Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Spiritual Warfare sermon Ephesians 6: 10-20

August 26 sermon Spiritual Warfare Ephesians 6: 10-20

Is it worth it? Is it worth fighting any more? Is there a time when you say “Lord, forget it. I can’t do this any more. I’m exhausted. I want out.”
In the movie ‘The Matrix’, Neo was sitting in a chair. He had a choice to make. If he took the blue pill, he would wake up in the world he had been in all this time as if nothing has happened. If he took the red pill, he would fall down the rabbit hole just like Alice and see just how far down it goes.
Oh what a ride when your eyes are opened to the spiritual war that is happening all over right now.
The ACLU and the teachers association is defending a teacher who was burning a flag in class as a demonstration, but oh let him pray to God and he will be crucified.

The 10 commandments cannot be displayed on any public property without being challenged. Up in a northern state, the memorials the county has displayed for troopers who have died in the line of duty are being challenged to remove because they are large crosses with plaques on them.
The Boy Scouts are being kicked out of school because they are governed by a higher authority which is God. There are many more I can list. And don’t be tricked into believing that these 4 walls will protect you from persecution.
In Matthew 7:15 Jesus says to watch for false teachers or false prophets. They will come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inward they are wolves. He goes on to say “By their fruits you will recognize them.” These are the people that don’t let God be God.

I took my bicycle in to be fixed the other day. When I got into the shop and asked the guy how long it would take he said a couple hours. So I waited and waited and waited. Finally I said “how much longer will this take?” He said “well sir, if you will let go of the bike, I can get started to fix it.” You have to let go and let God.

What can God do? God can do anything he wants. These wolves in sheep’s clothing are going to be the ones that poo-poo all your ideas. When we were talking about a new building, one person said we could use it for a mother’s day out.
Some other ideas were physical fitness classes and health clinics, after school care, boy scouts, revivals, hosting area youth events, more classrooms, more storage, basketball, volleyball.

Oh we can’t do that, the wolf will say. We are too small. We are not visible to the community; we’ve never done that before. I DON’T WANT MY LITTLE CHURCH TO GROW. You might laugh at that last one, but I have heard it before.

So what do you do? First realize that some of these people are scared of change. They see different as bad and comfortable status-quo as good. Next, Paul tells us what to do. Be strong in the Lord and his power. Smile, Nod, and go on and fulfill the calling set before you by God.

Pray big. You have a big God. Lean on him. Rely on him. Don’t hesitate to go to him and ask for direction and help. Then be quiet. Listen for his words. Paul says I try to please everybody in every way. But I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

Do you think Paul was trying to do the impossible? I will please everybody in every way. He qualified it though. I’m not seeking my own good. I’m following Christ.
Sometimes, those wolves are big bad wolves. They want to huff and puff and blow down your spiritual house.

These are not subtle shots from the people around you, but all out war. What do you do? Put on the full armor of God. This struggle is not against flesh and blood. We are not contending with only physical opponents. The devil is up in our business and he wants to try and tear it all down, one piece at a time. Discouragement and pride are part of his weaponry.

You know what discouragement sounds like, right?? You’re not really good enough for that church buddy. You know what you did last year. After that episode, you can’t possibly make it here. You better keep sweating and I’ll tell you when you will make it.

How about pride? Man your better than the people in that church. They are just a bunch of hypocrites. I even heard that in a prayer group they talk in tongues. Pride puts you above God and other people.

If this struggle is not against flesh and blood, how do we fight? If I can’t get my hands around it, how can I defeat it? First we need to be secure. We have the armor of God to put on to secure us.

Each piece must be in place to overcome the temptations and attacks. In verse 14, Put on the belt of truth. The waist or abdomen area was generally thought to be the seat of emotions. To belt this area with truth is to commit your emotions to believing the truth.

