September 27, 2009

"Now the tax collectors and 'sinners' were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." Luke 15:1-2

So, do you?

Will you?

Do you have a plan?

Every believer should! So should every church!

What am I talking about?

I am talking about having a strategy and a plan for "welcoming sinners and eating with them"?

What are you doing to connect with lost people?

What is your church doing to make connect lost people with your church?

Are you building bridges to connect lost people to the lavish love of God or are you erecting barriers?

Two of the guys who have done it the best, like Jesus, have been subjected to severe criticism. Bill Hybels and Rick Warren have built churches with a ministry strategy to welcome sinners and connect them with the lavish love of God.

Over the past quarter of a century Willow Creek and Saddleback Churches have reached tens of thousands converts, developed tens of thousands of disciples, seen thousands called into ministry, sent millions of dollars to foreign missions and planted hundreds of healthy, growing local churches around the world.

Despite those massive footprints in Christian history, they have been accused of compromising and being shallow and selling out in order to get numbers. Most of the criticism comes from people who resemble the Pharisees and religious leaders, small minded people leading small ministries. They have managed to make "seeker sensitive" into a negative concept and built fellowships that are "seeker resistant".

As I have been camping out in Luke 15 this month, I have been reminded of how passionate Jesus is for reaching lost people. He came to show us how to connect lost people with the lavish love of the Father. That sounds a little "seeker sensitive" to me.

Given the choice of building a "holy huddle" populated by the saved, sancitified and satisfied, I'll take the criticism for daring to "welcome sinners". I'll take the heat from narrow-minded traditionalists who can't seperate the methods from the message.

I like the attitude of a young pastor friend of mine who once declared, "I'll do anything short of sin to reach lost people."

If the mindset of the Pharisees and religious leaders had prevailed and if Jesus had bowed to their criticism, I would still be "eating with sinners" - as a sinner.

What are you doing to "welcome sinners"? How sensitive are you to the lostness of people who haven't been connected with the lavish love of the Father? Are you building bridges or barriers?

As for me, at the Judgment I'll hope to stand in the line somewhere behind Bill and Rick - hopefully surrounded by a bunch of former sinners who were reached through my "seeker sensitivity".

September 26, 2009

"Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate." Luke 15:23

Do you have a "fattened calf"?

Does your church have one?

Not sure?

When I talk about the "fattened calf" I am talking about expectations. You could call it faith.

Where did this fattened calf come from and how long does it take to fatten it up?

I am talking about preparations.

Was it a coincidence that there happened to be a fattened calf ready for the impromptu feast?

Was it actually an impromptu feast? Or was it planned?

The father was expecting the son to come home so he prepared for his arrival.

Are you expecting to see your unsaved friends come to Christ? What preparations are you making? Are you fattening up the calf? Will you be ready to celebrate?

What about your church? What are you doing to prepare for new converts? Will you be prepared to welcome them? Are you ready to celebrate?

Churches that expect to reach lost people show it by fattening up the calf. They have a designated way of celebrating lost sons who return.

For FredWes it is a lighted cross. What will it be for you? What are you expecting? Will you be ready to welcome and celebrate?

September 25, 2009

"Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate." Luke 15:23

Just outside of Greensboro, NC is an amazing place called "Celebration Station". It is like Funland, Chucky Cheese, and Dave & Busters all rolled up into one! This place is SO good that adults beg their kids to go!

I always liked that name - "Celebration Station". That has a nice sound. It rolls off the tongue doesn't it? When I first heard it I thought, "That would be a great name for a church because that is what a local church is designed to be - a celebration station!

What do I mean by that? Where do I get that?

From Luke 15 where we see Jesus showing us the heart of God to seek lost sinners and to celebrate when they are found.

So, how do we turn our church into a celebration station?

Learn to see with Jesus vision.

We have televison. The military has night vision. Superman has x-ray vision. But Jesus has people vision!

When you look at a crowd you notice people who are about your age or people who are attractive or people who are stylish or people you know. When Jesus looks at a crowd He sees lost people, hurting people, and needy people. That's Jesus vision.

