What does it take?

     Has our freedom of religion in America made us soft Christians? What has your relationship with Christ cost you recently? This is just something that has been on my mind. We have great church services, tons of programs and events, but are people really catching on to what it means to follow Christ? I shared with the "Ignite" group last night that if we were meeting in the heart of China, or maybe in a number of other countries, that each one of us would be a suspect of Christianity. We could be stopped in the street by secret police and then executed on the spot. Just for meeting at a Bible study! Would that change your perception about following Christ? 

     Religious freedom is a great blessing! But I feel that we have lost the reality and the importance of our decision to become a Christian. Why do we follow Jesus? Because He holds the Truth. There is no other alternative. In John 6:68, there was a large crowd leaving after Jesus had just taught some hard truth. He asks His disciples if they want to leave as well. This is what Peter says, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. Yet, through our daily decisions, we act like entertainment and a myriad of other things are more important. 

     I just want you to think about this. If your decision to be a disciple of Christ put you in mortal danger every day, how would that change the way you seek after Him? Why are you not seeking Him with that same passion right now?

Clarity 9-22-10 What is Worship?

What is worship? You know, a lot of people equate worship to being the time in the service that we sing praise songs. We are sometimes thrilled with the way “worship” went today. Other times we say, “Well, that wasn’t very good worship.” We take worship and cram it into about 15 minutes on Sunday morning. It goes along with our Bible reading on the same day. So our week is complete! We have had worship and scripture within 40min on Sunday morning. No… not really. That is not viewing worship in a scriptural sense.

Let’s read Isaiah 6 together before we jump in to what worship means.

Worship came from an old English word, “Worthship”. Basically it was saying that we give God His proper worth. What does it mean to have worth? It means that something has value, it is worth pursuing or protecting. If something is precious to you, you will protect it, you will honor it. Has anyone here ever had something so precious to them that they worked to keep it in pristine condition? I had a Star Wars collector’s item that I received for being a member with the Star Wars Insider. This was the most incredible thing I had ever received! It was a little action figure inside a box that was sealed with a “Collector’s Edition” seal. I was so excited that the action figure would eventually be worth thousands of dollars, or at least, I thought it would. I kept it in its package and wrapped a hand towel around it. Then I wrote a note to myself reminding me of the importance of this treasure. It was to deter me from opening the package destroying its worth. The note said, “Not this time Kevin!” I would show it off to my close friends, but not just anyone got to see it. The action figure had that much worth to me. Worship means to ascribe to God honor. To be excited about who He is. To prize Him above all else. 

Worship is not primarily about music, or even about the service on Sunday morning. It is putting God in His rightful place above us and realizing who He truly is. 

How do we worship? Let me answer that question with another question. What does awesome mean? A totally awesome car? A totally awesome video game? A totally awesome mall just opened? True worship begins when we are awe stricken. We toss around the word “awesome”, but we do not always tie it to what it really means. Awesome means to have been smacked in the face with something that is jaw dropping incredible. When you are standing in front of the Grand Canyon and you cannot see the bottom because it is that huge, that is awesome. When you feel that last latch on a roller coaster give way and you begin tumbling forward. That is awesome. Awesome means to be struck with awe. You are in wonder. Overwhelmed. That is where worship begins.

Take a look at Isaiah 6. This is the progression of true worship:

Isa 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Isa 6:2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
Isa 6:3 And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"
Isa 6:4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
Isa 6:5 And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"
Isa 6:6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
Isa 6:7 And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."
Isa 6:8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

What is the first thing that we notice about where Isaiah is standing? He is in the throne room of God and God is high and lifted up. Right from the beginning Isaiah points out his position before God. God is exalted, he is under Him. Then the angels cry out around him, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” They declare that God is set apart from anyone or anything else in creation. He is entirely pure and worthy of praise. Isaiah was brought into an awe inspiring perspective of who God is. That is what brought him to his knees before God in the first place. This is how it all starts! If we do not see God for who He is, we will have no reason to worship.

