Welcome Home Berniece

On January 15 Berniece Holley, a friend of Katie said her final goodbyes and went home. I never met Berniece but she left behind a legacy that can't be ignored. She introduced everyone she met to the Jesus that she loved.

The following words are her own words, her testimony so to speak. Berniece was a member of the Church of God in Christ and served her community until her death.

"The Lord had to bring me a mighty long way to get me out of the clutches of the devil for he had me wrapped, tied and bound. But one day the Lord came all the way from heaven down to save an undone wretch like me. I was lost one day but thank God for his goodness and mercy.

My family said there was no hope for me. I was into the things the world had to offer which was nothing but death, hell and desctruction. The devil thought he had me but Jesus rewrote my life. He gave me the ming to seek Him right after my birthday of 1958. I began to pray for the Holy Ghost. I didn't grow up in the church so I didn't know exactly what I was asking for. I had a neighbor who belonged to the church but was doing everything I was doing in my sin. I knew I didn't want that, I wanted the "real thing". I knew God was real. I put everything out of my mind but Jesus and I started to pray. I continued to pray day and night.

I made up my mind to attend church. At church I received my blessings from God and I felt good, but I knew something was missing. One night at home on my knees, I felt another presence; someone touched me. I heard a noice as if a big ball was rolling across the floor. The devil didn't want me to give my life totally to God, but praise God, mercy was in action. As I continued to pray I heard a sound coming down from above. I began to speak in another tongue as the spirit gave me utterance. I thought I knew love because I loved my children, but that night-Praise the Lord-I had a different kind of love. I knew Agape love. God's love. Glory be to God. Jesus rewrote my life."



Regardless of theological context, agree or disagree this beautiful lady is now in the presence of God. The beautiful thing about her life is that from 1958 until the day she left this earth she was always in the presence of God. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could all learn the presence of Christ here and now, rather than waiting for a divine appointment in the sky.

Run the streets Berniece, Jesus rewrote your life. May he rewrite mine today!!

The Kingdom is Now

I'm tired, my body is sore, it's been a long week to say the least. But is has also been a week of discipline and growth. The Spirit of God is truly moving within me and I am excited as He teaches.

So often I am consumed by future things, but I am learning that God is as much in the now as He is in my dreams and visions, even more so. The last 7 months have been about learning to be still and allow the Kingdom of God to expand within me, and yet I have learned to live life on purpose and with intent. The dreams of tomorrow are just that, for tomorrow. The Kingdom is here now, and it is to be lived now and tomorrow, not just tomorrow.

Call it what you want, Present Kingdom Theology, Heresy, Whatever, I am convinced that the example of Jesus was also the purpose of Jesus, and that was to usher in His Kingdom to the here and now. I am also convinced that true salvation is not simply eternal life, rather, that is the least of definitions in comparison to the salvation of present life and creation. Jesus came to redeem every aspect of life, not just to provide a ticket out of hell. To accept only eternal life is missing the point of Jesus' life. He was not merely born to die, His example of life is also part of His redeeming plan.

To follow Christ is simply that, to follow the way of Jesus.

The Kingdom of God is here, I suggest that we place our allegiance where it belongs and that is to our king and live our lives in abundance because we are His children and this kingdom is our inheritance.

The pain of discipline is always better than the pain of regret.

Ode to a dictator

Over the last few days a lot has been said about the death of Saddam Hussein. My friend Beanie posted a great note on his Facebook that really made me step back and think. Why are we celebrating the death and certain eternity of torture for this man? Sure he was responsible for the death of thousands of innocent people, and by all standards he deserved to die. But for all rights and purposes you and I are equally as capable of carrying out the same atrocities. Why would we celebrate the certain judgment he felt the moment life passed from this realm to the next?

I know that the neo conservative, good American, Republican thing to do is to lift a glass toward Mecca, I mean Washington DC and hail our king, I mean president for being such a mighty leader, and Christian to boot. But I personally don't have time for that garbage. As Beanie stated so eloquently and I have stated many times before not so eloquently, my allegiance is to a king and a kingdom who can love an evil man til his death, not to a man impersonating a Christian who takes his country into an unconstitutional war and uses his "faith" to justify it. Nor is my allegiance to a republic that elects in its great uninformed intelligence the worst acting congress in the history of our nation, nor is it toward the religious leaders who deify said leaders all because they agree on issues like abortion and gay marriage.

