January 22, 2013

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." Romans 12:11 (TNIV)

“Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame." Romans 12:11 (The Message)

What are you passionate about?

 

How do you fuel that passion?

 

What robs you of your passion?

 

Those are some of the issues addressed in this middle section of Romans 12.

 

How do you define passion? Is it an emotional state? Is it an attitude? Is it a spiritual condition?

 

Here, Paul defines it as a level of commitment. He equates it with "zeal".

 

Commitment implies a narrowed focus. When you are committed to numerous things you are, in fact, not committed. You may have multiple interests but minimal commitment. Most people nowadays can relate to the concept of being "over committed".

 

What happens to over committed people? Don't they usually become over stressed? Once you are over stressed what happens to your passion? What happens to your energy level? What happens to your level of performance?

 

I established at the beginning of this series that God calls you to the purpose of overcoming evil with His goodness. But what are the chances of overcoming evil if you are overwhelmed by too many commitments?

 

"But, Brad" you argue, "The things I am committed to are all good things! Isn't that how you overcome evil?"

 

While I will give you that if you are going to be overwhelmed it is better to be overwhelmed with good things than by bad things, but the net result is pretty much the same. In my experience, the most common hindrance to believers overcoming evil WITH good is being overcome BY good. Doing the good things is usually what prevents you from doing the best things.

 

"So," you ask, "How do I narrow my focus? How do I prioritize my commitments?"

 

Discover that and you will take a giant step toward living with passion.

 

I will give you a hint, Jesus said, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

January 21, 2013

We are a team at FredWes – every member has a position to play and the team wins as each member plays his position and gets wins at that position. Each of us matters and it matters to the team what we do.

We are a body – every member has an equally important place in that body and must find it for the body to become healthy and growing.

Our Unity – comes from surrendering to God:
Our Ego
Our Evil
Our Efforts

Our Community – comes from serving in the church in the Spirit

How do we preserve and maintain this healthy climate in the church?

PURITY

“Love must be honest and true. Hate what is evil. Hold on to what is good. Love each other deeply. Honor others more than yourselves.” Romans 12:9-10
 

PURITY = MATURITY, as in, mature love. That is what we have seen displayed in David and Trish Tait over the years they have served FWC. It is the love that Gerald and Brenda have modeled when they led the church and even now as they serve.

Once a team, once a body finds the unity and community that are essential to a godly, growing, healthy church – then they must maintain it. How?

PURE LOVE THAT IS MATURE IS:

1) HONEST – “Love must be honest and true……”

This deals with your motives. Honest love isn’t manipulative. Honest love faces the hard truth of selfish love and repents of it. Get real with God!

2) HOLY – “…..hate what is evil….”

This deals with your Master. Who is the source of your love? How do you get it? You have to hate your selfish love to get sincere love. This will take some true repentance. It will require some discipline. You can’t love and hate at the same time.

3) HELPFUL – “….hold onto what is good….”

This deals with your mission. The purpose of believers is to be confront the evil in the world with the goodness of God!

4) HEARTY – “…..love each other deeply…..”

This deals with your meaning. Are you going to devote your life to self-seeking or are you going to invest in others? Are you willing to be vulnerable? Will you risk getting hurt by others in order to be able to help them?

5) HUMBLE – “…..honor others more than yourselves.”

This deals with your maturity. Are you willing to stand in the shadows and shine the spotlight on others? Are you willing to be a “nobody” to help make “somebodys”. Will you decrease so others can increase?

THIS IS PURE LOVE!

THIS IS POWERFUL LOVE!

THIS IS CHRISTIAN LOVE!

THIS IS CONTAGIOUS LOVE!

WILL TO COMMIT TO LOVE:

HONESTLY?
HOLY?
HELPFULLY?
HEARTILY?

January 20, 2013

"Your love must be real. Hate what is evil, and hold on to what is good. Love each other like brothers and sisters. Give each other more honor than you want for yourselves." Romans 12:9-10

 

Telling someone to love like this is equivalent to telling your dog to act like a cat. It is unnatural. The love that God demands of you in this portion of Scripture is unnatural. Think about it!

