Two Wednesday's Back Message

Be a man of God, quit trying to be the man, quit pretending your God

Surrendered life

It was only a few years ago that I was in your position…you know…trying with my all to serve God, to be loving to those around me – though it was more like keeping myself from being annoyed with…, (if I could do that I was doing well), to excel in my school work, succeed in sports, but the whole way through there is this underlying tension to perform.

We live in a culture that demands performance. You’ve probably heard about corporate performance reports…maybe from your parents or movies, or from shows such as The Office. Everybody is watching, judging, evaluating whether you’ve made the grade.

Everyday is like putting on a show for the rest of the world…how often are we thinking about the situation we’re in and how to react in the “right” way…by that I mean…here comes the proverbial situation. I’m at lunch…who do I sit with? Those friends of mine have some open chairs around them but those other guys are a bit more influential, you know, they’re popular, and I think I heard something about a party this weekend…maybe I’d get invited if I sat with them today…and you know what…if I got invited I could probably bring my friends along anyway…no one would mind and everyone would benefit…I think… we do this to the point of allowing ourselves to be harassed because at least we’re noticed.

Culture and self-centeredness has forged within us a desire to be recognized. I know we always address this as a “girl” issue…but to be honest, I think it’s every bit as much our problem.

Guys…I’m talking about how we try to live out this “being a man of God, because so often we’re trying to either be the man or we’re pretending we’re God.”

Personally, I know I often mixed up trying to be a man of God with trying to be the man…I can see how I screwed up, and still do…part of that’s why I’m sharing some of this with you…that idea of you not making the same mistakes I did, and that this is one of the most subtly deceitful ways which the enemy gets our minds off of Christ…(did you catch that? get our minds off of Christ, that entails that our minds were or are on Him… those most in need of watching out for this deceit are those who are most in pursuit of Christ, and since that is what we as a people are in pursuit of, Christ, we must be all the more careful of guarding our minds and hearts from the lies of the enemy

The storm tests our growth, it’s the fire that refines us and rids us of impurities….God lets the storm come to wash away all that’s not of Him…we need to be prepared for it and established on Christ, our rock, like the wise man, before it comes

So often we’re trying to be The Man, the BMOC, we want others to think we’re important, that they should listen to us because we’re somebody, not because He’s the Almighty. It’s almost as if we’ve gotten to the point where God is no longer Good enough, He’s no longer powerful enough, He’s no longer Himself, and so we have to do someone of our own accord, that His Word might be more effective.

Along with that, we’re arrogant enough to think that God needs help…so not only are we self-centered enough to believe we have it all together, that we have all the right answers, that our lives are always perfectly straight, that God has blessed us so much He must love us more than others. You know what. If God has blessed you a ton, and I know He has blessed a lot of you so much more than many other people I know who fear God. Here’s the thing. With that comes so much greater responsibility. You are held to the standard to which you’ve been blessed. For you, therefore, the temptation to be proud of your situation, your godliness, your abilities to influence others for Christ, will be greater because you will be able to do that which is greater – BUT IT’S ONLY BY HIS SPIRIT. Our tendencies to focus on ourselves because of what He‘s enabled us to do increases. We think man, God is so awesome for letting me take part in blessing these others with His Word. Father, thank you so much for what you’ve given me. Do you see it yet? We’re thanking God so much for what He’s given us that we become focused on what we have. We take our eyes off of Jesus and look at our bodies and arms and legs and feet and hands and we become enamored (self-love ensues). We get filled with enjoying ourselves, a poisonous type of false-love, we become “full of ourselves.”

It’s funny for the enemy and sad for us at the same time.

