August 1, 2011

"How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matthew 7:4-5

One of the biggest objections given to justify non-involvement in church is, "There are too many hypocrites in church."

Unfortunately, that may be true.

I read about a preacher who when he invited a man to church was given this excuse, "Preacher, I would come to church but there are too many hypocrites there already."

The preacher was undaunted, replying, "Well, you could come and sit in church with a few hypocrites or you could go to hell with all of them."

However, the same people would sit at FedEx Field watching the Redskins even though there are hypocrites at the game. Or they crown into Lane Stadium or Scott Stadium to cheer for their teams without concern for how many hypocrites might be seated with them.

They don't hesitate to take money when it is given to them despite the fact that there are millions of phony bills in circulation.

This week I will be dealing with this issue of hypocrisy. Sunday I will be preaching about it. It is deadly, It is prevalent, and it hard to overcome.

Jesus hated hypocrisy when He was here. He confronted it wherever he saw and ruthlessly condemned it.

In His Sermon on the Mount, from which these verses are taken, Jesus identified the two most damaging aspects of hypocrisy - condemning sin in others while condoning it in ourselves. Jesus hated those attitudes. They are doubly destructive.

Jesus also gives us some insight into how to deal with hypocrisy in our lives, deal with the sin in our lives. "Take the two-by-four out of your eye before you get concerned over the splinter in your brother's eye."

The hardest hypocrite to live with is yourself. If you really are bothered by hypocrites and if you really want to be something about it, start with yourself. Ask God to reveal it in you and remove it from you. Stop worrying about "those hypocrites" and eliminate "this one". The hypocrisy that bothers me the most is that which dwells in me.

 

The root word derivative for "hypocrite" comes from the Greek word for an actor. A hypocrite is one who is acting a part that is not really who he is. With a real God Who has real transformng power, why would you settle for "faking it"?

July 31, 2011

"When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”  The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Restore our fortunes, LORD, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy,carrying sheaves with them."   Psalm 126

America has long been the land of dreamers for at least two big reasons:

a. Freedom allows us

b. Profit motivates us.

When it comes to chasing a dream and profiting from it, few have done it better than this guy.

All of us have benefited from his dreams as well!

Dreams have two main purposes:

1) To Escape Reality

2) To Shape Reality

Most of us start off life with a dream of making a good life for ourselves and making a positive difference with our lives:

We want: A Good Education At A Good College - Get A Dream Job With A Great Salary – Marry The Most Attractive Human Being Possible And Be Deliriously Happy – Have 2.5 Of The Smartest Best Looking Kids In the World – Live In The Best House In The Best Neighborhood With The Biggest Luxury Vehicle We Can Afford Out Front – And, In 30 Or 40 Years Retire Fabulously Wealthy And Become A Care-Free Beach Bum.

Maybe a few are able to shape a reality that fits that dream, but most don’t. For many their job becomes a hassle or their marriage becomes a nightmare or their kids become delinquents and they are looking for ways to escape reality.

Most of us spend life dwelling between the dreams trying to keep the dream alive so we can survive the nightmare. We spend part of our time trying to shape the world and the rest of our time trying to escape it.

For the context of our Psalm we must remember that the dream of the great King David and his son, King Solomon had brought such joy and prosperity to God’s people as they turned the nation back to God and then building the glorious Temple. However, when God’s people turned away from Him and rejected Him the dream came crashing down as the Babylonians destroyed the Temple, burned Jerusalem and took them into a nightmare 70-year captivity.

THEN SUDDENLY, when it looked like God had abandoned them and the dream was over – here’s what happened – TURN TO II CHRONICLES 36:15-23

Most Old Testament Scholars believe that was the event that inspired the writing of our next Psalm in the Summer In the Psalms Series – Psalm 126, follow me to that Scripture.

