Monthly Archives: June 2014

On Us All!

On Us All!

Jun 8

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On Us AllMy Church's Building - our goal - to see it restored and filled with people who find healing in Christ Jesus, while helping others heal

John 7: 37-39

As the Holy Spirit’s presence fills this place, and our lives, may we rejoice that we have been granted repentance and the ongoing gift of His presence.

Are You Dehydrated

The patient’s heart was racing, even hours after lying down, it was still over 110 beats per minute.  His temperature was over 102.  The little energy that was left was being used up quickly as his legs and lower back would spasm and cramp.

Not sure of what was going on, the man would go to the emergency room, where after waiting 3 hours, he would hear the doctor say what he should have known.

Except that when you are severely dehydrated, you don’t always see things clearly, you don’t have the ability to process things.  You can have all the data, you can know it all, yet the simple truth had to be given by someone else.

All of the symptoms, the fast pulse, the temperature, the scratchy throat, the cramps weakness and weariness, the mind-numbing fog, these symptoms were caused by a lack of water….

You would think someone who spent ten years living in the desert would be able to realize his need for a glass of water, or as the doctor recommended some 14-15 glasses of water.

Classic simple symptoms, classic simple cure – go home, drink nearly a gallon of water that evening and rest and you will recover…..

Hear again Jesus’ words to us this morning,

“Anyone who is thirsty may come to me, Anyone who believes in me, may come and drink!

He almost sounds like the doctor I encountered in the ER….

There is a difference of course, Jesus wasn’t talking about physical dehydration, And what He would quench our thirst with, wasn’t Walmart or Costco 1 liter bottles, or even Evian or Perrier.

It is the Holy Spirit who would be outpoured, even as Moses desired, upon all who trust in Jesus’ promise, in the promise that goes back to the earliest of recorded time.

Spiritual Dehydration

Before describing this out pouring of the Holy Spirit, I think we need to understand spiritual dehydration.  Like physical dehydration, the symptoms that appear do so slowly….it creeps up on you, and all of sudden you feel anxious, disconnected, weary, and life is broken.

Sometimes the spiritual dryness, the dehydration is caused by internal struggles.  Our thirst, not for God, but for pleasure, fame, wealth or even health and what ever is considered the good life.  These desires enter us like a virus, and can never really be totally quenched.  They simply demand more and more of us, until we are used up.

Sometimes the spiritual dehydration is caused by our reaction to external pressures.  The job demands, the financial struggles in the world, the relationships that are stressed by sin and by self-centeredness.  Seeing continual injustice, seeing people continually chase after what is best for themselves, even trampling others, seeing the brokenness that occurs when we don’t help those in trauma… and their struggles finally get attention on the news, having escalated beyond belief

It is not one of these things, but the accumulation of them that overwhelms us, and one day, we turn around and our heart is racing because of anxiety, or we find ourselves exhausted, drained, broken…..  and we hear Jesus’s words,
“Anyone who is thirsty may come to me, Anyone who believes in me, may come and drink!”

For the Promise of the Spirit is for us all

Today is the feast of Pentecost – a feast that began nearly 2000 years ago.  A feast where those who thirst have that thirst quenched, whether it was 2000 years ago, or whether it is this morning. For what John writes in his gospel, we know to be true…

39 When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.

What hadn’t occurred when Jesus was teaching this, we celebrate having begun, and continues this day.  That which is mentioned in the reading in Acts, as the people realized that Christ died, was indeed the One sent to save the world by that death.  Hear that interaction again,

36  “All the people of Israel, then, are to know for sure that this Jesus, whom you crucified, is the one that God has made Lord and Messiah!” 37  When the people heard this, they were deeply troubled and said to Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do, brothers?” 38  Peter said to them, “Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God’s gift, the Holy Spirit. 39  For God’s promise was made to you and your children, and to all who are far away—all whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Acts 2:36-39 (TEV)

Those words resulted in some 3000 people being baptized, as the promise of Jesus to quench their thirst.  For the Holy Spirit was poured out on them with the water of baptism, the promises of God made sure to them, to their little ones, even to those who would have been thought to be too far from God….

As Moses had desired, God poured out His Spirit upon them all.  They came to trust in Him, to know that the cross was not just an instrument of death, but that it was the glory, the love, the mercy of God revealed.

Here is how Paul taught a young pastor named Titus,

4  But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5  he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6  He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7  Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7 (NLT)

He generously poured out His Spirit upon us, He quenched our thirst, He gave us a new life.

A promise for you, for your children, and for all who are far off.

A promise He is calling some of you to receive….as like the people as Pentecost began, the Holy Spirit is cutting your heart open, revealing the thirst you have, a thirst for God’s love, a thirst for His peace.  If that is you, let’s get together and see God quench your thirst.  If you’ve already been baptized, if you’ve already drunk deeply of Christ, rejoice this day and every day, and look to Christ and know the peace He’s given you.

