The Love of the Giver

 Thomas A Kempis wrote: A wise lover values not so much the gift of the lover as the love of the giver.

Think about that- when I see the gift of salvation provided in abundance and freely bestowed on me, I have to go beyond the gift of God, and examine what caused Him to want to give it in the first place—the Love of God.  So while I value the gift, the gift is only there to lead me to the Love behind the gift.

 

And therein lies the reason we got trapped into all this commercialism surrounding Christmas in the first place.  We got the whole gift thing.  That made sense.  God gave to show His love—therefore, we can give to show our love.  So we give to those we love.  At least that’s where it started.  But then we began to spread that out a little to include those we appreciate.  And then we found out about political correctness, and we expanded it to giving gifts to those we couldn’t afford to offend or else to those by whom we wanted to be thought of more highly.  

And the gift giving became the focus, instead of the love behind the gifts.  When you separate the value of the gift from the love of the giver, you are left with raw materialism.  And then our worth becomes measured by the expense of the gift.

Let’s take a look at John 1 then, and take a look at the Giver of the gift in order to see if we can see the love of the Giver. 

 

John 1:1   In the beginning was the Word, (capital W—but who is this Word?) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. (being with God and also God himself would give us a clue.  Next John turns to the function of the Word)  3   Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (Keep your finger there and let’s go back to Genesis 1 and see if that’s true.)

 

Gen. 1:1   In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

 

Wait—God just said—let there be light and there was light?  How did that work?

 

Psalm 33:6-9 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.  7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses.  8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him.  9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

 

Did you catch that?  By the word of the Lord were the heavens made.  Go back to John 1:3-4   Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

 

The Word was the enacting power in the creation story.  In Him was life…without Him nothing was made that has been made.  But watch this.  Jump down to verse 14. 

John 1: 14   The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

He, the Word, the Life-giver, the one that made everything that has been made—came down and made his dwelling among us.  Why?  To offer Himself to us in relationship.  To help us understand what God was like. 

 

After centuries of mankind enduring the powerful lies of Satan about what God was like, Jesus came to show us exactly what God was like.  And it wasn’t what we thought He would be like at all.  

 

Degenerate human nature says, “Show your power and gain respect!”  But the One who had the most power in the universe—the One who, with a word, could create all things, cloaked His power in the guise of a Baby.  But Satan knew the potential of that power and tried to have His life snuffed out as a toddler.

 

Degenerate human hearts crave money and wealth.  But the One who had everything and came from a place where gold was so cheap they used it as a paving material for streets and building material for the walls, walked through this life unencumbered by material possessions.  And Satan tried to tempt him with everything that man considers important, promising to deliver it all if Christ would only bow down and worship him.  But relationship with the Father is what Jesus centered on because it was the source of His strength as well as the heart of His mission.  Nothing else was worth having.

 

So Satan decides that if relationships are what we need, then present before the  degenerate human heart a string of them.  If one isn’t good enough, cast it aside and grab another.  But each one leaves us only more damaged than the last and leaves a string of broken people and relationships in our past.  Satan knows that if he can keep them shallow and surface, they will never be as fulfilling as God intended.  Jesus chose to focus deeply on that one relationship that mattered—the one with His Father—and that enriched all of the relationships He had with people.  It freed Him from the shallow and the surface.  It allowed Him to go beyond the outer protective shell that people would throw up around themselves, and penetrate to the heart of each.

 

It allowed Him to see the need of Zaccheus—not more money or things—but relationship.  

It allowed Him to see the need of Nicodemus—not more money or power—but relationship.

It allowed Him to see beyond the sin of the woman caught in adultery with her guilt and shame, and He knew she didn’t need more of that, so He offered grace instead.  He offered her relationship.  Not one that condemned her away from the presence of God, but one that restored her to God through Himself.  And that was beyond comprehension to the degenerate human heart.

 

John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

 

John 1:9-10 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.  10  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

 

Has life soured for you because you have been living it your own way and now everything is falling apart? Have you been striving for the wrong things, thinking they would be the fulfillment of your dreams, all the while having a nagging knowledge that tells you that the fulfillment will only be temporary?  Have you been measuring your worth in dollars and cents with the false god of materialism, yet finding that no matter how much you buy, it leaves you unsatisfied?  Do you find yourself in shallow or broken relationships knowing that they won’t truly be the answer, but not willing to let go, simply because you fear being alone?

 

Then the good news found in Jesus, is that he comes to offer Himself.  He's the Right Answer to a mixed-up world.  A relationship with the Word (capital W) can allow Him to speak a re-creative word (small w) into your life.  He can make you and your world all over again. And He can make it better, richer and with a brighter hope for your future. But it can’t be done apart from Jesus.   Any striving for any of these things apart from Jesus will only leave you more broken, more frustrated and more destitute at the end of the day.  How do I know?

