Yesterday during our church's worship service, one of our members shared about an insight into the prodigal son story, that got me thinking. I had actually been reflecting on that story, found in Luke 15, earlier in the morning, and when he shared I was reminded of an insight I had previously concerning the older son. As I sat running those ideas through my mind, I had some new insight as well. Here are the verses of my reflection this morning - Luke 15:21-32 NIV:
[21] “The (younger) son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
[22] “But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. [23] Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. [24] For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
[25] “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. [26] So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. [27] 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
[28] “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. [29] But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. [30] But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
[31] “ 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. [32] But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' ”
The story about the younger son is an awesome story that Jesus told describing for us the Father's response to us when we sin, or fall away from relationship with Him. The Father is all about restoring relationship and identity to the younger son, and He celebrates His return.
Yesterday, while reflecting on this story I was again drawn to the older son and his attitude, and perception on the Father, I think there are three things that really stand out to me. First, the older son has totally mischaracterized His Father, for he was "slaving" away in the fields and had never, in his mind, received anything. We see the Father's true heart towards his son in verse 31, and it isn't to have him be a slave, but rather he is his son, whom he loves and desires to share everything.
Secondly, the son was very judgmental towards his brother. He apparently knew what his brother had been up to, and now couldn't believe his father would be restoring him and celebrating his return. In the older brother's mind, the younger son had done much wrong, and probably needed to be punished, not celebrated.
Third, the older son was letting his attitude(s) cause him to miss part of what the Father wanted him to experience! Rather than go into the party, he stayed outside and fumed. He wasn't going to go in, and even when the Father came out to him and pleaded with him, he refused, choosing to hold onto his anger, his misperception and his judgment. What a sad statement that was by the older son. His heart was so bitter and angry, that he was refusing the goodness of the Father.
So, the insight I had yesterday was that I can be like the older son in many ways, especially when things don't turn out the way I think they should, or planned for them to turn out. As I was reflecting on the older sons sour disposition, I was reminded by the Lord of my attitude towards a situation that occurred this year with my employment. In short, last December my company had signed a large contract with my customer, and if everything stayed on course 2017 was going to be one of my best years ever financially. Instead, in January my company shut its doors, and I was laid off for 3 months. Then when I got hired, I was hired by a new company that wouldn't pay me my previous rate, but instead gave me a 15% reduction in pay and has a compensation plan that won't pay me any commissions for all of 2017. So instead of a year of financial blessing, I find myself in a situation where I hope to make 50% of what I made last year.
Recently the Lord has been addressing my bad attitude towards my present position, and has specifically pointed towards my wrong perceptions of His plan. To me, this year seems like a bit of a slap in the face. At times, I have been angry and frustrated, and feeling cheated, like I slaved away for the last two years, and now I have to start all over again, and on top of that get to make 50% less. My fleshly response was one of feeling sorry for myself, and wanting to bail out and find something better for myself. Yesterday, it seemed like the Lord pointed out to me that this was awfully similar to the older son's attitude! I realized that was exactly the case, and I need to repent of my wrong heart attitude. I found myself believing that the Father had ripped me off, that I hadn't deserved this kind of treatment, that I was being treated unfairly. I found myself believing that I had somehow been duped by the Father into a situation that was not to my liking, sort of a "I didn't sign up for this!" attitude. At times, I have found myself thinking that it didn't seem to make much sense to follow the Lord's direction if this was going to be the result. This caused me to speak poorly of my situation, casting about my sour attitude and bitterness for others to see, in some ways wanting to feel vindicated in my frustration. I am sure the older brother was preaching to the servants and those who would listen how unjust the Father was being, etc.
The truth is that the Lord has been extremely gracious to me this year! We have more than enough money! He had us downsize our house last year and because of that we are financially sound in spite of the significant reduction. I have been given significant favor with my customer and it seems everything is on an accelerated track. I have heard the Lord speak to my heart and console me numerous times and felt His love constantly. His blessing isn't always financial, His love isn't always demonstrated with gifts and provision, His mercy is constant, His forgiveness is never ending. In the employment realm, the last few weeks have suddenly become very hopeful, and much of what I have been working to accomplish is looking like it will bear fruit. This is obviously good news, but more important is my heart realignment and adjusting my attitude!
The older son, when He refused to go inside because of his bitterness and anger, missed seeing his Father's blessing and restoration of his younger son! We want to be where the Father is doing restorative work, where He is extending mercy and speaking forgiveness! We want to embrace Him in that place, so that we might see His true character and glory! If we remain bitter and angry, we may very well find ourselves outside looking in when the Father starts to move and release blessing. Our position is totally dependent on our own choices, attitudes, and decisions.
Going forward I am going to endeavor to believe the Father's plan and relationship is much better than I can imagine! I am going to check my attitude at the door every morning, and enter into that which the Father provides and blesses me with, for I know that He loves me and shares everything with me!
Amen!
Monday, August 28, 2017
Friday, August 25, 2017
Choosing Love
This morning I am continuing to reflect on verses from John's first letter, and they seem especially poignant these days, as so many forces are trying to whip us into a frenzy of hatred or fear. Here are the verses - 1 John 4:16-21 NIV:
[16] "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us."
"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. [17] This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. [18] There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."
[19] "We love because he first loved us. [20] Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. [21] And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister."
These verses are such a complete departure from what is being fed to us on almost media format available. Whether I turn on the news, read the news, log into Facebook or an other social media, it seems I am fed a constant stream of fear, anger, hatred, division or judgment. It has become so prevalent that my choice is to turn it all off, as the goal of it all seems clear to me, the destruction of trust and peace.
I am choosing a different path and one that is the path lined out for us by the Lord! I have spent the last few days studying some of the components of our faith that are often used to sow fear, or incite judgment and religious works, and it is so clear that even those things are not key to the Gospel that Jesus came to proclaim. Somehow much of the church has lost its way, and lost much of its message. It saddens my heart that the primary characteristic of the church, as seen by the world, is not our love.
I love how these verses start with the fact of God's love! It is a fact! He loves us all! If we take this fact and learn to rely on this fact, and see this as His primary motivation in all His dealings with us, it changes our perspective completely. In my life I have often had the opportunity to help different groups of people through times of misunderstanding and hurtful exchanges. It has been my observation that the majority of the time the wounds that are suffered are due to misunderstanding the other person's motive and thoughts. When provided the opportunity to question the offending person, they are usually completely unaware of the motives being assigned to them by the person who was hurt. We respond to this misunderstood motive, and this becomes the source of our pain. Back to the first line, if we assume and rely on the fact that God loves us, than we change the way we look at our circumstances.