A peace that is beyond all understanding, a peace that comes as the Holy Spirit quenches our thirst, a peace for us to dwell in, guarded by Christ. AMEN?

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Why Doesn’t the Church Understand Pentecost?

Why Doesn’t the Church Understand Pentecost?

Jun 7

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devotional thought of the day….OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

14  But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. 15  As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.” 16  At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 17  Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? 18  ‘You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all? 19  When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?” “Twelve,” they said. 20  “And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?” “Seven,” they said. 21  “Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them. Mark 8:14-21 (NLT)

298 The faithfulness—in the service of God and souls—which I always ask you for, is not the easy type of enthusiasm. It is the enthusiasm you can acquire in the middle of the street, when you see how much there is to be done everywhere.  (1)

Tomorrow is Pentecost, the day when the church celebrates. Unfortunately what it often celebrates is the past, the anniversary of the events nearly 2000 years ago.  The Birthday of the Church some call it.  While this is true, I think that when we focus on just the event of Pentecost, isolated apart from the daily life of the church, we end up hyper-focusing like the apostles, and we miss the point of the celebration. We also don’t understand Pentecost when we reduce Pentecost to a focus on any gift, or make the case that the gifts are still operative or God the Father has directed the Holy Spirit to cease it’s work. Pentecost is not the time to argue the pros and cons of Pentecostalism, or the Charismatic movement.  Yes miracles happened, and we can argue until we turn blue about whether they still do,

When we focus in either way, we lose sight of what Pentecost is, as if we are focusing on the lack of food, and who is to blame for what is, or isn’t happening.  We go from trusting in God, to studying why we trust Him.  We go from loving God to theology, we go from experiencing is presence (what happened on Pentecost) to celebrating that the church once did know God’s presence.

I am probably stepping on toes here.  Heck I am doing the unique trick of stepping on my own toes, or at least the way I’ve talked about Pentecost in the past.  All those errors above, I’ve made them, I’ve lived them.

But Pentecost is not the past, what happened on that day hasn’t stopped happening, the work of the Holy Spirit is still going on today, this Feast, this celebration has never stopped.

The Holy Spirit is still bringing people to hear God’s promises, He is still working through those of us called into a relationship with Jesus, the same way He was working through the apostles and those that worked alongside them.  (remember there wasn’t 12 gathered, there was 120!) THe Holy Spirit is still revealing the work of Christ, and that every promise of God is fulfilled, that Christ died, rose and will come again. Pentecost is that time that St. Josemaria describes, when enthusiasm doesn’t come easy, but it comes from being in the street, seeing the work that needs to be done, and knowing the Holy Spirit is doing that work, through us.

The Holy Spirit is still cutting open man’s hearts, and replacing them with living hearts, He is still baptizing people and granting them repentance, The Holy Spirit is still a gift, living and active in each of us that trusts in Christ, a promise to our children as well – and to every person that is far from God, through us.

The Holy Spirit is at work, revealing that we are the people of God…. revealing how deep the love of God for us in Christ., revealing how the hope we have is the hope for this world.  Hope for Ethiopian Eunuchs and the person we are sitting next to at Starbucks.  Hope for the Ethiopian Jailer and the police officer that drives through our town, for people like Lydia, the seller of purple cloth, and the supermarket clerk.

We need to be people who don’t just celebrate Pentecost as a feast of the past, we need to be people who live in the reality of Pentecost, who are the ones who the Spirit is working on, or working in and through.  For this is the life we have been raised into, in Christ.

May we see thousands baptized into Christ in the days ahead, as we treasure this Pentecost, this outpouring of God’s Spirit upon His people!

(1)   Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1429-1431). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.

 

 

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A Very Different Sports/Church Parallel…

Devotional Thought of a long weekOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

4  God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. 5  God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. 6  God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. 7  Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (MSG)

There is a saying coined by Pat Riley (and brought to my attention by ESPN’s Louis Riddick) that is called “the innocent climb.” Riley described it this way in his book The Winner Within: The innocent climb is the surge that occurs within a team as they are accomplishing more because of the synergy that occurs within a team. Innocence means understanding that the team comes first and being carried along by that; being naive means being ignorant. Innocence doesn’t mean being naive. Teamwork and all of its benefits happen when everyone puts the team first. Innocence comes when the leader believes in something and puts him or herself out to accomplish that.  (1)

First off, I can’t believe I am quoting Riles, even more that I borrowed the quote out of a article about the SeaHawks.  (It followed an article about Tom Brady…:-)

But the author nails something about the church, and how it should function in Christ, that is well described.