 

John 1: 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

 

That’s where the right answer for your life is found.  In Christ.  Alone.  In Him is life and that life is what can bring light to your life.  It can re-orient your priorities, bring fulfillment and purpose to your life, show you what is truly important, and restore relationships and deepen them beyond your wildest hopes, dreams or expectations.

Are you ready to try Him...again?  Or perhaps, for the very first time?  Then simply ask Him to come in and speak that word into your life.  And if you need help knowing what to do next, I'd love to hear from you.

Hope in the Storms

It has been said that we are at one of four points in life: Either between storms, going into a storm, being in the middle of a storm, or coming out of a storm.

In Matt 8, as well as in Mark 4 and Luke 8,  we find a story of the complete cycle.  Let’s look at Matthew 8 beginning with verse 23.

Matt. 8:23    Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. ²⁴ Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

Matt. 8:26    Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.

Matt. 8:27    The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!””(Matthew 8:23–27 NLT-SE)

Now let’s read it again in  Mark 4.  

Mark 4:35    As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” ³⁶ So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). ³⁷ But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

Mark 4:38    Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”

Mark 4:39    When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Mark 4:41    The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

 

Did you notice the subtle differences in Mark?  Especially in the cry and attitudes of the disciples.  Keep in mind, that the book of Mark is the recorded stories of Peter as written by John Mark.  So you start to see a little bit of the personality and memories of the different disciples and what they were thinking at the time.  We’ll come back to that in moment.

To round out our picture, let’s go to Luke 8.  

Luke 8:22    One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. ²³ As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger.

Luke 8:24    The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”   When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm.

²⁵ Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?”  The disciples were terrified and amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!”

So now that we have three versions of the story, let’s piece them together and see if we get a little bit more understanding on this passage, and perhaps something that can help us today.

The disciples were peacefully going across the lake.  Jesus is exhausted so He lays down in the back of the boat and goes to sleep.  Suddenly, without any real warning, the storm breaks.  And this is a storm to beat all storms.

They are struggling against the oars, they are bailing like mad and they are panicked out of their minds. Those hardy fishermen had spent their lives on the lake, and had guided their boats through many a storm; but against this storm, their strength and skill are worthless.  They are helpless in the face of this tempest and their hope began to fade as their boat began filling with water.

Absorbed in their efforts to save themselves, they had forgotten that Jesus was on board.  Sound like anyone you know?  Not until they came to the end of their strength and they could see death staring them in the face, did they remember that somewhere in the boat was the One who could help them.  They call out for Him, but they hear no answer.  Just more wind and more waves to the face.  

And now, doubt jumps on top of fear and rides deep into their souls. Had Jesus forgotten them?  Was the One who had healed diseases and opened blinded eyes not able to help His own disciples now?  Have you noticed that we often do the same?  In God’s silence, we often listen to our doubts.

The book Desire of Ages says that a flash of lightning revealed the sleeping Savior and they are incredulous.  How can He sleep through this?  So they woke Him by screaming above the tempest, as recorded in Mark 4:38 (and remember, this is Peter’s version of the story)   “Teacher, Don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”   

Now, I have put this question in the category “stupid questions asked by the disciples”.   Do you think Jesus cared if they drowned?  Of course He did.  Because these men were to be the ones that carried His message to the world.  Of course He cared, but, as we said earlier, in God’s silence, we often listen to our doubts.  

First, forgetting Jesus was in the boat, and then, secondly, not hearing anything from God, they instantly jumped to the conclusion that God didn’t care.  Some things never change do they?  Ever done that? 

So they cry out to Jesus… “Don’t YOU CARE that we’re going to drown???”  Notice…to their reality, this is a foregone conclusion.  They had fully assessed the situation and decided that it was hopeless AND that somehow God didn’t care one whit about them.

There is no indication from either Matthew, Mark or Luke’s account that they wanted Him to do anything more than start rowing or bailing—but I believe they also knew that HE was where their hope lay.  Mathew’s account says that they screamed, “Lord save us: we’re going to drown!”  And I like what the book Desire of Ages says on page 335 “Never did a soul utter that cry unheeded.”  

Let’s go back to our text in Matthew 8.  V. 25 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”(Matthew 8:25–27 NLT-SE)

I love this story for a lot of reasons. First, it reminds us that no matter what storm we are going through, Jesus is still in the boat with us, and He has the power to control everything. Check this out-as fearful as the disciples were in the middle of the storm, they were even more fearful and amazed that the elements that they had feared only moments before, were totally at the beck and call of this man with whom they traveled.

Second, He is a God of surprises. When the disciples shouted out 

“Lord, save us!”, I’m sure the last solution on their minds was that He would simply get up and rebuke the storm and it would cease. They were probably hoping for the supernatural, to be sure...but they were not expecting that. 