How about we take a little advice from some of our ancestors – those who’ve walked with God. First we will look at Peter in Matthew 16:13-16. You know when Jesus speaks of His upcoming Passion, that’s when He suffers and dies…well Peter rebukes our Lord, saying “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You” (verse 22). Jesus responded: “’Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s’” (verse 23). This is explicitly what we have to be on guard against. You see, God identified Satan as the source of Peter’s words because the character of his advice was satanic in principle, for Satan’s primary aim is to promote self-interest as the chief end of man. Satan is called the prince of this world because self-interest rules this world. Satan has deceived man into thinking they are serving themselves, when in fact they are serving the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Even those closest to God are susceptible to this deceit. Just to make it even more apparent, let’s look at another figure who fell to this deceit. Let’s look at the one person who was beyond a shadow of any doubt focused on the Lord alone. Yeah…I’m talking about Adam, the man God created from the dirt of the Earth. He was blameless, sinless. Adam took His eyes off of God….He and Eve thought they might have been getting the raw end of the deal…man, us people are so enraptured with conspiracy theories, that there’s something else to know that people are hiding from us….you know that I’m talking about?....We start thinking…what’s that person thinking about me, we ask our friends….have they said anything about me to you….Can you see it again here….it draws us to think about ourselves….Adam and Eve fell to this same sin of self-promotion, of selfishness….as believers we need to enshroud ourselves, that is, we need to become so well covered in humility that we can’t blind ourselves by looking at the glory which the Lord has given to us, that we might think we own it out of God’s obligation to award us rather than His desire to gift….Guys…we’re not “the elect” as in the idea of being elected in a democratic way, that we were voted on by God and because we won the election of our own qualities….God could give us any quality He wanted to, therefore, our election to be His people and do the work the ministry that He desires us to do is all because He so desired….It’s about what He wants, not what we want….and to be honest….as His body, we ought to want what He wants, not in the legalisticàdo this because God said so and that’s that, but think of it like this…..you desire refreshing in the Spirit, you guys desire revival, the church needs revival, the church is hungry for revival, the Body is hungry….the Body is fed through the mouth….Christ is the head, and every Word which proceeds out of the mouth of God is that Bread of Life….I’m not trying to get too technical on you guys…I’m just excited because I’m learning this stuff too…The idea is that if we truly want satisfied, if we want to quench this thirst for love…and we know that God’s love is the only love that satisfies….we need to focus on Him…we follow not because it’s an “I said so” dictatorship….but because it’s the way He made us to be satisfied…..Isaiah 64:4 states, “For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for Him!” Our God is so different from this world’s prince…Our God waits for us while the devil wants you to serve Him….Our God takes care of us…the world’s prince pleases his own carnal desires…Our God satisfies, the enemy devours…That’s why we follow our God, because He provides what we need…not just to survive, but also to thrive as living people…The God who gives us life desires for us to have life abundantly and prosper even as our spirit prospers.

You might be thinking at this point, as I would probably be too….okay David, I get it….but what’s the point? I mean I guess it makes sense, but why is this so important?

Have you guys ever heard of the book, the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis à the same guy who wrote the Narnia Books? Well, simplified, it’s a book of fictional letters written from a young minion of Hell to his mentor who’s even more evil and deceitful….well each letter is written to be like a lesson…showing readers the tactics of the enemy…in one letter, the mentor demon is explaining to the less-seasoned minion about when to harass Christians, and why that’s so…Well…he explains that attacking in the dry seasons is often useless because dryness most readily produces thirst (which is our spiritual metaphor for a desire for God and seeking after Him)…therefore, what would be the counter for this?....Prosperity, fullness, satisfaction….The elder demon explains that when the Christian is experiencing a time of fullness and blessing, that season of rain on the soul…that’s when you begin planting seeds of evil, and to be perfectly honest…they’re very subtle (I’m sure you’ve all heard about how to boil a frog…that the frog will jump out of the water immediately if it’s too hot, but if you leave it lukewarm and then slowly, over an adequate period of time, raise the temperature slightly until it’s boiling, he won’t notice the change and will boil). The enemy sees the spiritual seasons and acts subtly, and yet we’re often oblivious to them until we’re right in the middle of them or they’ve passed.