Doesn’t it seem that we spend the majority of our lives dwelling between the last big thing God did for us and the next big thing we need Him to do. Since that is true for most of us – shouldn’t we learn how to live there? Wouldn’t you love to know how to keep the dream alive during those nightmare times of your life? Wouldn't you like to keep believing you can shape the world in a postive way?

LEARN FROM THE PSALM:

I. REALIZE – You Can Live In Freedom, V. 1

It had been 70 years since they had seen a move of God. Their dream was dying and their hope was gone.

HAD THEY FORGOTTEN ABOUT JOSEPH?

HAD THEY FORGOTTEN ABOUT DANIEL?

These great men were both in captivity but they chose to live in freedom. They never forgot that God was in control of their lives and their circumstances. They never gave up on the dream He had placed in their hearts!

God shaped them in their nightmare experiences so that when their dreams came true they could shape their world. And after they had been faithful God delivered them in miraculous ways!

And once again – GOD DELIVERED HIS PEOPLE BY TAKING THEIR CAPTORS CAPTIVE!

Should we only serve God when things are easy and our dreams are coming true? Should we doubt Him when life gets hard?

HAS A CAREER SETBACK TAKEN YOU CAPTIVE AND MADE YOUR JOB SITUATION A NIGHTMARE?

HAS YOUR DREAM MARRIAGE BECOME A NIGHTMARE?

HAVE YOU BEEN TAKEN CAPTIVE BY A TROUBLED TEEN?

HAS ILLNESS OR DISEASE STOLEN YOUR DREAM?

MAYBE YOUR HOUSE IS SO FAR UNDER WATER THAT IT HAS TURNED INTO A FINANIAL NIGHTMARE.

PERHAPS A FINANCIAL SETBACK OR THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY HAS TURNED YOUR DREAM RETIREMENT PLAN INTO A NIGHTMARE.

You see God moving and doing miracles in other places and over bigger situations than yours, but it isn’t happening for you. You are hanging on by the only fingernail you haven’t chewed off in your anxiety.

What do you do? How can you keep life from taking you captive and crushing your dream like a coke can?

REALIZE:

1) If you belong to God, He is in control of you and your captivity! (Ro. 8:28)

2) If you belong to God, He has taken your captor captive – you are free!

JUST BECAUSE YOU DON’T SEE GOD WORKING DOESN’T MEAN YOUR DREAM IS DEAD! LET THE SAME GOD WHO WAS IN CONTROL OF YOUR DREAM TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR NIGHTMARE! HE MAY NEED TO TAKE THE DREAM TO SHAPE YOU SO YOU CAN SHAPE YOUR WORLD.

WHEN YOU REALIZE HE IS IN CONTROL YOU REALIZE YOU CANNOT BE A CAPTIVE!

II. REJOICE – You Can Live In Fullness, Vv. 2-4

There are those times when God seems to be making dreams come true all around you but you are stuck in a bad dream – what do you do during those times?

REJOICE!

1) In His Fullness

The Psalmist knew that joy was to be found in WHO God IS not just in what He does. For Him joy was a FACT not a feeling! It was the fact of what God had done for them. It was the fact of Who He was! It was the fact of what He had promised to do!

YOU CAN ALWAYS REJOICE IN HIS PRESENCE

YOU CAN ALWAYS REJOICE IN HIS PARDON

YOU CAN ALWAYS REJOICE IN HIS PURPOSE

YOU CAN ALWAYS REJOICE IN HIS POWER

YOU CAN ALWAYS REJOICE IN HIS PROMISES

YOU CAN ALWAYS REJOICE IN HIS PRAISES

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psa. 16:11

“The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” Psa. 19:8

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7

2) In The Dreams of Others

 

This is not the normal or natural thing to do… but we are not here to compete, we are here to complete!

Any great thing done for any child of God makes the world sit up and notice! That is worth rejoicing over!

At FredWes, one of the things that makes us a little different from some churches is that we are not here to convince you or sell you on jumping in to help my dream come true, we are here to help you discover your dream that God has birthed in your heart and help develop it and nurture it and find a place for it to be expressed so it can help shape the church and help our church shape the world.