Third, Jesus left them with more questions than answers. “Who IS this Man???” We were afraid of the storm before...but THIS Man is GREATER than the storm! That storm was NO MATCH for Him. We thought we were stuck in the clenches of the power of the storm...but the storm was nothing...compared to HIM. 

But as cool as this story is, it occurred to me that this story could either increase our faith or Satan could use it to defeat our faith. What? Let me explain. 

On the one hand, we can see a God who has absolute control of the elements...yet seems to let us down when it comes to OUR current crisis at hand. I had faith...didn’t I? And we focus in on the question Jesus asked them, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” And we squint harder and repeat, “I believe, help my unbelief!!” 

We forget that it was not the disciples faith that caused Jesus to act. It was His goodness and grace, seeking to teach them that He could be trusted in the days and weeks ahead. 

We don’t stop to think that maybe there were other nights on the lake where the storms surrounded them and Jesus DIDN’T calm the storm...but allowed them to go through it. 

Their faith was not the answer to the problem. It was only the answer to the peace that was to be had as they faced the problem. Faith isn’t always about getting the outcome you want. Faith is about trusting that the outcome you receive will better prepare you for the way ahead. Faith is about trusting that one way, or the other, God will get you through the storm and you can be at peace in the middle of it because you trust that God has got you. 

Yes...Jesus CAN bring you the miracle, the healing, the whatever your prayer is...and sometimes He does. To quote singer/songwriter Scott Krippayne, “Sometimes He calms the storm, and other times he calms His child.” 

Sometimes He allows us to face the hard stuff so that we can learn that it is NOT our desired outcomes He is most concerned with, so much as our relationship and our trust in Him for the Journey ahead. 

That storm you are in...will you trust Him with it just now? He’s the God of surprises...so who knows how He will answer...but it will always be a way that can make you stronger and growing closer to Him if you let it. 

I pray peace for your daily journey.

Social Media Grenades vs The Way of Love

Almost a year ago,  I wrote Of Facebook Cannons and Twitter Bombs to examine how too many of us are seeking to right wrongs by weaponizing  our social media feeds to force change with those that have wronged us.  I ended with the line perhaps we need to live like Jesus and lead with love.

In that piece, I looked at the counsel Jesus gave in Matthew 18 on how to deal with those that have wronged us.  Sadly, many Christians totally ignore that counsel, and instead of airing their grievances with the person, they go straight to the Twitter feed or Facebook feed and call out, not just those that have wronged them personally, but those who merely irritate them or hold a view counter to their own.

I've observed on more than one occasion, even pastors, those who I'm certain must have read this passage at some point in their training, totally skipping over Jesus' very words of counsel and blasting other pastors on their social media platforms for the things that are contrary to the view of the one posting.  

In fact, some haven't been personally wronged at all! They merely disagree with what is being said in a sermon or a Twitter post, or in a meeting where something was said, and out come the social media grenades, hoping to blast that person and their opinions into oblivion.  

I just read a new one the other day and it greatly saddened me, and once again gave me cause to ponder.  And as I was pondering all these things the other morning, I decided to re-examine what God is calling us to as we deal with one another, especially fellow Christians. I wrote a Facebook post about what I found and incorporated part of it here.  Look at what Jesus Himself said to His disciples.  

John 15:12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have.

In this day and age of cancel culture, weaponized social media feeds and a polarized society on just about every front, it’s becoming harder and harder to like, much less love, those who are not like me, who think differently or who are sometimes just downright mean. Yet the command remains. 

To stay faithful as a follower of Jesus means we have to love others like Jesus loved. And it is impossible to do that unless we stay connected to Jesus. 

It’s like an electrical circuit. It is in connecting to Jesus and letting the love of Jesus flow into you so that it can flow from you to others that enable you to obey His command.

Perhaps you, like me, have found that loving others is easy to say, but hard to do. And as I seek to do that, I recognize that I can’t do it without the power of Jesus in my life. That’s why it is necessary to stay connected to the Source of Love. To (pardon the pun) stay grounded in His word.

Obeying His command to love, keeps me in His love because I recognize that there is no possible way I can do that on my own. Simply keeping the 10 commandments apart from loving others will do you no good. Jesus calls us to love as He loves. He doesn’t just call us…He commands us. Over and over. Check these verses where He reiterates it. 

John 13: 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

John:15:12-14 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

John 15: 17 This is my command: Love each other.

Are you seeing the theme emerging that Jesus was trying to get across to those of us who profess to follow Him? Yet many of us spend our time arguing, judging, and comparing...Even calling people out on our social media feeds, seeking to show others our disgust or disdain at what we consider to be their errant thoughts and ideas without ever following the council in Matthew 18. hmmm...

Perhaps it's time for a refocusing of our spiritual priorities and returning to our calling to love.
What was it Jesus said?  