Moving on, this love is the source of our opportunity for intimacy with God. He desires to live with us, and to love us. We are not alone!! His love, and the knowledge of His love, should fill us with confidence. This love should dispel our fear of God's punishment. He is not looking for opportunities to punish us, nor is he actively punishing us. So often I hear people ascribe the suffering or pain they are experiencing to God, and nothing could be farther from the truth. His desire is NOT to punish us, NOT to drive us in fear before Him, NOT to have us cowering in the corner, afraid to step out of line in the least lest we receive His retribution! Love for us, deep abiding, laying His life down for us love, is his motivation.
Pain and sorrow in the world are the result of sin and separation from Him. We have the opportunity to choose to restore that which was lost. In every situation, we are given the chance to choose to love, to choose to trust, to embrace peace. Our actions and our words can reflect love, can spread love, can further love. When confronted with anger or hatred, we can choose to express love instead. It is difficult, it requires a trust in God, and it requires God's peace and strength to not give into the fear or anger that is being spewed. As John writes, we also must love our brothers and sisters. The challenge is to do so, when in the midst of angst and turmoil.
I watched a great documentary about a man who overcame hatred through love. He was an African American man, who reached out to members of the KKK, and befriended them, and cared for them and loved them. For many of them, this relationship changed their attitudes and certainly their perceptions. If we assume the other person hates us, or we label them and never get to the know the actual person, it is easy to hate. He would always start with the fact that He didn't know them and they didn't know him, so why should they hate one another. As they got to know each other, they realised that they weren't that different and could have a respectful, even caring relationship. It was wonderful.
I love how once in a while there will be pictures shared of supposedly opposing groups meeting one another and hugging, or having a barbeque, allowing themselves to push past the assumption of motive and hatred to see each other as brothers and sisters. Love is not difficult, it just requires a willingness to choose love over hatred, love over fear, love over division.
This day I choose to love because He first loved me. I choose to trust His love. I choose to extend Love. I choose to reject that which tries to stir up fear, anger, judgment and hatred! Lord please help me to reflect Your love in every word and every action!
Amen!
[16] "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us."
"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. [17] This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. [18] There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."
[19] "We love because he first loved us. [20] Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. [21] And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister."
These verses are such a complete departure from what is being fed to us on almost media format available. Whether I turn on the news, read the news, log into Facebook or an other social media, it seems I am fed a constant stream of fear, anger, hatred, division or judgment. It has become so prevalent that my choice is to turn it all off, as the goal of it all seems clear to me, the destruction of trust and peace.
I am choosing a different path and one that is the path lined out for us by the Lord! I have spent the last few days studying some of the components of our faith that are often used to sow fear, or incite judgment and religious works, and it is so clear that even those things are not key to the Gospel that Jesus came to proclaim. Somehow much of the church has lost its way, and lost much of its message. It saddens my heart that the primary characteristic of the church, as seen by the world, is not our love.
I love how these verses start with the fact of God's love! It is a fact! He loves us all! If we take this fact and learn to rely on this fact, and see this as His primary motivation in all His dealings with us, it changes our perspective completely. In my life I have often had the opportunity to help different groups of people through times of misunderstanding and hurtful exchanges. It has been my observation that the majority of the time the wounds that are suffered are due to misunderstanding the other person's motive and thoughts. When provided the opportunity to question the offending person, they are usually completely unaware of the motives being assigned to them by the person who was hurt. We respond to this misunderstood motive, and this becomes the source of our pain. Back to the first line, if we assume and rely on the fact that God loves us, than we change the way we look at our circumstances.
Moving on, this love is the source of our opportunity for intimacy with God. He desires to live with us, and to love us. We are not alone!! His love, and the knowledge of His love, should fill us with confidence. This love should dispel our fear of God's punishment. He is not looking for opportunities to punish us, nor is he actively punishing us. So often I hear people ascribe the suffering or pain they are experiencing to God, and nothing could be farther from the truth. His desire is NOT to punish us, NOT to drive us in fear before Him, NOT to have us cowering in the corner, afraid to step out of line in the least lest we receive His retribution! Love for us, deep abiding, laying His life down for us love, is his motivation.
Pain and sorrow in the world are the result of sin and separation from Him. We have the opportunity to choose to restore that which was lost. In every situation, we are given the chance to choose to love, to choose to trust, to embrace peace. Our actions and our words can reflect love, can spread love, can further love. When confronted with anger or hatred, we can choose to express love instead. It is difficult, it requires a trust in God, and it requires God's peace and strength to not give into the fear or anger that is being spewed. As John writes, we also must love our brothers and sisters. The challenge is to do so, when in the midst of angst and turmoil.
I watched a great documentary about a man who overcame hatred through love. He was an African American man, who reached out to members of the KKK, and befriended them, and cared for them and loved them. For many of them, this relationship changed their attitudes and certainly their perceptions. If we assume the other person hates us, or we label them and never get to the know the actual person, it is easy to hate. He would always start with the fact that He didn't know them and they didn't know him, so why should they hate one another. As they got to know each other, they realised that they weren't that different and could have a respectful, even caring relationship. It was wonderful.
I love how once in a while there will be pictures shared of supposedly opposing groups meeting one another and hugging, or having a barbeque, allowing themselves to push past the assumption of motive and hatred to see each other as brothers and sisters. Love is not difficult, it just requires a willingness to choose love over hatred, love over fear, love over division.
This day I choose to love because He first loved me. I choose to trust His love. I choose to extend Love. I choose to reject that which tries to stir up fear, anger, judgment and hatred! Lord please help me to reflect Your love in every word and every action!
Amen!
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Faith and Forgiveness
This morning I am reflecting on a few verses found in Mark's Gospel, following Jesus' triumphal entry in Jerusalem, which we celebrate as Palm Sunday. He was giving the disciples some further teaching on faith. Here are the verses - Mark 11:22-26 NIV:
[22] “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. [23] “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. [24] Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. [25] And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” [26] {But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.} (Some manuscripts include this language also found in Matt. 6:15).
I believe that this is one of those verses that, taken out of the context of the whole scriptural and especially the New Testament, can easily become a name it and claim it teaching. The greater context of scripture puts these comments in proper perspective, and thus we cannot just read them with our modern English understanding and think we have Jesus telling us if we believe something will happen that it will happen, like our belief is the key to everything.
Jesus, in John's Gospel, said very clearly that He only said and did the things the Father was doing (John 8:28, John 12:49 & John 14:10). He wasn't just believing things and seeing them come to pass, He was operating in intimate cooperation with the Father. In the same way, Jesus says here, "whatever you ask for in prayer" and this is what Jesus was talking about in the verses from John's Gospel, all His prayer was communication with the Father, and so should ours be. He isn't directing us to just decide what things we want, pray for them and expect them to happen. Instead, He is encouraging the disciples to operate our a place of greater faith, and greater intimacy.