Many times people will believe a lie because of fear of self-pity. I’m not good enough to do that because I’ve never done it before. But the bible says “we can do all things thru Christ who strengths us.” Believers must hold a commitment to the truth regardless of the repercussions.
Put on the breastplate of righteousness. You heart has always been thought of as the place the soul dwells. Your heart must be kept pure and righteous to not give sin a foothold. As anyone under the control of an addiction and they can tell you all about this.

If an alcoholic has one drink, it won’t stop at that. Someone addicted to pornography will not stop with just one magazine or movie. Most of the time these addictions are actually covering up something else.

Telling one lie such as, oh I don’t know, where you were last night, will build into something bigger over time. Skipping church gets easier and easier each week you do it. I’ve been there, I know. But if we confess our sins before God, he is faithful and just and will purify us.

In the next verse we must have our feet ready with the gospel of peace. Standing in place, ready to be attacked. Not running away. If you have ever done any gardening or yard work, a company makes these sandals with spikes on the bottom. They are to aerate your yard. As you walk, they push holes down into the soil.

Those in battle had the same kind of sandals. This gave them a firm footing. Good shoes also allowed you a better trip from place to place to spread the gospel. We need to readiness to share the gospel at a moments notice. That’s the business we should be about.
Take up the shield of faith he says. Shields were usually sheets of wood covered with animal hide and sometimes held together with iron. They were soaked in water to extinguish any flaming arrows that came at them. The shield of faith is a protection from the fiery darts of temptation and fear from the spiritual enemy.

Put on the helmet of salvation. A helmet protects the brain and your thoughts. You Christians can rest confidently in the protection of the Spirit because of the assurance of your salvation. Jesus said that none who are believers of me will be taken from my hands.

Doubt and insecurity can be dropped when you can say “Lord thank you for dying for my sins, your blood covering me, my blackness being washed away, and folding my into your kingdom. I know I am set apart for your good works and I have a guaranteed future with you.”

And then the sword. The sword of the Spirit and the Word of God. Do you have the word of God with you? Read your bible. The Word he is talking about is scripture that will help you thru specific circumstances.

In Matthew, the devil tempted Jesus. “Turn these stones to bread, jump off this temple, bow down to me and you can have everything.” At each instance, Jesus countered him with scripture.
He did not back down but stood firm in the faith. The living Word is powerful, effective and instructive.
The last thing Paul tells us is to Pray Always. It is to be constant as you prepare daily for this battle you will have to fight.

Prayer opens the channels between us and God. When the army is on the battlefield overseas, they are in constant contact with their commanding officer. When you see the secret service, they always have those little ear pieces on. For you football fans, you can see the quarterback holding his hands over his helmet ear holes to be able to hear the coach call plays into him.

You know, football is a good way to look at this. The coordinators are up in the booth high above everyone else and they can see the forest from the trees. They see how the other team is getting into position and can call out plays to out maneuver them.

Those on the field or in the trenches can ignore the calls given and go out to battle on their own, but the effectiveness of that will be evident quickly.

You have your armor now. You have your belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, helmet of assurance of salvation, shield of faith, shoes of readiness to share the gospel. And you have your sword.
That is the Spirit who will give you the words to say, but only if you are close to your commanding officer. To do that you must stay in prayer, read scripture, walk by faith and on the right path. Every step you take forward in the will of God, he will make the path clearer for you.

Have you seen those Claritin commercials? The people are all fuzzy and blurred out, and they take Claritin and are Claritin clear. That’s how it is with your faith walk. The fog will lift and your path will become clearer.

I’m praying for you. Pray for this church and the mission that is before us. We are here to give a reason for the assurance of our faith. Know what you believe and why you believe. If you don’t have those two things, you don’t have a belief at all.

So I will pray for you as Paul did, that “whenever you open your mouth, words may be given to you so that you will fearlessly make known the gospel. Declare the truth fearlessly. You have a big God.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Angry white male

I found out today that I'm an the "normative". This is from my "church in the social context" class. white/middle class/married/heterosexual/etc. Basically this class is going to be bashing "me" and saying 'you have been in power too long and you need to move over."
What has happened. Why does there need to be a class struggle or gender struggle. scripture tells us there is no Jew or Greek, male or female. We are all one in Christ. But it seems that certain groups can't get past treatments in the past.
We will see how this all turns out.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

What do you do when someone hurts you?

