February 24, 2015

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."  Romans 12:1-2

There are two patterns referred to in this well-known Scripture.

The pattern of the world is mentioned but in contrast to God's pattern.

As I introduced in yesterday's message (listen to it on www.fredwes.com) baseball has a familiar and well-defined pattern as designed by its creator, Abner Doubleday. In order to score a run the batter must connect with the ball and advance around the bases in order and return to home plate.

If you hit the ball and run to across the diamond to second base, you are out!

If you hit the ball and run to first, round the base and head toward third, you are out!

If you hit the ball and run to third base, you are out!

Anything done apart from the pattern demanded by the rules of the game will result in the batter being called out.

If you are going to play baseball you must play according to the pattern prescribed by the rules.

In the same way, if you want to win with God you must play according to his pattern! To play according to God's pattern you must break from the pattern of the world.

The pattern of this world, which is the pattern programmed in the human nature is to run the bases backwards. Another name for the human nature is the “sinful nature”. This nature is sinful precisely because it rebels against God’s pattern.

In the message yesterday, using the story of Joseph, I outlined God’s pattern for spiritual development. Home plate is the connection base. It is at home plate where you connect with God by faith and discover His purpose and power for your life. Like baseball, everything begins and ends at home plate. First base is the character base. After you connect with God’s purpose and power, He will go to work on your personal character. Second base is the community base. Connecting with God at home and developing your character at first prepares you to win with others. Third base is the competency base where you win results. Rounding third base brings you back to home.

The Home Run life is the life that is connected to God and touching all the bases according to His pattern. Everyone can have this life but very few do. Only those who break free from the pattern of this world can experience the Home Run life!

Which pattern runs your life?

T

February 23, 2015

"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody."  Romans 12:17

When the writer of Romans penned these words I think he assumed that his readers would know what evil is. Nowadays that may not be the case.

Is evil a noun or is it a verb?

There is much confusion over that these days. Is evil something that is done by you or to you or is evil something you are? Is it a dark and powerful personal force within you or is it the harmful and hurtful things you do? That confusion contributes to many of our problems in our world today.

If we are going to overcome evil, obviously we must have a clear and actual understanding of what evil is.

A study of the whole 12th chapter will give you a good concept of what evil is.

V.1 - Evil is refusing to surrender your sinful nature to Christ.

V. 2 - Evil is conforming to the "world" or the "cosmos" in your thinking and your values.
          Evil is not desiring the will of God.

V. 3 - 8 - Evil is failing or refusing to serve God with your gifts and talents.

V. 9 - 13 - Evil is self-seeking and despising others.

V. 14- 20 - Evil is being conceited, spiteful and retaliatory toward those who disagree with you.

You will either overcome evil or it will overcome you. And until you deal with the evil that controls your nature, you will be overcome by evil.

So, evil is a noun.

It is a nature that dwells in you from the time of your birth. Being born evil you are also born separated from God. And that spiritual separation from God is the essence of your evil.

But, evil is also a verb!

It is because of the evil that dwells in you, evil guides your thoughts and decisions. Evil thoughts breed evil attitudes that are expressed in evil actions.

God calls you to be delivered from evil. You can choose to allow Him to deliver you and cleanse you from evil.

Or, you can be overcome by evil. Which will  it be today?

      

February 22, 2015

"I am come that you may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10

Everyone wants to enjoy a Home Run life.

That means everyone wants success, someone, self-respect and significance.

Significance comes when you connect with God at home plate. That happens when you win dependence on God.

Spiritual growth is counter-intuitive to human development. You began your life full dependent upon your parents. But as you grew into your adolescent and young adult years your parents allowed you to become increasingly independent. However, as a Christian, God wants you to repent of your independence and become fully dependent upon Him. That is winning dependence.

Winning dependence on God and finding significance allows you to advance to first base. At first base the win is within.

First base is the character base where your dependence upon God begins to shape your character and be reflected in your conduct. Winning within results in self-respect.

Finding significance and self-respect prepares you to move to second base where you can begin learning how win with others.

You were never intended to live life alone. God created you with a need for Him but He also wired you to need others. So just as you need to learn live in relationship with God you must also learn to connect with others.