Now that we know where worship starts, how do we worship in a way that pleases God? By being cleansed before Him. In Isaiah 6:5 Isaiah realizes that he has no hope before an incredible and sinless God, he cries out that he is a sinner. He is desperate for redemption. The “Woe” that he uses here literally means “I am a dead man!” But an angel touches his lips with a coal from the altar. This was a symbol of redemption, of cleansing him from his sins. Now he can stand before God and join in with the praise going on around him. We cannot think that living a lifestyle of sin is acceptable before God! You cannot stand before him and offer yourself and be unclean before Him. This is a picture of the future redemption through Christ.

This is the order that worship happens. 1. We see that God is completely powerful and worthy of our praise. 2. We see where we are in relation to Him, that we need God to save us. 3. We offer ourselves to God as an act of worship.

How do we live a life of worship if you are supposed to be ascribing worship to God? Worship goes beyond just giving God lip service, singing, or simply exalting Him through Scripture reading. Rom 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” God not only demands our praise, but that we would live in a way that honors Him. We are to present our bodies as “Holy and acceptable to God.” This is where the other spiritual disciplines link together. We are working towards holiness, we want to be godly. Scripture reading, prayer, worship, self control, and so many more add up to us tearing ourselves away from the world and submitting ourselves to Christ. What does it say later on in Romans 12? That we are not to be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. You have probably heard the phrase “Lifestyle worship.” That is exactly what I am talking about. Everyday there is a struggle that goes on in our hearts and minds. Will we serve God, or will we do our own thing? True worship means that we will crucify our own desires and submit ourselves to God and His desires for us. We cannot please Him when we decide to follow our own sinful patterns in life.

These verses show what God expects from us:

Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Luk 9:23 And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Mat 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

            Worship is much more than just opening our hearts in praise to God through songs. That is one of my favorite things to do, but we cannot take the emphasis off of worshiping God in everything that we do.

SYATP 2010

We had several students at See You at the Pole this morning! My wife and I drove out to the Green County Career Center and we joined with a group of about 20. We prayed for the student leadership and teachers as well as the Christian students. My prayer is that the eyes of the lost would be opened in our schools all over Ohio and that our Christian students would be bold in their faith. That is the only way to reach this dying generation with the love of Christ. To pray that God opens hearts and minds to Him and that we proclaim His name to our friends and classmates. Please leave a comment about how your SYATP went!

CedarCliff SYATP Sept 22, 2010

Pictures are up!

Swing by the Pictures section to see the water balloon wars pics!

Water Balloon Wars

I will have pictures from the water balloon wars posted as soon as possible. Keep checking back!

Clarity 9-15-10 “The Power of Prayer”

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Prayer? Slightly dull? A one sided conversation? Something that is hard to do? So why do we pray? Prayer is the 2^nd most important thing in our relationship with God. Bible study is first, but prayer is what opens our communication with God. You should probably know that there is not one relationship that can continue without communication. If you have a boyfriend or girlfriend that says “You are the most amazing thing ever! I, like, want to be with you forever!” but then they turn around and don’t talk to you for the next 6 months. Is that real? How can a relationship grow without communication? It can’t!

If there is one thing that I want you to take away from tonight it is that prayer is actually the most exciting thing that our relationship with Christ has to offer! How is it the most exciting thing? Well, let’s take a look at a few verses of Scripture and see what God says about it…

Pro 15:29 “The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”

Mat 21:18 “In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry.
Mat 21:19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the fig tree withered at once.
Mat 21:20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying,"How did the fig tree wither at once?"
Mat 21:21 And Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen.
Mat 21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."

Phl 4:6 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

                ESV Jam 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

NIV Jam 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

What are some things that stand out to you from these passages? God hears prayer, He answers prayer, that when we pray we can expect an answer. What if we pray without faith? Will we receive an answer then? Matt 21:22 says that whatever we ask for in prayer we will receive if we have faith. No. We must come to God with faith that He is who He says He is and that He will answer us.

Esther 4:15 (Esther asks for prayer/fasting) Esther 7:1-10. Do you remember Esther? She had to go to the King even though he had not called for her and make a petition for the lives of her people. This was actually a death wish on her part. You do not approach the King without an invitation. He could choose to have you killed on the spot. Esther had Mordecia and the people fast for her for three days before she went to the king. Do you think that they were fasting and praying? You bet! She went before the king and God answered their prayers. She was saved from his hand and God delivered the Israelites through her bravery and willingness to serve. Here is the amazing thing. You can look at prayer in this way, that we are approaching the throne room of God. But we do not have to do so out of fear because God has already given us an invitation through Jesus Christ. Just like this king, Ahasuerus, offered to give her even half his kingdom, how much more is God willing to give us good things when we ask!