III. RISK – You Can Live In Fruitfulness, Vv. 5-6

The signifcance of the "sowing in tears" is that a farmed had to take a large portion of his stored grain which  also represented his food supply and plant it in the ground. What if there was a drought and he lost the grain? His family would be at risk for food. What if the crop was attacked by locusts or stoled by mauraders such as the Midianites. When that seed was sown there was an even chance that it wouldn't return a yield. So, it was with tears of anxiety that he sowed his seed.

What is a farmer’s dream as he plants his seed?

Dreams are like seeds – they have to be planted and allowed to die….

The farmer puts his seed to risk because he hopes in the harvest.

The harvest comes when we sow our dreams into His! HIS DREAM IS HEALTHY LOCAL CHURCHES WHO DREAM OF BEING USED BY GOD TO SHAPE THEIR WORLD!

In the final analysis it isn’t about your dream or my dream it is about HIS dream and He is dreaming of a HARVEST! The harvest IS HIS DREAM!

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT GOD’S DREAM FOR THESE PEOPLE DID COME TRUE – and we are beneficiaries of that and every generation since who learn how to dwell between the dreams and learned to live in FREEDOM AND IN FULLNESS AND IN FRUITFULNESS through the good times and the bad!

So, how are you going to spend your life?

Are you going to dream up ways to escape the world and waste your life in fantasy land?

Or are you going to sow your dream into a local church with other dreamers who want to be used to shape the world!

July 30, 2011

"When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed."  Psalm 126:1


 Most of us start off life with a dream of making a good life and making a difference with our life.

GOOD EDUCATION AT GOOD COLLEGE

GET A GREAT JOB WITH A GOOD INCOME

MARRY THE BEST LOOKING HUMAN BEING POSSIBLE AND BE DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY HAVE THE SMARTEST BEST LOOKING KIDS POSSIBLE - LIVE IN THE BEST HOUSE IN THE NICEST NEIGHBORHOOD WITH A LUXURY CAR PARKED OUT FRONT

IN 30 OR 40 YEARS RETIRE FABULOUSLY RICH AND BECOME A CARE-FREE BEACH BUM

A few are able to shape their reality into that dream. Most don’t. Their job becomes a nightmare or their marriage turns into a nightmare and before they know it they are looking for a way to escape reality.

Dreams have two main purposes: 1) To escape reality (Disney World) or:  2) To shape reality.

For most of us life is spend dwelling between the dreams trying desperately to keep the dream alive so we can survive the nightmare.

The dream of King David and King Solomon had brought such joy and prosperity to God’s people as they turned the nation back to God and then built the Temple. But when God’s people turned away Him and rejected Him the dream came crushing down when the Babylonians took them into 70 nightmare captivity. During those long years held captive in a foreign land, they struggled to keep the dream alive.

And suddenly, the dream was revived in a way that seemed like – a dream!

So, when you are dwelling between the dreams and your life has become a nightmare – when it has taken you captive – when it has been a long time since you have seen God move in your behalf – is there a way to keep the dream alive?

Learn from this Psalm:

REALIZE - You Can Live In Freedom, V. 1


While they were longing for the freedom to return to Jerusalem so they could worship God, God sent the Persian army to take their captors captive! They could be as free as they would allow themselves to be!

Did they forget how Joseph found freedom even as a slave in Egypt?

Did they forget how Daniel maintained his freedom even when held in captivity or thrown into alions den!

They were in captivity but they chose to live in freedom. They realized that God was in control and no one could put them in spiritual or mental bondage.

Has a career setback taken you captive and your dream job is a nightmare?


Has your dream marriage become a nightmare….?


Has a financial setback turned your dream retirement plan into a nightmare?


Have you been taken captive by a troubled teen?


Maybe your dream house is so far under water that it has turned into a financial nightmare?