Our “Leader” believed in something, and put Himself out there to accomplish what He believed in, He put himself out there literally to the point of death.   We have lots of church words for it, Salvation, Deliverance, Redemption (which includes justification and sanctification) Reconciliation,.  It is why Jesus was born of Mary, why he lived, suffered, died, rose and ascended to Heaven and it is why He will return.  This “something” is why the Father in Heaven sent Jesus, it is why Jesus asked, and the Father sent us the Holy Spirit, and why we trust in that promise enough to know those who trust in Him live in His presence now, and will eternally.

It is that accomplishment, the very relationship that God establishes with us, with you and I and all the saints today, those before us, those after us, that creates the synergy that we call the church.  It is an innocent climb, innocent and yet not naive or ignorant.  We know it is His presence that does it, in a very real way, it has nothing to do with us, and yet everything to do with us in Christ, united in His death and resurrection, united by the Spirit.

This can’t be programmed, it can’t be manipulated.  It can’t be forced or manipulated, though some may try, and some may seem to succeed.

It just is who we is.   That’s the “synergy” as the article puts it.

It’s why I contend (as others have) that sermons need to lead people not to the foot of the cross – but through His death, into the resurrection, into His glory, into the point we know He is present in our lives.   Where we serve together, each different, but the difference not mattering, as Paul tells the Corinthians,   Where our gifts flow, out, even those in others we aren’t always sure of, that we aren’t always comfortable with, even though we know they are in scripture.

It is why we gather to worship, to receive His blessing, to celebrate them together, for that is the nature of His accomplishment, His goal.

When a Bible Study, a youth group, a church, a group of churches or even a denomination are focused on Christ, in Christ…. the synergy is incredible.  The focus of God results in praises – no matter the style of worship, no matter the era of the music, things happen without thought,   Walls come down, barriers are cross, people are loved, and more are saved…

Not because we force it, just because it is natural…. in Christ, led by the Spirit.  What most consider supernatural, it just is.

Because He has had mercy…. and that creates synergy in ways that even pro sports teams cannot imagine….

It’s all about Jesus – and our innocent journey with Him…

(1) http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2083325-mike-freemans-10-point-stance-give-tom-brady-his-due

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Stressed? Anxious? Worried? Simple Fix….Really

Stressed? Anxious? Worried? Simple Fix….Really

Jun 4

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Devotional Thought of the Day:photo(35)

1  A pilgrim song: GOD, I’m not trying to rule the roost, I don’t want to be king of the mountain. I haven’t meddled where I have no business or fantasized grandiose plans. 2  I’ve kept my feet on the ground, I’ve cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content. 3  Wait, Israel, for GOD. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always! Psalm 131:1-3 (MSG)

 

Part of me hopes, as I read the verses from the Psalms above, that I would have learned this lesson by now.  That I would simply accept that God is in charge, that I would relax, that I would drop my anxieties, my fears, my worries at His feet.  It is not easy, but over the years, I’ve become better and better at it. Or so I thought.

Sunday was a time for a lesson in humility, as I was struck with a flu bug that caused me to end up in the ER. I had Sermon studies to write, because others depend on them. Worship services to plan, and annual report to write.  I have another couple of critical issues I thought I had to deal with, some people i care deeply about who are facing incredible trauma, one situation where someone in need was begging to talk to me in person, and I could barely stay awake.

And I had to lie there, in bed, like the proverbial child ( is pslamial a word?) and simply let God be God.

Peace didn’t come easily, or maybe it was the fever that caused me to toss and turn?  No, let’s be honest, it was trying to fix everything, or at least come up with a fix, or 22,538 possible fixes!

Two days in bed (okay the second was in my recliner – doing the sermon study and worship plans on my laptop) and finally, here on Wednesday, I am back in my office.

God’s worked out some of the issues, given me the peace to enable me to deal with another, and well, the others will be dealt with, as God enables.  Some will be long term struggles, some will be able to imitate the psalmist. I can only point to the fact that when we let God be God, He is… and when we try to play God, He still is, and will call us back to Him, waiting to heal us, waiting to show us mercy, waiting to hold us in His arms. Waiting to dance as His prodigal child again returns home.

The simple way to deal with stress, and anxiety and the worries of the world?

Be His…. oh wait – you are!  So remember you are His….

 

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We Are His!

We Are His!

Jun 3

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Alleluia!  He is Risen…thereforeSAMSUNG

We are His!
John 17:1-11

In Jesus Name

 As we walk through this life together, may we know the grace and peace of God, for He has made us His own…

 

He is Risen, and therefore…

There is an old tradition among God’s people, to greet and respond to each other during the seven weeks between Christ’s resurrection and Pentecost with the following words,

Alleluia!  He is Risen!

