The right to overrule God?

Anyone, spiritually minded or not, is aware that the moral fiber of our country has been on a steady and currently very rapid decline. What are now debated issues, (sanctity of life, sanctity of marriage, gender roles, etc.) were once ideals commonly held by the vast majority of our citizens. 

Last week, the state of North Carolina voted overwhelmingly to affirm that marriage is between one man and one woman. On that same day, President Obama openly declared his personal belief that homosexual “couples” should have the right to marry. Since then, he is proposing the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In effect, he has called on our nation to embrace the homosexual lifestyle as “equal” to what God ordained as marriage (one man, one woman in a lifelong monogamous relationship). The real question is not about what the citizens of NC voted, or about the personal opinion of the President. There is a much deeper, much more serious issue at hand. That issue is the right for humanity to overrule the authority of God. Biblical Christianity calls for all genuine believers to be subject to the authorities God places over us. (Col. 3:18-25; Romans 13:1-7; Heb. 13:7, 17). Every sincere follower of Christ will seek to be submissive to his authority. Familial, governmental and spiritual. However, our ultimate authority is God and His authoritative Word is the final measure of our submission. No man, no leader, political or spiritual, EVER has a right to seek to overrule God; to do so places oneself in the role of God. Dangerous and scary indeed. 

Though the reshaping of our nation’s moral framework may come as a shock, this idea of the right to overrule the authority of God is not foreign to us. We struggle with it as well. 

Okay, okay, back up the wagon PJ. We certainly hold to the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage and the gender roles as outlined in God’s Word. What are you suggesting by saying we struggle with overruling God’s authority? It is quite simple actually. Each and every time we choose our way over God’s will; our plans over His purpose; our desires over His design, we are placing ourselves in the role of God. 

Here is the point of application. Before we look at a lost and unsaved world and stand appalled at the overt rebellion against God’s unchanging truth, let’s examine ourselves and our own hearts to see what the Spirit desires to change in us. I know for me there is much. **Note I said “before” we look at a lost world, not “instead of” looking at a lost world. We have a responsibility to proclaim at every opportunity, with love and grace, the truth of God’s Word for the salvation of mankind through the sacrifice of Christ. We have the responsibility to oppose any teaching or philosophy that rejects God’s truth. 

Let’s look at ourselves. What would the Lord have us to change? 

May the Lord move in our hearts as individuals and thereby move in our culture as a whole. We are in desperate need of His grace and mercy, which He has freely offered through the cross of Christ. 

Be Encouraged! 

"God's Word changes us, and through us it will change others also"

This has been the theme of the Sunday evening series Pastor Andy has led us through and will complete this week. It has been a wonderful blessing to worship together and then be challenged about one of our major roles as brothers and sisters in Christ, to encourage one another. One main text of emphasis has been Hebrews 10:24-25, in which we are commanded to be actively involved in "one another's" lives in this way, encouraging. 

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25  not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

The thought that a believer can function outside of a local body is foreign to Scripture. All the "one another's" in God's Word make that abundantly clear (that's a blog for another day). The command to encourage one another is in the context in this passage of "meeting together". Church, worship, fellowship, service, prayer, breaking bread...TOGETHER. All these things are a part of encouragement. The word itself in the original is parakaleo, which carries the idea of being near and invoking to righteousness. It comes from the same root as the word for the Holy Spirit, our comforter and encourager. How encouraging is that!?

In our language, to encourage means to inspire with courage, spirit or confidence and to stimulate by assistance. Not sure that could be better said as to the importance of this command for the church, brothers and sisters, to encourage one another! Inspire and assist...requires meeting together, being with one another, spending time together. It often requires sacrifice, giving of yourself in order to inspire or assist someone else. It requires learning to see others as truly more important than ourselves. (Phil. 2:3) 

Check out this video...quite an example of encouragement; of stimulating by assistance; of seeing others as more important than ourselves...get the tissues! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODqjUqW3c0U

What do you think...would loving one another like that be an encouragement? Would we be a body that pleases the Lord? May we pray that we be filled with the parakletos (Holy Spirit) so that we may parakaleo (come near to encourage) one another. He encourages us, and we can encourage one another. We are commanded to do so.

"God's Word changes us, and through us it will change others also"

BE ENCOURAGED and BE AN ENCOURAGER! 