What do you do when someone hurts you? Even more, what do you do when it's the church that hurts you? How do you handle it? You know that if you retaliate or raise your voice in any way it will only come back to haunt you in the future. Plus, what do you gain in doing that? Jesus said "you have heard it said 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' I tell you that if a brother strikes you on your left cheek, show your other cheek." The context of that statement was this...in the OT Moses gave that law because it was not an eye for an eye. It was a leg for an eye or life for an eye. You kill my donkey so I will kill your son. And so it went. The law came about for fair punishment.

Jesus though came at it another way. Don't strike back at the person who strikes you. Revenge is mines says the Lord. Their justice will come. If you stoop to their level, it will only get ugly. Each blow will be more severe than the one before.
So back to the question above. The bible says we must go to the one who is sinning and try to work it out one-on-one.
If that does not work we bring them before the church. That would be Pastor Parish Relations if they are a pastor. And if that does not work, then we move up the chain. In the Methodist church it's the DS, but the church really has the final say.
But what if both sides don't play by the rules? Half truths can get fit into place quickly. That can actually be miscommunication. He said this or did this. Well I meant it this way. No communication is still mis-communication. If you have problems or issues, they must be dealt with ASAP.
I say all this wondering, when both sides are wrong, but both sides can't forgive and move on, how do you fix it. Is it best to break the relationship and bring another in? I think so. Hopefully in doing that, the issues can be left behind and die with that relationship that died before. Hopefully both sides can see there were mistakes made that could have been avoided. Hopefully now they will both grow and the body of Christ does not suffer because if the strife.
We all make up one body. That is the BOC. If the eyes have a problem and it's not dealt with, the eyes end up getting taken out. The BOC suffers until they are healed.

Pray for the church. Pray that we can open communication and not let it simmer beneath the surface. Pray that all leaders (pastor and lay) can be humble in all situations and serve great doses of grace to the congregation.

John 6:51-58 Risky Business sermon

John 6:51-58 Risky Business sermon

An elderly woman walked into the local country church. The friendly usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the flight of steps. "Where would you like to sit?" he asked politely."The front row please." she answered."You really don't want to do that", the usher said."The pastor is really boring.""Do you happen to know who I am?" the woman inquired."No." he said."I'm the pastor's mother," she replied indignantly."Do you know who I am?" he asked."No." she said."Good", he answered

In the beginning was the Word. Those are the first words of the gospel of John. The Word was with God and the Word was God. The Word was Jesus. He is saying that Jesus has always been here and will always be here for us in scripture and life.

Do you remember the movie Risky Business? Tom Cruise skating across the hard wood floor in his underwear…Not really the picture I want to see now, but he was very cool back then. In the movie he needed money and quick. He came up with a business idea that was so outrageous it was truly unbelievable. It was kind of extreme, like most movies are of course.

Jesus’ clarification to the Jews is just that…extreme. Eat my flesh; drink my blood. Could it be that Jesus saying this is a graphic way of saying “receive me”? I’m not here to offer you a religion. I’m here to offer you a relationship. One with the true God.

Why would he be so extreme?? Because following Jesus is extreme. The Christian life is easy right? Right? NO. The Christian life is impossible without the Spirit.

Jesus was being extreme, because the Christian life is often sold as ‘cheap grace’. “name it and claim it” prosperity preaching. All you have to do is believe and have more faith and you will receive more.

God does not call us to be successful. He calls us to be faithful. Faithful to him and not the world. That does not mean abandon the world. You can’t. But you can strive to make it better.

Do you have kids? PAUSE Has this happened to you? You tell your kids to do something, then tell your kids to do something, then tell your kids to do something, then tell your kids to do something. Finally you raise your voice above the noise of everything else in their lives so you will be heard and they will listen.