When did the church become an issues based institution? When did abortion supersede the gospel? When did the spread of democracy become the goal of the church? When did marriage become an issue of the state? I have very strong personal opinions about any issue you want to throw at me, but it will not, nor should it ever, become a topic in the pulpit. Jesus loves the gay married abortion doctor imperialistic murdering dictator just as much as he loves you, deal with it.

What if we don't celebrate, rather we mourn? What would that tell the world? Would we show that Jesus is real in us if we are truly compassionate towards the eternal fate of even the most evil of men?

Celebrate if you must, I suggest we pull out the sackcloth and ashes.

My name is Joseph...

My name is Joseph, you're my baby, you're my son. Well kind of. You know I always dreamed of having a son, a son with my eyes, with my hands. A little one that I could teach and mold. My son!

I always wanted to teach you how to build your first chair, how to treat your mom…wow your beautiful mom. I simply wanted to be your dad.

But tonight as you place your small hand in mine I feel so weak. I feel as if I am not holding you, but you are holding me. Tonight in my arms lays the hope of everything I have built my life upon. Tonight in my arms lays the hope of the world.

My name is Joseph, and I have been chosen to give my name and share my home with the Son of God who has become the Son of Man. Who am I that a King should entrust me to raise him? Why couldn’t God have chosen another man?

I always dreamed that I would build your first crib. And yet you lay there in a feeding trough because I can’t afford a room. I envisioned our families celebrating your birth, but we are surrounded by dirty shepherds and even dirtier animals. It is as if you have come to redeem all creation, not just the righteous.

You see, my name is Joseph, and this is all I have to give. This is not how a king should live. The Son of God, has become the Son of Man, but this is all I have to give. What can offer you my son? I cannot teach you of the reckless love of God, because you are the reckless love of God. So, I am Joseph, and well, that’s all I have to give.

The Glory of God has taken the form of man. Tomorrow my little one, you can save the world, but tonight, tonight you are My Jesus.

Compassion - Sermon Transcript FCSBC

Compassion

As we enter in to this holiday season, a season of Thanksgiving, of rejoicing, of celebration, we have a tendency to become self centered. I know that I begin to look forward to the gifts that Christmas will bring, or to the amounts of food I can stuff into my face. I begin to think of all the things that I am blessed with, which I have, we all have, so many. I give thanks with my words, I speak thanksgiving, I even pray and tell God how great I think he is because of all he has given, that he has provided. I speak to God as if He if this giant Toy’s R Us for adults. I speak of contentment to my friends for all that I have.

This year I want to take a look at the coming season through a different lens. I’m talking about one word. A word that we speak so often and yet I don’t think we can fully comprehend the depth of what we are saying when we use this word. Jesus used this word, he experienced this word, and yet we fail to teach this word with the passion and force that drives it.

The word is compassion or Splagchnizomai in the Greek. For the sake of all of we’ll stick with compassion.

Throughout the Gospels we are told multiple times that Jesus saw the crowds and was moved with compassion. The very thought that Jesus would be moved to compassion upon simply seeing a crowd of people is humbling even before we discuss the definition of what this word means.

Compassion as we have learned it or have made it out to be is merely the feeling of pity or sorrow. We say we feel compassion for the man in the street or the child with no family or the hungry girl who hasn’t eaten. We say that we feel compassion when we see the video of Operation Christmas Child or we think of those who are suffering in Darfor or the child soldiers of Uganda. And yet as we look at scripture and to the true definition of compassion my prayer is that we would all realize the depths of our confusion and be moved in a way that we cannot explain.

The Webster’s definition of compassion is:

a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Yet the Greek definition of Splagchnizomai is:

To be feel the pain and suffering of another to the point of anguish, only then being moved to alleviate the suffering

We see that the English translation here, while it is useful doesn’t expound on the fact that compassion isn’t an emotional feeling of tears and pity, rather it is a physical pain that as the Greeks would put it, is birthed in the bowels.

