February 5, 2011

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse." Romans 12:14

We sing about grace. We hear it preached. We like the sound of it. We love to receive it. We have a harder time extending it. But all the time we have difficulty wrapping our mind around it because it just doesn't come naturally to us.

I will leave it to men greater than me to communicate its significance to you.

Phillip Yancey describes grace in his book What’s So Amazing About Grace. He writes, “Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more—no amount of spiritual calisthenics and renunciations, no amount of knowledge gained from seminaries, no amount of crusading on behalf of righteous causes. And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less—no amount of racism or pride or pornography or adultery or even murder. Grace means that God already loves us as much an infinite God can possibly love.”

The attitude of grace is expressed this way by John Newton, the man who penned the lyrics to the timeless hymn "Amazing Grace".

"I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am."

Richard Wurmbrand, who spent fourteen years suffering in a Communist prison, reminds all believers with less than ideal circumstances that “if the heart is cleansed by the love of Jesus Christ, and if the heart loves Him, you can resist all tortures.” He says, “God will not judge us according to how much we endured, but how much we could love.” The love of God demonstrated in the lives of his people is potent. Wurmbrand gives an example:

“A Christian was sentenced to death. Before being executed, he was allowed to see his wife. His last words to his wife were, ‘You must know that I die loving those who kill me. They don’t know what they do and my last request of you is to love them, too. Don’t have bitterness in your heart because they kill your beloved one. We will meet in heaven.’ These words impressed the officer of the secret police who attended the discussion between the two. After he told me the story in prison, where he (the prison guard had been put for becoming a Christian).”

So, what can you do to get a grip on this grace that God purchased at such a tremendous price so that it might given freely to you?

How grace operates:


1) It decides not to hold a grudge – (It forgives)

2) It refuses to get even when given the chance.

3) It refuses gossip when given the chance.

4) It responds graciously when given the chance.

5) It extends forgiveness when confession and repentance happen.

It requires God's grace to understand that you need God's grace and by His grace He sends His Spirit to grace your life, cleansing your eternal soul and transforming how you think and what you desire.

Why would God do such an amzing thing as grace?

Because it is Who He is!

Because it is what we need!

Because it is what others need to receive through you and me!

As believers in Jesus Christ, God needs you and me to grace others.

Today you have opportunity to recieve His grace and you will doubtless have a chance to grace someone else. If you miss the opportunities to grace - you disgrace. You don't want to live in disgrace do you?

February 4, 2011

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse."  Romans 12:14

Why would I bless one who persecutes me?

How would that keep them from persecuting me more?

If they keep persecuting me do I keep blessing them?

How does that help me? Am I to be a perpetual victim?

What does it mean to bless them?

Good questions!

What would Jesus do?

What DID He do for you?

He loved you, even though you were born a sinner and had no desire for Him.

You lived for yourself and satisfied all your selfish desires. He gave up all the privilege and pleasures of Heaven for you and came to be born as a baby in a manger.

He kept seeking you and reaching out to you as you ignored Him and chased pleasure.

As you cursed Him and took His Name in vain, He prayed for you and blessed you as much as He could.

Long before you had any desire to live for Him, He died for you.

Why would He do that?

That's grace!

What is grace?

God's Riches At Christ's Expense!

God blessed you and removed the curse of sin!

That is why He can call you to bless those who persecute you! Because He did! You can, too.

Who will you bless today? How will you grace others?

February 3, 2011

"Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath." Romans 12:14

Getting a grip on grace requires releasing grudges. Let's talk about how that happens.

Here's a story to help illustrate this truth:

An interesting system has been used for capturing monkeys in the jungles of Africa. The goal is to take the monkeys alive and unharmed for shipment to zoos of America. In an extremely humane way, the captors use heavy bottles, with long narrow necks, into which they deposit a handful of sweet-smelling nuts. The bottles are dropped on the jungle floor, and the captors return the next morning to find a monkey trapped next to each bottle.


How is it accomplished? The monkey, attracted by the aromatic scent of the nuts, comes to investigate the bottle, the nuts, and is trapped. The monkey can't take its hand out of the bottle as long it's holding the nuts, but it is unwilling to open its hand and let them go. The bottle is too heavy to carry away, so the monkey is trapped.

You hold onto a grudge out of a desire to get even with someone who has hurt you or wronged you. But in the attempt to do so, and even in the desire to do so, you are trapped by your own devices. Just like the monkeys, your stubborn refusal to release the grudge keeps you trapped like them. And like them, all you need to do is let go.