I think Jesus was yelling at the Jews. Remember the movie, “A Few Good Men.” Another Tom Cruise movie. In the court scene, he is interrogating Jack Nicolson. Here’s how it goes. “You want the truth?” Tom says “I think I deserve it.” “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!”

Jesus started by saying, “I am the living bread. Thru me you will live forever.” That was not enough. They still had all the noise of traditions filling their ears and they could not hear the truth speaking. Our kids have the distractions of TV, internet, radio, peers, school.

We adults have the distractions of bosses, spouses, kids, washing machine breaking, PTA, church. All these things keep their arms up blocking our view of God.

We recite the Lord’s prayer. How many can say the words without looking?? PAUSE. How about the apostles creed? “I believe in God the father almighty, maker of heaven and earth……” I mentioned going thru communion last time that I could sit in the pew and go thru the whole communion ritual without even opening the book. We get so distracted by the everyday stuff, that Jesus has to knock us ‘off center’ to get us to listen.

The Jews had been chewing on the old model all their lives. You know what that is…Moses and the Sanai covenant. Jesus was offending them because he wanted to change the old model to a new model. They saw the current way as the best way.

That’s the way we’ve always done it. Why change. Moses said. The old model was lacking though. The new model was completing. Jesus said “I have come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.”

What was the purpose of the old covenant?? To get God’s people to live in relation with him. All these rituals and all these covenants the Jews had, were to get closer to God and HERE HE WAS. IN THE FLESH.

In being offensive, Jesus is trying to love them ‘off-center’ because God is not where they are. Chew on my flesh. Naw on my bones. The other way was not working guys. Look back in history.

In the scriptures before this, the Jews were asking for a miracle as proof. Basically they were saying “Do a trick for us monkey. Come on and do a trick”. POW, Jesus hits them with eat my flesh and drink my blood. And they are going “oh my gosh, I can’t believe he said that.” You want one part of me and I will give you all of me.

You don’t get just the “miracles” part, but you get everything. Take it all until you’re not only consuming me, but I’m consuming you.
Jesus isn’t saying cannibalism is right. No Jesus wants you to desire all of him. You can’t know Jesus until you live on him, consume him, experience him, desire him.

And in that desire and experience, you will be transformed into a new creation. The old you will pass away. A new you will be reborn. That God shaped hole in your heart will be filled.

Life which was temporal is now eternal. Death which was immenant is now defeated. As you daily feast at the heavenly banquet of Christ and feed on the word, you will grow more fully from the sustenance provided.

The greatest proof that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is alive today should be YOU. Let me say that again. The greatest proof that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is alive today should be YOU.

We had a PPR meeting last week. It was a time to get together and think about what our expectations are and some planning. Bryan asked me a great question that got me thinking. “How are you doing spiritual retreat and study?

”My immediate answer was I’m not doing enough. But I started to think about the question and my spiritual life and what I do. Unless I have a strong spiritual life, I can’t lead you into any deeper spiritual meaning. But then I realized, I pray all throughout the day.

I don’t have a specific prayer time, but I pray throughout the day and I pray for each of you many times. Before worship I come in and pray over the sanctuary. I ask God’s Spirit to come into the building and be with us here and bring more people.

Why do you come to worship on Sunday morning? That’s what I want to know. Could it be that you’re wanting to get a word of hope from God, to get your Spiritual Resavior filled, so then you can go out and tackle another week of life. Your boss yells at you, you have to go to your kids school for another meeting, the car breaks down, your husband is demoted or worse loses his job, floods in west Texas, drought here at home, terrorism trying to come in our neighborhood, global warming.

What else can happen this week.

You have these huge pack loads on your back that are so bulky and so heavy they push you down to your hands and knees and you wonder if you will ever be able to get back up.

But then we read today’s scripture and in discussing it we realize that the only way that we will truly live is to feed on Christ constantly.

You need to be filled on the feast that he provides for you. You need to consume him and let him consume you. Take the Word and read short chapters at a time. Go alone on a walk or in a room and talk to God. Come back on Sunday night for prayer time (alone or with me or another leader) and take communion.

