When the Church Gets It Wrong

When the Church Gets It Wrong

For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles. Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. But we have been thoroughly manifested among you in all things. 2 Corinthians 11:5-6

It seems like no matter what culture you go to, there's something you never get away from: Status.

Across all age groups, income levels, and geographical locations, it can be easy to get caught up in the pressure to attain a certain level of degree, prestige, wealth, influence, or other marks of status.

Sadly, this pressure can invade church culture, too, and there's no clearer example than the one we find in Corinth. Back in Paul's day in Corinth, it was all about doling out the gratis of status.

Do you know what the gratis of status is? It's like the praise of one's position, title, and status. It's like you and I go to a doctor's convention. When you show up at the convention, you're walking down the hallway and it's like, Good morning, doctor. How are you, doctor? Good to see you, doctor. Doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor, and on and on.

It's even worse than that in Corinth, because here's what it is in Corinth: Apostle, apostle, good morning, apostle. Apostle. Apostle. Most eminent apostle. Apostle.

Paul tells them, Nonsense. You're doling out a bunch of self-ranking positions and titles. Yes, for the record, when the church buys into that, the church is jacked up and doing it wrong. Any church that is into self-promotion, self-appointing, self-proclaiming, selfordaining is wrong.

I ordained myself.

Really? How?

Online. Just ordained myself.

Well who holds you accountable?

I do. I'm self-accountable.

No you don't, because self-accountable is an oxymoron.

Gosh, we've got too many examples of this where someone is put in leadership, given a title, and all of a sudden they become a completely different person. Now they think they know everything, and it makes them talk and act differently, but not in a good way.

Listen, inside the church or outside of it, don't get caught up in what people call you. You're a son or daughter of God, and that's enough of a title for any of us.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for making me Your child! I'm sorry for any times that I have gotten caught up in the status of what other people say and think about me. Please forgive me for that, and help me to be secure in all that You say that I am!

Amen

Gifts Onboard

Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 1 Corinthians 14:13-14

You got gifts onboard? We're going to talk about these gifts together today.

When it comes to the gift of tongues, the Bible speaks to three separate categories. The first category is natural languages that we find all over the world. That's what broke out in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost. It wasn't so much speaking in an unknown tongue, but rather it was speaking in some known languages that God, by His Spirit, had given them the ability to speak.

If you go to Haiti, you better know how to speak Creole; otherwise you're just not going to be much help. You need to be able to speak the language. And I know people in Haiti to whom God has supernaturally given them the ability to understand that language without having to learn it the normal way. It's just been given to them as a gift.

Secondly, tongues is a private prayer language for when your normal language, English or Spanish or whatever it is for you, just isn't cutting it anymore to communicate your heart of love unto the Lord. This is where your mind and will are given over to the Lord and you begin to pray in the Spirit because you've just run out of words, you don't know what else to say, so you let the Spirit intercede through you and for you.

Thirdly, tongues is a language that needs an interpreter. Tongues are great, but they are way better with interpretation, and if you're speaking in tongues publicly then interpretation is necessary.

I remember going and speaking in Malaysia at a pastor's conference. When I arrived, they said, Here's your translator. And actually, there was such a strong contingency of pastors from Hong Kong and from Shanghai that it was translated from English into Malay, then into Mandarin, and then into Cantonese. And if that wouldn't have been the case, then everybody would have left confused, not getting it.

Whenever that private prayer language spills out into a corporate church setting, there had better be an interpreter there, too, so that everyone benefits and is blessed. That's how we honor the purpose of the gifts, which is love, so that not only ourselves, but the entire body of Christ is blessed by the gifts we have.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for giving me gifts so that I can bless Your Church! Please put Your love more and more inside of me so that I can use these gifts for Your glory in my life and in the whole Church!

Amen

The Essential Elements of Redemption

And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies. Exodus 12:51

Life with Jesus is just that-life. What's the alternative? Well, life without Jesus is a lot of things.

First, life without Jesus is a life of lust. It is a life filled with desire for things that do not belong to us, for things that our flesh wants for the sake of satisfying its own desires. It is a life of selfishness, self-pleasing, self-appeasing, and self-exalting. This is a life that is lonely and fearful, left on our own, feeling like we have to take care of ourselves because we have refused to put our trust in a God who provides for all our needs.