Mark 6:34

This passage is very familiar to many of us; we read it as children when we learned of how great Jesus is, to perform a miracle that could feed the multitude. It wasn’t until recently that I realized that the beautiful part of this passage isn’t the miracle that Jesus performed; it is the lesson of compassion that we are taught. The miracle simply shows the power of God and it is there to get our attention, but here is what we miss all too often.

As Jesus left the boat and saw the multitude He literally felt the weight of their burden upon his back. As he looked into the faces of each one, His heart, according to the word used here, broke for each individual situation, and his body could literally experience their pain.

There are three simple concepts that we should take away from this passage. Three things that are self evident in this passage.

1. When moved by compassion you Go to it, rather than run from it.

It would have been very easy for Jesus to say to His disciples, let’s get back on the boat and deal with this tomorrow. It would have been justified, after all the reason they went to an isolated place was for rest, the previous verses say that they were going so hard that the disciples hadn’t even had time to eat. And yet because he felt their need for Him he left the peacefulness of the boat and went into the crowd.

2. He taught them the way of the Father

The Bible says he taught them many things, I have no idea what He said that night, it could have been how to live a Godly life or it could have been how to knit a sweater. The subject of his lesson is irrelevant, what is important is that he began to teach on their level, right where they were. He began to equip them for life.

3. He provided for their physical needs

It would have been justified had Jesus gone into His boat and not gone into the crowd, it would have also been justified had he taught them and then called it a night. But we are taught here that when true compassion moves upon us that we must do everything in our power to alleviate the suffering of the afflicted. Jesus had met their need for Him to be in their midst, he had even comforted them with words of truth, and yet that wasn’t enough. Those who had sat under the teaching of Jesus were hungry and in need of food.

Jesus realized that His teaching would be for naught if he didn’t meet their immediate need for food. And so it is here we learn of feeding of the multitude. Which isn’t the whole story, rather the essence of need fulfilled.

You and I are daily faced with pain and suffering, whether it be the man on the street corner or the suit in the office next door. And everyday we turn our back and walk away. Then we give money to missions or build a shoebox, both of which are good things, but can be used as mere conscience relievers. We say that is compassion when we are simply seeking to relieve our own pain and ease our guilt rather than face the pain of someone else.

This season of Thanksgiving give thanks with your actions rather than your words. Go into the crowd and feel their pain, teach them the way of the Father, provide for their needs in a real, effective, physical way.

If you are truly thankful for what God has done, show someone else how to live in abundance rather than hogging it all to yourself.

Go, Teach, Provide. Be thankful, and show it.

The vision of man cannot be fulfilled until the character of man is built and tried in the fire.

Revolution of Restoration - Partial Transcript - Nov 5. 2006, FCSBC

This morning I am at a loss for words as to what we should talk about. I have spent this week hurting for my brothers and sisters, longing for a revolution of restoration to sweep through the American church body. I have been taught so many things that I am finding to be irrelevant to Godly living, and yet I am learning that I am ill-equipped to lead as Jesus lead. I am learning that those with the most letters behind their names are the ones that we trust the most without any concern for their private conversations with God. And yet we turn our back on the man who has a true calling to the care of souls and pastoring because he lacks the pedigree of others.

I wanted to come here today and preach a sermon that would cause us to smile and laugh, I was even going to take Barry’s keys and wallet until I heard that had already been done. But this week my spirit was broken, so this morning I want to talk to you as your brother and friend, rather than the preacher or pastor.

I was taught in college that the study of scripture was purely systematic. That the same process works every time without fail. I have found however that to study scripture systematically by the book increases our knowledge to the point of arrogance and yet our spirit falters through lack of Spirit filled understanding.

The emphasis on daily devotion to scripture is thus that we fail to order our lives in such a way that our quiet time lacks the ability to provide joy throughout our day, instead choosing to live in chaos. We see our commitment as a systematic approach. 30 minutes in the morning of prayer and reading is sufficient fuel for the day. I beg to differ. When we place our devotion as obligation rather than spirit induced meditation we fail to see the beauty of the scripture laid before us. We invest in study tools written by men with their own human faults and sins, rather than allowing the very Spirit of God to lead and teach His word. We rely on the preacher to speak with eloquent words to properly articulate the message that God has breathed so poetically through the hands of biblical writers.