If we could see into the spiritual realm right now….what would we look like? Would we be adorned with huge swords and shields, glistening armor of all sorts of precious metals? Would we look like mighty warriors? Would we look healthy? Would we look wretched, cut, bruised, bleeding, gaunt (that’s like starving and emaciated like you see on commercials for supporting orphaned children in some 3^rd world countries or in pictures of the Holocaust survivors) The enemy sees this stuff, the enemy will be able to tell when you’re being fed because your appearance in the spiritual realm will change…when you eat you gain weight (Word), when you workout you get in shape (faith by fear and trembling)…when you do both you become stronger and more healthy – as long as you’re resting along the way (abide in shadow of His wings)….the enemy will know when you’re falling, when you’re climbing to new heights….you’ve made yourself an easy target….the enemy sees you coming and starts setting traps and obstacles in your way…

VIDEO GAME – MARIO-TYPE DEMONSTRATION

Christian

Christ,

Enemy-Obstacle

(First enemy observes) à Christian walks blind to waypoint without obstacle

(Second enemy sets up obstacle à Christian walks with eyes shut – trips

(Third enemy) à Christian is guided by Christ with eyes shut, wins

(Fourth enemy) à Christian is guided by Christ and is allowed to see obstacle

.Think about this…you’re playing a new video game…in this game you’re what we’ll call a controller…you have these people characters that have to walk from point A to point B by themselves, it’s AI (artificial intelligence), but it’s you’re job to keep them from completing when they’ve set out to do….you can observe them all the time…but the slower they get to point B, the weaker you become and you lose if they reach their destination… You can place all sorts of roadblocks and obstacles in their paths to trap them and move them away from their intended goal….the enemy lives in that realm, the enemy is playing that game…now if we rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us for His namesake, that means that we basically let Christ have control of our lives and place our trust in Him by focusing on Him rather than ourselves…we won’t be stopped by the bulwarks, the obstacles in our way….You see…He’s beaten the game, He wrote the code to the game, He knows how it ends…He knows all the secrets and the ways to have the most enjoyable experience….He’s the Designer…

Are you ready to accept His design for your youth group? Are you ready to accept the challenge He’s placed before you and the role you play, because it is a role, He’s center-stage? Let’s embrace the challenge of selflessness à not by thinking less of ourselves, but by thinking of ourselves less and thinking about Him more

As John the Baptist perfectly stated the cry which should by of our hearts as well in John 3:30

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Prayers – humility, evil schemes, Christ eyes, spiritual warfare, protection,

Could be a stretch a challenge, praying in groups of 4, if not comfortable, don’t feel obligated, have freedom, but challenge yourselves à we’re not a body, we’re The Body of Christ….we need to become more comfortable around each other, specifically when we’re talking about our God. When you’re around your best friends, do you feel comfortable? When Christians come together, the solidarity, the unity among us ought to be stronger than any bond, because it shouldn’t be like A connecting to B, it should be like everything is A. The focus on Christ is what unifies us….

I’m a poetry buff…I love it, it’s so smooth…the guys who write this stuff understand words…they understand the art of compressing lots of thought into few words and making an impact upon the reader or listener in the process…As we’re talking about surrendering ourselves here one man’s muses, those are thoughts, on his battle against his own will

SURRENDER POEM - Page 551 Swindoll’s Ultimate Book o f Illustrations and Quotes

Man a Nothing

O Lord,

I am a shell full of dust,

But animated with an invisible rational soul

And made anew by an unseen power of grace;

Yet I am no rare object of valuable price,

But one that has nothing and is nothing,

Although chosen of thee from eternity,

Given to Christ, and born again;

I am deeply convinced of the evil and misery of a sinful state,

Of the vanity of creatures,

But also of the sufficiency of Christ.

When thou wouldst guide me I control myself,

When thou wouldst be sovereign I rule myself.

When thou wouldst take care of me I suffice myself.

When I should depend on thy providings I supply myself,

When I should submit to thy providences I follow my will,

When I should study, love, honour, trust thee, I serve myself;

I fault and correct thy laws to suit myself,

Instead of thee I look to man’s approbation,

And am by nature an idolater.

Lord, it is my chief design to bring my heart back to thee.