"On The Way Home"

Pastor Jim

Diagnosing the Source of Spiritual Blahs

What do you think about the weather?   How is your job going?   Is your family doing well?   It was a normal conversation between friends until this question turned the corner of the conversation to more real matters.   What do you do when your walk with the Lord seems stale or when you feel like you are in a rut?    I have thought long and hard about this conversation over the last few days.   And it wasn’t until yesterday, as I was online looking for a diagnosis for physical symptoms on the internet that my answer began to piece together.

Are you eating regularly?  Translated: Have you been in God’s Word regularly? 

You expected this question.  But doctors ask questions we anticipate because they are important not because they are pat.   If you haven’t been in God’s Word, it will drastically affect your soul just as missing a meal can affect your body.    In this case, my dear friend is regularly in God’s Word.    Which naturally led to the next question, What are you eating?  Does that matter?   Isn’t all the Bible God’s Word?   Certainly! However, can I make a case for the fact that at certain times you need to change your spiritual diet?   Keep in mind this verse, John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.     This is speaking directly to our dependence on God for salvation.   God is the sole provider of soul food.   However, after we are saved our need for a true source of soul food doesn’t change, it is accentuated.     A good source of food in the blah days are studying the attributes of God and reading about Jesus.    In other words, spend more time gazing at God.   What you see will amaze you.  Seeing God lifts you out of the doldrums of this life.  

Furthermore, remember that no spiritual eating is done without interaction with our God through prayer.  Praying must accompany reading.  It is the fork that must be picked up in order to carry on our feeding.  Why prayer? The Holy Spirit illuminates the meaning of God’s Word and it is the Holy Spirit that unleashes the restoring, refreshing and repairing aspect of God’s Word (Psalm 19:7).    

Is there a blockage somewhere?   Translated:  Is there unconfessed sin in your life?   Several years ago it was recommended to me to drink this pasty substance that would get rid of gunk that has built up in my body that needed to be shed.      My body needed a cleansing.  There was gunk that needed to be gotten rid of.   Our soul, too, needs cleansing.   Look carefully at the familiar verse. I John 1:9(NASB)  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.   The symptoms we feel are not to be treated with a pill that simply takes away the indicator that something is wrong.   Instead, we must heed the warning light that is meant to signal to us the root cause of our issue.  Often this root cause is sin.    Just as our body struggles when there is a blockage somewhere in the system so too does our spiritual body.  Isaiah 59:1–2 (NASB95) Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. ² But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.    Spiritual distance with our God comes from our own sin.  Sin blocks God’s face from us.   Therefore, hunt down sin daily.   Once you find the sin source, agree with God about the problem, stop engaging in this sin, and in the process the cleansing of our soul will take place.   Don’t overlook the sins of the spirit when you search out your spiritual issues.   Bitterness, anger, resentment, worry, and fear are sins that many leave unchecked.   And whatever you do, don’t blame your sin on others.   Take responsibility!

Have you exercised recently?  One of the issues that we most need to confess in our lives is self-centered laziness.   Sometimes our blahs come from a lack of exercise.   The point of food is energy but if I never exert myself, the food never is used up and turns to fat.  Get up and look for a way to minister for the Lord.   God doesn’t give us life, energy, or His Word for idleness.   Depression is a common ailment of many, and I have found that one of the best treatments is looking for ways to serve others by getting up and serving.   Remember, that intercessory prayer tops this list!   You will be amazed how a focus on serving others affects your spiritual walk.  

Are you interacting with the body?  - Remember that while your walk is personal with the Lord, your walk is also clearly interrelated with the walk of others.     You are a part of a body.   The failure of proper interaction between one organ and another causes many physical problems and our interaction with our brothers and sisters in Christ does the same.   In fact, when we don’t interact with other believers, we fail them.   Did you know our interaction with one another stimulates us and others to love and good deeds?   God uses others to keep us functioning properly; Hebrews 10:24-25 makes this clear.  

Are you interacting with the whole body?   Remember, interaction with one part of the body may be good, but the whole body has to function together.   Therefore, healthy interaction with the whole body is necessary.   Don’t skirt the issue.   Deal with the real relationship issues you have.   Matthew 5:23–24 (NASB95)     ²³ “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.

Is God teaching you about the aging process?     We all get older and sometimes we have to deal with things that accompany aging.   But did you know spiritual maturity brings about something unique.   It brings about the understanding that every day is not meant be lived on the top of the mountain.   In fact our faith is most suitably grounded, when we learn to live in the routine of life in a way that is content with what we have and are.      Accompanying spiritual maturity is contentment.  Philippians 4:11–13 (NASB95)   ¹¹ Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. ¹² I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. ¹³ I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.    Make a list of things for which you are thankful.   Count your blessings!  And then remember you deserve none of them.   They are all a portrait of God’s grace to you. 