One of the reasons I ask people to put together a list of lost people and begin praying for them is that it helps give us Jesus vision. When you begin interceeding for lost people it slowing changes your focus. The more you pray for lost people and watch for chances to witness the more you develop Jesus vision.

Another way to develop Jesus vision is to go on a short-term mission trip. When you get into another setting or another culture and see the need and feel the spiritual darkness and become overwhelmed by the need - you will never see the world the same again.

Jesus vision helps us become a celebration station.

The second thing is to learn Jesus values. Jesus values lost people. He is the shepherd searching for the one lost sheep while He leaves the 99. He is the woman frantically looking for the lost coin. He is the father anxiously hoping and watching for the return of his runaway son.

In one of my previous messages I pointed out the truth that we search for what we value. That can not be denied! The opposite is true. We betray our misplaced values when we fail to seek lost people.

That is another result of daily praying for the lost people you value most. It helps you develop Jesus value. And that is all you need to do. You don't have to search for strangers. You don't have to value the whole world, but if you will seek to reach those who mean the most to you - that is Jesus value!

Thirdly, for the church to become a celebration station you need to learn to celebrate with Jesus victory! That is what we celebrate? A person whom we loved and sought and prayed for was lost and now is found! What else is there? An eternal destiny has been changed! When a church learns to celebrate what Heaven celebrates, the dynamic of that fellowship changes.

My passion and my prayer is for FredWes to become a celebration station! Will you join us? Will you ask God to you develop Jesus vision, and get Jesus values so we can celebrate Jesus victories?

Who are you intereeding for today? What mission trip are you planning to take? What lost person are you befriending?

September 24, 2009

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." Luke 15:20

I have never been a runner. I am not built for it, I am not good at it, and I don't like it. Good runners are timed with a watch. I was timed with a calendar. I once got lapped running the half-mile race. Don't tell anyone.

When I was in high school I ran cross country for one reason - I had to. It was a rule that our basketball coach made that stated if you wanted to try out for basketball you had to run cross country. Well, okay.......if I have to.

My goal for every cross country meet was not to finish last. As bad as I was at running there were always others who were worse. I counted on that.

Now, when it came to basketball or soccer, I could run all day. Maybe it was because you were running in spurts, or maybe it was because it wasn't about the running.

I respect people who love to run and are good at it. I don't understand them, but I admire them.

This morning I want to talk about my favorite runner and the most amazing run ever! What am I talking about? I am talking about the day God ran!

We have been camped out in Luke 15 this month. I hope you have been enjoying it. If not, you should enjoy this one!

The runaway son was making his way back home. He was disgraced. He was destitute. He was desparate and broken. He was hopeful that returning to the father hungry, honest and humble would count for something.

He crossed the county line and saw the hill on the horizon. Home was just a short distance on the other side of the hill. His face was down as he stared at the dusty road concentrating on his speech, "I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be your son....."

That's when he heard footsteps. Looking up he saw the cloud of dust and in front of that cloud was his father! His father was running to him - with outstretched arms! The runaway froze in his tracks still rehearsing the speech in his mind. He wasn't expecting this.

It was textbook tackling technique! Dick Butkus would have been proud (or Ray Lewis - sorry about the generation gap). The running father hit the runaway son and wrapped him up in a bear hug. When he hit the filthy son, there was a toxic cloud released - but it didn't matter. The runaway had returned! It was a sweet reunion!

Think about a God who would run to meet you! There is no other God like that! All the other gods make people run to them and they put down hurdles to make it harder. BUT OUR GOD RUNS!

Have you strayed from Him? Has your heart wandered or your mind drifted?

Whatever may have put distance between you and the Father, I have good new for you. If you will head toward home in humility, honesty and with a hungry heart. You can feel the embrace of a God Who runs!

September 23, 2009

"I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'"

Luke 15:19

When the foolish young son took the money and ran, he left home sick of sonship and tired of having to live by his dad's rules. He was ready to be large and in charge.

Each of us have a little of the younger son in us. We don't want to conform, we don't want to cooperate, we want to control! We think, just as he did, "When I run the show, life will get a whole bunch better!"