Second, life without Jesus is a life of ignorance. The world knows that it has a hole in its heart, but it thinks you can fill it with stuff, status, or sex. None of these things fulfill people's true needs, so they think they need more of what already didn't work for them and they fuel their lusts with their ignorance.

Third, life without Jesus is a life of aimlessness. It's life in the dark, and when you can't see, it's hard to know where you're going. That's why the world pursues this thing and that thing, but none of it really matters. It's like, Well, I tried money and I wasn't happy, so I had an affair. That was painful, so I tried counseling. That didn't work, so I tried meditation. That felt like a waste of time, so I buried myself in my career. That got me money again, but I'm still not happy. It's aimless.

Fourth, life without Jesus is a life that is held back by traditions. Well, my parents raised me to know that it was important to have a successful career and they always bought the best toys that were available. It's just what people do. Yeah, well, were your parents happy with their lives, or were they just slaves to what they did? And how is that working out for you?

Jesus came to redeem us out of this old life. He came to give us a new life that really lives up to its name-life.

And the important part of this for you is simply this: Whatever it is you're pursuing determines who you're becoming. Whatever it is that you're pursuing, whatever it is you're focusing on, whatever it is you're going after is determining who you are, what you're becoming, and where you will ultimately end up.

So pursue Jesus. Let the old life go. Cross over into a life of redemption. Come begin real life.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that You have life for me that is so much better and more real than everything I have tried to live until now! I freely give You my old life and ask You to give me something new. I want to live real life!

Amen

Who's Being Held?

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God...Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. Colossians 3:1,13

I love the show The Biggest Loser. It's incredible to watch the transformation happen in people's lives as they lose all the weight that has been dragging them down for so long.

Many Christians need to become big losers, too, but I'm not talking about their weight.

I am talking about how we can hold on to things that weigh us down, imprisoning us and keeping us from the life and freedom God wants for us.

In my opinion, nothing keeps more Christians in prison than unforgiveness. We need to understand that forgiveness is not so much about our pasts as it is about our future. If we think about where we're going, then we need to think about what we get to take with us.

Unforgiveness doesn't get to stick around Heaven, and do you know why? Because Heaven is where God's ultimate best for us is finally fulfilled. It's not like our past doesn't still exist. The fact remains that hurtful things, even devastating things, have happened. But unforgiveness has no place in Heaven because it keeps us from God's best.

The good news here is that we can begin to experience that blessing from God now, because we do not need to wait for Heaven to forgive.

Maybe you're thinking, But if I forgive the person who hurt me, doesn't that mean that I'm saying what they did was okay?

No, you're not. What they did will never be okay. But forgiveness does not mean what they did is okay; it means that you are surrendering it to the Lord. You're letting Him be the judge, letting Him bring justice instead of clinging to that for yourself.

Ultimately, for our sakes, forgiveness means freedom. Our unforgiveness does nothing to the person who hurt us; it doesn't hurt or punish them in the least. And it doesn't put them in prison; it puts us in prison.

Let go of your unforgiveness today and let Jesus heal your hurts. He died so that you could be whole and forgave you so that you could be free.

Prayer Lord God,

Thank You for forgiving me! You know how badly I have been hurt, and You know how it has kept me in prison. But I want to be free! I choose today to forgive everyone who has hurt me, and I trust You to heal me and set me free.

Amen

Overcoming Temptation

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12

Temptation.

It reaches out to us from all corners of society. Its tentacles seek to wrap themselves around us in the pressures of a work day. They grasp for us in the chaos of a busy home. They call to us from billboards and TV commercials, trying to seduce us to their will.

With temptations all around us, how are we going to overcome this unending battle? There are three things in our verses today that I want you to notice, which, as we apply them to our lives, will help us overcome temptations.

First, we are blessed-literally happy-when we endure temptation. James is saying that there is a blessing, even in this earthly life, for anyone who says no when temptation knocks on their door. In other words, there is a goody for not giving in. For keeping yourself apart from the world, for staying different than everyone else-God promises a blessing.

Second, God promises to bless those who overcome with a crown of life. Think about that one-a crown that is way better than one made of gold and precious stones; we will be crowned with life!

Third, it is a fact that temptation is a foe we can conquer. We do not have to remain subject to it or put up with its seducing voice. We can overcome! James would not have written that we will be blessed for enduring temptation if we were not able to do it by the grace and power of the Lord Jesus Christ!

This last truth is one we really need to get inside our hearts. We cannot allow ourselves to cop out and say, Well, I just couldn't hold up. The devil made me do it. It's not my fault; I'm just not strong enough.