The Bible says that God is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow. Do you believe that? Do you really believe that there is power behind prayer? Do you believe that God is the same today as He was in the time of Esther?

Robbery story:

Dec 8^th, 2000 our family was highlighted for the week of prayer for international missions. That was on Friday night, the night we were robbed at gunpoint. That very night we had thousands of Christians praying for us. God does answer prayer! Even before we know that we need it!

Why are we having a week of prayer for Roy Roberts? Why do we have prayer meetings? Why are we to be constant in prayer? Rom 12:12 “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Because it is essential to our Christian lives. Once you see God stepping in and answering you, prayer is not a boring thing to do. It is exciting! There are so many stories I can tell you about God’s answers to prayer. You cannot get to know God unless you spend time in prayer. Once you do, you will find out that He even has a pretty hilarious sense of humor as well! One time in particular, I was working at a nursing home. I had to get up at a ridiculous hour of the morning to be there for work. So I was worn out already and wanted to get home. Who here has ever prayed for a day to go by quickly? That is what I did. I just asked God to make time go by quickly that morning so I could get some rest. Right after I finished praying, one of my coworkers said, “What on earth is wrong with the clock?” I looked up and the analogue clock had sped up so that the minute and hour hands were spinning extremely fast. Time was literally flying by!

Yesterday, I was listening to K-love and a caller asked for us to pray for a young boy who had been in an accident. I said a small prayer for him, and later that afternoon, the woman called back in saying that the boy had brain activity the first time since the accident. Who knows how many people were praying, but God answered those prayers. Even if it was just in a small way.

Guys/gals, if you pray about something, look for God’s answer to it. We get so distracted that we sometimes miss out on what God is doing. Don’t be like that. Expect Him to answer you. Pray in faith and know that He will hear you.  

Of course, the most important part is that we actually take time to pray. Bible study is important, but prayer is a very close second. We need to do what Jesus did and just find a quiet place for a little while to pray. Do not get caught up in the thought that it is a boring task, realize that you are actually communicating to God! Jesus took it upon Himself to be in prayer. (After feeding the 5,000) Mar 6:46 “And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.”

Clarity 9-8-10 “Scripture Reading”

           Why is it important to know the Bible?

Donald Whitney took a missions trip to East Africa. They were ministering to a small church there and found out that the pastor only had 6 sermons. All of which came from Bible stories that he had only heard. No one had a Bible! They were steeped in wrong doctrine and were misled about many things in Scripture. The team was able to scrape together the funds necessary for buying several Bibles for the church so they could actually study God’s Word.

                Knowing Scripture is necessary for being correct about our doctrine. Doctrine: A set of beliefs or principals that are taught. How many of you would recognize a false teaching or even a false teacher? This is paramount to setting up a good foundation. America is growing increasingly towards universalism. Do you know what that means? Universalism is acceptance of everyone’s beliefs.

Let’s take a look at a few of these arguments. See if you can pick out the ones that are true.

1.       It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe it strongly enough, you will get to heaven as long as you just do your best.

2.       Muslims and Christian’s believe in the same God.

3.       It is ok to be gay, the Bible doesn’t say anything about it. As long as you really love each other it’s fine.

4.       I believe that it is just simply about being a good person and loving people, God will accept me.

None of those statements are true. Sure, these were really easy ones, but what do you do if someone asks you about your beliefs on salvation? What does it take? Could you tell them? Could you lead them through the Bible and show how Christ is the ultimate Savior of the world? We are told to  “Be prepared to give an answer….” How do you know that I am on track? By checking what I say with Scripture! Check what the pastor says by seeing what that Bible teaches. Don’t take my word or anyone else’s for granted.

1Ti 4:6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.