Have you had a checkup lately?   Have you considered stopping what you are doing for a day or two and doing a spiritual inventory?   Just as a routine check-up physically has merit so does a routine check-up spiritually.   Have you considered taking a day for a spiritual evaluation?   Perhaps working carefully through a list like this or a more extensive list and really taking spiritual inventory before the Lord would be beneficial.  Asking another person to help you in this evaluation process would increase the value.   Perhaps taking 6 weeks with a spiritual mature believer to deal with a spiritual issue with which you have been struggling might be the need.

We all need constant renewal.  May our wonderful God refresh your soul and mine today!

Thank You for the 'Parachute Packer'

At a sports banquet this week I was introduced by Coach Scott Grass to the story of Charlie Plumb. According to Mr. Plumb’s website, he flew “74 successful combat missions over North Viet Nam and made over 100 carrier landings. On his 75th mission, just five days before the end of his tour, Plumb was shot down over Hanoi, taken prisoner, tortured, and spent the next 2,103 days as a Prisoner of War.”

However, it is not what happened behind enemy lines on which Coach Grass or Charlie, if you visit his website, focuses. Instead, it is this story that illustrates well the principles from God’s Word that are voiced in our present theme: “We are the Body..knitted together by what every joint supplies!” Enjoy the story!

Recently, I was sitting in a restaurant in Kansas City. A man about two tables away kept looking at me. I didn't recognize him. A few minutes into our meal he stood up and walked over to my table, looked down at me, pointed his finger in my face and said, "You're Captain Plumb."

I looked up and I said, "Yes sir, I'm Captain Plumb."

He said, "You flew jet fighters in Vietnam. You were on the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down. You parachuted into enemy hands and spent six years as a prisoner of war."

I said, "How in the world did you know all that?"

He replied, "Because, I packed your parachute."

I was speechless. I staggered to my feet and held out a very grateful hand of thanks. This guy came up with just the proper words. He grabbed my hand, he pumped my arm and said, "I guess it worked."

"Yes sir, indeed it did", I said, "and I must tell you I've said a lot of prayers of thanks for your nimble fingers, but I never thought I'd have the opportunity to express my gratitude in person."

He said, "Were all the panels there?"

"Well sir, I must shoot straight with you," I said, "of the eighteen panels that were supposed to be in that parachute, I had fifteen good ones. Three were torn, but it wasn't your fault, it was mine. I jumped out of that jet fighter at a high rate of speed, close to the ground. That's what tore the panels in the chute. It wasn't the way you packed it."

"Let me ask you a question," I said, "do you keep track of all the parachutes you pack?"

"No" he responded, "it's enough gratification for me just to know that I've served."

I didn't get much sleep that night. I kept thinking about that man. I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform - a Dixie cup hat, a bib in the back and bell bottom trousers. I wondered how many times I might have passed him on board the Kitty Hawk. I wondered how many times I might have seen him and not even said "good morning", "how are you", or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor. How many hours did he spend on that long wooden table in the bowels of that ship weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of those chutes? I could have cared less...until one day my parachute came along and he packed it for me. Charlie Plumb

As a believer, member of the body of Christ, and a participant in Tri-County Bible Church we are a part of something bigger. We have an active purpose given to us by God the moment we are born again! At that moment we are placed into a team, a body, a family, and we are needed! What’s more, if we aren’t fulfilling our purpose, others are endangered! What a joy to fulfill our God-given purpose! Joy comes from God himself when we fulfill our purpose given by Him. We aren’t fueled simply by the praise of others.

And yet the truth is, we need others! We can’t go it alone! Appreciation and respect should be normal to us if we really understand body life as the Bible teaches it! Perhaps a thank you note to the ‘parachute packer’ or the ‘fighter pilot’ in our church is in order this week. Both are needed!

To read more about the Scriptural principles we are engaging in, read I Corinthians 12. To learn more about Charlie Plumb visit his website at www.charlieplumb.com.       

