August 28, 2015

 "Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away." I Corinthians 13:8

So, if it's not good to build a church solely around a charismatic preacher, or charismatic gifts or current trendy cultural strategies what SHOULD your build it around?

Here's a hint: "Love never fails".

At FredWes we are committed to building a healthy and growing church on the foundation of Godly love. We are seeking to build a church guided by the Great Commandment and committed to the Great Commission. Those two big obedience points are how we show God we love Him and are committed to His will. Those principles should form the foundation for all Christian ministry. Those practices will accomplish the purpose of the church which is to glorify God through proclaiming the Gospel.

Love works every time it is tried. It is relatively easy to understand how an individual can express love but how does a church do it?

There in is the challenge!

When a church chooses to build around a dynamic preacher, they can place the responsibility for church growth on his talents, his gifts and those of his close inner-circle people. Everyone will rise or fall on his performance.

If a church depends on speaking in tongues and ecstatic utterances for growth, they will draw people who thrive on feelings and emotions and who need visible evidence to enhance their faith. But over time those emotions that work for you may eventually work against you.

A church that decides to build from the strategy and vision of another successful church, they will soon discover they are not that church and realize the strategies aren't as effective for them. If they are unable to adjust those strategies to fit their realities or ditch them altogether and seek God's vision for the church it will struggle mightily.

So, clearly, the chance of failure for either of these church growth options is higher than one that works every time it is tried.

While it is easy to identify a preacher, and obvious when the gift of tongues is operating. A strategy can be written on a chart. But love is harder to quantify or chart.

Building a church on the foundation of love requires an emphasis on relationships and places responsibility on each member to develop healthy relationship in each of these areas:

1) Faith - Love God through a personal relationship in Jesus Christ. Grow in that relationship by obeying and serving Him. How can you have a successful foundation for a church without starting here?

2) Family - Love your spouse and build a healthy marriage relationship. Love your children by teaching them, training them and disciplining them.

3) FredWes - Love your fellow believers in the FredWes family in the fellowship of worship, serving, and praying together.

4) Friends - Develop healthy friendships with neighbors and co-workers so you can leverage those relationships to earn the right to share your faith in Christ.

This is the foundation FredWes has chosen to build our church upon. We will stake our future on building healthy relationships according to God's Word and in His Spirit. When we use the tag line "Loving You to LIFE" this is what we mean.

I can live AND love with this vision!

Who will join me?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

August 27, 2015

"Where there is knowledge it shall pass away." I Corinthians 13:8

Let's face it, the Corinthian Church was not a healthy church but yet it has a lot it can teach the modern church about what is necessary for a church to be healthy.

So far we have learned that a healthy church:

• Builds around good solid Biblical preaching but not around the personality or talents of the pastor as the church's foundation.

• Allows for the operation of the gift of tongues within Biblical guidelines and avoids the divisive pitfalls that often accompany the practice of this gift. Building a church upon the doctrine of tongues is a prescription for failure

Today we will learn one other temporary foundation to avoid building your church upon - knowledge.

What does he mean by "knowledge"?

"Knowledge" in this case refers to certain insight or discernment given by the Holy Spirit enabling you to know or learn what you wouldn't know otherwise.

That sounds like a good thing! How can that be destructive to a church?

Here is how I have seen knowledge become a negative factor to a church. In my years of ministering in local churches and serving with pastors knowledge becomes destructive when it becomes a substitute for a clear Holy Spirit vision.

I don't know how many times I have seen a struggling church attempt to revitalize itself by imitating a strategy from another church judged to be successful. They make the mistake of believing because it worked for that church it will work for theirs.

The idea you can build a healthy growing church on someone else's vision and strategy is not a prescription for success or blessing. Trusting in the strategies of men in the place of seeking wisdom and direction from God is not a prescription for healthy growth. And yet we run from coast to coast and from one church growth conference to the next seeking knowledge on how to build a spiritual church.

Shouldn't we start by staying in our place of prayer until we get some knowledge from God?

August 26, 2015

"Where there are tongues they will be stilled" I Corinthians 13:8 

This chapter is introduced as "the more excellent way". More excellent than what?

In short, it is more excellent than the church operating in the flesh.

Chapter 12 finds Paul introducing the concept of spiritual gifts and how they fit into the design of the church. Chapter 14 is instruction in the two most coveted gifts, prophecy and tongues. These gifts are desired because they are the most public and bring the most attention and praise to those possessing them.

The key word in spiritual gifts is the word "spiritual". Gifts are designed to operate in the Spirit of God which is the point of Chapter 13. When spiritual gifts operate in the fruit of the Spirit it brings the blessing of health to a church. But when gifts operate in the flesh they can create strife and division within a church.

So, that brings us to our theme of improper foundations for building a church. Preaching/prophecy can be a tricky foundation when the focus shifts from the preaching to the preacher. And without a sustained and intentional focus that will happen. When it happens it doesn't end well.