But in fact, it is more than letting go, it is grabbing something else - GRACE! You release the negative so you can possess the positive. Grace is an incredible gift that is yours for the taking, but to take it you need a free hand. If I held out a gift to you, I could offer it but it would not be yours until you received it. You have to reach out and receive it with open hands.

Grace is a gift that must be received freely and once received it must be passed on to others. You cannot do either if you are trapped in vindictiveness and resentment.

Spring the grudge trap and escape to the freedom of grace!

February 2, 2011

A recent Reader's Digest has an article entitled "How Letting Go of Grudges Can Improve Your Health." It states that forgiveness is indeed divine, but not necessarily easy. It's also very beneficial to physical and mental health states the article. It quotes Frederic Luskin, Ph.D, author of Forgive for Good (HarperCollins, 2002) as saying "People who forgive show less depression, anger and stress and [show] more hopefulness."

That is one reason that Romans 12:14 admonishes: "Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them."

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) " Police say a 30-year grudge boiled over when a former elementary school teacher littered the driveways of former co-workers and bosses with roofing nails and splattered paint on their garage doors. Thomas R. Haberbush, 72, pleaded guilty last Tuesday to one count each of stalking, criminal mischief and criminal tampering, all misdemeanors. Police said that three former school board members, a retired principal and a retired assistant principal at Caroline Street Elementary School were among the nine victims Haberbush targeted over the past two years. Their car tires were damaged by roofing nails that Haberbush threw in the driveways, police said. "It’s very bizarre to carry around a grudge for nearly 30 years," said Saratoga Springs police investigator John Catone. "At least now there can be closure for all those people he terrorized." Police said Haberbush had been angered after receiving poor work reviews. Saratoga County assistant district attorney David Harper requested that Haberbush undergo a mental health evaluation as part of the plea agreement. He also will be barred from contacting the victims in the future.

-It’s like the old saying, “holding grudges is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die.”

-Jesus says, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Will you be a grace-giver or a grudge-holder? That is the decision each of us must make. But for those who are followers of Christ, the choice is clear. There is no room in the heart of a Christian or within the fellowship of a church for holding grudges. The healthy thing to do AND the holy thing to do is to be a grace-giver.

Is there someone you need to forgive?

February 1, 2011

"Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them."  Romans 12:14 

During the Korean war a certain military unit had hired a local boy to cook and clean for them. Being a bunch of jokesters, these guys soon took advantage of the boy’s seeming naiveté’.

· put little water buckets over the door so he’d get soaked when he opened the door

· ThThey’d smear Vaseline on the stove handles so that when he’d turn the stove on in the morning he’d get grease all over his fingers.

· They’d ey’d even nail his shoes to the floor during the night.

Day after day the young Korean took the brunt of their practical jokes without saying anything. There was no blame, no self-pity, no temper tantrums.

Finally the men felt guilty about what they were doing, so they sat down with the boy and said, “Look, we know these pranks aren’t funny for you, and we’re sorry. We’re never going to take advantage of you again.” It seemed too good to be true to the houseboy.

“No more sticky on stove?” he asked.

“Nope.”


“No more water on door.”


“No.”


“No more nail shoes to floor?”


“Nope, never again.”


“Okay” the boy said with a smile, “no more spit in soup.”

We chuckle at this story but let me ask you a serious question, "When you get even with someone, do you actually get even? And does it make you feel better?"

I think you know the answer to that question.

In the Bible, who do you think felt better, Peter who cut off a young man's ear in a valiant but vain effort to protect Jesus. But which one of them felt better in the end, Peter or Jesus, Who touched the young Roman and reattached his severed ear?

If your purpose is to overcome evil with good, how can you justify hurting someone just because they have hurt you? When you respond to evil with more evil, you are overcome with the evil. That disobeys God's command.

What if the next time you are hurt by someone you overcome that pain by showing grace rather than getting even? What if you do what Jesus did - you take the pain and give them the gain? How would that change your relationships? How would that shape your world? What would that do for your heart? More importantly, you would show the love of God in a powerful way! You would be acting on faith not feelings.

Is it time for you to stop spitting in the soup?

January 31, 2011

 "Bless those who hurt you. Bless them, and do not call down curses on them. Be joyful with those who are joyful. Be sad with those who are sad. Agree with each other. Don't be proud. Be willing to be a friend of people who aren't considered important. Don't think that you are better than others."    Romans 12:14-16

The news this morning concerns the turmoil and unrest in Egypt. As I flip the channels I see a sea of protesters crowding the streets of Cairo demanding the resignation of President Mubarak. It is on every network and major cable channels.