You see God moving and doing miracles in other places and over bigger situations than yours, but it is not happening for you. You are hanging on by the only fingernail that you haven’t chewed off in anxiety.

What do you do? How do you keep life from taking you captive and crushing your dream like a coke can?

REALIZE:


1) If you belong to God, He is in control of you and your captivity (Ro. 8:28)

God had allowed the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and capture them because of their sin and disobedience. And in time, He took their captors captive and set them free!

2) If you belong to God, He has taken your captor captive – you are free!

JUST BECAUSE YOU DON’T SEE GOD WORKING DOESN’T MEAN YOUR DREAM IS DEAD! LET THE SAME GOD WHO WAS IN CONTROL OF YOUR DREAM TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR NIGHTMARE! HE MAY NEED TO TAKE THE DREAM TO SHAPE YOUR WORLD SO YOU CAN SHAPE THE WORLD!

REALIZE HE IS CONTROL AND IF HE IS IN CONTROL, HOW CAN YOU BE A CAPTIVE?



July 29, 2011

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” Psalm 14:1

Researchers say they may be close to answering one of the world’s biggest mysteries.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) recently announced that researchers will know whether the Higgs boson particle, commonly referred to as the God particle, actually exists by the end of 2012. Some say the particle could be responsible for the creation of the planets and stars and that it may be the key to understanding the Big Bang.

Rolf Heuer, director-general of the CERN research center told the International Business Times, “We can settle this Shakespearean question — to be or not to be — by the end of next year.”

According to an International Business Times’ report, a recent experiment that involved shooting streams of protons through the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) obtained some atypical results that have led to a resurgence of confidence in those who have searched relentlessly for answers. For those of us who don’t know, the LHC is a large particle accelerator that sits deep in a tunnel beneath the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva. Experimenters say the findings are exciting.

CERN’s Director for Research and Scientific Computing, Sergio Bertolucci, told the International Business Times that any discovery- either the confirmation of the particle’s existence or otherwise, would be good news for the world. Both results, he said, would push the research forward.

It may seem like a big question to answer in a little less than a year and a half, but with the Worldwide LHC grid’s ability to process 200,000 physics analyses simultaneously, some think the work may get done.

They seem to be working awfully hard to disprove something that they say doesn’t exist. While at the same time they are trying equally hard to prove something else they are not sure exists. Some of their statements sound a lot like faith statements to me - they believe it exists but are yet to prove it……

There are a couple of key questions that remain unanswered even if they discover this particle. The obvious question is still, “Who created the particle?”

The other question is, “Why would they rather find their origin in a sub-atomic particle rather than a Gracious, Eternal, Redemptive God?”

July 28, 2011

“When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed.” Psalm 126:1

Sometimes we fall captive to what my friend, John Maxwell calls, “destination disease”. That may have been the case here in the 126th Psalm. Sure, they had suffered 70 years of being held captive by the Babylonians but I think the greater captivity was in their spirit where they longed for the days when they could worship God in a certain way at a certain place.

It seems they had forgotten that though they were restricted to a foreign land, their God wasn’t. He was longing to meet them right where they were. It seems they failed to remember that Abraham had worshipped God in his travels and Moses had worshipped God in the desert. They failed to miss His presence because their experience with Him was mired in the past.

Because of this “destination disease” they almost missed the wonderful new thing that God was doing! As they longed for God to restore them back to the sacred soil of Jerusalem to rebuild their Temple, God sent a captor to take their captor captive! Cyrus the Great and his Persian army overwhelmed the Babylonians and God put it on his heart to “restore the fortunes of Zion”!

Are you suffering from “destination disease”? Are you held captive to notions that worship has to happen in a certain way at a certain place? Are you holding God captive to your traditions and your comfort zone? Are you missing a new thing God is doing because you are locked into the old? Are you waiting for Him to show up or are you seeking to find Him where He is?