I stand here today as a broken man. This past week men of God that I trusted, loved, played golf with, ate dinner with fell. My heart aches not only for those men but for the children of God who had placed their trust in them rather than the Shepherd. Not only Pastor Haggard but a dear friend of mine who has fallen.

I wept this week for my hometown, 20 men and women who I grew up admiring, the sheriff who has served for 20 years, some were my classmates, one was a deacons wife, were arrested and charged with 48 felony charges. I literally cried painful tears as I thought about a pastor’s son that I played basketball with in junior high who was arrested for sex trafficking.

And the thing that broke me the most is that I knew that if any church in America spoke regarding any of these issues it would be in condemnation rather than a spirit of responsibility and restoration.

I don’t come here today with all the answers, but I stand here today to tell you that the church as we know it is failing, not only those in the streets that don’t know God, but it is failing our brothers and sisters who are in pain and can’t find a way out.

I wasn’t angered at the deacon’s wife who was selling drugs, I was angered at her pastor and her husband for not knowing her spiritual needs. I am saddened that while women across this country are having emotional affairs with the men behind the pulpit, those very men are failing to equip and empower husbands to love and lead with true Christ-like authority in the home. I am saddened that a man who is trusted to be a deacon of a congregation does not care enough for his wife to see the sin that is controlling her life.

I was given the argument this week that some people hide their sins and it isn’t possible to help everyone. I felt the need to laugh at such an absurd thought. If a man or woman is truly submitted to and controlled by the spirit of God, sin in the lives of those we love and are biblically responsible for is as evident as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. The problem we face today is that we aren’t submitted and controlled, rather we are addicted and patrolled.

The Billy Graham Association says that 75% of people sitting on church pews this morning are on their way to hell. I find this interesting when we compare it to George Barna’s finding that 80% of American Pastors do not believe in effectual calling, rather they see ministry as a career choice. Do you see the correlation here? Maybe the reason these leaders are falling is, because they themselves have been led by someone who isn’t submitted to biblical authority.

I am convinced that the spiritual health of someone that is under the discipleship of a leader is discernable if that leader is submitted to God in prayer and meditation. This past week God began to show me things within my Spirit that scared me, things about friends, my family, my own life.

I realized this week that spiritual accountability is not an individual responsibility, the spiritual well being of the person sitting next to you belongs to you and to everyone in this building. Your spiritual life is the covenant responsibility of each and every person here today, and of your future pastor. I speak with assurance of one thing this morning, no man should ever stand behind this pulpit that is not willing to stand accountable for what you do outside of these walls.

Ephesians talks about the body of Christ, the arm, the leg, the head, the eye. The body does not operate properly without all of these parts being healthy. If we were to look biologically at our bodies we would realize that our body really works together when something goes wrong. Is we are cut, red blood cells race to the surface and form clotting to prevent us from dying. When germs enter our body, there is an all out war to rid itself of the disease. If we trip, our arms instinctively reach out to protect the rest of the body and to break the fall. When a leg is broken, the arms become stronger to support our weight on crutches. Do you see where I’m going with this? The body works together to prevent disease or harm, and then if harm does come, it works together to heal itself.

Cain failed God, Cain failed his brother, and yet through Cain I see myself. I see that I am quick to judge based on my offering compared to that of someone else. I see that I immediately scorn the fallen, yet fail to take responsibility for their sin. And yet restoration is what God taught as he restored life to Cain. Yes he punished him by cursing the ground from which his livelihood came from. But he restored him to the place where he married and fathered children. Yes he had to suffer for what he had done, but God did not fail to restore a new life to him.

God himself is our example this morning, if God was willing to restore life to a murderer, then should we then not help in restoring the life of an adulterer or a thief. Should we not speak words of peace and truth, words that encourage rather than destroy, and leave the judging and the punishment to God?

What I am saying this morning, is yes, these men who have fallen should pay the price for their actions, but you and I should not be their judge. Our prayers and encouragement should be at their disposal.