 

To love this way you must be sincere, i.e. - authentic, the real deal! That is not your nature! It is natural to fake it. You show only your best side and mask or hide your faults, flaws and weaknesses. You don't like those parts of your nature and you are sure that if others knew how you really are they wouldn't like you either!
 

Loving others with a real, true, genuine and sincere love is not natural!

 

Likewise, expecting someone to hate evil and cling to good is very idealistic isn't it? That won't really happen. It is not the way we are! How can you hate evil when your very nature is controlled by evil? Your natural way of loving is selfish love. It is a love that manipulates others to get what it wants. Therefore selfish love uses other people, sometimes abuses them to gratify its desires.

 

Loving others with a holy and unselfish love is unnatural.

 

So it is with brotherly love or a love that prefers others above your own wants and needs. It is not in your nature to honor others. You want the spotlight! You want the credit! Center-stage belongs to you! You deserve the honor! You have earned it!

 

Honor others? Why?

 

Pure love requires a maturity that is not natural. True love, Christian love, requires a fundamental change in your nature. As the Scripture declares, you must "be transformed by the renewing of your mind"! That is not just unnatural it is supernatural! Only God can do that because only God loves like that! It begins the moment you recieve the love that God has for you in Christ Jesus! When you recieve His love you also recieve the desire to love others. Along with that desire comes the ability to love others because - HE LOVES THROUGH YOU!

 

Are you ready for some radical love? Are you tired of shallow self-centered love? Are you wanting to help others rather than hurting them?

 

Repent of your selfish love and surrender to the supernatural endless love of God!

January 18, 2013

"Love must be honest and true. Hate what is evil. Hold on to what is good. Love each other deeply. Honor others more than yourselves." Romans 12:9-10

 

"Love each other deeply" says the Scripture. The word that is used is the word for "brotherly love". Within the fellowship of the church you are to love others like family. The "phileo" type of love is the highest measure of love which human beings are capable of sharing. It refers to a genuine warm emotional feeling of fondness and familiarity. In other words, when you love a fellow Christian give it all you've got. Don't hold back.

 

Why should you not love your fellow believers like you love family? After all, you have the same Father. If you love God you certainly should love those in your church fellowship who also love God. You love them because God, your Father loves them. You love them deeply because they are spiritual family.

 

And why should you not love your fellow believers who not only share you Father, but also share your faith. Faith is a powerful force in the life of a believer. Faith is a set of beliefs about Who God is, how He operates, how He loves you and what He wants you to do and to become. A common system of beliefs and values can form a strong bond for friendship and fellowship among believers in a local church. Sharing strong beliefs at the core of your being with other believers is a strong uniting factor.

 

Also, when you worship and work together within the fellowship of a church you share the same focus. You want that fellowship to prosper and grow. The people and the pastors and the ministries of that church has inspired you and instructed you and invested in you over the years and it has become an important part of your life. Because you value that you value others who share your passion for the the health of that church. You are a team, you are members of the body who are working together to achieve shared goals. That is a strong common bond.

 

Love one another deeply as you would a brother or a sister. Live in unity and harmony with them. Share spiritual community as you worship together, serve each other and reach out to the needs in your city.

 

Having the same Father, the same faith and an identical focus are important factors in loving each other deeply (like brothers or sisters) within a local church fellowship. It is a powerful bond! It will bless you in your spirit and build you in your spiritual development!

 

Do you have a brotherly love for those who worship with you?

If not, why not?

January 17, 2013

"Love must be honest and true. Hate what is evil. Hold on to what is good. Love each other deeply. Honor others more than yourselves." Romans 12:9-10

 

Who doesn't want true love? Who wouldn't benefit from it? What church couldn't use more of it? True love is hard to find. Maybe that is because it is hard to do. Which could be why it is hard to recognize.

 

In these two verses Paul gives us perhaps the most concise description of true love found anywhere - even more concise than I Corinthians 13.

 

Life is all about relationships and therefore, love is essential. God wired you to thrive within loving relationships but sin infected your nature with selfishness and selfishness is the great "anti-love".

 

So, the reason it is hard for you to love me is because you love yourself more. Until you want to love more than be loved you will struggle with true love. Wow, that's honest!

 

Perhaps that's why this verse describing true love begins by demanding honesty. Until you are honest about your lack of love how can you ever hope to honestly love?

