Why are there so many rules to this Christian walk? Why are we so concerned about making sure everyone follows the rules before the join the crowd? Where does Grace fall in to play? How about Mercy? Well let me start off by saying that man has placed the rules upon the Christian walk and that is why we struggle with them. You see God knows that we have to have a relationship with Him before we will even want to try and follow the rules. I heard a great preacher say Rules before Relationship always produces Rebellion. Don’t believe that. Look into your own life and see how that has played out for you and yours. We as the church have moved so far away from what Jesus did. We want people to look like us, act like us and talk like us before they can join us. Like what we have is controlled by us. Hey remember Jesus would simply ask people to follow Him. He just wanted to develop a relationship with them and then they would change. The congregations that are doing the work Jesus have instructed us to do have figured this out. They are having relationships with people of all walks of life so that they will have the chance to share Jesus with them. You see that is where grace and mercy step in. God gave you grace and mercy when you weren’t playing by the rules. When you were lost and wanted nothing to do with Him, it was extended to you. Even since you have begun your relationship, when you get off track, here comes grace and mercy again. We should sue our brains for non-support if we think we deserved that and other people don’t. So let me ask you, are you expecting people to be perfect right out of the gates? I mean you want them to speak christianese and dress christianese and act christianese. Build a relationship and leave the rest up to God.
Month: June 2014
Put up or Shut up
Our churches today have moved so far from the original church. We get so caught up with our buildings and programs for the people inside the body. The New Testament Church was focused on sharing Christ and building disciples. So what am I saying? No I am not saying sell all the buildings and cancel all the programs that we have for members. Our congregations have become so inwardly focused that we have forgotten what we are commissioned to do. There are so many churches dying on a yearly basis because we have taken our separatist attitude to far. We are so worried that we might catch something from the people who are still living in the world. I am not talking about being seeker sensitive so to speak. What I am saying is why don’t we put our money where our mouth is. We say all the time that we want to do what Jesus commanded us to do. But when we look at our budgets we find that we are just the opposite. Our Churches for the most part have no presence in our communities. There are a lot of places out there that have even stopped having VBS, which for some is the single event that is used to reach parts of the community in which they live. If we are truly concerned about people dying and going to hell, then I submit we need to put our money where our mouth is or shut up. As a SBC we have the privilege to support missionaries and missions through the cooperative program. We do special offerings for other causes and all of that is great. Sadly though for a lot of congregations that is where it stops. Hey that is great, but we need to do more. The Bible says that where we put our treasure that is where our heart will be. That doesn’t just refer to the money we give. We need to use our time and talents to Impact the World for Christ. So what about you? Put your time and talents where your money and mouth are. Pay up or shut up.
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Talk is Talk Until You Walk
I like to sit around sometimes and just listen to people talk. I don’t know why it just fascinates me. You know what else I like to do? I like to just sometimes sit and watch people. It is very interesting to me to watch people live out their lives out. You know we often times say a lot of stuff but when it comes to doing what we said we fall short. It used to be before I was born a man’s word was his bond. If someone said it you could take it to the bank they were going to do exactly what they said. I hear lots of people talk about what they are going to do for God. They have the best of intentions, but you know the old saying right. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Or maybe you can be well intentioned and drive off a cliff. Now before you get bent out of shape, I am not saying that I am perfect and do everything I ever say. I try. Another thing that drives me crazy is to listen to people tell me how much they love God, to turn right around and blast one of His creations (people). Shouldn’t our words match our actions? I think there is something in the Bible that talks about this. You will have to search it out for yourselves I am not going to give you the answer. It is there, just look. One final thought, our words should dictate our actions. If you don’t want to do it, don’t say it. People will read your actions a lot more than they will ever listen to you. Ask someone in your community about you, and I promise they will have something to say. You see there are a lot of people like myself who like to listen to people talk and then like to watch people to see if those two things match. Are you walking your talk? Or talking your walk?