Convince me that I cannot be my own god, or make myself happy,

Nor my own Christ to restore my joy,

Nor my own Spirit to teach, guide, rule me.

Help me to see that grace does this providential affliction,

For when my credit is god thou dost cast me lower,

When riches are my idol thou dost wing them away,

When pleasure is my all thou dost turn it into bitterness.

Take away my roving eye, curious ear, greedy appetite, lustful heart;

Show me that none of these things

Can heal a wounded conscience,

Or support a tottering frame,

Or uphold a departing spirit.

Then take me to the cross and leave me there.

Arthur Bennet, The Valley of Vision

Have you ever wondered about how choices affect our futures. No...I mean how they REALLY affect our futures, specifically those intensely dangerous prayers. Those prayers so dangerous not because of the words we say but because of the truths our hearts convey with God. Not necessarily asking God to crush you into humility or allow you the privilege of becoming a suffering servant. I'm talking about the prayers of revelation, those prayers where God reveals to you what He's about to do, and though your mind might not be, your heart it aligned with His purpose. Those prayers that are less of what we consider prayer and more of acknowledgments of what God's will is, and so rather than appeal or discuss or complain, we rest... The past few weeks I've had so many of those...it becomes frightening at some points. When I start to really read Jesus' words and when He commands us to count the cost before following, I do it...and I wasn't really prepared for what I found, but I felt at peace with it anyway. What costs are there to becoming a FULLY-devoted follower of Jesus. As we mature in Christ we begin to devote ourselves more and more to God. But when do you get to that point at which you no longer give Him more of your devotion, but rather you give Him everything you've got to give, everything you have left over and everything you hadn't given Him originally? When do you become more than just a follower? When do you BECOME a disciple? What cost is there to such a life? Could it mean every dream you've ever had? Could it mean thoughts of comfort and love? Could it mean families? Could it mean relationships? Could it almost seemingly move against loving your neighbor? Like it says in the Old Testament with regard to the Levites...They loved God more because they obeyed Him in slaughtering the women, children, men, and livestock of His enemies... Could surrendering everything even mean surrendering your current conception of His plan for your life? Is it surrendering your life? Is it your life anyway?


There is so much to say and time is running out...

Still holding still, this organic pen, not quill, more shrill in voicing sin,
Not it's origin, but tied tightly within, to that black blob which generates the love between them.

Still unused, afraid of it's refuse, and so it's voice is refused, until a choice is due.
Its voice isn't new, its ploy is difficult to view, and its crew is formed of more than these two.

The silent crowd which surrounds, in their whispers, loud, hounds the few,
They desire speech, whether bitter or sweet, because silence is too true.

I Surrender Most of it....

My life is filled with circumstances under which I operate,
And I'm not sure if I can trust You with my fate.
That's something I have to comtemplate.
I'm sure You can relate, I mean, would You want me making the decisions regarding Your estate?
Also, in the past You've shown up late. You know it might be too much to place on Your plate.
Sure, You can create, but to sustain, that's an entirely different thing.
I have a lot going on right now and I'm lacking the time required to bring
All that I have,
And so I'll continue to cling,
Until I'm sure that I can,
It might be awhile, so feel free to leave,
I just need a little longer to grieve,
Grant me this reprieve.
When I'm ready, I'll give You a call.
Until then, I surrender most of it all.

So sad, too true.

What sound does the broken heart make,
When love is ripped from your grip for utilitarian sake.

Psalm 136 - Message Translation

^{1 -3} Thank God! He deserves your thanks. His love never quits.
Thank the God of all gods,
His love never quits.
Thank the Lord of all lords.
His love never quits.