I find it interesting that at the end He basically ties this all back to the two greatest commandments, to love God and to Love one another, and says that the latter can affect the former. There is a level of connectedness to our love for each other, that opens or closes our relational interactions with the Lord. Again, this is on us, and a result of our hearts, not God's. He always loves us, always extends mercy and love, has compassion and even forgives our sins. It is our unwillingness to extend forgiveness to our fellow man, that shows our heart unwilling to be obedient to the Lord, and His commands. Our unwillingness to forgive means we are taking on the Lord's role of judge, and as such we limit ourselves from experiencing God's mercy.
Forgiveness is actually one of the topics that Jesus discussed many times. The word is used 38 times in the Gospels. It was something that Paul, James, the Author of the letter to the Hebrews, and John wrote about in their letters. Jesus is bringing our focus back to our own walk and faith in God with His teaching about forgiveness. We must be willing to forgive, knowing that we can trust in God, rather than ourselves for vengeance, if required. We must be willing to lay all aside and come to Jesus with unbound hearts and unforgiveness definitely binds us.
I go back to Jesus' first statement in verse twenty-two, "Have faith in God!" As we step into relationship with Him, as we meditate on His character, His truths, and His words, we will see that His love and forgiveness is much better than holding onto our unforgiveness. As we grow in relationship and understanding of His heart and His purpose, we will begin to be able to engage in prayer and see God change things, in both the natural realm as well as the Spiritual realm. We will grow in confidence in our ability to see and hear, and our faith will grow accordingly.
Amen!
[22] “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. [23] “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. [24] Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. [25] And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” [26] {But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.} (Some manuscripts include this language also found in Matt. 6:15).
I believe that this is one of those verses that, taken out of the context of the whole scriptural and especially the New Testament, can easily become a name it and claim it teaching. The greater context of scripture puts these comments in proper perspective, and thus we cannot just read them with our modern English understanding and think we have Jesus telling us if we believe something will happen that it will happen, like our belief is the key to everything.
Jesus, in John's Gospel, said very clearly that He only said and did the things the Father was doing (John 8:28, John 12:49 & John 14:10). He wasn't just believing things and seeing them come to pass, He was operating in intimate cooperation with the Father. In the same way, Jesus says here, "whatever you ask for in prayer" and this is what Jesus was talking about in the verses from John's Gospel, all His prayer was communication with the Father, and so should ours be. He isn't directing us to just decide what things we want, pray for them and expect them to happen. Instead, He is encouraging the disciples to operate our a place of greater faith, and greater intimacy.
I find it interesting that at the end He basically ties this all back to the two greatest commandments, to love God and to Love one another, and says that the latter can affect the former. There is a level of connectedness to our love for each other, that opens or closes our relational interactions with the Lord. Again, this is on us, and a result of our hearts, not God's. He always loves us, always extends mercy and love, has compassion and even forgives our sins. It is our unwillingness to extend forgiveness to our fellow man, that shows our heart unwilling to be obedient to the Lord, and His commands. Our unwillingness to forgive means we are taking on the Lord's role of judge, and as such we limit ourselves from experiencing God's mercy.
Forgiveness is actually one of the topics that Jesus discussed many times. The word is used 38 times in the Gospels. It was something that Paul, James, the Author of the letter to the Hebrews, and John wrote about in their letters. Jesus is bringing our focus back to our own walk and faith in God with His teaching about forgiveness. We must be willing to forgive, knowing that we can trust in God, rather than ourselves for vengeance, if required. We must be willing to lay all aside and come to Jesus with unbound hearts and unforgiveness definitely binds us.
I go back to Jesus' first statement in verse twenty-two, "Have faith in God!" As we step into relationship with Him, as we meditate on His character, His truths, and His words, we will see that His love and forgiveness is much better than holding onto our unforgiveness. As we grow in relationship and understanding of His heart and His purpose, we will begin to be able to engage in prayer and see God change things, in both the natural realm as well as the Spiritual realm. We will grow in confidence in our ability to see and hear, and our faith will grow accordingly.
Amen!
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Kingdom Mathematics = Exponential
As I woke up this morning, the idea of spiritual or one could say "kingdom" mathematics popped into my head. Recently I have been looking at Kingdom economics, so I guess it is only sensible that I look at the mathematics that the Holy Spirit uses. There were a few instances that popped into my head as the subject was raised so I thought I would share them first and then review the principles demonstrated.
Deuteronomy 32:30 NIV:
"How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?"
Mark 8:19-21 NIV:
"When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they replied. [20]
“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.”
[21] He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
Acts 2:41 NIV:
"Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
Looking at these first three verse selections of which I was reminded in the moment of the Lord introducing this idea, we find what would generally be considered exponential mathematics. The Lord doesn't simply add, or even multiply, although those words are used when we talk about the story in a Acts (people were "added to their number", or Mark where we refer to this miracle as the multiplication of food).
We could actually write these different verses using mathematics equations:
1 = 10 to the 3rd, 2 = 10 to the 4th
5 = 5 x 10 to the 3rd
120 (actually it is just Peter preaching so really 1) = 3 x 10 to the third.
Isn't it interesting that when the Lord breathes on something, it seems that it causes a factor of a 10 to the 3rd increase (thousand-fold). I wonder if that has anything to do with the Trinity? Anyway, as I was thinking about this, I felt the reason the Lord wanted to bring this up was that He doesn't want up to underestimate His plans or abilities, and settle for less than He desires to bring. We pray for addition, maybe multiplication, but He wants exponential growth and fruitfulness. If we believe the Lord is going to move, then we need to prepare for exponential growth!
I am reminded of a couple more verses as I am writing this - found below:
2 Kings 6:15-17 NIV:
"When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. [16] “Don't be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” [17] And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."
Psalm 68:17 NIV:
"The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary."
Daniel 7:10 NIV:
"A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened."
The idea that is being communicated is that the resources of God are unlimited! He has countless multitudes to direct and draw upon. We need to learn to think more along His lines of thinking, exponentially! God doesn't want us to be satisfied with addition or multiplication, although those are good, He wants us pressing into Him for true Kingdom growth and expansion.
Lord, I don't know how this all works, or what Your specific plans are for me, but I know what You have illustrated in Your Word, to teach us and guide us. You are so far beyond our comprehension, we don't want to limit ourselves to what we can think and do. We want to see You glorified in and through us to the greatness of Your majestic and powerful name! Lord, we want to understand!
Amen!
Deuteronomy 32:30 NIV:
"How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?"
Mark 8:19-21 NIV:
"When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they replied. [20]
“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.”
[21] He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
Acts 2:41 NIV:
"Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
Looking at these first three verse selections of which I was reminded in the moment of the Lord introducing this idea, we find what would generally be considered exponential mathematics. The Lord doesn't simply add, or even multiply, although those words are used when we talk about the story in a Acts (people were "added to their number", or Mark where we refer to this miracle as the multiplication of food).