When you are down on your knees from the heavy load, and you feast on Christ, he sends out a spiritual hand to lift you up. That hand could look like an angel or it could look like the guy sitting in the pew close to you. Feast on him more and the sustenance will pick you up.

Jesus knows your heart aches and the pain and suffering you are going thru. He knows what is happening in your life. He is telling you to come and eat with him. Let him be a part of your life to transform this life.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

What a weekend....

What a great weekend. Went to Promise Keepers and saw 15000 men raise their hands, sing and pray and praise God. It was awesome. I had my sermon written on Friday, then I got home and my sermon changed that Saturday night after PK.
One of the kids, well kid but I think he is 18 or 19, came to me after service. He said "This is your first church right? I can tell....your on fire. I love listening to your sermons. I've been in dead churches where the pastor's fire has gone out. DOn't let that happen to you." It was a great conversation. What encouragement.
The funny thing is I don't think he would have said that if I would have left my sermon the way it was on Friday night. It was not a bad sermon, but I don't think it would have impacted like that. God blessed me.
I praise God for putting me where he has put me. I pray he will bless my ministry at Sardis and grow this church. I also pray he will bless our finances. I just don't make enough money and Brandy can't work yet....well I won't let her work outside the home. She needs to be home for Julia and homeschooling. We will figure it out.

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It took me 3 weeks for it to hit me that yes I am the pastor and 2nd in command behind God. We've been talking about the men's ministry for a few weeks andit really hit me as "it's going to happen" when Dan called and said he would call the men who don't come to church but are members to invite them. Yes it is going to happen. Get this going and focus on the youth and then school starts.

Ephesians 4:25-5:2 Who are you imitating sermon

Ephesians 4:25-5:2 There is no cheap imitation
Joke about the guy dying in 6 months and buy the pig farm.

Who are your kids imitating? If you have kids, or think back to when you had kids, what did you say to your kids about their friends? Was it, “you can be friends to anyone you want. I trust you completely.” Probably not. You would say “Don’t hang out with little Johnny. He does not have good character.
I don’t like the way he talks to his mom.” You guided their decisions as much as you could without totally controlling them, right? Why? Because children (and adults too) tend to imitate those they are around. A well known educator and speaker made a list of all the tough questions parents ask about their kids.

The number one question was what to do about bad friends. What he brought out of the conversations with parents and a group of teens he had been working with was that it is all about relationships. This guy had set up relationships between his kids and an adult they can go to if there are ever any issues or questions. This gave them someone outside of mom and dad to look to for guidance and to imitate.

The main verse for this passage we are reading today is chapter 5 verse 1. “Be imitators of God, and live a life of love, just as Christ did.” Well I’m a nobody telling everybody about somebody who can free anybody.

That’s Christ. I guess we really need to know what it means to imitate Christ. And how do we continue to do that day after day? Are you a disciple of Christ? Well are you? That’s a YES or NO question. There is no in between. A disciple doesn’t just want to know what the teacher knows. A disciple wants to be like the teacher and wants to learn to do what the teacher does.

Yesterday, me and 15000 other men gathered in American Airlines Center in Dallas and we praised and worshiped the Lord. Men raised their hands and shouted out affirmations of their faith. They were raising their hands and singing out loud. 500 men came to accept Jesus as their savior this weekend. It was an awesome experience.
Last Tuesday a Band of Brothers met together. This is our men’s ministry. The first thing I need is for you to pray for this men’s ministry. We are going to be doing a lot of great things in the community and bringing in men that would not normally go to church or get involved, so you will need to pray for this group.

God has given us a unique combination of talents and gifts, and it’s our mission to optimize them for his glory and kingdom. I told these men that God put on my heart that from this group of 10 men that showed up, we will grow to 100 men this time next year. I did get a couple scoffs, but a wise man said “you should set your goals high where you are guaranteed to fail unless God steps in.”