 

Selfish love is manipulative. It always look for an edge or an angle to get what it wants. When you are angling for what YOU want you will not be interested in what I want. Selfish love is the "anti-love".

 

Insincere love uses people rather than serves them. When I feel used by you not only do I not feel loved by you, it can erode my self-esteem. No one wants to feel like an object.

 

How do you get over the selfish love so you can love others with a sincere love?

 

Back to the honesty! True love begins with you repenting to God for your selfish love. Call it what it is - SIN. Do you find it interesting that the first three letters of sincere are "SIN"? The root of all sin is selfishness and that must be dug out by the root! Only the God of perfect love can do that.

 

The antidote for selfish love is God's love. Maybe that is why Jesus commanded us to "Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself". Until you love God more that you love you it will be impossible to love others without trying to manipulate them. Actually, you will try to manipulate God, too!

Get over it! Root out SIN and get sincere!

January 16, 2013

"Love must be honest and true. Hate what is evil. Hold on to what is good. Love each other deeply. Honor others more than yourselves." Romans 12:9-10

 

Mature love is pure love. It is the love God has for you as revealed in His Son, Jesus. It is pure love because it comes from pure motives.

 

Mature love is honest. It has nothing to hide and no hidden motive or agenda. Honest love seeks the best for others and gives its best to others. It acts on the truth and speaks the truth and deals truthfully with those it loves.

 

Mature love is humble. It puts the needs and interests of others ahead of its own. There is no pretense or need to impress. It is not concerned about maintaining an image or protecting an ego. It is not afraid to risk in order to make others feel loved.

 

Mature love hates hurtful things and therefore doesn't hurt others. It opposes evil things and stays clear of evil itself. Evil is the anti-love because it promotes selfishness.

 

Mature love is helpful. It embraces the things that are good and helpful for others. It looks for the things that are good and helpful in others. It encourages and serves to bring out the best in others.

 

Mature love honors others by honoring God and obeying His Word.

 

Mature love is pure love because it comes out of pure motives and expresses itself in ways worthy of God's love. This is the love you receive from God and the love He expects you to share with others. And this is the love that fosters unity and community within the Body of Christ.

January 15, 2013

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”  Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling,  no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.  For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.  You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”  Psalm 91

 

It was late Sunday afternoon on January 15, 1950 and a very pregnant Reita Mae Snyder was sitting on a stool in her kitchen in Bourbon, Indiana frying some steaks for dinner.

 

Trust me, the woman can cook! But the steaks on the stove were about to be interrupted by the "bun in the oven" as labor pains began in a serious way.

 

Don Snyder devoured both steaks while Reita packed her stuff for the 16.2 miles trip down U.S. 30 to the Murphy Medical Center in Warsaw, Indiana. Around 10:30 that night they welcomed a 9' 15" 22 1/2 " baby boy into the world. They named him Bradley Donn Snyder.

 

These days the Murphy Medical Center has been torn down and the site has become the north end of a supermarket parking lot, Don Snyder has passed on and Reita is recovering from foot surgery awaiting her return to the bowling team she shares with three of her daughters in Warsaw - (and she is still a great cook).

 

What about the baby boy? He is a little taller, a bit heavier, a lot older and now a Virginian, but still going strong and loving life. Some of you call him "pastor" and some call him "friend" and one calls me "son" while another calls me "cutie" (imagine that).

 

So, here I am adding one more year to my age and trying to adjust to that number. Reflecting on all of this the words of an old Gaither song are rattling around in my ancient brain:

 

Since I started for the Kingdom,
Since my life He controls,
Since I gave my heart to Jesus,
 The longer I serve Him,
The sweeter He grows.

 

Chorus

The longer serve Him, the sweeter He grows,
The more that I love Him, more love He bestows;
Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows,
The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.

 

Ev'ry need He is supplying,
Plenteous grace He bestows;
Ev'ry day my way gets brighter,
The longer I serve Him,
The sweeter He grows.

 

Chorus

The longer serve Him, the sweeter He grows,
The more that I love Him, more love He bestows;
Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows,
The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.

 

Amen!

Thank you, Heavenly Father for another year of life abundant and the promise of life eternal!