^{4 -22} Thank the miracle-working God,
His love never quits.
The God whose skill formed the cosmos,
His love never quits.
The God who laid out earth on ocean foundations,
His love never quits.
The God who filled the skies with light,
His love never quits.
The sun to watch over the day,
His love never quits.
Moon and stars as guardians of the night,
His love never quits.
The God who struck down the Egyptian firstborn,
His love never quits.
And rescued Israel from Egypt's oppression,
His love never quits.
Took Israel in hand with his powerful hand,
His love never quits.
Split the Red Sea right in half,
His love never quits.
Led Israel right through the middle,
His love never quits.
Dumped Pharaoh and his army in the sea,
His love never quits.
The God who marched his people through the desert,
His love never quits.
Smashed huge kingdoms right and left,
His love never quits.
Struck down the famous kings,
His love never quits.
Struck Sihon the Amorite king,
His love never quits.
Struck Og the Bashanite king,
His love never quits.
Then distributed their land as booty,
His love never quits.
Handed the land over to Israel.
His love never quits.

^{23 -26} God remembered us when we were down,
His love never quits.
Rescued us from the trampling boot,
His love never quits.
Takes care of everyone in time of need.
His love never quits.
Thank God, who did it all!
His love never quits!

Rush of Fools Show at Church Tonight

Wow...God is awesome.

Following is my message for this past morning for the high schoolers


(I manuscript most all, but I extemp. quite a bit as well that's not written - and take out as well)

Have you ever been in that situation where you want to do one thing so much….but something, be it conscience, or maybe more rightly, compassion holds you back? Maybe you’ve been given the opportunity to go hangout with your best friends, but instead you decide to spend some time with a younger sibling…or maybe spending some time with a peer you don’t really know that well who has invited you to do something else…and it may be a chance for you to invest in that relationship which earns you the right to relate your testimony to them…it’s about giving up your rights for the benefit of others, but not just for them…it’s to glorify Jesus, doing what He did

Let’s think to Jesus, - He is, was, and forever will be God…but for that brief period of time during which He walked in the flesh upon this earth, He gave up His right to be worshipped and praised and radiate His glory (you know how you can feel the sunshine upon your face on a sunny day?, think about amplifying that a billion times and adding every color and visible and invisible energy wave known and unknown)… If anyone had a claim to rights it’s definitely God…and yet He laid not just His rights, but His life down for us…to the point of suffering a cruel unjust murder upon a cross

What would compel God to do such a thing….was it His love for us?

No…and yes…

First we have to get one thing straight…God’s primary focus is glorifying Himself…does that ring true to you?

If it doesn’t, think about it this way…would God be God if His primary concern was His creation and having to create and having to redeem what He created…that would make God subject to us…and because He’s God…that won’t happen…

Often in the Bible we hear of God doing things for His namesake…for instance, many times Israel was saved for His namesake. It wasn’t about them, it was about Him

It’s always been about Him…God sent His Son to redeem us for His namesake. God created us a certain way for a certain purpose – to love and enjoy Him forever…therefore when man fell, there needed to be a Savior in order for the purpose of man to be upheld…that’s why Christ loves us so much….to the point of dying a dreadful death….it’s so that His name will be upheld, so that we will be as He created us…to glorify and enjoy Him forever.

SO now then…what’s Paul talking about…to die is Christ…to live is gain…I thought you were going to say compassion for people….

That’s only partially true

To live is Christ – that is He gave His life for me and so I live by Him. I am to live out this life as He would desire me to live if, for it is His

It’s about delaying your gratification so that you can serve the Lord as much as possible, as intelligently as possible.

But…to die is gain – the gain of the glory of eternity, the gain of receiving the rewards for which one has labored in Christ so long…it’s to be seated with Christ…

Paul is following Christ in Christ’s focus…it was on His Father’s glory…likewise, Paul’s thoughts go to God as well in that he decides he will remain living because it’s most beneficial to the Body of Christ. His focus isn’t people, but the idea of sharing in the what makes our Lord so awesome – the fact that He lived a perfect life and still decided to willingly sacrifice it for us to retain our purpose through Him.

Paul knows what he’s giving up here…wait…Paul knows? Yeah. Paul has been to the third heaven…he knows what he’s missing out on…just as Jesus did when He was on earth…

Thus, Paul is telling us….a life worth living is only worth living if it’s lived focused on Christ.

What are some ways by which we live for ourselves? Within the Church, how do we adjust the focus from Him to us?