We could actually write these different verses using mathematics equations:
1 = 10 to the 3rd, 2 = 10 to the 4th
5 = 5 x 10 to the 3rd
120 (actually it is just Peter preaching so really 1) = 3 x 10 to the third.
Isn't it interesting that when the Lord breathes on something, it seems that it causes a factor of a 10 to the 3rd increase (thousand-fold). I wonder if that has anything to do with the Trinity? Anyway, as I was thinking about this, I felt the reason the Lord wanted to bring this up was that He doesn't want up to underestimate His plans or abilities, and settle for less than He desires to bring. We pray for addition, maybe multiplication, but He wants exponential growth and fruitfulness. If we believe the Lord is going to move, then we need to prepare for exponential growth!
I am reminded of a couple more verses as I am writing this - found below:
2 Kings 6:15-17 NIV:
"When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. [16] “Don't be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” [17] And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."
Psalm 68:17 NIV:
"The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary."
Daniel 7:10 NIV:
"A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened."
The idea that is being communicated is that the resources of God are unlimited! He has countless multitudes to direct and draw upon. We need to learn to think more along His lines of thinking, exponentially! God doesn't want us to be satisfied with addition or multiplication, although those are good, He wants us pressing into Him for true Kingdom growth and expansion.
Lord, I don't know how this all works, or what Your specific plans are for me, but I know what You have illustrated in Your Word, to teach us and guide us. You are so far beyond our comprehension, we don't want to limit ourselves to what we can think and do. We want to see You glorified in and through us to the greatness of Your majestic and powerful name! Lord, we want to understand!
Amen!
Saturday, August 12, 2017
Stewardship and the Church
This morning I felt directed to read from John's Gospel, and specifically the eleventh chapter which is where the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is recounted. I have spent many hours meditating on that story, but this morning I felt directed to spend some time reflecting on the response of the religious establishment to Jesus. The following verses immediately follow the raising of Lazarus - John 11:45-48 NIV:
[45] "Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. [46] But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. [47] Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. [48] If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
I think the most telling thing about the overall issue was how they described the temple and nation, they called them "our" temple and "our" nation. They apparently forgot whose temple it really was, and who had made the nation of Israel their chosen nation from among all nations, namely God. My thoughts are that this is not uncommon, even today. Taking ownership of something that is not yours, even if you are a steward of that thing is not correct.
My mind is drawn back to the trilogy of the "Lord of the Rings" by J.R. Tolkien. In that story the King of Gondor had long been absent, but the kingdom had been placed into the hands of a steward, and his family. The present day steward was Denethor, and when he was confronted by possibility of the true King returning, He refused to give up power, and instead went crazy. In his mind, it was his kingdom, his nation, and his palace, even though he sat on a smaller chair in front of the proper king's throne. He didn't want the King to come and mess up his whole life and take his authority.
I believe this was exactly the issue with the Pharisees and Sanhedrin. They had been in charge for so long, they had forgotten who was really in charge, and whose temple and nation it really was! They saw Jesus as a threat to their own positions of power and authority, their way of running things, and they resisted, and one could argue that they went crazy.
In the same way I think we, in the modern church, can forget our purpose and role as stewards of God's Kingdom, and Jesus' Body. The ownership, if you want to call it that, is clear! Yet, we can take on this attitude that the church, the congregation, the worship team, the programs, the finances, etc. are ours! We can become so used to the status-quo that anything that is God inspired, God-breathed, if it doesn't come from us, is seen as a threat to our positions of power and authority. We are threatened when we hear of God moving in other congregations, doing things that make us uncomfortable, or even sound outrageous. We work hard to maintain control of the service and programs, trying to keep things respectable and "worthy" of God, yet that designation comes from us, not Him.
The truth, that was missed by the Pharisees and by Denethor, was that their positions would not be decreased in power or authority, but rather they would be able to operate directly with the true source of power and authority and actually prosper in the presence of the King. The same thing is true in our churches. When God shows up in a manifest way, while a bit messy and more difficult to pastor, the church and leadership will all prosper. When God starts moving in nearby congregations we can actually bring that same movement to our churches, as in some way the Holy Spirit is contagious. Rather than struggling to maintain our power and rule in God's absence, we should be looking to find ways to invite His presence, power and authority to that which we are stewarding.
So today I am encouraged to welcome with open arms any indication that the King is returning, any move of the Holy Spirit, anything that allows Him to be glorified and witnessed to by many! The triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was the direct result of His raising Lazarus, and the people were welcoming of Jesus the true King. Let us welcome Him this Sunday, the "Lord's" day, and recognize whose this day is in reality! We serve a King, whose Kingdom we are stewarding and expanding, and Jesus, whose Body we are part of, and for which we are responsible to care and strengthen.
Amen!
[45] "Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. [46] But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. [47] Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. [48] If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
I think the most telling thing about the overall issue was how they described the temple and nation, they called them "our" temple and "our" nation. They apparently forgot whose temple it really was, and who had made the nation of Israel their chosen nation from among all nations, namely God. My thoughts are that this is not uncommon, even today. Taking ownership of something that is not yours, even if you are a steward of that thing is not correct.
My mind is drawn back to the trilogy of the "Lord of the Rings" by J.R. Tolkien. In that story the King of Gondor had long been absent, but the kingdom had been placed into the hands of a steward, and his family. The present day steward was Denethor, and when he was confronted by possibility of the true King returning, He refused to give up power, and instead went crazy. In his mind, it was his kingdom, his nation, and his palace, even though he sat on a smaller chair in front of the proper king's throne. He didn't want the King to come and mess up his whole life and take his authority.
I believe this was exactly the issue with the Pharisees and Sanhedrin. They had been in charge for so long, they had forgotten who was really in charge, and whose temple and nation it really was! They saw Jesus as a threat to their own positions of power and authority, their way of running things, and they resisted, and one could argue that they went crazy.
In the same way I think we, in the modern church, can forget our purpose and role as stewards of God's Kingdom, and Jesus' Body. The ownership, if you want to call it that, is clear! Yet, we can take on this attitude that the church, the congregation, the worship team, the programs, the finances, etc. are ours! We can become so used to the status-quo that anything that is God inspired, God-breathed, if it doesn't come from us, is seen as a threat to our positions of power and authority. We are threatened when we hear of God moving in other congregations, doing things that make us uncomfortable, or even sound outrageous. We work hard to maintain control of the service and programs, trying to keep things respectable and "worthy" of God, yet that designation comes from us, not Him.
The truth, that was missed by the Pharisees and by Denethor, was that their positions would not be decreased in power or authority, but rather they would be able to operate directly with the true source of power and authority and actually prosper in the presence of the King. The same thing is true in our churches. When God shows up in a manifest way, while a bit messy and more difficult to pastor, the church and leadership will all prosper. When God starts moving in nearby congregations we can actually bring that same movement to our churches, as in some way the Holy Spirit is contagious. Rather than struggling to maintain our power and rule in God's absence, we should be looking to find ways to invite His presence, power and authority to that which we are stewarding.
