the world. 

Believe in this light and word as they are revealed to us in scripture. Accept the calling to which you were called and walk in light as carriers of light to bring those walking in darkness home to the Father. Today, walk with the Word and walk in Light.

What Is the Point of Creation?

I've been thinking about a question lately: what is the point of creation? It's popular to say that we were created for worship, but that doesn't make sense. Is God in need of approval, and especially if it is from His own creation? That would be silly!! So are we just here because God was bored one day in heaven and wanted to play some kind of real-time stragedy game like Age of Empires? No, I don't think any of these answers are very good. Today though, I think I may have found the answer.

Colossians 1:15-20 is a section of scripture about Christ. Part of verse 16 says, "For by him ... all things were created through him and for him." So creation is all for Jesus!

This might seem random from this point and disconnected, but just come along for the ride. When Creation happened, man was created on the sixth day and God said it was very good! Adam, as God's special creation, got the job of naming the animals. In the process, Adam found nothing that could be a companion and helper to him. Because of this God made Eve, a helper comparable to him.

So what does this have to do with Jesus? Well you see, Jesus is the last Adam. You and I are the Eve of all creation! We aren't just here to be God's toys. We are here to be in a relationship with his son, Jesus. All of creation is rushing towards the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-10). Like Eve we are created in the image of our bridegroom to be his helpers. We are not just supposed to get a ticket to Heaven, but we are actually Jesus helpers in building the Kingdom. And we aren't only helpers, but companions and partners with him!

You and I were not made to worship. We were made as the prize of the Alpha and Omega! We were made for relationship with Jesus and for his pleasure. How cool is that?! And if you doubt that Jesus is pleased with his bride... well I'll leave you with what Jesus (the bridegroom) thinks about you (the bride):

"You have captured my heart,
my treasure, my bride.
You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes,
with a single jewel of your necklace. Your love delights me,
my treasure, my bride.
Your love is better than wine,
your perfume more fragrant than spices."
Song of Solomon 4:9-10 NLT

Jesus is captivated with just one single glance from you and by your love!!

Jesus. Only Jesus.

We are seeking satisfaction. We are seeking meaning, hope, a calling and fulfillment. We look for it in so many places. We try friendships and don't find fulness there.
And then comes a fork in the road.
Some go and try to find fulfillment in trying to gain as much pleasure and fun as they can in life. These people party till they drop. They drink, smoke, and shoot whatever they can. They have sex wherever they can get it. But at the end of the day, they are left feeling the same, or worse, when they started.
There is another group of people. They are like us. They sit by you in the pew every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. These people are seeking to find rest in their good deeds. These people read their Bibles every day, go to every church meeting, pray for an hour every day, and never miss their communion on the "Lord's day". Some of these people fast one or two days a week every week or even more. They do service projects, work at church camps and volunteer organizations. After all this, they are still unfulfilled.
The thing is neither of these approaches are the answer. Both have elements of truth, but none have the fullness of truth. Fulfillment is found in one thing. It is found in doing the very thing we were created for. We were created to seek God and find him. (Acts 17:27) We were created for a relationship with Jesus. Eternal life IS KNOWING CHRIST! (John 17:3)
You see both of these methods have some truth, but not everything. God created man, including our desire for pleasure, and He said it was good! Satan just does a great job of providing counterfeit outlets for the God-given desires. Drugs and alcohol seem to match a desire, but it is a counterfeit for life in the Holy Spirit. Sex outside of marriage masquerades as a fulfillment for our desire for intimacy with Christ and a spouse. True pleasure is found no where except for Christ. It can't be found in church or in good deeds. It can't even be found in knowing about Christ!
Truth, fulfillment, meaning, calling, and life are found in only one place. The man Jesus is the source of life! He came to bring life,  and life to the full. So seek Jesus, not parties. Seek Jesus, not religion. Seek Jesus, not good deeds. Seek Jesus, not the miraculous. Seek Jesus, only Jesus! Find Jesus and you will find life.

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." John 5:39-40

SERMON: Prayer | 2011 July 3

This is the sermon I preached at Hawley Church of Christ yesterday on prayer and more specifically, some of the things we receive from the place of prayer. There are some awesome testimonies of answered prayers in there and some other good stuff! I turned the PowerPoint into a video and synced the sermon audio with it. I hope you gain something from it and let me know what you think.