So when we read this little parable we are not just reading about him we are also reading about us! How did Jesus know that? I wonder.

Well, let's see how this First Century version of hope and change worked out for the kid. You know the story. When the money ran out so did the friends, the fun and the freedom. Now he was destitute, desparate and despising life. He went from being a partner in the family enterprise to being a pig feeder for a stranger. He discovered the huge difference between sonship and slavery. Suddenly, sonship was looking good. In a matter of weeks he had gone from living in luxury surrounded by the lavish love of his father to hustling the hogs for some husks.

How could he have been so wrong? Why couldn't he see that he had been surrounded by love and yet unable to experience that love? His selfish desire for power kept him from receiving the love of the father.

But that was then and this is now. Now he was headed home smelling like a hog and hungry as a horse. Once hoping to be a big shot, now he was hoping to catch a break. If he was going to be a slave he may as well see if he can hire on with his dad.

He left home feeling smug, now he was heading home feeling small. If he could just catch on as a servant for his father his life would get better and his future would be more certain.

Here's the point in this episode. Selfish pride keeps you and me from receiving the lavish love of the father. BUT, when we return to the father with the heart of a servant things change. There is room for love in a servant's heart.

How about your heart? Are you enjoying the lavish love of your Father? If not, are their some pride issues? Some control issues? Don't live another day outside of the lavish love of God.

September 22, 2009

"I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you." Luke 15:18

The lost son had lost his appetite for the pleasures of the world. He had run out of money and out of luck and out of friends. He was fighting hogs for husks and still coming up hungry.

Desperate for a better option, he made a life-changing decision. He chose to get out of the pigpen and head home to the ranch. If he was going to fight with pigs for food, he may as well be fighting his father's pigs. He remembered how well his father took care of his pigs and he knew he would be better off there.

But, he could not be sure that his father would hire him back? After all, it was his idea to leave and he had blown a share of his father's fortune. Why should his father want him back?

On the long trip back, growing faint from hunger, he began to examine his plight. It is funny how clearly we can think when we are hungry and desperate. Now that his dream was shattered and his tummy was empty it was obvious to him how foolish he had been. He was hit by an attack of honesty, "I will confess my sin to my father and fall on his mercy," he thought. It was worth a try. It was his only hope.

All the way down the dusty road he rehearsed his confession and with each repitition he became more honest. And as he faced the truth about himself and his foolishness, his attitude began to change. He was ready to receive whatever the father would choose for him.

"If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:9

The word "confess" in the original language means "to agree with God". What can be more honest than agreeing with the father. When we get agreeable with God, God gets generous with us.

What was it that allowed the lost son to receive the lavish love of the father when the other son did not? It had to do with his hunger and it had to do with his honesty.

Are you hungry for God today?

Are you in agreement with Him about your need?

September 21, 2009

"He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!" Luke 15:16-17

We have taken a look at some reasons why certain people were not able to receive the love of God that was available to them. The pharisees and religious leaders couldn't receive God's love because of their pride. The younger son was unable to receive love because he was on a power trip, looking to use his father's fortune to take control of his life. Finally, there was the older son who was enable to receive his father's love because he was caught in the performance track. He thought he could earn love based on what he did.

Do you recognize any of these attitudes creeping into your spiritual life? They seem to be engrained in our human nature and if we are not constantly watchful, they can become barriers to receiving the extravagant love of the father.

So, with that in mind, how do we make sure that we receive the love we need and the love that the father desires to lavish on us? Let's study that. To do that we must study the only one who was able to know the love of the father.

The first thing I notice is that he received the father's love when he was hungry enough to seek the father.

It wasn't until he was so destitute that he was forced to fight the hogs for food that he thought to do something different. It occurred to him that if he had to fight with pigs for food, he would go back home and fight with his father's pigs. So, he got up and began the long trip home. He was heading home hungry hoping for some scraps from the father's table. The days of feeding on the things of this world were over, his appetite had changed.

Jesus once said, "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled." The lost son was about to discover that truth.

When you get your fill of power, pleasure, and playing at life, you may be ready to head home to the father. And when you head home with a spiritual appetite, you are a candidate for receiving his love.

He did. And he did!