So today I am encouraged to welcome with open arms any indication that the King is returning, any move of the Holy Spirit, anything that allows Him to be glorified and witnessed to by many! The triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was the direct result of His raising Lazarus, and the people were welcoming of Jesus the true King. Let us welcome Him this Sunday, the "Lord's" day, and recognize whose this day is in reality! We serve a King, whose Kingdom we are stewarding and expanding, and Jesus, whose Body we are part of, and for which we are responsible to care and strengthen.
Amen!
Friday, August 11, 2017
Hear, See, Obey, its an Invitation!
Yesterday I was rereading some of my absolute favorite verses from John's Gospel. Jesus is so clear in the following passages, and so encouraging.
John 14:6-14 NIV:
[6] "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [7] If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
[8] "Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
[9] "Jesus answered: “Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? [10] Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. [11] Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. [12] Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. [13] And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. [14] You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
In case I haven't said it before, I just love these passages, as they speak so clearly to me about Jesus as the Father's representative. Everything He said, everything He did is directly from the Father and directed by the Father. When we see Jesus, when we hear Jesus, we are seeing and hearing the Father. This is far more than Jesus just being the spitting image of His Father, this is a unity of heart and mind that we can only understand at the most basic level this side of Heaven. Jesus says "I am in the Father" and the Father is in Him. He says that, "it is the Father living in me doing His work!".
The best part of this for me is the realization that Jesus is demonstrating something in His human-ness that is possible for me as well. Jesus is the Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, but He laid all that down and chose to live as man (Philippians 2:6-8), limited in all ways that man is limited (Heb 2:17), so that He might be a true representative of us in His fulfillment of the Law. If He was demonstrating this as a man, then it means it is possible for me too, as a man. Wow! I can't begin to grasp what it would mean to have an awareness of God living in me to the extent that I could say that everything I say and do is directly from and being directed by Him. I am so far from that reality, but hopefully growing in my sensitivity to Him every day, for He does live in me. Rather than being discouraged by my lack of unity with the Lord, I am encouraged, for I see in Jesus' words what is possible.
He spent His whole life up to His public ministry getting ready for that time. He spent years refining His ability to hear and see what the Father was doing, learning to live in a constant state of awareness of Him present and directing. He was tempted in all ways we are (Heb 4:15) but never digressed from the Father's will or purpose. He learned to walk in absolute obedience, so that He could say that every word He spoke and everything He did were directed by the Father. This reality is available to us, if only we will learn to see, hear and obey. Wow, again!
Finally, as He was directed by the Father, He proclaimed the Kingdom and demonstrated the Kingdom through signs, wonders, healings, casting out demons, cleansing lepers and raising the dead! This is what the Father was doing, and the Father is unchanging (Psalm 55:19), and as such is still wanting to do the same things today! However, instead of being in residence in Jesus, as a human on earth, He is resident in me! The works that Jesus did were demonstrations of this reality (verse 11 above) and our ability to do the same and greater (verse 12 above) is proof of God living in us too.
It is quite simple in my mind. If we believe that God is unchanging, and still has all authority and all power, and His kingdom is still present, and He still is able to take up residence in us, and He still desires to seek and save the lost, then we must believe that He will do the same things as He did through Jesus, for that is how He revealed His unchanging nature in His most perfect and exact representation, Jesus (Heb 1:3). It is not a question of if God desires this, for He has made His direction and purpose very clear through Jesus' words, spoken as the Father's representative. John 14: [12] "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. [13] And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
I do believe this is true, and I am powerless to do anything about this, except that I can press into relationship (knowing Him) and be obedient to what I hear and see Him doing. Hearing, seeing and obedience are my responsibilities, everything else is from God! Lord, I welcome You into me, and I pray that You will help me to refine my ability to hear and see, and strengthen my resolve to obey everything You tell me to do!
Amen!
John 14:6-14 NIV:
[6] "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [7] If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
[8] "Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
[9] "Jesus answered: “Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? [10] Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. [11] Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. [12] Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. [13] And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. [14] You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
In case I haven't said it before, I just love these passages, as they speak so clearly to me about Jesus as the Father's representative. Everything He said, everything He did is directly from the Father and directed by the Father. When we see Jesus, when we hear Jesus, we are seeing and hearing the Father. This is far more than Jesus just being the spitting image of His Father, this is a unity of heart and mind that we can only understand at the most basic level this side of Heaven. Jesus says "I am in the Father" and the Father is in Him. He says that, "it is the Father living in me doing His work!".
The best part of this for me is the realization that Jesus is demonstrating something in His human-ness that is possible for me as well. Jesus is the Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, but He laid all that down and chose to live as man (Philippians 2:6-8), limited in all ways that man is limited (Heb 2:17), so that He might be a true representative of us in His fulfillment of the Law. If He was demonstrating this as a man, then it means it is possible for me too, as a man. Wow! I can't begin to grasp what it would mean to have an awareness of God living in me to the extent that I could say that everything I say and do is directly from and being directed by Him. I am so far from that reality, but hopefully growing in my sensitivity to Him every day, for He does live in me. Rather than being discouraged by my lack of unity with the Lord, I am encouraged, for I see in Jesus' words what is possible.
He spent His whole life up to His public ministry getting ready for that time. He spent years refining His ability to hear and see what the Father was doing, learning to live in a constant state of awareness of Him present and directing. He was tempted in all ways we are (Heb 4:15) but never digressed from the Father's will or purpose. He learned to walk in absolute obedience, so that He could say that every word He spoke and everything He did were directed by the Father. This reality is available to us, if only we will learn to see, hear and obey. Wow, again!
Finally, as He was directed by the Father, He proclaimed the Kingdom and demonstrated the Kingdom through signs, wonders, healings, casting out demons, cleansing lepers and raising the dead! This is what the Father was doing, and the Father is unchanging (Psalm 55:19), and as such is still wanting to do the same things today! However, instead of being in residence in Jesus, as a human on earth, He is resident in me! The works that Jesus did were demonstrations of this reality (verse 11 above) and our ability to do the same and greater (verse 12 above) is proof of God living in us too.
It is quite simple in my mind. If we believe that God is unchanging, and still has all authority and all power, and His kingdom is still present, and He still is able to take up residence in us, and He still desires to seek and save the lost, then we must believe that He will do the same things as He did through Jesus, for that is how He revealed His unchanging nature in His most perfect and exact representation, Jesus (Heb 1:3). It is not a question of if God desires this, for He has made His direction and purpose very clear through Jesus' words, spoken as the Father's representative. John 14: [12] "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. [13] And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
I do believe this is true, and I am powerless to do anything about this, except that I can press into relationship (knowing Him) and be obedient to what I hear and see Him doing. Hearing, seeing and obedience are my responsibilities, everything else is from God! Lord, I welcome You into me, and I pray that You will help me to refine my ability to hear and see, and strengthen my resolve to obey everything You tell me to do!