And yet this should cause a deep evaluation of what you are doing for the spiritual life of those around you. Men you are accountable for your wife’s and your children’s relationship with God, women you are responsible for constant prayer on your husbands behalf that he leads in the way of Jesus. And you are all responsible for the spiritual life of the person that God calls to be your future pastor. And even more important than that, we are all accountable for each other. Isn’t it nice to know that we are not alone, in our struggles, in our joy, in good times, and in bad. The journey is ours to share. We are our brothers keeper, Jesus said to go and make disciples, to make a disciple we must invest our lives into someone else. True discipleship is learning to do life together in the pursuit of life as Jesus lived. You are my brothers and sisters, and I’m counting on you as you should count on me.

It seems like the only alpha male I’ve ever read about that doesn’t have a messiah complex is the actual Messiah. - Matt Chandler

No title

Today I weep...I weep for my fallen friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, who despite their best efforts have been led astray by the arrogance of the corporate institution we call the church. Read foxnews.com about the latest scandal in my hometown of Martinsville, VA. What you won't read is that the majority of the people involved held prominent positions in the counties most respected churches.

Today I weep...I weep for the soul who is barely clinging on, but is just another number in scheme of things

Today I weep...I weep for my friend who has fallen into sexual immorality and all we can do is laugh and scorn.

Today I weep...I weep for the pastor who is called a thief, and then proven to be one

Today I weep...I weep because I very easily could be anyone of these people.

But Today I am encouraged...I am encouraged because I believe the remnant of true followers will begin shine

I am encouraged because this generation has the capability to engage culture and embrace a kingdom

I am encouraged because now is the time for a revolution of restoration for the fallen

The time for thought without action is over, the world will never know Jesus if the church fails each other.

Blinded

The city seems so alive today
But death lingers in the street
The sun brings life and warmth
But evil dwells between the sheets

So dark the lives within our midst
Yet our busyness hides it all
We cannot hear desperation's call
Because it is silenced with evil's kiss

The sun brings warmth
Yet the remnant hides
In the safety of knowledge
and the thinkers cocoon

We believe our thoughts will light the way
But turn our backs on sins decay
How can I be a child of God
When my life condemns the very thought

To think and not act is my sin
To hide the calling from within
I cannot speak if I do not love
But I cannot love by holding my tongue

Sorrow is abundant before my eyes
I hear the pain as the city cries
No resolution in the streets will be found
If the remnant is hiding beneath the ground

So take to the street in love and in deed
And do not give up til sinners are freed
To think and not act is the remnant's crime
To speak and not love is mine

Let's feed the hungry, care for the sick
Shelter the homeless that lives in the ditch

To reach the world this city must see
The life that abounds in you and in me.

----Mike Waddell----October 29, 2006----

Today I thought about why I have a calling and yet I also have a very selfish side. I wondered today if it was ok for my selfish desires to be different than the calling and desires God has placed in my heart. Can they coexist or must the calling suppress that which is natural. I know the answer to this, I think, but today I couldn't convince myself of it.

Why does the Church exist? - Partial Transcript Sun. Oct. 8, First Chinese SBC

Why Does the church exist? Why did God create the Body to be the Bride of Christ? What is our purpose as Christians? Why were we not immediately taken to heaven upon our conversion? Why did God create the church?

One of the major misconceptions we have as believers is that the church in its current form is an exact replica of what was formed in the book of Acts. As early Christians gathered together their purposes for gathering were much different than that of today.

Today we come to church out of obligation, we come for the social status it gives us. We come to meet new people, and increase our database of friends. And yet for some reason we are unfulfilled as believers. So we seek to add programs and games, community events, we even use evangelism as a way to fill this void that church can’t fill.

Over the past few weeks, over the past few years my thoughts have continually turned to the thought of why do we need a church, why do we need the institution. And the overwhelming answer is that we don’t. You see, the majority of us have confused the true definition of the church to mean a gathering, with programs, and outreach. We have transformed the definition to mean a place rather than a people. I’m not saying that a gathering of God’s people isn’t vital to our growth and our lives as believers. Scripture teaches clearly that we are to gather together. But how much better would our lives be if we had the definition of Church “ecclesia” right.