God has called us to freedom! God has sent Jesus to take our captor captive! Even when the circumstances of life take us places we don’t want to be , we should live in spiritual freedom! We should meet Him where we are! We should not look for God in old places and retreat to comfort zones, we should expect God to do knew and wonderful things for us!

Tradition can be a wonderful thing but it can also inflict us with “destination disease”. Be thankful as you remember what God has done in past places and in past ways, but also realize that He is doing something new! Remember the past and respect the past but don’t retreat there! Live in His freedom! Live in His freshness! Right now! Right where you are!

July 27, 2011

“When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Restore our fortunes, LORD, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.” Psalm 126

My “Summer in the Psalms” series has become more than I expected. I am not sure why because I should have learned by now the Word of God is always filled with wonders. God always exceeds our expectations so why wouldn’t His Word?

Psalm 126 is no exception. I came to it with one paradigm but it is taking me in another direction – a better one! It will be a joy to share my discoveries with you.

Barbara and I discovered a restaurant recently. We had driven past it almost every day and had wondered about it but never stopped to try it out. The steak sandwich I ordered exceeded my expectation. She enjoyed her wrap. We left contented but both commented on the way out, “Wow! We will definitely come back here!” Our contentment with the experience had already put a “discontent” within us. We went back this Sunday!

Today I want to share a thought with you that may seem to contradict my post from a couple of days ago when I shared how to find contentment. Psalm 126 shows how to live in what I call a state of “holy discontent”.

Contentment is the result of knowing you are exactly where God wants you while the “holy discontent” has moved you to this place, and it is what will keep you chasing Him. It is the dynamic tension that Christ-followers have as they live in relationship with an infinite God. Contentment is the moment you enjoy with God and the “holy discontent” is the momentum that moves you to the next God-moment. It is like Abraham building an altar to mark where he met God yesterday as he packs up his tents to move on.

This is how God deals with those who have allowed His dream to be birthed into their spirit. Psalm 126 gives us insights into where this “holy discontent” comes from, how to manage it and where it takes me. It is how you dwell between the dreams with a God Whom has done great things in the past, is doing great things today that you are yet to recognize but has also promised His best for tomorrow.

It is hard to dwell between the dreams as you witness the great things He is doing for others and you remember when He did it for you and you long for the next big thing He will do – but it doesn’t seem to be happening for you now. If you don’t understand the “holy discontent” you may find yourself doubting, disillusioned or just plain discouraged.

Are you “stuck” between dreams? Do you long to see God move for you like He is for others? Are you struggling to keep your discontent “holy”?

July 26, 2011

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalms 119:105

I was saddened to learn this week that Borders Bookstores are going out of business. That was one of the favorite places for Barbara and me to go for our Friday Date Night when the weather was bad.

For less selfish reasons, it also means 10,000 more folks will be out of a job nationwide. The nagging question for me is, “Why are they closing?” Is it an indication that the popularity of books is declining or is it the result of a 40 year-old business plan that hasn’t adjusted to the times? Perhaps it is a little of each. I guess most people are buying their books on Amazon via the internet.

There is a lesson there to be learned. We must be careful to adapt to the times.

I hope books aren’t becoming a thing of the past. That would be tragic. As convenient as the internet is and as neat as the Kindle-type reading devices are, we need to be book people! I hope there is never a generation that doesn’t get the great pleasure of cozying up with a good book.

Speaking of a good book, the most important Book is the Good Book – the Bible. Friend, we need to be people of the Book and this Book will never go out of style! It doesn’t need to adapt to the times, times adapt to it! So should you! I know you can read it online and sometimes I do. And I know that you can listen to it on CD’s. No doubt you can get it on Kindle, as well.

But those are not substitutes for The Book! You need to have the Book on your night stand. You need to have the Book underlined and marked in the margins. And you should carry the Book to church with you. This Book should never go out of style. This Book can never go out of style and it still the top-selling book in the world!

Leaders are readers and spiritual leaders MUST be Bible readers! Learn it! Love it! Live it!