In contrast, what are some ways by which we can live for Christ? How can we change from selfishness to selflessness…what are some examples of where we can shift our focus from us to Him? And how?

Paul makes the point that until you’re prepared to die as he is, you aren’t nor will you ever be prepared to live a life worth living. Why does he make this point? What’s so important about being ready to die that opens us up to living full lives?

Are you like me? I sometimes get caught up, especially at this period of time in my life with so many transitions from high school to college to work, school, career, marriage…..there is so much to figure out, and all along the way it’s easy to get lost if we’re not careful…sometimes I get to the point where I just cry out to God asking, craving Him to tell me the answer to this one question…. “What’s my purpose?” Now I know we went over the purpose of man….but I want to know my purpose, my individual purpose…why did you create me? What function do I serve in this Body…..Paul notes here in verse 24 that his purpose, his sole purpose to continue living on was to serve the Body of Christ, his fellow believers, to strengthen them in teaching, preaching, raising up new assemblies….he would stay to encourage them to press on in the faith….

Paul is a believer who suffered, he “took his lumps”, he underwent lashings, shipwrecks, robbery, drifting at sea, imprisonment….all because of focus

His focus was so strong, his stance was so solid, his decisiveness so resolute, He was so stubborn for Christ…that he counted these as privileges….

How many of us could honestly say getting hit in the face by another because we mentioned the name of Jesus, or get jumped by a group of guys because we carry a Bible and talk about God, or get made fun of and slandered at school, or even raped and beaten, all because we follow a guy who happened to be God, who happened to call us to follow Him, HOW IN THE WORLD CAN WE CALL THOSE PRIVILEGES?!?!?

Take a minute or two to talk about a time when you were wronged and how it made you feel.

Honestly, sometimes, I want to think Paul was delusional writing that suffering is a privilege, and if I didn’t mention it already, he’s referring only to unjust suffering, suffering for the Gospel (suffering so that love can win), suffering that isn’t pursued, but comes upon you without your provocation, your egging it on, teasing it to come after you…

It’s hard to look at all the junk we’ve had to go through in life to get to where we are now….sometimes we see that junk and say…that just wasn’t fair, and if it was for God, you’re right, it wasn’t…but Paul seems to tell us that it was a privilege to go through it, like it’s better that it happened to us than not at all….I guess maybe we can use it as part of our testimony or something like that…..but is that all?

I would venture to say no…there’s more…there’s something greater here.

As Jesus said, “Follow me”

Thinking about this topic, we know that blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. We also know that our God is a jealous God. He and He alone can and has taken upon Himself the sins of the world for the redemption of those who believe. (He underwent what you underwent because He took upon Himself that sin which was committed against you, it was committed against Him, but here’s the thing, only He could actually do something about it, and what He did was in complete and utterly pure and perfect love, it’s called forgiveness). For Him to share with us the unjust sufferings which He underwent for our salvation is sharing the most precious form of provision available. The great mercy he gave to us…He’s letting us do the same for others. There is no greater love.

Next time something happens to you that seems unfair, not right, unjust; if you feel like you are suffering because you’re following God, first make sure that you are unable to keep from the persecution (don’t entice it), if it’s still there, continue to pray about it and read the Word for God’s insight into your situation, along with that find an elder or a pastor to share your burden with…explain what’s happening, they will help you understand and cope with it….

Finally, and here’s the greatest but weirdest part that might take a little time to get adjusted to….Get excited and rejoice in the Lord…again I’ll tell you what I just said because I’m pretty sure it didn’t sink in…..Rejoice…By suffering with Him you are involved in the most intimate act that Christ performed for us. You are rejoicing in the ability to focus on Him over all else, you can rejoice when He is what brings you joy, because the joy we find in Him is perfect, without blemish, and it never fades…

When you get taken advantage of, how can or how do you rejoice?

As we leave today to go back to our families and friends this week, to our jobs and our summer leagues…to our video games and books, our bike rides and water fights…..remember it’s not about me…and that’s why it’s worth it.