Winning dependence in God at home plate, and winning within at first base, and winning with others prepares you to move on to third base.

Third base is the success base where you learn to win results.

Having rounded the bases you can head home with greater significance.

That's the Home Run life! That's the life that wins!

February 21, 2015

"I am come that you might have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10

We have identified four felt needs everyone wants to have met. Let's integrate those into our baseball scenario.

Let's relate the need for significance with home plate since it is the most significant of all the bases. Everything in baseball begins and ends at home plate. Home plate is were a batter goes to connect with the ball. Home plate is where a runner has to cross in order to score a run. Nothing significant happens in a baseball game unless a connection happens at home plate. Game after game and season after season the connections must continue to happen.

Spiritually, everything begins when you connect with God. Nothing significant can happen until you connect with Him through faith in Christ. That spiritual faith connection must continue day after day for your life to have significance.

In baseball when you connect with the ball you run to first base. You can't score on first base but neither can you score without getting to first base. Connecting with the ball and arriving safely at first base is called a hit. It feels good to get a hit. If you get more hits than outs you will earn the respect of your manager and your team mates.

First base in our spiritual analogy is the Self-respect base. Developing a connection with God introduces His grace into your life along with His, peace and joy. Those supernatural changes alone will get you to first base in the development of your personal character.

When you get to second base in baseball you are halfway home. You can get home from second if a team mate gets a hit.

In terms of spiritual development, second base is the Someone base. Once you have connected with God and learned to respect yourself, it is time to learn to love others. Faith was never intended to be lived alone but in community with other believers. The connection you each have with God enables you to connect with each other.

Getting to third base means you are in the home stretch on the baseball diamond. It is a measure of success. Making it to third is the result of doing things right. You connected for a hit and advanced around the bases.

Spiritually, third base is the Success base. You have arrived there by developing learning to love God, love yourself and others. Those are the things God created you and called you to do! When you are successful in those crucial areas a lot of other good things happen. 

Rounding third gets you back to home plate for the score! 

In the spiritual sense, the score is finding greater significance by running the bases and playing the game God's way!

Each time you round the bases your relationships get richer and your respect grows and your results increase!

That is the Home Run life! That is the way that wins! That is what we will be studying between now and Easter!

Batter up!

February 20, 2015

"I am come that you might have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10

Success, someone, self-respect and significance are the four big needs that drive you. It doesn't matter if you are a person of faith, a person who is searching for faith or a person who has no use for faith those four needs still motivate you.

But if you are a Christ-follower, you will have those needs met by God according to His definition.

Significance for the believer is found in learning dependence on God. Spiritual maturity happens opposite of how human maturity does. When you grew from childhood you developed from total dependence on your parents, to interdependence with your parents and then to independence from them. That is healthy and normal growth and development.

But spiritual growth demands that you move from depending on yourself to fully depending on God! That is where you will find the significance that fully satisfies and shapes your being.

Finding significance and satisfaction in God is a huge step toward gaining self-respect. Living in dependence on God allows His grace to deal with what wrong in you and develop His good in you!

You cannot love what you don't respect and since the Great Commandment demands you to "love others as yourself" self-respect is necessary to enable you to love others.

Finding significance and self-respect in your relationship with God opens your heart for Him to love others through you! You were designed and created to share life with others. While there is a hole in your heart that only God can fill, there are also gaps that can only be filled through relationships with family members and friends.

The abundant life God intends for you includes significance found in Him, self-respect found because of Him, relationships with others through Him and success that is glorifying to Him. When you depend on God to help you get right with Him and with yourself and with others, you have found success in your relationships! Success in those three vital areas of relationship inevitably translates into success in other areas of life.

When Jesus announced that He came to give you life in abundance, this is what He is talking about - significance, self-respect, someone, and success!

Are you experiencing the abundance He promises?

Have you found the place of complete dependence on Him?

February 19, 2015

"I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10

I don't know anyone who doesn't want more out of life. I'm not sure I would want to know someone like that.

There are four things everyone wants from life; success, someone, self-respect and significance. Jesus came to make it possible for believers to enjoy those basic desires.

