April 7, 2016

"In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God." Psalm 10:4

Questions have a way of bringing clarity don't they?

See what I mean?

I want to pose three questions over the next three days for the purpose of laying bare any pride issues in your heart. It is easy to recognize pride in others but really tough to spot it in yourself. These probing questions will help if you will honor them with an honest response.

First, how does pride manifest itself in you?

Tough question, isn't it?

If you are struggling to answer it I'm sure you could ask your spouse or one of your children to help you!

Or, you could humbly ask the Holy Spirit to convict you in the areas where pride resides. He is good at doing that.

Are you willing to receive advice without feeling resentful?

Are you able to listen to constructive criticism without getting defensive?

Can you laugh at yourself when you make a mistake?

Are you able to celebrate the success of others?

Do you feel better when another struggles or fails?

How quickly can you apologize when you are wrong?

How quickly are you willing to accept the apology of another?

I am blessed to be married to a very intelligent and capable manager/problem solver. When I bounce my thoughts or ideas off of her she often identifies the flaws in them and offers better ideas. I should be thankful for that but that is not always my initial reaction. Often I find myself initially feeling defensive or resentful toward her and he suggestions.

When that happens that is pride manifesting itself in me. 

The proper response is to listen and process her thoughts because I know she is wanting to be helpful. I must humbly learn from her and become a better leader and thinker.

So, I ask you again, how does pride manifest itself in your life?

What will you do about it?

The "Anti-Pride" Attitude

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Philippians 2:5-8

How do kill your pride before your pride kills you?

The Apostle Paul, who by his own admission struggled with pride, pointed to Jesus as the ultimate example of how to conquer pride in your heart.

Jesus defeated pride by intentionally and deliberately choosing to humble Himself in every area where pride tempted Him.

Humility is the antidote for pride. However, you can be sure it will be a battle. Since you are sinful by nature and pride is at the root of your sinful nature it's not hard to see why it's a struggle.

Jesus was born without a sinful nature and look how He guarded against pride. Take notice of the deliberate and intentional actions Jesus took to assure pride was defeated in His heart and mind.

"But made himself of no reputation......"

Lucifer gave up his exalted status in Heaven because he coveted the reputation of God. He lusted for the power associated with being like "the most high". Sin originated out of that prideful delusion.

Jesus WAS like the most High and part of the Godhead. He shared in the creation of the universe and walked in the Garden with Adam. But rather than cling to His privileged position to develop His reputation He humbly laid it all aside. He intentionally chose the "anti-pride" attitude.

What would you have done?

What will you do?

"and took upon him the form of a servant"

God has always been served. Deservedly so since He created everything!

Creation SHOULD serve its creator!

Eternally He has been served by angels and then by human beings.

But, one day His Son, Jesus made an amazing decision to humbled Himself in order to serve those who He created to serve Him! 

That sort of humility is the antidote to sin!

Who does that?

Are you doing that?

He did.

You should!

"and was made in the likeness of men"

Think about that! The Son of God Who existed as an eternal spirit took a weak mortal human body!

There's big problems with mortal human bodies! They get weary, they get ill, they are fallible, they are weak, they are limited to time and place, they can be tempted, and they can be killed.

But wait, those big problems are the very reasons why Jesus took on the "likeness of a man"! He became a God in the flesh so He could experience ALL of those human realities to become a better High Priest. Ultimately He became a man so He could die on the Cross to save the them.

He humbled Himself to become a servant!

"and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

The ultimate weapon against pride and the most effective way to humility is obedience!

Obedience requires submission. Submission is a component of humility.

Obedience requires surrender. Surrender destroys pride every time.

Pride is bad news! You are born with it and it destroys you unless you destroy it first!

The good news is, because of the attitude and actions of Jesus pride can be defeated by humility. Humility is possible through Christ!

You can choose to kill pride in your life by choosing to humble yourself before God and choose to obey Him every day in each decision.

You can!

Will you?

April 5, 2016

"In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God." Psalm 10:4

You know pride is destructive. You know it is number one on the list of seven deadliest sins. You know your preacher preached against it and your parents punished you for it. But do you know WHY pride is such a deadly sin?

This Psalm gives some insights into the danger of nurturing pride in your spirit. If you don't kill it it will certainly kill you!

Pride fills you with conceit.

Conceit is a vain and misplaced confidence in yourself. Conceit is a manifestation of pride.

Conceit is expressed in an attitude of arrogance.

A conceited person who is filled with pride and vanity has no room in his life for God. In fact, he is convinced he doesn't need God and may believe he is like God.

Pride fills you with contempt.

When you seek to make life all about your selfish interest, everyone else poses a threat to you. So rather than than desire others you detest them.

Pride fills you with control.

Evidence of a proud spirit is the notion that you can (and need to) control your life. If you are conceited enough to want to be God you will need to be in control of your life.