Amen!
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Kingdom Economics - A Foundation
This morning as I got up and started to think about praying, my mind went back to thoughts about the topic of Kingdom Economics. As I started thinking about that topic again I felt like the Lord redirected my thinking to a more basic approach, a bit of a foundational question, which I will try to recreate here.
Questions:
1) When you hear Kingdom of God Economics, what do you think about first?
A) Cattle on a thousand hills? (Ps. 50:10)
B) A land flowing with Milk and Honey - God's Provision (Ex 3:8)
C) The Silver is Mine, the Gold is Mine (Hag 2:8)
D) The blessing and riches of Solomon (1 Kings 10)
E) The blessing of Abraham - descendants as numerous as the stars (Gen. 15:4)
I believe the correct answer is E. If we go back to Noah and the renewal of God's blessing to him and his family we see God's focus - it is on people. Genesis 9:1-3 NIV: "Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. [2] The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. [3] Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything."
In essence everything on the earth is to serve to bless and further the population of man. We see this same model in the Adam and Eve story, but here God gives them everything to eat and everything on the earth.
One of the reasons that Jesus was rejected by the Jews as Messiah was that they were looking for a King that would restore them to power and riches like Solomon, and Jesus came with a different agenda. One could say that the Jews were expecting a reestablishment of A through D above, looking for the greatness of God's Kingdom once again being showcased in their king, palace and riches. Jesus however came to reveal the Father and open a way to Him, and ultimately to invite the people of every nation and tribe, not just the Jews.
When Jesus gave the great commission in Matthew chapter 28, He was speaking about the expansion of the Kingdom of God, but it had nothing to do with riches, instead the focus was on people. Here are the verses - Matthew 28:18-20 NIV: "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] 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, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus says all authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him, which would include control over all resources and riches, and yet His command was to go and make disciples of all nations, a very people oriented goal.
I believe that the early church was operating in exactly this 'people first' mindset and kingdom principles when they initially started meeting together, as recorded in Acts 2-4. We have some really challenging verses describing their life together - as follows:
Acts 2:44-45 NIV: "All the believers were together and had everything in common. [45] They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need."
Acts 3:6 NIV: "Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
Acts 4:32-35 NIV: "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. [33] With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all [34] that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales [35] and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need."
Looking at these verses and the economic model they represent, in the Western Church we tend to discard these verses as being not much more than initial excitement. We don't like verses that talk about giving away one's own possessions. Note - this is not socialism or communism, rather this is Kingdom economics, for it apparently wasn't the leadership that requested this giving, nor the rules of church, nor the requirements of participation, but rather it appears to have been a universally held and embraced, God inspired participation and giving. There was valuation given to people that was above the valuation and worth assigned to possessions and property, and it was inspired by God, not demanded by the leaders.
Jesus spoke about the Kingdom for the 40 days following His resurrection (Acts 1:3), and one must believe that the early church, as recorded in Acts, is a direct result of Jesus' teaching about the Kingdom. I believe that this is exactly what they were doing, taking Jesus' teachings and putting them into practice, and in the Kingdom, that which is most valuable is you and me, and all the brothers and sisters. Those who joined the church recognized this and were moved to care for one another! I always go back to Jesus' new commandment, that we love one another the way He loved us (John 13:34). Jesus didn't care about personal riches, or material things, He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). He demonstrated that which He calls us to, radical love for one another.
In the Western Church, we don't like these ideas because they sound too much like socialism or communism. We hold up ministries that build grand buildings, and reach thousands. We judge ministries effectiveness by how much money they receive and this relates to how many people they can reach with their message, and while that seems related to what was demonstrated by the early church, it is not the same thing. The question should be whether we are replicating Jesus' Ministry in its fullness? Peter and James had an interesting answer when the lame man requested money or assistance from them, they said they didn't have any silver or gold. Instead they knew what they possessed was of far greater value, through the power of the Holy Spirit they brought Him freedom from his lameness, and restored Him to full life.
Finally, if we look at the ministry of Jesus, I believe we see the priorities of God. Jesus' primary message was the establishment of the Kingdom, so everything He did was focused on that message. Jesus spent most of His ministry proclaiming the Kingdom and then demonstrating the reality of His proclamation by healings, signs and wonders, casting our demons and raising the dead. He didn't amass a large slush-fund, or build a building for his followers to gather. He didn't work to promote His ministry, in fact he usually told those healed to go home and not tell anyone. He had times where He blessed his followers abundantly (Peter and John's fishing) and yet encouraged (My thinking) them to walk away from the riches (Luke 5:1-11). Jesus demonstrated over and over compassion and mercy, provided food for multitudes on several occasions and over and over showed us what the priorities in the Kingdom looked like. The priorities always focused on the people following Him or interacting with Him.
In summary, I believe we need to take Jesus' teaching and principles to heart. Our focus in the Church must be on people. Our goal must not be to build an edifice, nor savings account up so we can reach more people. Our goal should be reaching and restoring, empowering and encouraging, healing and bringing freedom, laying down our lives for one another. Recently Francis Chan, a well known Christian Author and former pastor of a mega-church, left his position and started a few home churches because he felt like he was missing the primary mission of the church, the raising up of people (my words not his) and allowing them to love one another and express and use the gifts they had been given. A link to the article I read is here - http://www.christianpost.com/news/francis-chan-goes-into-detail-with-facebook-employees-on-why-he-left-his-megachurch-190136/
My encouragement this morning is to reevaluate my perspective about the purpose of the Church and the Kingdom of God, and how I think it relates to me and my finances and blessing.
Questions:
1) When you hear Kingdom of God Economics, what do you think about first?
A) Cattle on a thousand hills? (Ps. 50:10)
B) A land flowing with Milk and Honey - God's Provision (Ex 3:8)
C) The Silver is Mine, the Gold is Mine (Hag 2:8)
D) The blessing and riches of Solomon (1 Kings 10)
E) The blessing of Abraham - descendants as numerous as the stars (Gen. 15:4)
I believe the correct answer is E. If we go back to Noah and the renewal of God's blessing to him and his family we see God's focus - it is on people. Genesis 9:1-3 NIV: "Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. [2] The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. [3] Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything."
In essence everything on the earth is to serve to bless and further the population of man. We see this same model in the Adam and Eve story, but here God gives them everything to eat and everything on the earth.