I have no doubt it will happen, but we must believe for God to work thru us for this end. The Christian walk is not a difficult walk. It’s an impossible walk. Without the Holy Spirit there guiding you where you need to go, you WILL go on the wrong path. Who are you imitating. The bible tells us that the road to destruction is very wide and smooth. I would say it’s like I35 out here but that’s not smooth at all. The road to destruction is wide and easy to travel. The path of righteousness is narrow. What road are you on?

So starting in verse 25, the apostle Paul tells us to put off all falsehood. He is saying no more lies, no more pretenses. No more being fake and so full of pride that you keep yourself hidden. Be truthful to your neighbor.

I know of a church near where we used tolive. The congregation had so much pride, that they would not tell anyone if they were hurting, going hungry, going broke. It was not about neighbor and community, but about individualism. Our scripture tells us ”for we are all one body.”
Another translation says “In Christ’s body we are all connected to each other. When you lie to others you end up lying to yourself.”
Do you believe that scripture? We are all connected to each other. So if I’m leading a false life, if I put this front on and never show my true self, then I’m not only hurting myself, but everyone in this family of believers. Who am I imitating??

God told Abraham I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you so you can be a blessing to other nations. God did not want him to sit down and relish in the provisions given, but to go out and bless others around him.
Now starting at vs 26. If you are married you will remember this from your counseling or marriage vows. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil a foothold.
Another way to say it is “go ahead and be angry, but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. Don’t stay angry and don’t go to bed angry.” Jesus tells us in the gospels that when you come up before God in worship, if you have any problems with your brother, go and reconcile before coming to God. Then you can come back with a clear heart and worship God in spirit.

In the middle of a knock down drag out fight in marriage, going to bed is a welcome retreat don’t you think? But getting to sleep is another thing. Anger erodes relationships; it resides deep in a person’s soul, affecting the ability to love and even sometimes your health.

While anger can seem to be extroverted, it can really be introverted and hidden as a person bottles up bitterness and ill thoughts.
It’s been said that men can get angry with each other, go outside and ‘take care of business’, then go back inside and resume their lives. Women on the other hand will get angry, hold it all in, let it boil under the surface for as long as possible, then finally explode when they can hold it in no longer.
Who are you imitating???

It’s time to be transformed. It’s time to be renewed. If you have any issues, problems, complaints (any whiney, angry, prissy, unhelpful) problems with a brother, sister, mom, dad, friend, etc, come and lay them down at the alter NOW. There is no time to waste. You can’t worship God with these on your heart. And if you have not dealt with them, the issue is bigger than you and you HAVE to give it to God.

In verse 29, Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up to benefit them.
Watch the way you talk. Say only what helps. Each word is a gift. I tell you, gossip will tear apart a church faster than anything else.
A pastor friend of mine had been divorced a couple years before he went into the ministry. One person in the church found out and it spread around town faster than a wildfire in a dry West Texas field. No one brought it to the pastor. Why……… when they could talk to their neighbors about it.
It was such a controversy. The ministry was hurt because of the gossip in that town. They were focusing on one thing the pastor did and in that missed everything else. Let me give you a measuring stick to go by.

If it does not edify the body, that is if it does not build up the church and the people in it, keep it to yourself. And if it’s being told to you, walk away. Actually, confront that person telling it and then walk away. You all know what gossip is. I trust you to do the right thing.

Jesus is the best illustration of building up people. He always spoke the word that would build up. Now he would “breathe out fire” when he was correcting people, but in everything he did it was to build them up and make them better. RENEW THEM. Romans 12 says do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Don’t grieve God, don’t break his heart. His holy spirit moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life. Don’t take this gift for granted.

Who are you imitating? God is the only picture you need to be following. He is the inspiration and also the enabler. We can’t stand off and say we love. We need to experience it, be infected by it, taste it, live it.

You were made in the image of God. That means you have a God shaped hole in your heart. This can’t be filled with anything else although you will try just as I have. Money won’t do it, cars, boats, bigger house, prestigious job won’t do it.
Drugs, alcohol. Nothing. Nothing else will fit in that hole except God. No matter how hard you try putting that square peg in the round hole it won’t work.