Every healthy well-adjusted person strives for success. Success is an indication of competence in a job or career. Success wins respect from others and brings opportunities for advancement. The opposite of success is failure and no one enjoys failing. 

Success begins with your relationship with God through Christ. Success starts when you connect with God and discover the purpose and power He has to give.

But success alone is not enough. Success is far more enjoyable when you can share it with someone else. In addition to success, everyone wants someone to love and be loved by.

The beginning of all healthy relationships is found in a personal relationship with God through Christ. He created you to know Him and to be known by Him. When He is your primary Someone, He is able to lead you into deep level friendships with other Christ-followers.

Discovering successful results and relationships develops the third important area of your life - self-respect! When you are winning in your personal pursuits and winning in your personal relationships your self-respect soars!

Finding success, and someone and self-respect brings you to the most important human need - significance! Your significance is the desire to matter and to make a difference in your world. Significance is formed by how much you matter to the most significant person in your life.

God says, "You matter so much to Me that I sent my Only Son to die for your sins!"

God says, "I sent Jesus to die for your sins because I greatly desire a relationship with you!"

God says, "Having a relationship with you is as important to Me as my relationship with my Son!"

How's that for significance?

When Jesus declared He came to give you life and give it abundantly, He means He wants to bring you success, someone, self-respect and significance! All of that and more is yours through a personal relationship with Christ!

Are you experiencing that abundant life?

If not, why not?

February 18, 2015

"I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10

In a few days the Big League pitchers and catchers will head to Florida and Arizona to begin Spring training in preparation for the coming Major League season.

What happens during Spring training is actually quite tedious and boring. During Spring training these millionaires and multi-millionaires who are some of the most gifted athletes on the planet spend hours per day doing throwing drills, and fielding drills and game situation drills over and over again. To get to this level of baseball these players have had to do these drills thousands of times but they gather at their respective training sites to do them over again. They will also do conditioning and running drills.

The reason these ballplayers will spend so much time focusing on fundamentals as they get ready for the season is because it is the executing the fundamentals that lead to winning baseball games. Especially, at the Major League level where the talent level is essentially the same it is the level of execution that make the difference between winning and losing. During the heat of competition in a regular season baseball game you don't want the players on your favorite Big League team thinking about what they need to do in a certain situation. Instead, you want your players to be so versed in fielding and throwing fundamentals that they react to the ball. Making plays on the field during a Major League game has to be instinctive.

While the Big Leaguers are heading off for Spring Training, the FredWes team will be heading in to our 40 Day Emphasis to work on the fundamentals of our spiritual walk with God. And this year we will be studying the "Home Run Life" that puts personal spiritual growth in terms of a baseball game:

Home plate is where everything begins and ends in a baseball game. A player steps up to home plate knowing he needs to connect with the ball in order to have a chance to score. For the Christian, everything begins with when you make a spiritual connection with God. So, for the Christian, home plate is where you connect with God to find your purpose and power for life!

First base is the goal of every batter who steps up to the plate. A player cannot score a run without getting to first base. In terms of Christian growth, first base is the place where you form your personal character. No follower of Christ can be successful without developing his personal honesty and integrity. And he can't develop his honesty and integrity until he connects with God.

Second base means a runner is halfway home! When a ball player gets to second base he is in "scoring position". For the believer, second base represents the development of connections with other people. It is essential for a Christian to understand how to live in community with other Christians. Jesus often emphasized that loving others is the evidence of God's love at work in you!

Third base is the base closest to scoring a run. If you can make it to third base your odds of scoring a run increase significantly. From third base you can score on a hit, an error, a passed ball, a walk or even a daring steal of home plate! In the Christian life, third base represents the competency base. It is the production base. It is the base where you can begin to see results. If you can connect with God and build Christ-like character and love others you will begin to see results that honor God! That is what happens at third base!

If a highly skilled professional baseball player needs to brush up on his basics before each season, why shouldn't those who follow Christ want to make sure they have a good connection with Christ and have all their bases covered?

Do you need to brush up on some Bible basics?

Are you ready to report for some spiritual Spring training?