One of the reasons that Jesus was rejected by the Jews as Messiah was that they were looking for a King that would restore them to power and riches like Solomon, and Jesus came with a different agenda. One could say that the Jews were expecting a reestablishment of A through D above, looking for the greatness of God's Kingdom once again being showcased in their king, palace and riches. Jesus however came to reveal the Father and open a way to Him, and ultimately to invite the people of every nation and tribe, not just the Jews.
When Jesus gave the great commission in Matthew chapter 28, He was speaking about the expansion of the Kingdom of God, but it had nothing to do with riches, instead the focus was on people. Here are the verses - Matthew 28:18-20 NIV: "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] 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, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus says all authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him, which would include control over all resources and riches, and yet His command was to go and make disciples of all nations, a very people oriented goal.
I believe that the early church was operating in exactly this 'people first' mindset and kingdom principles when they initially started meeting together, as recorded in Acts 2-4. We have some really challenging verses describing their life together - as follows:
Acts 2:44-45 NIV: "All the believers were together and had everything in common. [45] They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need."
Acts 3:6 NIV: "Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
Acts 4:32-35 NIV: "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. [33] With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all [34] that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales [35] and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need."
Looking at these verses and the economic model they represent, in the Western Church we tend to discard these verses as being not much more than initial excitement. We don't like verses that talk about giving away one's own possessions. Note - this is not socialism or communism, rather this is Kingdom economics, for it apparently wasn't the leadership that requested this giving, nor the rules of church, nor the requirements of participation, but rather it appears to have been a universally held and embraced, God inspired participation and giving. There was valuation given to people that was above the valuation and worth assigned to possessions and property, and it was inspired by God, not demanded by the leaders.
Jesus spoke about the Kingdom for the 40 days following His resurrection (Acts 1:3), and one must believe that the early church, as recorded in Acts, is a direct result of Jesus' teaching about the Kingdom. I believe that this is exactly what they were doing, taking Jesus' teachings and putting them into practice, and in the Kingdom, that which is most valuable is you and me, and all the brothers and sisters. Those who joined the church recognized this and were moved to care for one another! I always go back to Jesus' new commandment, that we love one another the way He loved us (John 13:34). Jesus didn't care about personal riches, or material things, He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). He demonstrated that which He calls us to, radical love for one another.
In the Western Church, we don't like these ideas because they sound too much like socialism or communism. We hold up ministries that build grand buildings, and reach thousands. We judge ministries effectiveness by how much money they receive and this relates to how many people they can reach with their message, and while that seems related to what was demonstrated by the early church, it is not the same thing. The question should be whether we are replicating Jesus' Ministry in its fullness? Peter and James had an interesting answer when the lame man requested money or assistance from them, they said they didn't have any silver or gold. Instead they knew what they possessed was of far greater value, through the power of the Holy Spirit they brought Him freedom from his lameness, and restored Him to full life.
Finally, if we look at the ministry of Jesus, I believe we see the priorities of God. Jesus' primary message was the establishment of the Kingdom, so everything He did was focused on that message. Jesus spent most of His ministry proclaiming the Kingdom and then demonstrating the reality of His proclamation by healings, signs and wonders, casting our demons and raising the dead. He didn't amass a large slush-fund, or build a building for his followers to gather. He didn't work to promote His ministry, in fact he usually told those healed to go home and not tell anyone. He had times where He blessed his followers abundantly (Peter and John's fishing) and yet encouraged (My thinking) them to walk away from the riches (Luke 5:1-11). Jesus demonstrated over and over compassion and mercy, provided food for multitudes on several occasions and over and over showed us what the priorities in the Kingdom looked like. The priorities always focused on the people following Him or interacting with Him.
In summary, I believe we need to take Jesus' teaching and principles to heart. Our focus in the Church must be on people. Our goal must not be to build an edifice, nor savings account up so we can reach more people. Our goal should be reaching and restoring, empowering and encouraging, healing and bringing freedom, laying down our lives for one another. Recently Francis Chan, a well known Christian Author and former pastor of a mega-church, left his position and started a few home churches because he felt like he was missing the primary mission of the church, the raising up of people (my words not his) and allowing them to love one another and express and use the gifts they had been given. A link to the article I read is here - http://www.christianpost.com/news/francis-chan-goes-into-detail-with-facebook-employees-on-why-he-left-his-megachurch-190136/
My encouragement this morning is to reevaluate my perspective about the purpose of the Church and the Kingdom of God, and how I think it relates to me and my finances and blessing.
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Kingdom Economics and Individual Value and Worth
This morning I have been reflecting upon the story of Zacchaeus found in Luke's Gospel, chapter 19. As I was reflecting on that I kept reading and immediately following the interaction with Zacchaeus, Jesus tells the parable of the Ten Minas and that started me wondering why those two events seemed to be linked? Here are the basics of the parable of the Ten Minas in Jesus' words - Luke 19:12-13,15-17,26 NIV:
[12] He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. [13] So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'
[15] “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
[16] “The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
[17] “ 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
[26] “He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. [27] But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them---bring them here and kill them in front of me.' ”
My first thought on reading these passages was to wonder why Jesus had followed the events with Zacchaeus with such a story. I think there might be several explanations, one of which Luke provides at the start of the parable, describing how Jesus was telling this story in response to people wondering about when He was going to establish His kingdom. While that clearly makes sense, as I was reflecting on it, my thoughts were turned more to reflecting on the economics of the God's Kingdom. Since God's Kingdom is real, and like all Kingdoms has policies and principles and His Kingdom is an extension of His sovereignty and rule, the economic policies of His Kingdom come directly from Him and His nature. As I was reading these verses, I was thinking about what Jesus and the Father demonstrated about their nature in the story of Zacchaeus, and then in this parable.
As I see it, they were demonstrating some of the following characteristics and economic principles:
1) The value of each person to them (God the Trinity) personally. Regardless of how a person is viewed by society, God sees each one's unique value and desires intimacy with each and every one of us. He sees the "worth" of the individual and the "value" of investing time (we are going to have dinner at your house tonight) in the individual. It is interesting that value and worth are both economic descriptors. I believe that more than anything the underlying economics of the Kingdom are based on relationships and individuals (human uniqueness).
2) The Lost are not forgotten, nor really lost. Jesus knew exactly where Zacchaeus was and one could argue that Zacchaeus was responding to God's stirring his heart to inquire about Jesus. God knew exactly where Zacchaeus was emotionally and spiritually and knew what he was thinking, and what He was doing in his life. God was completely aware of Zacchaeus' situation and he wasn't worried about how long Zacchaeus had been lost. In other words, economically speaking, God is not afraid of really long payback on His investments in our lives, as demonstrated here in Zacchaeus' life, and no investment is ever lost. He has placed in each of us an investment of His image and nature and in some of us that investment takes a long time to mature.