I am not a Missionary or Am I
We all wonder how someone could leave everything they know or have and travel to a foreign land to share Christ. After all hasn’t there been people lose their lives or worse yet put their families at risk. God didn’t call everyone to be the person to leave everything for people in other countries right? Well is that true or false? I would have to submit that the previous statement is false. God has called us all to leave everything for His purposes in our lives. Does that mean that we have to go to another country to make that happen? Do we have to sell everything we own and leave everyone we know? NO. The Great Commission tells us to share Christ in our Jerusalem, Samaria, and then the rest of the world. So we are all called to be missionaries. We don’t have to go to a foreign land to share Christ; we can do it right where God has placed you. You see you are right where you are meant to be according to God. So what are you going to do about that? Walk across the street or across the lunchroom and share Christ with someone. You don’t even have to learn a different language most of the time. Now I am not saying that we don’t need people to go to foreign countries and share Jesus. What I am saying is we can’t just throw money at missions and not do them. If you won’t share Christ with people you are around today, then who will? What I am learning through this journey of life God has placed me on is there are people who come in and out of my life that may never listen to someone else, but will listen to me. So wouldn’t I be a fool not to accept my call as a missionary right where God has placed me. So allow me to ask, Are you a missionary? Or Not
It is my Life who cares?
Ever made statements like these? It is my life I can do what I want. Or maybe who cares what they think. In today’s world we are often programmed to worry about us and nobody else. It is after all our lives and shouldn’t we live the way that makes us happy? I think of a lot of Bible here to combat what the world has to say. Let’s start with the fact that if you’re a follower of Christ you have been bought with a price and you no longer have the right to do what you want. Or maybe the one where we are not to be a stumbling block to anyone with our own actions. This includes things that we might want to do but would cause other people to have a bad picture of Christ. Then there is the one that we are to live as Christ did, allowing Him to live through us. Man that really hits me square in the face. That means that even when someone does you wrong that you don’t take revenge. Or if you really want to do something and for you it would be ok, but for others it might cause them to stumble. When Jesus died upon the cross for my sins I gave up the right to do, as I wanted to. I no longer have an opinion about things it is what the Bible says. Everything that I do in life have to be looked at through the glasses of what will it do to others? So the next time you make the statement it is my life I can do what I want, remember that if you are a follower of Jesus it isn’t yours anymore. We should always care what others might think about us because as many people have said before we might be the only Bible they may ever see. What kind of of Bible do people read when they see you?
Judge Me Not or Help Me Yes
Here is a phrase that I am sure everyone has heard and probably even said once or twice. Judge not unless you want to be judged. Sound familiar? It is something that we say when we are doing something we shouldn’t be doing or you confront someone else. You might also hear people in glass houses shouldn’t throw rocks. Sometimes we get so caught up in these phrases that we are afraid to even say anything to someone who is headed down the wrong road. After all don’t we all have problems of our own? Why should we worry ourselves with someone else’s problems? Besides they are just going to pop off with one of the above comments. Well let’s take a moment and explain the first phrase. Judge not is talking about casting an eternal judgment on someone. We don’t have the ability to understand our own hearts much less someone else’s heart. We are called by Jesus to be fruit inspectors. If you were a corn farmer and you began to have cotton grow in your fields wouldn’t you want to know why? We should never try to tell someone what is in their heart when they do something. Our job is to look at the fruit and help them produce the right fruit for the right fields. I know that people will take offense sometimes when you call them out on something. Don’t you? It is all in how you say things. If you don’t have a relationship with the person it will never be received well. I heard someone once say Rules before a Relationship always breeds Rebellion. That is true in every sense of the word. So what about you? Are you just trying to Judge Me or do you want to Help Me?
Faithfulness or Foolishness
Things tend to happen in our lives that we are caught off guard by. How we react tells a lot about us. The problem is other people watch us and wonder sometimes what we are doing. See different circumstances come in and out of lives, but none of it is by accident. It is my belief and I think the Bible is in agreement that everything has to pass in front of God the Father before it is allowed to enter our life. So why does it matter what other people think about how we react to different circumstances? The common question in people’s minds, do they really have faith in God? Or are they just Foolish. You see with everything that happens in our lives we have the chance to show Faithfulness or Foolishness. Our Faith is rooted in the fact that God loves us enough that He sent His Son Jesus to die upon the cross for us to be redeemed back to Him. You see our Faith is not in whether or not God will change our circumstances and make things better for us. Our Faith is in the fact that He loves us and God will do what is best for us in the long run. Sometimes that means having to go through some things that aren’t pleasant for us. It could even mean the loss of a loved one. We are being watched by the world to see if what we say is true about having Faith and being Faithful. Or if what the world says is true when they call us Foolish. So which do you show when things are bad and things aren’t happening the way you think they ought to be. Are you showing Faithfulness or are you showing Foolishness?
Are you conditional?