How can you support you illusion (delusion) of being God if you can't control your own life and environment?

You can't and you know it so you gravitate toward people you can control. The illusion of control feeds the pride and conceit in your heart.

Pride fills your center. 

When pride rules your life it fills you from the inside out and leaves no room for God and little to no room for others.

As my mother says, "A person wrapped up in himself makes a very small package."

Pride is a delusion that distorts your vision and your value system.

Pride closes you in and closes everyone else out.

You better learn to kill your pride before your pride kills you!

April 4, 2016

"In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God." Psalm 10:4

C. S. Lewis sized up the seriousness of the pride problem when he wrote, "Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness...are mere fleabites in comparison...Pride leads to every other vice." 

Sin found it's origins in Lucifer's prideful statement, "I will be like the Most High."

So powerful was this delusion that one-third of the angels in heaven succumbed to pride as well and were cast out of heaven.

Pride was at the root of Adam and Eve's disobedient decision and became the essence of the sinful nature.

Pride was at the root of the world's first murder when it turned brother against brother.

Pride exalts itself above God.

Pride exempts itself from authority.

Pride sets itself in the center of life's orbit.

Pride seeks to control it's universe.

Pride is a lie and the father of all lies.

Pride closes you in and closes others out.

Pride closes you in and closes God out.

Pride will kill you if you don't kill it.

Pride is easily recognized in others.

Pride is practically impossible to detect in yourself.

Here are three serious questions to ponder today and throughout the week.

How does pride manifest itself in your life?

How does pride masquerade itself in your life?

How long will you allow it to control your life?

April 3, 2016

"What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?" Matthew 16:26

Jesus was very clear and urgent about the value of a soul.

In the verse above you can see that He believed your soul is the most valuable commodity you possess. It is so valuable you are hard pressed to place a value on it.

This will help you fix a value on your soul - Jesus died to save it! So you can calculate the value God places on the worth of your soul!

Here's a couple of stories Jesus told to illustrate how God values a soul:

"Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:3-10

All of heaven rejoiced for you when you trusted Christ!

The folks who attended the local church where you trusted Christ or where you settled in to grow and develop in your faith also rejoiced over your soul.

Those people in that local church valued your soul enough that they sacrificially gave their money and invested their times in order for you to have a place to find Christ and a place to grow in Him.

So what should your attitude be toward the souls of others in your community, where you work, where you workout, shop or where you worship?

What value should you place on their souls?

How do you calculate that value? Then, how do you express that value?

Does leading a lost soul to a discovery of Jesus hold a high value to you?

Is reaching a lost soul for Christ worth your money? Is it worth investing your time? Is it worth some discomfort and inconvenience?

I once heard Elmer Towns express the passion of his heart in these terms, "As long as there is one person in my city who doesn't know Jesus my church is not big enough."

So, what's my point? Why am I sharing this thought?

Because this is the value judgment you will be confronted with on numerous occasions in the coming months at FredWes as the prospect of raising money for relocation and building becomes a reality.

What would I give in exchange for a soul?

April 2, 2016

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

Change is difficult and FredWes is experiencing a lot of changes with more to come.

We are most likely will need to move to two identical worship services in the Fall do we can accommodate our growing Children's Ministry and continue to reach young families.

Those of us who enjoy the variety of two styles of worship will have to make a sacrifice.

Some of our Children's Ministry volunteers will need to adjust to a new Sunday Schedule and our Worship Team volunteers will be doing double duty.

Is this really necessary?

Will it be worth it?

We will be facing the need to raise significant amounts of moving to finance our relocation and eventual building at New Post. That will require financial sacrifices to follow where God is leading us.

Will all this sacrifice and inconvenience really be worth it?

At some point we will need to sell our current building and possibly meet briefly in a temporary space while we build our 15,000 square foot worship and ministry space at New Post.

Why do this?

Why put up with being so uncomfortable?

Honestly, those are very good questions!

Fortunately, there are some very good answers.

We must do it because we are called!

Acts 1:8 is a restatement of the Great Commission. The Great Commission was issued with some of Jesus' final words spoken before ascending into Heaven:

"Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

That's why we must adjust to these changes.

We must do it because of our condition!

What is our condition?

We are healthy!

We are unified!

We have high morale!

We have strong momentum!

Do you want to lose those blessings or continue to nurture them?

If we are to continue as a healthy church we must create space to grow and develop additional ministries.

We must do it because we are capable!

"......From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." Luke 16:10 

What true of individuals is true of churches (since churches are made up of people) they can give themselves or they can invest themselves. Investments bring larger and on-going returns! Investments outlast the investor bless others for succeeding generations.

It's very true that growing churches are often uncomfortable, inconvenient and personally costly. I will concede that!

But let me remind you that stagnant and dying churches cost more.