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

Between the Almost and the Not Yet

Ask any kid on a car journey about liminal space, and they will stare at you blankly.  But they all know the experience of liminality.  And so do you.  We find ourselves in liminal spaces all the time. How do I know?  Ever asked or answered this question on a road trip? “Are we there yet?” If you have answered with the words, “almost” or “not yet”, you understand the concept of  a liminal space. They are those transitional spaces in our lives that come between the Almost and the Not Yet.  They are transitory spaces.  Places where you cross one threshold but you are not quite to where you are going. 

In a house, we would call them entryways or hallways.  A place, not to stay, but to get from one place to another.  Get trapped in an entryway by someone blocking your entrance and someone behind you wanting to get in and you experience one of life’s teaching moments.  There is nothing quite so awkward as being stuck in a liminal space. An elevator would be another great example of that.  It is used to get from one floor to another, and that is extremely helpful,  but to get stuck in one can suddenly become frightening. Even hanging out in a stairwell of building leaves us feeling out of sorts.  Use it the way it was designed, and it is useful.  Stay there too long and it begins to feel a bit creepy.

In our world today, we find ourselves at that awkward place of liminality.  We are not yet through the pandemic, but almost.  We can see light at the end of the tunnel, and we certainly aren't where we were a year ago, but we aren’t yet back to normal.  That teen with a learner’s permit? Liminal state.  That pursuit of a degree?  Liminal stage of life.  They are phases to pass through but not to stay.  To be in a liminal state means that we are in transition,  moving to another stage, another place or another level. We have left one place and stage, but we have yet to arrive at our new place or stage.  And liminal phases almost always leave us feeling unsettled, unfinished or unresolved. There is something about leaving that liminal place and crossing into a more permanent or resting place that gives us the resolution we crave.

Moving from the kitchen down the hallway to the bedroom gives our purpose fulfillment.  We find sustenance in the kitchen and rest in the bedroom, but the hallway is not a place we typically hang out.  Its main purpose is to be the thoroughfare that gets us from one place to the other.  Necessary, to be sure, but not designed to be a destination.

Consider that one of the greatest liminal spaces for the Christian, that place between the Almost and the Not Yet, is simply called…mortal life.  Consider this: we know we have salvation in Christ as believers, because of what He did for us on the cross, and once we believe, we have left our old life behind,  but the fulfillment of that in its entirety is not yet.  And it won’t be until we cross the portals into heaven. This life, though it has many places of fulfillment and resting and enjoyments, albeit countered by pain, sorrow, loss and death, is really only a liminal space. 

From the womb to the tomb, this journey we are on is not a place we are to crave staying, any more than we would desire to always stand in the foyer or camp out in the hallway.  And even when we arrive at the tomb, it too, in reality, is only a liminal place.  We are, for lack of a better way to view it, stuck between the almost and the not yet.  In fact, according to scripture there are only two ultimate destinations-Heaven or Hell. And that isn’t so much a place as it is a Person. While I believe heaven and hell can be physical locations,  I believe they are more accurately descriptions of either being with Jesus or away from Him.

All through scripture, God continues to remind us that, though we were born here, this is only the hallway to heaven.  He seeks to help us understand that He intentioned more for us in the beginning, and though we blew that plan to pieces through our sin,  through Jesus, God desires to rescue us from our liminal spaces, both physical and mental, and deliver us to a place of true destiny; our ultimate destiny.   A place where we will finally discover in totality, who we really are, and how we can live into that for eternity. To know and be truly known…and totally belong.

That destiny can start here and now.  It is one of purpose and intentionality: to pursue the Creator God in personal relationship, to seek and discover how God has put us together and to utilize those gifts to help others see the futility in seeking anything on this earth as a final destination.  Wealth?  Fleeting.  Power? Fickle and damaging.  Fame? Here today, forgotten tomorrow.  All liminal spaces.  None of them are permanent destinations.  Those who pursue them find, after attaining a certain amount of any or all,  that there is still more of each to seek after.  And even if you could attain all of the money that exists in the world, all of the power that is available and all the fame you possibly could attain, the burning question would still be: Is this all there is?  Now what?

They are the same questions that all seek.  And the answers?  No.  This isn’t all there is.  You have an ultimate destiny and it is found in the person of Jesus Christ. Now what?  Perhaps Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, can answer what we are to be doing until our ultimate Destiny-Jesus, comes to take us to our ultimate home-heaven, as we wait between the Almost and the Not Yet.

Eccl. 12:13    That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.

Heb. 12:1    Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

Hold on my friends…until the FINALLY HERE arrives.

Don't Pray for the Holy Spirit... if You Just Want to Warm the Bench

There’s nothing worse than mismatched timing.  It makes us uncomfortable.   It makes us nervous. 
Perhaps, it even makes us feel foolish.  Whatever it makes us feel, we know that something’s not right.