As I have studied, and sought council from men of God, I have been constantly drawn back to the book of Ephesians. Here Paul is responding to the church at Ephesus who historically we find were asking the same questions posed today.

You see the majority of the believers at Ephesus were converted idol worshippers. People who had devoted their lives to the possession of things. People who worshipped that which they owned. They had placed idols over different aspects of their lives. Idols over their children, idols over their homes, idols over their financial status. Idols had consumed their existence. The beautiful thing about their conversion is that you and I can relate easily. Actually you and I can relate to Paul’s response easier than the believers at Ephesus. Where they had placed idols we simply place things. We place our children, our homes, our cars, our education, our social status, our jobs as idols in our lives. We completely bypass the idol and make the material possession our God.

Getting back to questions at hand, we look at Paul’s response to the question, why do the Christians exist to make up the church? And just exactly what is this church we’re talking about anyway.

In chapter two he explains that prior to being Christians they were spiritually dead, separated from Christ, not included in God's covenant, without hope, and without God. Their preconversion condition was horribly grim.

But in Chapter 1 Paul goes in depth as to the purpose their being Christians and ultimately being the church.
He began by explaining these things.

God is the source of blessings (verse 3).

God provides every spiritual blessing in Christ (verse 3). There is no blessing that comes outside of the gift of God. Nothing that I can gain is beneficial to me, except that it come from Christ alone. Anything that I can do on my own is worthless. God blesses us according to our submission and outside of that submission no blessing can occur. God has blessed us to be a blessing to others. A life not devoted to blessing others through Christ cannot receive the true rewards of the kingdom.

Before God created the world, God chose all people who would be holy
and blameless to be His people (verse 4).

Before creation he chose to adopt the church as the Bride of Christ (verse 5).

It is clear that God is Sovereign and that his foreknowledge of those that would come to him must cause us to realize his immense love for us. He knowingly takes our sin and forgives without question. He formally adopts us to be His own. The beauty of our election and adoption are the purest form of love that we can truly wrap our arms around.

The realization of my adoption causes me to ask:

Why? Why would God do those things?

So that those who were alive in Christ would exist to the praise of
the glory of His grace (verse 6). – God is a jealous God, and for our praise to be placed anywhere other than unto Him is everything but an outright rejection of His love for us. God created us to worship Him, he saves us to Praise him, and he created us as the church to be a celebration of what he has done and is doing.

We exist as Christians to be living evidence of how good God is, to
demonstrate God's goodness, and to cause other people to glorify God.

Paul continued his emphasis.

In Christ you have redemption through his blood (verse 7).
In Christ you have the forgiveness of your trespasses. - Christ calls us to be His known, so that we can not take credit for our own salvation. When we realize that there is nothing that we could have done to earn Christ’s favor, only then can we truly live out our calling to be instruments of praise.

In fact, in Christ:
God lavishes His grace upon you (verse 8). To further help us understand that we are incapable of saving ourselves, causing us to even further appreciate the love that is poured out on us.

God showed you what He was doing--makes known to you the mystery (verse 9). – Like any good leader, nothing of importance is hidden from us. We see clearly that we, the people of God, are chosen to be instruments of praise. When God lays out before us His plan, and then continues on with it, we cannot help but realize that His will for our lives is good. That he sets before us the plan which is best for us, and most glorifying to Him. And yet too often we reject His will in pursuit of our own dream, only to find that our success is dependant upon our submission to plan he has so clearly laid out before us.

God reveals His complete purpose and shows how that purpose is summed
up in Jesus (verse 10).

Through that purpose, we have obtained an inheritance (verse 11). That inheritance is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Why? Why has God revealed all those things in Christ?

(verse 12)

So that we who have our hope in Christ should be to the praise
of God's glory. Through our praise people are drawn to praise and glorify, not through our programs and institutions, not through our knowledge or social status, but through our praise. People will begin to praise God, and know God when God’s people begin to praise God for who he is. The world will know God by the praise that abounds in the lives of believers.

Why? Why would God do that? (verse 14)

Because He expected them to be to the praise of His glory.

