Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23
What kind of faith would it take for a saint to thank God for you? Have you ever wondered about that. Seriously, think about your favorite ministry in the world: Focus on the Family, Let my People Think, The Bible Answer Man, or about a million others. Now what would be going on in your life for that main spokesman to say I thank God for you?
Now I do not think we should be doing things to get recognition, but it is perfectly fine to be recognized. Paul was probably the most energetic missionary in the early Church, he went all over the know world to spread the Gospel so pretty much every area knew who he was. To be noticed by someone you think is great is some of the greatest encouragement to receive. I know this in my own life. I was recently nominated to be the Elder for our area in our Yearly Meeting, for mosto you that know very little of Friends traditions the Yearly Meeting is like the head of the denomination. There are several Yearly Meetings in the United States, each functions independently of the others, but there is usually some partnerships. The Yearly Meeting is all of the Monthly Meetings meeting together once a year to do cooperative ministry. Ok enough of the lession if you want to know more feel free to ask, but what I am getting at is I was nominated by someone I have the greatest resect for. A pastor who I see as being the ideal pastor. To be nominated as one of elder of an area in which this person was a part of was like being told by Paul that He thanks God for my faith.
How do we get recognized by these saints? The way is to incorporate the mind, body, and spirit in such a way in your daily life that the love of God pours off and out of you. That is why it is important to have a life of prayer. Not because it is a good deed to put on a chart, but it is the way you connect to the mind of Christ. The more connected to Christ the more we reflect His life. Prayer is the beginning of the devoted life, you will burn out in ministry if your prayer life is not developed.
I encourage you all to deepen your prayer life, and consider what type of life would get the saints talking. After that I encourage you to engage in life you are called to.
Scripture: Psalm 98
Music is a tool, a tool that moves the spirit of a person. For my birthday I received a CD from a friend. It is probably one of my favorite albums even though it was originally produced before I understood what music was. (I was alive but only a few months old.) This album makes me think, it actually drives me into a spirit of worship. I do not know why and most people would be scared about what I was worshiping by listening to it.
The album is Pink Floyd’s The Wall. The music reminds me of the brokenness of mankind and the struggle each of us make just to survive. We each have wounds from various places: our parents getting a divorce, bullies and teachers at school, the threat of war, and countless others. To protect our vulnerable spirit we build defensive walls to hide behind. We hide behind the wall afraid to show our true selves to the world. The wall become our facade, who we think we are. It was built to protect but it morphs into our prison, we would like to be free and real but we cannot think of living life without our protective wall.
The album stirs emotions in me, which is the point. Music is used to prompt emotions, thoughts, passions. This album reminds me of what life could be like, but does not have to be. There is another option. The bricks of the wall could be used for other purposes.
The Psalm today speaks of a victorious life with the Lord. A life where God shows the world what he can do. It speaks of a battle, but we are not sure who the players are. If you wanted to study it deeper you could probably figure it out, but the writer does not say who the Lord was victorious over. It is left up to the imagination. What if the victory was the transformation of a life hidden behind a wall, but brought out into and warmed by the light of God? Somehow the light breached through the cracks between the bricks sparking life within the dying spirit withering in the darkness of their prison. Slowly and steadly enlightening more and more of the life until the wall has been transformed into a beautiful labyrinth leading to the throne of God.
As we travel this pathway we are filled with more life, greater energy and hope. We are vulnerable to the word yet not worried about what it can do because the Lord is drawing us in and protecting us as we sing His praises.
Today consider what bricks you have in your life, the issues that you struggle with, and consider where we are putting them. Are we stacking them up building walls to seperate us from the people around us, or are we allowing God to use those struggles to build a pathway for us to walk on? Consider those people that we have in our lives, are we allowing them to become bricks in a wall or are we letting God turn those stressful people into songs of praise and ornimates in the garden of our lives?
Who would ever think a progressive rock album from the 1979 would prompt a guy in 2012 to praise God? Crazy things happen when God is in your life. I also challenge you to prayerfully listen to music, consider what it is stiring in your life. If you have kids it may be a great oppertunity to open up lines of communication between you as you just listen to the music. I am not going to say that there is great spiritual significance in every song but there is movement. If you play an instrument consider a jam session with God.
I also encourage you to let others know how God is moving in your life. On a path we will meet others on our journey sharing our experiences often gives help to others and may also prevent us from building another wall.
Scripture: 1 John 3:1-7
There is something mystically inspireing about the church. For those that have been injured by it, they are wounded because their peseption of what it should be and what it is is skewed. There is a great ideal as to what the church, the assembly of the one true God, should be. Many hear about the ideal, but often the practice leaves much to be desired.
There is still something about it. People around the world read the scriptures devoted to this, some under great threat to their very life and family. Still the idea, the hope found in this assembly is too much to disreguard. Young adult across our nation sit at coffee shops sipping their capichinos, reading about the ideals and hope of the church. Yet many of these people will never enter into a meeting house devoted to the practice of the faith they read about on their ipads and kindles.