Likewise, a church built on a foundation speaking in tongues is not a long-term formula for success. Many churches are built around the doctrine of speaking in tongues. 

What is speaking in tongues?

That is the problem. There are differing ideas and attitudes about what this gift is and how it operates. Some say it is an ecstatic language for the purpose of praying and communing with God. They would call this a "prayer language" or "praying in the Spirit". Others say it is a language that promotes worship and some would say it aids in evangelism. Where there are differing opinions there is a high potential for strife and division.

Because of the confusion around the primary purpose of tongues there is high potential for a congregation to have disagreements. A healthy church enjoys unity but unity is hard to find when they are fundamental misunderstandings and disagreements surrounding their primary doctrine.

If you have been around the faith for awhile and have any familiarity with churches you probably have a story about a church that has split because of disagreements over the purpose and use of tongues. 

The doctrine of tongues and speaking in tongues have probably caused more church splits that any other religious doctrine. So, with this being true, why would we choose to build a church on this foundation of the gift of speaking in tongues? That doesn't seem like a formula for long-term success.

Over the years I have heard stories of churches that have been split over the controversy caused by division over tongues. Some of them have been Wesleyan Churches.

It is interesting to note that in comparing and contrasting spiritual gifts Paul ranks preaching/prophecy as a more useful gift to the Church than speaking in tongues. But he also has positive things to say about them both.

A healthy church needs strong biblical preaching and can benefit from those who properly use the gift of tongues. But using either as the foundation to build a church upon is a prescription for failure.

August 25, 2015

"But where there are prophecies they shall cease." I Corinthians 13:8

The word used for "prophecies" is more about forth-telling than it is about foretelling. In other words, it refers to preaching not predicting.

Many things in the church have changed over the generations but thankfully, preaching remains central in churches. The Word is the life-blood of any healthy church. Those who are fortunate enough to be called to preach the Word should devote themselves to prayer and study to assure they do it as well as they can.

It has been my great joy to preach and teach the Word for 44 years now. I would be thrilled to have another 44 years to do it!

I want to establish my high regard for preaching the Word before I move on in this article.

Now, for some context and perspective. The Corinthian church had one of the greatest preachers ever in the Apostle Paul but it was an extremely unhealthy church. They also had another dynamic preacher named Apollos!

So, as important as preaching is, building a church solely on the foundation of preaching is not the best way to build. I know that sounds contradictory so let me explain.

As evidenced in the Corinthian Church, preaching easily becomes intricately identified with the preacher and over time his persona and personality can steal the church's focus.

When that happens, the church begins to become unhealthy.

One church that comes to mind is the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. For forty years this church prospered in the shadow of Hollywood and Disneyland under the preaching and promotion skills of Dr. Robert Schuller. His engaging personality and positive self-help sermons were featured on a weekly television show "The Hour of Power!". Using the world-wide platform of television and a score of best-selling books He leveraged his popularity to build an amazing architectural marvel known as "The Crystal Cathedral".  

But, unfortunately, as age took a toll on his energy, his mental sharpness, and his judgment, he was unable to maintain the level of performance needed to sustain the momentum. For all his success he had failed to raise up a successor. The ministry went bankrupt and the building was purchased by the Catholic Diocese.

This story is a high profile example but by no means an isolated case. It serves as a sad reminder that while it is important to build a church around Biblical preaching the leadership should be very careful not to allow it to be built around the preacher.

Preachers can fail. Preachers come and go. Churches that build primarily around a preacher will ultimately fail. "Love never fails!"

August 24, 2015

"Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they shall be stilled; where there is knowledge it will pass away." I Corinthians 13:8

As I come to the end of this Summer sermon series on I Corinthians 13:8, I was given an unexpected but very valuable and practical insight into church health.

Remember that this letter was written to a church! The Church in Corinth was a very gifted church but also quite a carnal body of believers. As a result, we see a struggling strife-filled church. So, all of the advice and counsel offered by the Apostle Paul was in the context of bringing spiritual health to an unhealthy church.

For our purposes at FredWes I want to offer a justification for our ministry vision of "loving people to life".

I want you to notice four points of emphasis active in this church: love, preaching, speaking in tongues, and knowledge. As I noticed it and thought about it I came to the realization that many modern churches pick these same emphases to build their churches upon. Let me give you an example.

There are preaching (prophecy) based churches. 

Preaching the Word of God is a central priority and sacred responsibility of any church. It is one way we justify our existence. No church can be healthy unless it has solid Bible-based preaching presented with practical life applications.