In today’s society there is a constant tension about whether you are traditional or contemporary. I guess the big question is really do we reach the people of today with Jesus or not. We continue to use methods that are outdated but we aren’t willing to change how we reach people. Now before you begin to think that I have completely lost it, I still believe the Bible is the only way to see people saved. What I am talking about is the willingness to change your methods or the way you fish. Jesus calls us to be fisherman and gives us the resources to accomplish our task. I had a conversation the other day about different types of bait that are used or can be used. I mentioned that our churches use electricity and air conditioning, which are new resources. A discussion began with the other party not believing that those were bait. To us we might just think of those things as everyday needs, but the fact is they are new and not as widespread as we think. Another subject that is often covered is what is acceptable to wear to services. This goes from the preacher all the way down to the children. Again my thought is you should be dressed appropriate to your community and environment. See I believe God wants your best, but not just one hour a week. Be who you are because that is whom God made you. You wouldn’t wear a suit and tie in the middle of Africa would you? So to answer my earlier question am I traditional or contemporary? I would say that my theology is traditional in the sense that I believe what the Bible says. My methods are what I would call conditional. I am willing to do whatever it takes to see people come to the saving knowledge of Jesus and follow as one of His disciples. What about you?
We won’t change or have we
As we read the passage in Acts 2: 42-47 we find the model for the churches behavior. We find that the early believers had certain things that they were consistent in doing. They studied the teaching of the apostles, enjoyed the fellowship of the saints, participated in corporate prayer and ate meals together including the Lord’s Supper. God established His welfare system through them as they were moved to sell their assets and divide it among all of those in need. In today’s church I often hear people say comments like we don’t like change or we want to do it the way it has always been done. Statements like that are made but the church doesn’t really believe them it seems. Most congregations might do part of what the early church did, such as study the apostles teachings. After that the change sets in because the rest of it makes us feel very uncomfortable. The modern believer only wants to fellowship with those people that they have something in common with. The modern day version of corporate prayer mostly consists of a prayer service over a prayer list. We don’t really pray expecting God to really do anything. When we eat together it is usually only on special occasions and our idea of taking the Lord’s Supper together is to just be in the same room together. We have no interaction while we are observing the sacrament. Then you come to what I call God’s Welfare System for the modern church. There is not much helping others and certainly no selling of our stuff to help others. We often think that others can take care of themselves and we will just talk about them. When all is done we like to say that we don’t want to change and yet we have gone so far from what the Bible says. Change is something that we can’t avoid; yet we should not change how the Bible described the earlier believers behavior. If we are to obey the Bible we must try to replicate everything the earlier believers did. I am not saying that we have to sell everything we own to be like them; but we must at the very least be willing to sell it all to take care of members of the church if needed. Changing in methods are ok as long as we don’t change what the methods were meant to do.
Who do you think your lying to?
We find in Acts 5: 1-10 a very interesting story that Dr. Luke under inspiration chose to include in the story of the early church. The church as a whole is growing by leaps and bounds. Many people are showing signs of being moved by compassion as they sell their lands and possessions to take care of all. No doubt pride was setting in for some of our early fathers. Enter a couple by the name of Ananias and Sapphira. They too wanted to help out the cause or did they just want to be noticed. Here in this story we find a couple of different things happen. First, we find that sin crept in and husband and wife conceived a plan in their heart to get the recognition without the complete sacrifice. Often times pride will cause people to do things that ordinarily they may not otherwise do. Sin will more often than not take you further than you had intended on going. The plan was conceived, second the plan had to be carried out. We find this next exchange between Apostle Peter and Ananias to be quick yet a powerful one in testimony. Here I think that we find what Jesus talked about so often, a hypocrite. See they were saying one thing and yet their life was saying something completely different. Third, like any other sin there are consequences. Lying in and of itself is a sin, but they made the consequences that much greater when they decided to deceive the church and try to deceive God Himself. Our lives are not that much different than that of this couple. We will often do things or even say things that are completely contrary to what we have done. Our hope is that the people in front of us will never find out the real truth. We think that by closing the door on Sunday morning that God will stay put and what we do during the week will not affect Him. Yet one important concept we can take away from this story is the fact that our personal testimony has a great bearing upon the Church. If we weighed everything in light of this story and the fact that our consequences could be the same as this couple. It would make us think about the questions; who in the world do you think your lying to?
Thoughts from Pastor Toney 