The Speed of the Gospel

Mike Monson shares some amazing facts in his article The Speed of Social Media. Here are just some of the highlights:

Every second…
2,200 tweets are posted, 580 users update their Facebook status, 24 minutes of video is uploaded to YouTube, $20 is spent on virtual goods in Social Gaming

If you printed each of these Tweets in 12 point Helvetica font and laid them end to end, the resulting stream of text would travel at 1,200 mph

Graph of top speeds:
Usain Bolt – 29.2 mph
Cheetah – 70 mph
Bugatti Veyron – 254 mph
Facebook Updates – 360 mph
Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk “Stealth Fighter” – 600mph
Tweets – 1,200 mph

If you saw every update posted, you would have to read…
3.7 million words per minute on Twitter, 1 million words per minute on Facebook

The reach of social networks is spreading faster than any infectious disease in the history of mankind:
The Black Death killed 25 million people in 5 years, from 1347 to 1352. From 2005-2010, Facebook gained over 500 million users, more than the entire world population at the time of the Black Death.

Stop and compare for a minute. How long have you known the truth of the gospel? How fast is the message of the gospel getting out from your life? Greg Laurie claims that statistics say that only 1 in 20 professing Christians have ever shared the gospel. Did you catch that underlined word EVER?

I suspect this is not a statistic that would account for Christians worldwide and I also suspect that we as Americans, once known as a missionary nation, are the primary field from which this statistic derives.

Nathan Crietz rightly points out what Jesus has to say about this. Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-33)

Sobering words!

In New Testament days there was no social networking and yet, the speed with which the gospel went out, was amazing. There was one primary method of transmission. The gospel was carried about by the legs of individual believers and delivered by their very own voices. It was not left to David Jeremiah’s radio voice or the pastor’s sermon on Sunday. From the legs and voices of those early believers the message of the gospel moved around the world in a rapid pace.

Last week Mike Davis taught us our TCBC core value: Diligent Heralding of God’s Message. How committed are we to use social media to share not only what our children are doing, what we ate for lunch and where we have checked into, but the most important news of the gospel?

And much…much… much… more importantly, how committed are we to use the old fashioned means of using our legs to carry the message and our tongues to herald the truth, in season and out of season (II Timothy 4:2), face to face, with our co-workers, neighbors and friends?

It is my belief that if God wants the message of the gospel to get out (and He does!!), He will provide us opportunities regularly to speak for Him. Ask the Lord to give you two opportunities this week to share the gospel. When you get these opportunities, be bold, accurate and clear about God’s message. And perhaps you can share with the rest of us in the comment line below of the opportunity God provided you.

O Zion, Haste Mary A. Thompson, 1834-1923

1. O Zion, haste, thy mission high fulfilling, to tell to all the world that God is light,that He who made all nations is not willing one soul should perish, lost in shades of night.

Refrain:

  Publish glad tidings, tidings of peace; tidings of Jesus, redemption and release.

2. Behold how many thousands still are lying bound in the darksome prisonhouse of sin,with none to tell them of the Savior's dying, or of the life He died for them to win.

  (Refrain)

3. Proclaim to every people, tongue, and nation that God, in whom they live and move,is love; tell how He stooped to save his lost creation,and died on earth that we might live above.

  (Refrain)

4. Give of thine own to bear the message glorious;give of thy wealth to speed them on their way; pour out thy soul for them in prayer victorious; O Zion, haste to bring the brighter day.

  (Refrain)

Tackling the Divine 'To Do' List

by Andrew Overly

Have you ever set out to do a job and became discouraged because you simply do not have the tools or the know how to do it?   You know it is a job that needs to be done; you know you should play a part in getting it done; but you feel handicapped to carry it out.   Having an old farmhouse and my skill set (do I even have a skill set L), I have a never-ending list of projects that fit into this category. 

When faced with this obstacle, what happens next?  There are many scenarios that could happen.   Here are just a few that I personally have encountered.

Scenario 1: I see the task that needs to be done, determine I can’t do it, feel overwhelmed by it, let it go undone and watch as the need grows more critical.   My sense of inability and ineptness lead me to do nothing.  The consequences are an increasingly critical issue and a nagging guilt that grows in direct proportion to the growth of the problem.

Scenario 2: I reason, “I could never do this myself, I will find someone with the tools that can.”    I assume that the only way something can be done is if a professional does it.    This may begin with a healthy sense of humility on my part but often it leads to a lack of faith that says “I never will be able to do this.”   Without trying, I put it on someone else’s list of responsibilities.

Scenario 3: I go out and get the proper tools, download or buy a manual and attempt to use it.   However, as I am working I find out I still can’t seem to get it accomplished.  I give up, defeated, and turn it over to someone else.    