Think about when you first learned to drive a car. When you were young you read the manuals and books and magazines. But that will only take you so far.
You start to watch your mom and dad drive and how the shift gears and accelerate. How they steer and break and you learn more. Then finally you get behind the wheel. You savoir the experience. In the same way, you can’t love and forgive unless you have been loved and you have been forgiven yourself.
So who are you imitating today? Are you being true to yourself and who you are, or are you hiding yourself from others AND TRYING TO HIDE FROM GOD? Have you asked for forgiveness? Have you asked for the love that only God thru Jesus can give you? Maybe you say, “If they don’t see the real me, they won’t reject me and I can’t get hurt.” What kind of life is that?
Is Bobby Joe down at the end of your street your picture to imitate. Drinking every night, bitterness, anger and gossip.

Now it’s ok to have a occasional drink.
Oh my gosh, did the pastor just say it’s ok to drink. Yes I did. Remember, A drink is not a 6 pack a night, occasional is not every night, underage drinking is not allowed at all (that’s anyone under 21), and there are some people who do not have the ability to stop at one; they should stop at ZERO.

Oh…if all you heard in all of that is “go have a beer” and you completely forgot everything else I said, and now you’re mad at me, please read vs 34 again. Thanks.

So is Bobby Joe your picture to imitate? Or how about a sports star who we elevate to higher status?
Troy Aikman was a great quarterback. What about your pastor. Don’t look at me if you’re looking for perfection. Many people hold their pastors up to a higher expectation than they hold themselves. Well…so be it.

But for every time, the best one to imitate would be Jesus. Yes he got angry, yes he was sad at times, but he forgave, he blessed, he built up, he protected. He transformed lives and he can transform you if you will let him in.

Mostly what God does is love you. His love was not cautious but extravagant.
He didn’t love to get something from us, but to give everything of himself to us. Love others like that.
The greatest proof that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is alive today should be YOU. Let me say it again. The greatest proof that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is alive today should be YOU.

This extravagant love I talked about is available to you, if you come to him with open arms, without any false pretense or fake smile, wanting to receive. It’s not about losing control or power, but about being plugged into the TRANSFORMER of spiritual power as he gives you true power.
You might have thought, “I think I’ve been a Christian all my life and never felt any kind of change like this.” If you don’t know this transformed life and want Christ to be a part of your life, come to the alter rail during the singing of our last hymn.
If you want to dedicate your life to Christ or rededicate it, come during this hymn of invitation. It’s time to fish or cut bait. God is knocking on the door of your soul wanting to come in. Let him in. Please stand while we sing………

Monday, August 07, 2006

August 6 sermon John 6 24-35 Who Are You

Jesus just yesterday fed 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and a couple of fish. The next day comes and he is on the other side of the lake, but he didn’t take the boat that was left for him. Well that makes the people wonder.
They all run around the lake to where he was. “Rabbi, when did you get here?” That’s the question of the day huh. More like how did you get here. Then in Jesus’ first sentence to them, he is trying to teach them something. He says “Don’t look for me because you are looking for miracles, but because you are getting fed.”

He is telling them upfront to not search for the miracles, but to take in the spiritual food he is providing and be nourished by it. “Come to me for the truth. I can fill that hole in your heart.
In the next verse he says “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures for eternity, which I will provide.”
Well what does that mean? To understand it, we have to go all the way to the front of your bible. It’s the Old Testament. There in Genesis chapter 3, Adam and Eve have eaten the fruit from the tree they were told to stay away from.
God says “Cursed is the ground because of what you did. Through painful toil you will eat of it.
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread until you return to the ground.
Jesus is saying that all this time they are working so hard to get the bread that will give them life, and now it’s available right in front of them as an offering. The next verse tells their thinking.
“What work must we do?” Many people today are the same way. What works, what jobs, what chores must I do to get this eternal life??? Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. Why? Because it gives you a way to earn your salvation.
If you say your 5 prayers a day and live the holy life prescribed by Mohammed and Allah, you will go to heaven. You don’t have to rely on someone else that lived 2000 years ago;
you can rely on yourself and your ability.
I don’t think I’m ready to do that. Should I rely on my ability to get into heaven? If I miss a prayer or eat the wrong thing, what then? Can I catch up the next week. I think I would be a like a lot of unbelievers today. Throw up my hands and say
“I can’t live up to this. It’s too much. Forget it. I’ll stay like I am.” Or “ I have to get to be a better person before I can enter that church.” My brother used to say he would burst into flames if he entered the church again. ……… He didn’t if you were wondering.