It's like a zoom call where the audio doesn't match the video.  It’s like a choir where the sopranos are three words ahead of the altos who are two notes ahead of the basses and the tenors are “ten or” twelve notes behind everyone.  What a noise!

A car doesn’t run well when the timing is off.  Baking bread either burns or is still raw when the timing is off.  It seems every time we try to use timed bake, the timing is off.  (Actually, I don’t think it ever comes on!)  Relay racers rely on good timing as they pass the baton.  Rock climbers have to have split second accuracy as they leap across a chasm to a miniscule ledge.  And preachers have to have good timing.  (Let ‘em out by 12 and you got it made!)  

But most of us don’t realize that  Christians have to have good timing too.  We need to be “in-synch” with God.  The problem is that many of us are so busy that we fail to recognize what God’s timing is.  And because we are “out-of-synch” with Him, we don’t get done what He’s asking and providing power for us to do.  So, what does it take to be “right on time” with God?

The book of Acts gives us a good clue. Let’s get some background.  Jesus was just about to return to heaven.  But before He left, He described again, to the disciples,  how the Messiah was to suffer and die, and then be resurrected.  He then promised to be with them as they shared these things with the world.

Acts 1:8   But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 

Luke 24:49   I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." 

Jesus is saying that once you are a believer in Him, the first step to getting in touch with His timing is waiting.  Waiting to be clothed with power from the Holy Spirit.  And that’s what the disciples did.  But they did not wait in idleness.

Luke 24:52   Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.  53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. 

Acts 1:14   They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. 

Neither Acts 1,2 or Luke 24 provide much more detail, and I wanted to find out more.  What was going on there.  The book entitled “The Acts of the Apostles” (AA) helps fill in the details.   In chapter 4, it’s as though the author, Ellen White, were adding color to a picture that was just a sketch.  Let’s fill out the picture.

First, she says (AA)P. 35  “In obedience to Christ’s command, they waited in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father-the outpouring of the Spirit.”    First, they waited.  

Second, (AA) p. 36 says, “As the disciples waited for the fulfillment of the promise, they humbled their hearts in true repentance and confessed their unbelief.” Wow... They humbled their hearts and confessed unbelief as a sin.

Third, (AA) p. 37 tells us, “The disciples prayed with intense earnestness for a fitness to meet men and in their daily intercourse to speak words that would lead sinners to Christ.  Putting away all differences, all desires for supremacy, they came close together in Christian fellowship.”  They prayed for a desire to lead others to Christ, and they put away all their differences and selfishness.

Continuing on-  (AA) p. 37  These days of preparation were days of deep heart searching.  The disciples felt their spiritual need and cried to the Lord for the holy unction that was to fit them for the work of soul saving. . . . They were weighted with the burden of the salvation of souls.  They realized that the gospel was to be carried to the world, and they claimed the power that Christ had promised.”  They felt their spiritual need, and as a result, they felt a real passion for saving others. 

Then the Holy Spirit came.  Scripture gives us this scene in Acts 2 beginning with verse 1.  “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.   2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.   3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.   4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.   5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.   6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.”

(AA) page 38  “The Spirit came upon the waiting, praying disciples with a fullness that reached every heart. . . .Lost in wonder, the apostles exclaimed, ‘Herein is love.’   They grasped the imparted gift.  And what followed?  The sword of the Spirit, newly edged with power and bathed in the lightnings of heaven, cut its way through unbelief.  Thousands were converted in a day.”

There it is in a nutshell.  Wait in obedience for the Holy Spirit.  Humble your heart and confess your unbelief.  Pray with intense earnestness, claiming the promise that the Holy Spirit will be yours.  Accept the gift.  And then . . .warm the pew.    That’s right!  Ask for the Holy Spirit so that you can get that bench just a little warmer.  Yeah- It’s like a teacher of mine once said. . . “grab all you can-can all you grab, and sit on the lid while saying quietly to yourself, ‘I got the Holy Spirit!’ ”

If you think that’s it, think again.  Same author, different book.  A little book called “Christian Service.”    On page 253 it says, “The Holy Spirit won’t be poured out  while a majority sit still.”  Friend, if all you’re wanting to do is keep the pew warm,  they sell battery-operated stadium seat warmers.  You don’t need the Holy Spirit for that.  And my guess is, as long as the seat warmers are available, the Holy Spirit won’t come for that purpose anyway.  Don’t pray for the Holy Spirit if you just want to warm the bench.

(Paraphrase of AA p45) When the disciple were training under Jesus, they were led to feel their need of the Spirit.  He had promised it, told them they needed it, and told them what it was for.  Under the Spirit’s teaching they received the final qualification, and went forth to their lifework.  They were no longer ignorant and uncultured.  No longer were they a collection of independent units or men in conflict with each other.  They  weren’t looking for worldly greatness anymore.  