When other people saw what God did in them, those people would praise
God and give Him glory. The existence of the church cannot and will not live on if it is lived within the walls of a building. God expects us to be the praise of His glory, that means that everything you and I do should be to the Glory of God and to the expansion of His kingdom. This morning we must all take a step back and reevaluate that which is in our lives. If it doesn’t bring Glory to God it must be removed, changed, or dealt with.

Why does the church exist, not to simply gather for the sake of gathering. The church exists for the praise of the One who is worthy of all our praise.

The church is not a building, the church is the people of God, who commit their lives to the praise of God.

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his NOT understanding it." - Upton Sinclair

The NHance San Francisco Team

Vote for My Jesus - a must read

http://www.burnsidewriterscollective.com/general/2006/09/vote_for_my_jesus.php

Binding and Releasing, a partial transcript of Sunday's Sermon at First Chinese

"Binding and Releasing"

Mark 15:1

INTRODUCTION

I want us to look at two words once again. These two words hold very different meanings, and yet one or the other is lived out in the everyday life of the church. One of these words is unhealthy, and with it the body suffers and can even die. The other word breathes life, and restores freedom.

Mark 15:1 says
"Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound (DEO, to bind spiritually) Jesus, led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate."

Our text presents us with what in many regards is a great tragedy. Not a tragedy in that our Lord is taken away, not a tragedy in that this would begin His march to the cross, but rather a tragedy in that those whom He came to deliver from the law became the very ones who rejected and ultimately bound the hands of Jesus before taking Him to stand before Pilate.

What did it mean for God’s people to reject Christ? The whole of history had been set for such a climactic period. The prophets had spoken of a great messiah upon whose shoulders the people of God would be free. And yet the chief priests rejected Him. I have wondered for a long time now, why would the one’s who should have known Him best reject Him the harshest. And it wasn’t until recently that I began to see my answer. The chief priests weren’t afraid of the claims Jesus was making, they were afraid of the loss of power in their community. They had spent a lifetime writing the laws for people to live by, and they were afraid that this man’s ideals would begin to seep in to their congregations. They believed that the words of Jesus were ethereal, and that the only way to truly live a committed Godly life was to live by the rules they had set forth. They truly believed that this man Jesus would cause utter chaos if His thoughts and opinions were allowed to be widely spread and taught. How could living a Godly life be as simple as Jesus had explained it? You see Jesus broke it all down; we are to be salt and light, love the unlovable, feed the hungry, care for the sick, care for the widow, care for the orphan, be humble and not haughty, be meek, follow Him and abandon worldly pursuits. Not once did Jesus speak of elevating yourself to a position of high regard, except in a negative light when he said that the rewards of earth are all that that person will receive, and yet he says the Kingdom of heaven belongs to the one who humbly serves and follows.

The hands and feet of Jesus were bound by the high priests because of their fear. Their fear to believe in a simplistic Gospel. Their fear to follow the movement of God. And ultimately their fear of the loss of power. You see leaders have a hard time leading when their egos aren’t effectively stroked. And yet the greatest leader in the history of the church had no ego. Many of us, myself included need to allow our fears to be nailed to the cross along with our egos. There are things in each of our lives, maybe not egos, maybe its fear of rejection, fear of life, loss of culture, loss of identity that keep us bound and in turn bind the working of God. What is it in your life that needs to be crucified?

You and I stand guilty in many ways when we look at the bound hands and feet of Jesus. The entire attitude of the western church is in fact binding in some degree. When the Spirit of God wants to move He does not seek our permission but rather asks for our participation in bringing the Kingdom to earth in a literal here and now sense. When we stand in the way of that we become an obstacle to the advancement of the Kingdom rather than a catalyst.

I believe our text gives us a much deeper meaning than that of the physical binding of Jesus’ hand and feet. John prophesies to the future church warning that what has happened in the physical realm will also happen in the spiritual realm if our hearts and minds are not open to the voice of God. We can literally become shackles that bind and weights that hold back the movement of God.



1. The literal binding of God’s movement in us.

Let’s get one thing straight; I’m not saying that if we don’t do God’s work then His movement will die. God doesn’t need us, He doesn’t need me, and He doesn’t need you. He longs for us to be an active part of the Kingdom. What I am saying that we fail to experience the abundant life that has been promised to us simply because we bind the Spirit of God in us. When we fail to listen to and obey, obey being the key word, we literally reject the good things God wants for our lives.