Does this bother you? Does it worry you that so many wander around the perimeter of the gathering, yet will not make the effort to cross that imaginary line into a life of faith in God through Jesus? Is there a reason this happens, and is there a way to bridge the divide?
The greatest thing about the writtings of John is that his message is filled with hope. The gospel attributed to John speaks of a God that loves mankind so much that he came to live among them and to redeem them out of a life of bondage through his own death. The Revelation of Jesus, commonly known as Revelations, is a cryptic message of hope and glory through the darkest of situations. The letters are like letters of love written by a parent to a child as they traverse the journey of life.
Today we meet here in this place and we read this letter, penned by the last apostle of Christ, penned to the assembly of believers he watched grow from infanthood to adulthood. He is no longer the son of thunder, but known as the elder. John the Elder, a title that should not be taken lightly. In many cultures age is respected and with age comes wisdom. These are the ones that faught the battles and lived, but are no longer able to continue in an active role. The battles are different but the elder can usually encourage the younger generation in their own quests.
John says you are children of God. This is the greatest status of all humanity. Even in Greek culture the claim of being a child of a god came with great status as well as great responsibility. These people were to be the leaders, the ones to inspire the masses. The same is true in the Christian tradition. We as God’s children are to lead and inspire those around us. The church is the signal, the beacon that brings hope and a haven of saftey to restore the strength of those out in the turmoils of the world.
John goes on to say we are this great group, the children of God but they don’t know who we are. Every generation has to have God revealed to them. Every generation must experience God for themselves. At times the generation gap is not that large because the conditions are similar. Other times the gap has grown so large that it as if the entire church has a total reset.
The world has to see God at work for them to believe. For the apostolic generation they spoke to the people that walked with Jesus. It was eyewitness testimony that revealed God to them. As the apostles began to die for their faith they began to see a need to reveal the gosple in a different way. They wrote letters and sent trusted people to read and carry these letters to the dispersed church acroos the empire. After a while the church was reguarded the official religion. Yet still God had to be revealed. Everyone was technically Christian but the faith was dry. men and women began to go out into the desert to seek God in a new way. These monastic groups served the communities in a different way and allowed God to be revealed as they sought to do His work. And copied the letters written by the apostles to share with the next generation.
As technology increased the letters written by the first generation merged with it and the Bible was then mass produced in so that anyone could then read the scripture for themselves. From this God was revealed to another generation in a different way. The church grew in many ways and God was experienced.
Cultures progress along with this brings many new opportunities and challenges. There are new vices that bleed the life out of the church. The desert monks saw the vice of comfort. There was no longer persicution and people were no longer challenged to live out their faith in daily life all that was required was to attend the services. So the monks sold everything and went out to the most uncomfortable place they could find to experience life with God. They purged out the sin in the assembly raising a new awareness of what is keeping them from a relationship with God.
We have new challenges and new opportunities in our current era. We have a generation of people around us that has not experienced the relationship with God that we find so iimportant. This is exciting because God will reveal Himself to them if his children are willing to be obedient to his will.
What is the sin of our day that needs purged so that our culture can see. Our own nation has been shaken by a scandel in probably the most vital law enforcement agency. England is going into the fourth generation of people who have never held a job. Lust and sloth threaten the future of two great nations. But these are not the only sins. Greed and selfishness have entered the assembly, every sin we see in the world is right in the church. We ask why don’t people come, the answer is why should they? We need to take an honest look at ourselves. The world does not need another group of people that can quote chapter and verse into every situation of life. They do not need to be entertained by the greatest bands. They do not need a golden lipped preacher speaking to itching ears. What the world needs is God to be revealed to them. They need to see Him at work in the world around them.
We as God’s children need to see what is keeping people from God and invest our lives in it. If we see greed as an issue then we become the opposite of greed to provide a platform to speak. If lust or sloth bothers us we should actively pursue a life where we can purify our culture of that sin. I know that sounds idealistic but throughout history it has worked. This is how revivals happen. When the children of God look at how they can actively live out their faith it causes people to ask questions.
When I went to Ukraine I was asked one question all the time. Why did you come? Why did I go? Why would an American care to go teach in the land of a former enemy? I opposed the Soviet ideas of God and man I went to befriend them and to reveal the truth.
Sin, lawlessness, and enemies will always pursist unless someone takes a different route. Jesus did this. God and mankind were at odds. Man could not know God let alone have a relationship with him. To them God was this angry being that caused drought, famine, and excile if you did not submit. That is not the full truth, they did not know because they could not see. But Jesus came to reveal God. He taught, forgave, and healed to show the world the true charactor of God. But they did not know. Those that did see believed. those that beleived then lived as he lived revealing God to other. Some could not see but others did and they too joined in the life with God through Jesus.
The cylce continues. Each generation and each person must choose for themselves the life to lead. What do we choose a radicle life devoted to reveal God’s love or would we rather not to cause a stir. I want to live a life that makes people ask question what about you?