Instead, they were in harmony with each other.  ch 4:32 says they were “one in heart and mind.”  Christ filled their thoughts; the advancement of His kingdom was their aim.  No bench-warming here.  When the Holy Spirit is granted to  a person, there is no sitting still.  They have to do something.  They have to move.  That’s because the Holy Spirit is a moving agent.  

When Peter got done preaching that day, 3,000 people  came forward for the call.  The Holy Spirit moved through that crowd.   And verse 41 says they were all baptized that day.   I wonder what would happen to the Pastor that had that happen today.   No studies.  No commitment cards.   They felt the Holy Spirit working on them, and they responded.   And the disciples didn’t know any better, so they baptized them.

When the Holy Spirit moves on hearts, there can be no bench-warming.  Things will happen, and the work of God will not sit still, but will go forward with power and conviction.  Those who grasp the gift of the Holy Spirit cannot stay the same.  They will become like Jesus both in thought and in character. 

 Notice Acts 4:13 “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”  What better statement can be made about a person?  

 The disciples were filled with an intense longing to carry forward the work that Jesus had started.  Not out of a sense of dreary, “I-know-I-ought-to-do-this-because-I’m-a-Christian” attitude.  Rather, they had hearts that were supercharged with a benevolence so full, so deep, so far-reaching, that it compelled them to go to the ends of the earth testifying to the power of Christ.

They had been brought, through the Holy Spirit, into such close communion with God, that their very words seemed to burn  into the hearts of those listening.  There was an excitement, an aliveness, about them.   The Spirit animated them and spoke through them.  The peace of Christ shone from their faces.  They had consecrated their lives to Him for service, and even their physical features were changed to give evidence that they belonged to Him.

Have you ever wished that could happen again today?  I have to agree with the author of  Acts of the Apostles  when she writes, pg 49 “The promise of the Holy Spirit is not  limited to any age or to any race.  Christ declared that the divine influence of His Spirit was to be with His followers unto the end.  To all who have accepted Christ as a personal saviour, the Holy Spirit has come as a counselor, sanctifier, guide, and witness.  The more closely believers have walked with God, the more clearly and powerfully have they testified of their Redeemer’s love and of His saving grace.”

Do you know why we don’t see these things happening today?  I believe its because we don’t pursue holiness.  As far as God is concerned,  the time period we live in is not the issue.  Christ‘s promise to send the Holy Spirit hasn’t changed.  We have.  We have grown tired of hearing the “same old thing," and so we content ourselves with warming the bench, putting in our time at church, and then going home to watch TV on Saturday night  “where the real action is."   We don’t really appreciate the promise of the Holy Spirit.   We don’t think about Him; don’t ask for Him; don’t expect Him;  and as a result, we don’t get Him! 

And what happens?  The church dies for lack of fire.  No living water.  Spiritual drought and spiritual coldness.  And the tragedy  is,  we like it that way!   We don’t want it to change.    It’s no wonder,  in Rev. 3:16,  that God wants to spew us out.   We wouldn’t know what to do if the Holy Spirit really started a movement  here.  It’s possible that we would  rise up against and squelch it, considering it’s not prone to look like what we expect or have grown use to.  Really, what would you do if 3,000 people suddenly ran in to your church begging to be baptized right now?  

The Lord is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to those who serve Him than parents are to give good gifts to their children.   We should be asking God daily for His Spirit, because His presence will give our words of truth a power that not all the honor or glory of the world could give.  Do you realize, that if we were a people empowered by the Holy Spirit, Seventh-day Adventists would be known for far more than just the church that  "worships on Saturdays."

We need to be a people known for our passionate pursuit of life lived by the power of the  Holy Spirit.  A people consumed with petitioning God daily for His grace and Spirit to continue working in our lives to make us holy.

Holiness is not just some euphoric experience:  “it is an entire surrender of the will to God; it is living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God; it is doing the will of our heavenly Father;  it is trusting God in trial, in darkness as well as in the light; it is walking by faith and not by sight; it is relying on God with unquestioning confidence, and resting  in His love.” AA p51

Amid the confusion, the striving, the wrestling with life’s questions, the Holy Spirit wants to sustain and give you strength.  When you stand facing your failures and your mistakes, He offers forgiveness and comfort.  When you’re not sure if you want to accept Christ into your life, He pleads in tones of mercy and love.  And if  you’ve just sat warming the pew, He wants you to see that He is ready for action.  