Jesus doesn’t give them any rules to follow today. He says that to get the eternal food, they much believe that he is who he says he is and that God sent him. But unfortunately they revert back to their old ideas.

I call this next one the “Do a trick for us monkey, I want to see a trick monkey” verse. So they ask him, SLOW DOWN “what miraculous sign will you give that we may see it and believe in you? What will you do?”

I’m sure you have watched magicians. David Copperfield was a great showman. David Blain would walk the streets doing tricks. They are all great to watch and wonder “how did he do that?” They were looking for a miracle.

BILL WALKS IN WITH WOOD AND NAILS.
Moses got our forefathers bread from heaven when they needed it. What can you show us. WHO ARE YOU? Prove who you are. Isn’t that the question we ask Jesus also? Who are you Jesus?
But does Jesus (or others) ask the same of us? Who are you? Think about that because I might come ask you. You see, our identity comes out of our hunger. It comes out of our desperate need to BE.
I want to BE someone. I am nothing compared to Jesus. I am trying to build my identity while Jesus is before me emptying out himself and making himself nothing for my sake.
At 5th Sunday singing last week, I gave an invitation for everyone present and listening on the radio to come to church on Sunday morning and then I gave the opening prayer. When I walked back to the back of the room, Brandy said “that’s your first step to televangelism.”

I am somewhat envious of the television preachers and those with mega-churches. Not because of their success, but because they have an opportunity to reach thousands of people all at once.
One-on-one evangelism is great and needed, but I love coming to worship here on Sunday mornings. It gives me a chance to share Jesus and his teachings to many people at one time. I’m not interested in having a mega-church, but more interested in us making deeper disciples of Jesus Christ.
So who are you? What sayeth you? GO OUT TO BILL FULLER GIVE HIM THE WIRELESS TO KEEP

Do you have an identity? All those unbelievers outside that door want to know.
Your identity comes out of your hunger to BE somebody.

Jesus says in the next verse that “it was not Moses that gave the bread to the Israelites, but it was God who sustained them.” He then says about himself, “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
He is saying that the bread they were searching for and the life that each of us is searching for is Jesus himself. Jesus is the bread of life. All that looking we have done all our lives trying to fulfill a picture we have in our mind of what we will be and who we will be has been distorted.

When we look in the mirror we should see Jesus looking back at us. We were made in the image of God as children of God. As we fill that empty hole in our soul with more of Jesus, his teachings, and doing what he said, the picture will become clearer.
These people Jesus is talking to want the bread, but they don’t want Jesus.
They see him as he trick monkey. “Come on monkey, do another trick for us”. He is not a magician who is here to entertain. He is the bread of life.
When we feast at this table before us we are eating with Jesus. Someone once said “how bad it would be to not give control of your life to Jesus today and walk out that door and fall down dead.” That makes sense. But how much worse it would be to walk out that door without accepting Jesus as your savior and you live another 100 years.
Jesus did not come to the earth just to save you from death and hell. He came to be with you in this life also and help you build a life worthy of him.


And so we come to the table before us. This is not a Methodist table, but a Christian table. If you a Christian you can celebrate with us the Bread of Life. Join me on page 13.

Hymnal ritual


Bill and I will be up here. I’m not going to direct you to come up. Come as you desire to be part of the feast. Neal or stand at the alter rail and when you are ready, hold out your hands and we will come and serve you. Stay and pray and eat as long as you like.