Scenario 4: I buy the necessary tools; I am confronted with the fact that I don’t know how to do the job; I battle with the pride that says, “I don’t want people to know I don’t know how to do this therefore I will do it myself regardless;” and finally, I botch the job. 

Scenario 5: I buy the proper gear; I find someone who knows how to use it; I have them show me how to use it: and together, with them, I accomplish the project.   I even enjoy it.  

Scenario 6: I know how to do the task; I have the tools and the ability to do it; but I decide I just don’t want to do it hence I ignore it and leave it for someone else.

Can you relate to any or all of these scenarios?

God’s gracious gift of salvation has a goal in mind.   Ephesians 2:10 (NASB95) says, ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship,created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.   God saved us with the intention of giving us a job.  Most often the job He gives us is a job that we don’t feel able to do (See Moses in Exodus 3).

What should we do?

·         We should accept that God has given us the responsibility of the “work of the ministry.”

·         We should determine what that work of service is.   

·         We should not pass off our responsibility to serve with the thought that someone else can or will do it. 

·         We should recognize that our work will require partnering with others. 

·         We should humbly accept our current limitations without giving up and seek the help of others to train us.

·         We should use the gifts and abilities we have both to do the work of the ministry and to help others to learn how to do it. 

·         As long as we are on this side of heaven, we should remember that God has a plan for us. 

·         Ultimately, we should understand that when He calls us to a task, he enables us. (Philippians 4:13).

This past Sunday (February 5) we discussed our core value “Humble Partnership in God’s Work.”  On February 19^th we will be addressing the core value “Patient Equipping of God’s Family”   Both of these core values speak to this blog issue.  Together May God help us accomplish the work that He has called us to do.   

Post Script: 

Take note in the upcoming bulletin of the details of some “how to” training on Sunday night that will help you learn new skills in doing God’s Work.   Beginning at the end of the month, our breakout sessions on Sunday evenings will include a “How to Study the Bible” class and a class on the “Six Steps to Encouragement.”   Come add a tool to the tool belt and allow others to help you learn how to use those tools. 

  

The Connection Gauge - Gratitude

by Andy Overly

A light came on in my car the other day, a gauge to remind me that the car needed an oil change. Consequently, today my car was in the shop for routine maintenance, nothing unusual really. This was true until the mechanic came out and said that rather than replacing a break light as I had requested, they need to replace a circuit board. The job of a circuit board is to relay important information from the brain of the car to its parts. Without the replacement of the circuit board, a good bulb would be of no value. Hence, from the routine maintenance and checkup for which I took my car to the shop came the realization that good parts in my car were not functioning because their link to the brain of the car was not working. 

We too need spiritual maintenance from time to time and often a simple check-up will reveal we have “wiring” issues as well.  So how do you and I know if we need repair? Good news! God’s Word provides gauges for our spiritual circuitry!

Last Saturday in a Men of Valor small group, I became aware of one of the gauges I can read on the control panel of my spiritual life. This indicator will allow me to always know whether I have a properly “connected” walk with Jesus. 

Colossians 2:6–7 (NASB95) says,   6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

You see, an offshoot of the connection to Jesus that allows for us to grow in our relationship with Him day by day is gratitude. Our connection was firmly rooted in Christ when we were saved. Still, our daily walk with the Lord can be short circuited. If we are not living a life of gratefulness, this indicates that there is a problem which needs to be fixed in us as soon as possible. A proper connection will cause us to be infused with so much gratitude that it will spill over from our lives into the lives of others around.  

Our gauge for knowing where our spiritual walk and connection to Jesus stands is found in answer to the following question, “Are we grateful?”  If we can’t answer this question ourselves, we should ask someone else. The gauge will be so clear that anyone around you and I can answer the question for us (Our spouse, the person we sit by in church, the co-worker with whom we share an assignment on Tuesday morning). “Does gratitude splash from our lives in such a way that we can’t help but be an encouragement to those around us?”  

This gauge comes as standard equipment for all Christians and churches. Overflowing gratitude is an indication that all is well; the lack of it signals that we need immediate maintenance. A fresh connection with Jesus will fix the problem and return us to the walk of the Spirit and gratitude will again ooze from us.

Check your gauge today! 

We will not be looking at a Core Value this Sunday. Dick Kelly from Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) will be with us in our service. SGA is the organization through whom we support our 3 church planters to the Ukraine; Victor & Galina  Opalinkiy, Oleg & Oklena Pelepko, and Audrey & Valentina Yakimenko. Come expecting the ministry of the Holy Spirit in your heart.