His response?

He is clamping down on the few freedoms the Egyptian people still had. That doesn't seem to be working for him.

Why would it? When people yearn for more freedom and you give them less, how does that have a chance?

There are two peace paradigms at work here. Understanding these are key to knowing why peace is so hard to achieve.

The totalitarian definition of peace is having no opposing ideas. Peace for them is total domination. When I am stronger than anyone else and when I have total control over everyone else, there is no conflict. That idea dates back to ancient times. It has been the predominant experience of human history. That is the crux of the struggle in Egypt.

There is another concept of peace that Romans 12 espouses and that has made the United States so exceptional for over two centuries. It is the idea of shared power. I will respect your freedom and you respect mine. Why would we do this?

Because we believe that rights and freedoms are God-given. In other words, we believe that God shared His freedom with us. If anyone could have had absolute power and authority it was Him! Our Founders understood this and through Diviine inspiration crafted a nation built upon the belief that people can govern themselves within a context of law, justice and freedom.

This amazing "experiment" of freedom has produced the greatest, strongest, most just, and most prosperous people who have ever lived. Because people have governed themselves relatively well for over two centuries, all the world has benefited from American wealth, generosity and strength.

But, this fundamental idea of self-government is under assault in our world today. Frankly, it is what drives the widening divide in our national politics today. There are those who do not believe the average American can govern himself and therefore must be cared for and controled by an expanded government. Opposing that view are those who strongly believe that limited government means more individual freedom and therefore, there must be a return to government being restricted by Constitutional laws. It is what spurs the conflict in Cairo, as well.

What does this have to do with Romans 12?

Everything!

This powerful portion of divine truth shows how people can live together in love, peace and freedom. Peace is possible in the world to the extent peace is possible in the church. Freedom originates with God and His Church is to be the demonstration of what it looks like and how it works.

Let there be peace in church. Declare peace with God. Govern yourself with His Spirit. Guide yourself by His Word.

January 30, 2011

A young American engineer was sent to Ireland by his company to work in a new electronics plant. It was a two-year assignment that he had accepted because it would enable him to earn enough to marry his long-time girlfriend. She had a job near her home in Tennessee, and their plan was to pool their resources and put a down payment on a house when he returned. They corresponded often, but as the lonely weeks went by, she began expressing doubts that he was being true to her, exposed as he was to comely Irish lasses.The young engineer wrote back, declaring with some passion that he was paying absolutely no attention to the local girls. "I admit," he wrote, "that sometimes I’m tempted. But I fight it. I’m keeping myself for you."

In the next mail, the engineer received a package. It contained a note from his girl and a harmonica. "I’m sending this to you," she wrote, "so you can learn to play it and have something to take your mind off those girls."The engineer replied, "Thanks for the harmonica. I’m practicing on it every night and thinking of you."

At the end of his two-year stint, the engineer was transferred back to company headquarters. He took the first plane to Tennessee to be reunited with his girl. Her whole family was with her, but as he rushed forward to embrace her, she held up a restraining hand and said sternly, "Just hold on there a minute, Billy Bob. Before any serious kissin’ and huggin’ gets started here, let me hear you play that harmonica!"

Your true passion will reveal who you are and what you really believe. Passion speaks louder than words!

People want to see a fire, zeal, enthusiasm among Christians that makes going to church meaningful. This is what made Jesus ministry so affective! He lived passionately for others, and He died passionately for us!

For the most part, much of America is really struggling to be passionate about life.

4 out of 5 Americans feel that they lack passion in their lives. - Harris Poll, 2007

That means only 20% of Americans woke up today saying, “Come on, let’s go for it!”

THE PICTURE OF PASSION – V. 11 – “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”

What good is a fuse without the match? What good is the engine without the fuel? What good is life without the passion that motivates it?

Passion makes all the difference if we are going to show compassion to the hurting, stand unashamed of biblical truth, develop relationships and enhance worship to God! Passion will put our legs into action, help us think like Christ and see with eyes wide open.

Three Truths About Passion:

• Nothing significant is ever done in life without passion.

• Most winners in life are just ex-losers who finally got passionate.

• The worst poverty in the world is the person who has lost passion.

What is passion? “A strong feeling, a great devotion and intense conviction which fuels or motivates us toward compelling action.”