Don’t pray for the Holy Spirit if you just want to warm the bench.  But if you’re tired of the same old dreary cycle of religious meanderings, then start praying.   If you want to be of service and become action-oriented, pray.  If you want power to proclaim and advance the Kingdom of God, pray for the Holy Spirit.  Pray and wait with a humbled heart, as you confess your unbelief.  Claim the promise of Jesus, and grasp the greatest gift since Salvation.  And once you have grasped it, you won’t be able to just sit and warm the pew.   You will be compelled, out of your fullness,  to advance God’s Kingdom.  To seek and bring  salvation to the lost.   To call others out of their boredom with a religious system, and into an aliveness that is true spirituality.

I challenge you to go  today, seeking that experience.  We desperately need those who crave that type of experience.  Those who will pray that God will send His Spirit to empower their work.  That’s when we’ll see a harvest.  That’s when we’ll see the work finished.  That’s when we’ll go home.    And when you talk about God’s timing,  it’s impossible to be more finely-tuned!   For the sake of the Kingdom, seek Him today.

True Worshippers-Do They Exist?

  The ability to see, to perceive with the eyes.  A field of vision. Sometimes we see clearly, sometimes we don’t.  When we worship God we surrender our lives to His will.  And in doing so, the fog begins to lift and we see clearly.  What object has become the focus of your attention these days?  For most of us the object of our attention is us.  

“How will my financial needs get met.”  “How will I meet my deadlines at work?” “When will my relationships get fixed?”  

But what if it were never meant to be that way?  What if God were really the only Object worth focusing on?  What if our focus on His beauty made our problems pale in comparison?  What if we were never meant to be the actors on center stage?  What if we were meant to be the audience members, watching Jesus on center stage?  Is that what true worshippers do?  Is that what true worship is all about?  So how’s your eyesight?  

I don’t know about you, but there seems to be a never-ending supply of things that blur my vision; a continual bombardment of my senses that leave me with a foggy view of God; a siren call off of the high ground and back to the low.  Ever since the fall of man, Satan has been devising ways and means to blur or distort our picture of who God really is.  And he’s gotten very good at it.

He starts when you are very young, and utilizes adults in your life to distort your view of God: An abusive parent; A sexual predator; An impatient and harsh teacher who is supposed to be a Christian.  Satan has endless ways or people to mess up your picture of who God is and what He is like because He knows that if he can mar the image of God when you are young, you will reject God as the answer to your search and you will look to any number of ways to fill the longing deep in your soul. And your vision grows blurry.

If he can’t succeed by marring the picture when you are very young, he’ll work on you in your teenage years through peer pressure, pop culture and hurtful relationships, all the while utilizing all of the tools he may have used earlier in life.  He knows if he can derail you here, he can lead you down a road from which many never return.  And a fog descends.

In young adulthood, he will continue to use relationships, work associates, your new-found legal status and freedom from parental restrictions to entice you, oftentimes out of curiosity, into places and situations where no Christian should find themselves.  And the picture is marred still more.

And if that doesn’t work, if he can just marry you off to someone with a distorted picture of God, then they can work up close and personal on your picture.  This human relationship often becomes paramount for how we view ourselves, and we take our eyes completely off of God and place them on our spouse and ourselves.  And if one or the other isn’t refocusing on God on a consistent basis and helping the other to do the same, your world will shrink to just you and your immediate circumstances.  And your picture of God goes more out of focus.

Later, when things just aren’t working out and you find yourself the victim of a cheating spouse or an abusive spouse or an admiring co-worker, your gaze shifts yet again, seeking a solution to the mess you find yourself in.  Add young children to that mix, and you will suddenly become a tool in the hands of Satan to mar the image of God for the next generation.   And on and on it goes with seemingly no solutions or way out of your predicament, because Satan has done a masterful job of hiding God from your view.

John Piper has observed, "Worship has to do with real life. It is not a mythical interlude in a week of reality. Worship has to do with adultery and hunger and racial conflict."  True worship is a way out our predicament.

Craig Brian Larson reminds us of the time not long ago, when “the world watched as three gray whales, icebound off Point Barrow, Alaska, floated battered and bloody, gasping for breath at a hole in the ice. Their only hope: somehow to be transported five miles past the ice pack to open sea. Rescuers began cutting a string of breathing holes about twenty yards apart in the six-inch-thick ice.

"For eight days they coaxed the whales from one hole to the next, mile after mile. Along the way, one of the trio vanished and was presumed dead. But finally, with the help of Russian icebreakers, the whales, now named Putu and Siku, swam to freedom.

"In a way, worship is a string of breathing holes the Lord provides his people. Battered and bruised in a world frozen over with greed, selfishness, and hatred, we rise for air in church, a place to breathe again, to be loved and encouraged, until that day when the Lord forever shatters the ice cap."   (Craig Brian Larson, Leadership, Vol. 11, no. 2)

The problem is, we have gotten a distorted view of worship as well.  We’ve made it “me-focused” instead of Christ-focused. In Experience God in Worship George Barna observes the contemporary Christian's view of worship: "Most adults will contend that a Christian has a responsibility to worship God. However, when asked to define what worship means, two out of three are unable to offer an appropriate definition or description of worship.