3) The Lord cares about our identity - for Zacchaeus' identity radically changed that day! He went from being an enemy of the people and really the people of Israel, to being blessed as a son of Abraham, and ultimately a son of the Father. Jesus, and again Paul in his later writings, were very focused on establishing the truth of our identity as God's sons and daughters. This identity and relationship brings with it access to the family fortune, if you will. God cares about us understanding our relationship with Him, because He wants us to live in the reality of His Kingdom, and His wealth.
4) I think that this story might also have been an excellent first teaching for Zacchaeus on how to live the rest of His life - taking that which He had been given and investing it in the King's purposes. We are all called to bear fruit, and God loves to extend favor to those that are fruitful and good stewards of what they have been given. Once we are members of God's family, adopted daughters and sons, our perspective should change to one of stewardship of all that He has gifted us with in our lives, for all good things come from Him (James 1:17). Prior to knowing God, we think we have earned the good things, or maybe wonder why we have good things, and when our true identity is revealed, then the source of all the good things should become clear! God has been blessing us all along, we just didn't know that. In this case, the minas were given to the servants by the King, the servants understood they were stewarding those gifts for the King, and that is such an important life lesson.
5) God is looking for those who faithfully represent Him and His character and nature, and rewards those who do with more opportunities to do so. If we think about the reality of what the servants actually invested in with the minas, it would have likely been in other people and their ability to produce things that earned profits. The servants were servants of the King, and as such they had responsibilities over certain of the Kings affairs, so the investment they were making in this story were likely outside the King's affairs, otherwise they were just doing their normal servant jobs. Maybe they had experience in certain things like purchasing and selling grain. In the King's service they would do this normally and any profits they earned were part of their normal job, and while beneficial to the King, not likely worthy of special note. I believe that in this case the King gave them minas to invest on their own, and they would have invested this in people or situations they knew of personally and any profits earned were above and beyond their normal job. So in the case of grain, maybe they provided a neighboring farmer some of the money so he could purchase additional land and seed so that He could produce a more abundant crop and derive a greater profit. My point is that investment that brings profit always benefits those that have been invested in, and if the basic unit of value in the Kingdom is the individual, than this parable is really about investing in relationships that bear fruit for the Kingdom, and betters both ourselves, those invested in, and the Kingdom!
Well that reflection certainly went down a different path than I had originally anticipated, and has provided plenty of additional fodder for reflection. I am encouraged this morning to see the value I have to the Lord, to recognize the worth of others as well, and to invest accordingly!
Amen!
[12] He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. [13] So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'
[15] “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
[16] “The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
[17] “ 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
[26] “He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. [27] But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them---bring them here and kill them in front of me.' ”
My first thought on reading these passages was to wonder why Jesus had followed the events with Zacchaeus with such a story. I think there might be several explanations, one of which Luke provides at the start of the parable, describing how Jesus was telling this story in response to people wondering about when He was going to establish His kingdom. While that clearly makes sense, as I was reflecting on it, my thoughts were turned more to reflecting on the economics of the God's Kingdom. Since God's Kingdom is real, and like all Kingdoms has policies and principles and His Kingdom is an extension of His sovereignty and rule, the economic policies of His Kingdom come directly from Him and His nature. As I was reading these verses, I was thinking about what Jesus and the Father demonstrated about their nature in the story of Zacchaeus, and then in this parable.
As I see it, they were demonstrating some of the following characteristics and economic principles:
1) The value of each person to them (God the Trinity) personally. Regardless of how a person is viewed by society, God sees each one's unique value and desires intimacy with each and every one of us. He sees the "worth" of the individual and the "value" of investing time (we are going to have dinner at your house tonight) in the individual. It is interesting that value and worth are both economic descriptors. I believe that more than anything the underlying economics of the Kingdom are based on relationships and individuals (human uniqueness).
2) The Lost are not forgotten, nor really lost. Jesus knew exactly where Zacchaeus was and one could argue that Zacchaeus was responding to God's stirring his heart to inquire about Jesus. God knew exactly where Zacchaeus was emotionally and spiritually and knew what he was thinking, and what He was doing in his life. God was completely aware of Zacchaeus' situation and he wasn't worried about how long Zacchaeus had been lost. In other words, economically speaking, God is not afraid of really long payback on His investments in our lives, as demonstrated here in Zacchaeus' life, and no investment is ever lost. He has placed in each of us an investment of His image and nature and in some of us that investment takes a long time to mature.
3) The Lord cares about our identity - for Zacchaeus' identity radically changed that day! He went from being an enemy of the people and really the people of Israel, to being blessed as a son of Abraham, and ultimately a son of the Father. Jesus, and again Paul in his later writings, were very focused on establishing the truth of our identity as God's sons and daughters. This identity and relationship brings with it access to the family fortune, if you will. God cares about us understanding our relationship with Him, because He wants us to live in the reality of His Kingdom, and His wealth.
4) I think that this story might also have been an excellent first teaching for Zacchaeus on how to live the rest of His life - taking that which He had been given and investing it in the King's purposes. We are all called to bear fruit, and God loves to extend favor to those that are fruitful and good stewards of what they have been given. Once we are members of God's family, adopted daughters and sons, our perspective should change to one of stewardship of all that He has gifted us with in our lives, for all good things come from Him (James 1:17). Prior to knowing God, we think we have earned the good things, or maybe wonder why we have good things, and when our true identity is revealed, then the source of all the good things should become clear! God has been blessing us all along, we just didn't know that. In this case, the minas were given to the servants by the King, the servants understood they were stewarding those gifts for the King, and that is such an important life lesson.
5) God is looking for those who faithfully represent Him and His character and nature, and rewards those who do with more opportunities to do so. If we think about the reality of what the servants actually invested in with the minas, it would have likely been in other people and their ability to produce things that earned profits. The servants were servants of the King, and as such they had responsibilities over certain of the Kings affairs, so the investment they were making in this story were likely outside the King's affairs, otherwise they were just doing their normal servant jobs. Maybe they had experience in certain things like purchasing and selling grain. In the King's service they would do this normally and any profits they earned were part of their normal job, and while beneficial to the King, not likely worthy of special note. I believe that in this case the King gave them minas to invest on their own, and they would have invested this in people or situations they knew of personally and any profits earned were above and beyond their normal job. So in the case of grain, maybe they provided a neighboring farmer some of the money so he could purchase additional land and seed so that He could produce a more abundant crop and derive a greater profit. My point is that investment that brings profit always benefits those that have been invested in, and if the basic unit of value in the Kingdom is the individual, than this parable is really about investing in relationships that bear fruit for the Kingdom, and betters both ourselves, those invested in, and the Kingdom!
Well that reflection certainly went down a different path than I had originally anticipated, and has provided plenty of additional fodder for reflection. I am encouraged this morning to see the value I have to the Lord, to recognize the worth of others as well, and to invest accordingly!
Amen!
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