                When I was living in Africa we came into contact with many of the local religions. One of the most interesting of the bunch was one called “Celestial Christian’s”. They had Sunday morning services that resembled Church and then at night they would do their voodoo ceremonies and pronounce curses on their enemies. You cannot double dip with your religious doctrines!  Why is it wrong to think that you “all roads” lead to God? (Draw out the mountain idea) The problem is that when you actually look at what these different religions believe, you start seeing differences that cannot be reconciled. Buddhists believe in reaching Nirvana (Complete nothingness) after being re-incarnated multiple times. Mormons believe if they hold their rules and regulations well enough, that they will eventually become god’s of their own worlds. Catholic’s worship Mary and leave out the Lordship of Jesus Christ. They do not believe in Salvation as a gift, but as something they have to earn through good works. There are so many false doctrines out there that it is easy to get sucked in if you do not know your Bible! The look like a church, they practice kind of what we practice, they are nice people, why shouldn’t I believe what they are telling me?  

Mat 7:13 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

                They gate is WIDE that leads to destruction! That is why we hold to true scripture and doctrine. Have you heard it said that doctrine is not important? I was at a Christian concert and the lead singer said from the stage, “Doctrine is not important, it just holds you back, we just need love.” Pay close attention to what those people say next. 1Ti 4:16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. Don’t be fooled.

“It’s one thing to be unfamiliar with Scripture when you don’t own a Bible: it is another thing when you have a bookshelf full.” Donald Whitney “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life” pg 28.

                So, why do we read God’s Word? Why do we study it? Because it gives us the Words of life! It draws us closer to God and helps us understand how to better overcome sin in our lives. Just as we looked at 1 Timothy 4 last week, we are to be disciplined for godliness. Part of that is being grounded in correct beliefs.

                Scripture reading is the first and most important spiritual discipline. Did Jesus read scripture? Of course! Jesus was intimately familiar with Scripture. When Jesus was being tempted in the desert how did he overcome Satan’s temptations? With scripture. The first martyr, Stephen (Acts 6), used a historical look at scripture to show Christ to the religious leaders. They were so convicted that they killed him. How about just being familiar with the Gospel? Who hear knows what the Gospel is? My Wife, Victoria, will sit down and just speak the Gospel to herself. She stays fresh with it that way. It is a reminder that we cannot rely on ourselves, but that we have to trust in God. The Gospel is not just something we need to hear once. We need to be reminded of it daily! Especially if we are sharing it with others.

We should be falling more in love with our Savior every day, but if we do not know His Word or spend time with Him, we will not grow in our relationship.

Now that we know how important it is to be reading scripture, how do we build a habit of it? The answer to this one is TIME. We have to set aside the time to read and study God’s Word. It doesn’t just happen. It is a discipline.

Have a plan. Do not just start reading at random. That is the easiest way to misunderstand God’s word and take it out of context. Plus, random studying does not help you learn. Look for reading plans. Check out the blog, there is one on there that I am posting.

The point is not to run through as much scripture as you can. I used to do that when growing up. I would try to get through as many chapters as possible in that 30min. But then I could hardly tell you what it was about because I was pretty much speed reading it! I was missing out. The point is to listen and hone in on what God wants you to take away from that session. Something that is a great practice is just praying afterword and asking God to reveal what He wanted you to learn. Then just go back over something that stuck out to you. Ask what God wants you to do about it. Meditate on just one or two things that popped out at you. If you cannot remember anything from your readings you will not grow from it at all.

Bible reading is different from Bible study. We are not going to go in depth on this right now, but what is the difference? A pen and paper. That is it! Just jot down what you feel God is saying to you. Look up verses that relate to what you are reading. Study how a character in the Bible used prayer or faith to follow God.

Let me know if you need a Bible, or if you are having trouble understanding what you are reading. That is what I am here for. Check out sermons online! There are a ton of free resources through Itunes and other sources.  

If you are not reading your Bible daily right now, make a commitment to start. Try to spend at least 15 minutes a day to begin. Then you can increase it from there. The important thing is that you are in the Bible!

I really want you to know that this is not a game. God is real and He really wants to be involved in your life. We do not have the pressures of needing to hide our faith. We do not know what it means to be kicked out of our families or threatened to be killed for our faith. People die for the Bible every day and there have been thousands that have died to get this to us. Let’s not neglect this awesome gift that God has given us.