The fact is, God is going to move, He is moving right now, in our midst, but we are too consumed with the activity around us to see the beauty of His movement. The children of God must be committed to releasing His movement in and through us. There is a harvest, but our eyes our blinded to it because we are too busy taking credit for the few seeds we have sown. What would happen if the people of God began to quiet the world around them and begin to listen, watch, and see where God is moving, and then go with Him? The results would exceed anything that we can create on our own, and the Kingdom of God would infiltrate every aspect of our lives.

When we bind the movement of God we fail to bask in the life that we were created to live.

2. The binding of God’s hand and feet
1 Corinthians 12:12 speaks of the body being made up of many members and we are unified unto one being through Christ. With this in mind let’s look at how we as followers should and must guard our hearts against the Binding of the Body.

One of the greatest atrocities that can ever go on inside the walls of the church gathering is that one element of the body binds another from doing its duty. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and yet so often we bind one another with our unwillingness to release them to their calling. Pastors are afraid that to truly release someone means a drop in tithe or fewer attendees to a service. Or that the pastors’ talent would no longer be in the limelight. That pastor fails to see the global influence that releasing can have. An entire world can be influenced by a core group of believers in a sojourners city such as San Francisco. Thousands upon thousands come and go through the city each month, going to the uttermost parts of the earth. And yet we as a church fail to see the outreach opportunities because we are afraid of letting go. How much more effective would a community of believers be if their intent was directed solely upon the empowering of each person that it came in contact with to go and do the work that God has called them to do. Instead we co-opt them, abusing their talents and skills, capitalizing on their strengths rather than empowering their weaknesses. Our fear is that we won’t grow if we let them go. I beg to differ, growth cannot and will not happen until people are released and empowered. The growth of this and any congregation depends solely on its ability to release.

When we release we empower, when we empower we promote, and we promote we support, when we support we live and grow. If the feet are bound we fall, if the hands are bound we can’t work, we can’t eat, and if either happens long enough all life begins to fade away. In short when we bind we die.

To equip, empower, and release. Release yourself, release your children, your grandchildren. Release your spouse from spiritual bondage, and empower them to move and act as an active part of the Body. We all have a calling, we all have purpose. Release yourself to that calling and purpose and pursue abundant life.

Redskin Theology 101

If Tom Cruise continues to sit in the owners box of my beloved Redskins I will be forced to relinquish my allegiance to the Hogzilla's of football. Regardless of the fact the Joe Gibbs came out of retirement to bring the team back to the contender it once was, I cannot cheer for a team that is owned by the playboy wannabe Daniel Snyder. To have Tom Cruise in the owners box allienates the fans that have worshipped the Skins for decades. When was the last time the Hogladies were invited into the box with ole Danny boy, NEVER!!!

I know you're thinking, Mike has lost it. Maybe I have, but I'm tired of people in power, or rather people with money and clout, ruling over the people that took them there. Has Dan Snyder forgotten that he wouldn't have his precious money if the fans weren't at the game?

I think as pastors, we can look a lot like Dan Snyder. We like to hang out with the Tom Cruises of the world so that we can look like we're somebody. But what we fail to see is that while we're off partying, or golfing in my case, the people that bust their asses everyday so we look good are still doing just that, busting their asses, so that we look good. Isn't it time that leaders give credit where credit is due and say thank you to those who got them where they are. Or better yet, let's invest in those who having nothing to invest except their lives. For pastors its simple, we need to invest in people, people who are hurting, poor, hungry, broken, sick, and afraid, rather than the next big guy or the golden boy of the moment. Let's invest in something that's eternal, rather material. Let's care for someones soul and forget about the talent or checkbook they bring to the table. Let's stop teaching about giving and be examples of stewardship. Let's stop touting our ego and model humility.

I think there's a lot we can learn from Dan Snyder, but to be honest, I learn the same things from myself if I look deep enough.

Go Skins!!!!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I am speaking at the First Chinese Southern Baptist Church here in San Fran. I appreciate the prayers that I know you will all be sending up for the service.

Colossians 1:28