BUT there are churches who build their vision around the preaching ministry of a certain preacher. The talent, the personality, and giftedness of that preacher become the driving force of that congregation. People invite their friends primarily to see and hear that preacher. Much of the church budget is directed around the purpose of promoting his preaching skills on TV or radio or building bigger buildings to accommodate more "fans" of their celebrity preacher. In this environment it is easy for the preacher to begin believing his own celebrity status. While this model has worked to create some large and influential churches, they often don't endure past the end of that pastor's tenure.

Speaking in unknown or ecstatic languages (tongues) is a central emphasis for some churches. Some Christians believe that speaking in these mystical languages is the evidence of having been filled with the Holy Spirit.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is the will of God for every believer but there is debate about whether the evidence of being Spirit-filled is manifested primarily through this gift of tongues or by the manifestation of spiritual fruit. (See Galatians 5:16-26).

Churches have been and are being built around the teaching of speaking in tongues. The manifestation of this gift becomes the central focus of their worship, their teaching, their preaching, their doctrines and their ministry emphasis. In many cases, these churches do not have happy endings just as, what happened in the Corinthians Church, this practice becomes a source of spiritual pride that becomes divisive. There are large churches that have been built around this emphasis but not many healthy ones.

Also, there are many churches built around "knowledge". What do I mean by that? What am I talking about? I am referring to churches that build around a big idea or a strategy borrowed from another successful church. They believe that imitating a successful model will guarantee such for their church. While some large and significant churches have been built  by essentially becoming "clones" of another church, it is very tempting to become so enamored or committed to implementing and sustaining the strategy they lose site of Biblical mandates for the Church.

While there can be no denying that growing and influential churches exist using each of these three visions, it is clear that the central truth of I Corinthians 13 is there's a better foundation upon which to build a church.

Do you  know what that is?

Is your church built on one of these three models?

August 23, 2015

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." Hebrews 11:1-3

To believe in creation requires faith. Accepting the evolutionary theory of origin also takes faith. Because faith is defined as "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see". Neither creationists or evolutionists have seen their "first cause" each is certain of its existence. Creationists put their faith in Scripture while evolutionists put their trust in science. Which do you think forms the best foundation?

Frank Crick is a Nobel-prize winning biologist who helped with the discovery of DNA. He is a man who has devoted his life to science and has invested great faith in it. Here is a quote from him relating to the origin of the universe, "An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to almost be a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have to have been satisfied to get it going."

Science journalist and author, Charles Siefe observed, "It seems like a tremendous coincidence that the universe is suitable for life."

Coincidence? Miracle? Random chance occurance? What is the origin of our universe?

One thing is sure, the tolerance for error in the beginning of the universe was extremely slight. Astro-physicist, Lawrence Krause, for instance, wrote that if the force of gravity were changed by 0.0000000000000000000000000000000001%, both the planet Earth and the sun would be nonexistent.

Honest examination of the facts and the evidence and the mathematical probabilities strongly favor supernatural creation as the origin of our universe. But your final answer will come down to where you place your faith. And faith is based on what you hope to be true.

Evolutionists hope that God does not exist and that the universe spontaneously exploded into existence. Why would they not want God to be the Creator of the universe?

Again, I hearken by to my two main reasons offered previously:

1) They want to be in control of their own lives.

2) They want to sin without having any consequences.

If, as Scripture records, God is the Creator, then He is in control and we are accountable to Him. But, if the scientific theory of the "Big Bang" and evolution are correct, then their is no God and we are in charge.

That is the essence of sin. St. Paul expressed it this way:

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." Romans 1:19-21

I would caution you against hoping God away from the creation process. If there is no God and if all that we see in our world and universe is an incredible coincidence, then where is our security? If it all came together via a random occurrence of matter and energy, what is to keep it from all coming apart? How can you have hope in the midst of that uncertainty? If we can only be certain of the moment in which we live then what is the purpose of living? If we are gods, what has our deity gained us?

If you are trusting in science, has science ever been wrong? Are you sure that you want to pin your hopes on something as inexact as science?

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for...." Be careful what you hope for.

August 22, 2015

"Love never fails....." I Corinthians 13:8

Nearly 30 years ago counselor Gary Chapman wrote a very insightful book entitled "The Five Languages of Love". I highly recommend this book!

The big idea expressed in the book is that not every one gives or receives love in the same way and identifies the five most common ways love is expressed or received. In order to feel loved by your significant other you must understand your love language and theirs.

I share that because if you are going to understand and experience God's unfailing love you must know His primary love language.

Do you know what it is?

His love language is obedience. In order to fully involve yourself in His unfailing love you must obey His command to be filled with His Holy Spirit.

“16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” Galatians 5:16-26

The only way to know His unfailing love and to show His unfailing love is to be filled with His Holy Spirit!

The only way to love with unfailing love is to be filled with the spiritual fruit of His love so He can love through you!

Love never fails!

God's love works every time it is tried!

Are you loving with unfailing love?

Have you learned God's love language?

Will you be filled with His Spirit?