"Even among the people who consistently attend Christian worship services, apparently for the purpose of worshiping God, the majority does not consider worship to be a 'top priority' in their lives. It need not be the top priority; but most of them do not even include it among a laundry list of top priorities."

He goes on to reveal the true motivation behind many American Christian's attendance at worship services. He says it's to "satisfy or please them, not to honor or please God" (p. 15). 

We must be cautious of turning our worship and religion into a man-centered selfish pursuit. Worship has always been and will always be about God - whether we recognize it or not. For in the end "at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10-11). -Preaching September/October 2002

Which brings us to this passage in scripture where Jesus talked about worship. 

John 4: 4   Now he had to go through Samaria.  5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.  6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.  7   When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”  8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)  9   The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)  10   Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”  11   “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?  12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”  13   Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,  14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  15   The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”  16   He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”  17   “I have no husband,” she replied.

 Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband.  18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”  19   “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.  20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”  21   Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.  23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”  25   The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”  26   Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”  27   Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”  28   Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,  29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”  30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

Here’s a woman who has so had the image of God marred by bad choices and relationships that she has to come to the well in the heat of the day, instead of the morning or evening when it is cooler.  When Jesus engages her in conversation she is stunned, and even more so when He tells her about her current living arrangements.  But Jesus simply points out the obvious so that she will be open to seeing what is truly important.  He is trying to restore to her a better picture of what God is like, and in so doing, gives us a very good picture of what God is looking for.  True worshippers.  Look again at verses 23 and 24. 

23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Have you ever wondered what that meant?  What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth? In his book The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren notes, "Since worship is delighting in and enjoying God, it engages your emotions. God gave you emotions so you could worship him with deep feeling -- but those emotions must be genuine, not faked. God hates hypocrisy. He doesn't want a show, or pretense, or phoniness in worship. He wants your honest, real love. We can worship God imperfectly, but we cannot worship him insincerely.

"Of course, sincerity alone is not enough; you can be sincerely wrong. That's why both spirit and truth are required. Worship must be both authentic and accurate. God-pleasing worship is deeply emotional and deeply doctrinal. We use both our hearts and our heads.

In another place, in the same book, he says: “In our competitive world we’re taught to never quit trying, never give up, and never give in - so we don’t hear much about surrendering. If winning is everything, surrendering is unthinkable. Even Christians would rather talk about winning, succeeding, overcoming, and conquering than yielding, submitting, obeying, and surrendering. But surrendering to God is the heart of worship.

“Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.

“True worship -- bringing God pleasure -- happens when you give yourself completely to God.” (from Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life)

Inspired author Ellen White, in her book The Desire of Ages, page 189 writing about this story says: He (Jesus) desired to lift the thoughts of His hearer above matters of form and ceremony, and questions of controversy. "The hour cometh," He said, "and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."  {DA 189.1}

Here is declared the same truth that Jesus had revealed to Nicodemus when He said, "Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3, margin. Not by seeking a holy mountain or a sacred temple are men brought into communion with heaven. Religion is not to be confined to external forms and ceremonies. The religion that comes from God is the only religion that will lead to God. In order to serve Him aright, we must be born of the divine Spirit. This will purify the heart and renew the mind, giving us a new capacity for knowing and loving God. It will give us a willing obedience to all His requirements. This is true worship. It is the fruit of the working of the Holy Spirit. By the Spirit every sincere prayer is indicted, and such prayer is acceptable to God. Wherever a soul reaches out after God, there the Spirit's working is manifest, and God will reveal Himself to that soul. For such worshipers He is seeking. He waits to receive them, and to make them His sons and daughters. {DA 189.2}

God longs for us to seek Him and be born of His divine spirit.  It is only in this that we have a new capacity for knowing and loving God.  It
will give us a willing obedience to all His requirements.  Romans 12: 1,2 says:

1   Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.  2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

True worshippers are those who don’t just offer a praise song.  They don’t just throw a buck at the offering plate.  They offer themselves as a spiritual act of worship.  They become consumed with a passion for God.  They are ones who are no longer being squeezed into the world’s mold.  They don’t allow Satan to mar their picture of God through looking at the things of the world.  Instead, they are being transformed through worship that renews their minds.  How do you know if that’s you?

Pastor, author and speaker, Louie Giglio writes: "Follow the trail of your time, your affection, your energy, your money and your allegiance. At the end of that trail, you'll find a throne; and whatever, or whomever, is on that throne is what's of highest value to you. On that throne is what you worship." (Louie Giglio, The Air I Breathe)

What if God were really the only Object worth focusing on?  What if our focus on His beauty made our problems pale in comparison?  What if we were never meant to be the actors on center stage?  What if we were meant to be the audience members, watching Jesus on center stage?