(Some respond “He is Risen Indeed!  Alleluia!”)

Let’s all try that – English and Chinese at the same time

Alleluia!  He is Risen!

(response)

We’ve added something to that, this year in our congregation.  It is that I respond, “therefore” and the congregation responds, “we have risen indeed!  Alleluia!”

In each of our sermons, then, we’ve looked at what it means to be the people of God who are united to Christ in His death and in His resurrection.  Today is the last day of that series, and in our gospel reading we see the incredible truth,

He is risen and therefore we know we are His!

If there is something that should cause our praises to be heard throughout California, through the world, it is this.  You and I are Christ’s, and therefore dwell in the presence and glory of God!

Let’s look at how this is laid out in John’s gospel….

But first I want to hear it one more time.

Alleluia, He is Risen (response)

therefore, ((response)

The Son Gives us Eternal life

In verse 2, we are reminded why Jesus came, what the moment of His glory was all about.  It says there,

2 For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him.

But what is eternal life?  My first funeral sermon was done back in 30 years ago at a church in Yorba Linda.  Since then, I have done hundreds, and I’ve heard people talking before and after the services about what heaven is, or at least asking the same questions.

“Will my dog be there?”
“Will there be golf?”
“How old will I look?”
“Will we know each other?”

Or one of my favorite comments,

“When I get to heaven, I am going to ask God, (or maybe the Apostle Paul) why….

Most of the questions, we can’t respond to, they aren’t dealt with in the passages that describe heaven, like 1 Corinthians 2:9 – which says it is beyond our ability, or the passages in the Book of Revelation, where it talks its perfection.

Jesus describes eternal life here though, in this passage, in a way that is simple  and clear.

3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.

Eternal life is simply knowing the Father and the Son, to be in a relationship with them, to dwell in their presence, to dwell in their glory.  This is what it is, this relationship with God that is described here eight times in these verses, that we are His!

I think that deserves a Alleluia!  Or if we translate that – a “Praise the Lord” or in Mandarin (teach English speakers to say it  J )

Eight times as Jesus prays we are described as being God’s, either the Father’s or that we’ve been given to Christ by the Father!

  • Keep His Revelation

We are God’s people, that has been the plan since before the foundation of the world, it is what Jesus accomplished on the cross, and it is there that we are united to His death, and to His resurrection.

We see that relationship described in verse 6 as well, as we are described,

6 “I have revealed you* to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

We are described here in a way that is incredible. We have kept the Father’s word,

“Kept His word.”  Some translations in English translate this as obey, as if God’s word is simply about obeying the Ten Commandments, checking each one off, one by one.  The words go deeper than that – the word for kept is to guard, to observe, to value and treasure and protect.  In English it goes back to the most secure place in the community, the castle keep, where you put all of your treasure.  TO keep something was to secure it, to guard it with every ounce of your strength, for it is precious.

It is the same word as in verse 11, where Jesus asks the Father to protect us by the power of His Name.  The word for word is rhema in Greek – God’s declaration, God’s official statement regarding the issue.

In this context, I think of the word, as that which we find in Moses writings, and in the prophets, the statement that God makes to us.

“You will be My people, and I will be your God” or “You will be My people, for I AM your God”.

That is a declaration of God that should be at the core of who we are, for it completely defines who we are.

We are His!

And that is worth treasuring, not just with “a” Alleluia, or a Praise the Lord, but a life filled with praises, a life glorifying Him, as we live in complete awe of His love for us!

  • Keep/protect Us

I mentioned before, that the word translated as “kept” was also seen in verse 11 as “protect”, when Jesus prays,

11 Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name;* now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.

This word, keep/protect, brings up the last point of our message, our reason to celebrate today.  The power of God seen in our lives again, as God protects us, as God guards us, protects us with the full power of His name.

That is something to have confidence in, to be in awe of, and to contemplate.  That God cares about us so much, that we are protected and His treasured people. That He would take the time to cleanse us of sin, to deliver us from the bondages of that sin, and of Satan, that He would free us of our anxiety and fear of death, for we know we have life eternal.

It is from this place of security, this place of peace, this walking with Christ daily that holiness and unity flows.

We are one, not because of our work, nor are we holy because we decided to be holy.  We find our unity, our eternal life, in God, in His making us His people.

All because God the Father send Jesus to us, to claim us for we are His.

For jesus Christ was born of Mary, was crucified, died and Alleluia! He is risen!  (let them answer) and therefore ( We are risen indeed.)

Hear it as Paul wrote to the churches in Colossae,

1  Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2  Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3  For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3 (NLT)

So treasure the eternal life you’ve been given, know the blessings of God revealing that you are His children, His people, and be confident, that you are kept in Christ and we are one in Him!  To sum it up,

He is Risen, and therefore We are His!

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