Passion is living like you really believe what you believe! Passion is behaving like your faith really matters to you! Passion is living on purpose! Passion is matching your attitudes and your actions with what you say you believe.

As Christians, I’m convinced that passion is commanded of each of us…

Ecclesiastes 9:10 - “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…”

John 10:10 - “…My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.”

Ro. 12:11 - “Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.”

Eph. 6:6 - “…Do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm.”

May I ask, who was the person or what was the event in life that stopped you from being passionate about life?

Live with urgency – “don’t be lazy” – “don’t lag” – “live like it matters”

THE WORD PICTURE HERE IS REVEALING.

fervent” = “boiling”

Boiling water produces energy. This energy when under control can be very powerful and productive!

BUT – When it is out of control - when it boils over or when it explodes it can cause great damage!

Jesus is the water

Holy Spirit is the heat

You are the boiler

Spiritual disciplines are the pressure valves

THE POINT OF PASSION - V. 11 – “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”

I think we sometimes believe that passion flows to God. In other words it is up to me to muster up some positive emotional feelings often enough so I can make this following Christ thing worth it.

So, I come to you this morning talking about passion and how to find it and you are thinking, “Right! With all I have going I am lucky to just LIKE my life! I would love to feel passionate about my spouse again, it’s a little easier to feel passionate about the kids cause they are so darn cute, I would like to just tolerate the people I work with, not to mention that I never have time for the things I REALLY could get passionate about. And now you come to church and I am pushing passion on you. Wow! Thanks, Brad!”

But, the truth is that passion flows FROM God! And it is much more that just emotional feelings. We don’t have to conjure up feeling FOR Him, we just have to come TO Him and, and connect with Him, and receive FROM Him. When we get passion from Him we become a connecting point for His passion to all we love.

Passion is the point where you find meaning and purpose. Meaning is found in Christ

The Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful and costly tombs ever built, but there is something fascinating about its beginnings. In 1629, when the favorite wife of Indian ruler Shah Jahan died, he ordered that a magnificent tomb be built as a memorial to her. The shah placed his wife’s casket in the middle of a parcel of land, and construction of the temple literally began around it. But several years into the venture, the Shah’s grief for his wife gave way to a passion for the project. One day while he was surveying the sight, he reportedly stumbled over a wooden box, and he had some workers throw it out. It was months before he realized that his wife’s casket had been destroyed. The original purpose for the memorial became lost in the details of construction.

We lose our passion when we lose touch with the Person of Jesus and His purpose for our lives. Doesn’t it make sense that a person who lives in Christ should have a level of passion that others don’t have?

THE POWER OF PASSION, V. 12-13 – “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

I recognize passion in others, but I am not sure if I have it. How can I know?

Look at your kids……

They will tend to be passionate about the things your are TRULY passionate over.

Look at your checkbook – where you spend your money betrays your passion

Look at your date book – where you spend your time shows your passion

Joy, patience, and faithfulness in serving and sharing are the true evidences of godly passion!

How do I know I have passion? I have joy as I serve! Do I recognize joy in my life?

How do I know I have passion? I can serve patiently! Do I recognize patience in my life?

How do I know I have passion? I can pray faithfully! Do I recognize patience in my life? Do I demonstrate faithfulness?

George Gallop did a survey of 13,000 people in 130 countries. It was a survey of people who used to go to church but no longer go. There were a number of questions in the survey, but one of the questions asked, “What would need to happen for you to return to church?” The number one answer was “See passion in the lives of the members and leaders.”

A church that has passion is a church where "Discouraged folks cheer up, dishonest folks fees up, sour folks sweeten up, closed folk, open up, gossipers shut up, conflicted folks make up, sleeping folks wake up, lukewarm folk, fire up, dry bones shake up, and pew potatoes stand up! But most of all, Christ the Savior of the entire world is lifted up."

If I don’t recognize passion in my life, how do I reclaim it?

SURRENDER - Water

SERVE - Heat

SINCERE LOVE - Boil

My passion for FredWes is just that! I am passionate to see true unity resulting from surrender to the Spirit of God. A church united around the Spirit will be a passionate church!

My passion is for us to discover our places of service and use the gifts He has given us to serve one another in the church. That builds community in the midst of unity! That church will be a passionate powerful church!

My passion of FWC is for us to live in sincere love for God and one another! That will cause us to be passionate for Him and toward those He is passionate about - lost people!

God give us passion!