No, you are strong enough, and you can endure temptation. And you will endure it as you hide yourself in Jesus' death and in the power of His resurrected life. Run from temptation; flee from it! But flee into the cross of Jesus where temptation loses its power. Hide yourself in Jesus' victory and you will be victorious, too.

Do this, and you, dear overcomer, will be blessed as you endure temptation.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your victory over temptation and sin! I run to You and ask You to help me overcome all the temptations that come against me every day. I know that with Your help, I will endure temptation and receive Your promised blessing!

Amen

Money View

Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality...And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. 2 Corinthians 8:1-2,5

Sensitive times are quite often the worst times to bring up sensitive subjects, right? Quite often, this is true, but I have to say that I think that sensitive times can be the best times to talk about sensitive subjects.

Take right now, for example. All of us have now lived in deep recession, the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression. Lots of people need jobs. Lots of people have needs. But I think this is the best time possible to talk about money, because those were the circumstances happening in the world when Paul chose to talk about it.

That's when Paul talks about it to Corinth, in light of them being faced with a great trial of affliction. In other words, they're living in hard times. If we're living in hard times, that means we can relate. But look at what Paul tells us in our verses today.

Do you see that in the beginning they gave even out of their deep poverty? That means they gave what they didn't have. They gave, not out of their abundance, but out of their lack. They gave in times of difficulty and trials of affliction.

But Paul doesn't stop there; he helps us know where the giving starts-it starts with giving ourselves to the Lord.

Listen, He doesn't want your money. He wants you. That's where they started. They gave themselves to the Lord, then they gave themselves to Paul and his companions. Mark that, okay? This is not either/or; it is both. They gave themselves to God, then they gave again.

Well that ought to be enough, Pastor. I gave myself to God. What? Do you want more?

Well, the Scripture says: Not only did they give themselves first to God, but then to us by the will of God.

God's will. Who cares what my will in this is? I know it's a sensitive subject at a sensitive time. It's God's will that we give to Him and then give again. Our job is just simply to obey.

And, who knows? Maybe by talking about this sensitive topic at a time when we feel the cost of obedience more deeply, when we give our money to God then we'll actually give our hearts, too.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You that You want all of me and aren't willing to settle for less! I'm sorry for giving You less than my all in the past, but I repent from that and choose to trust in You to provide for me as I give generously and joyfully.

Amen

Preparing for the End

The the king shall do according to his own will...He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. Daniel 11:36-37

There's a guy I hear talked about a lot. I even hear people trying to pin his title on various people now and then. Who am I talking about?

I'm talking about the anti-Christ. To help us understand who and what the anti-Christ really is, let's dig into our verses today. You'll see several things that explain the agenda of the anti-Christ to us.

Number one, he's got some Jewish blood that is flowing through his veins, but according to our verses, he will turn his back on the faith of his fathers. That is a pervasive, growing position around the world. You've probably run into many people that have said, Well, culturally I'm Jewish; I just don't practice. This guy will take on that exact same position. He will not regard the God of his fathers.

Secondly, he will not regard the desire of women. Stop right there. What's that telling you about him? What's that telling you about his agenda? It's telling you and me that either he is himself homosexual or he is very accepting of the homosexual agenda.

You know, it's gotten to the point where I clearly understand that when I speak out against homosexuality, I am speaking out against the entire culture. I'm speaking out against what has become so politically accepted and correct; and that's this guy's agenda.

Thirdly, he will regard no god, exalting himself above all. This is certainly pervasive amongst our society, people saying, What does it matter what church you go to or what name you call your god-Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Krishna-it's all the same thing.

Is that not the heart of our entire society? This is the agenda of the anti-Christ.

I don't know if you're with me or not, church, but you've got to be asking yourself, Is his agenda my agenda? Am I now somehow saying, Bob, who cares if they're two guys; they love each other,' or, I was raised in a Christian home, but I really don't believe in it anymore,' or, It doesn't really matter who you worship; it's all the same.' We need to ask this question of ourselves, because we've got to see whose team we are playing on and position we are promoting.

Whose agenda are you pushing, the real Christ or the anti-Christ?

Prayer Lord Jesus,

You are God above all else! You are the only way, truth, and life! Whether my family has known you or not, I know You now, and I will live for You my whole life, no matter what other agenda confronts me!

Amen