The Jenga Church

Have you ever played Jenga?  That’s the game where you build a tall tower of wood blocks then go around the group removing as many blocks as you can.  The loser is the one on whom the tower falls.

So the goal is to see just how many pieces you can remove before you make the whole structure so unstable that it collapses.

But unfortunately, the more you remove, the harder it is to find the next piece.  Throughout the game, you can see holes and gaps.  You can tell the structure is missing something and that it is not as strong as it should be.

Most of the time, when you remove a piece, you simply discard it without really thinking about how important and necessary that piece was.

Sadly, many churches in America look like a Jenga tower that is on the verge of collapse.  Far too many believers have removed themselves, their gifts, their lives, from the Temple that is God’s People.  

We have a foundation of the Apostles and the Prophets.  We have a Chief Cornerstone that is the true basis of the whole entity and we, according to Ephesians 2:22 are “being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.  

Here’s the whole context:

Ephesians 2:19-22 : “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

God is making us into a spiritual house.  A well built house needs a foundation, needs walls, supports without which the house will leak or collapse.  But instead of using 2x4’s and drywall, He is using people.  People that He has shaped and positioned together to provide a solid and functioning structure.

What’s amazing is that in Paul’s day, many built with stone and did not use cement or any other types of adhesives between the blocks.  Each piece was cut and carved to exact specifications so that it will fit tightly and not be moved.  Some of those structures still exist.

Peter echoes the idea that we are built together by Christ into a Spiritual Temple for a purpose and function.   1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10 : “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ… 9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

We are drawn together to serve as a priesthood, to declare His praises.  Each of us is fitted for a purpose in that structure.  Ephesians 4:11-13 : “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Christ’s Body needs to be built up, in order for us to reach maturity, completeness and unity.  In order for us to attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, there can be no holes.  We all have to be in our place.

We forget how vital that is.  Many in America seem to think their particular church exists to serve them.  When things don’t go their way or feelings get hurt too often they take themselves out of the church.  But like the game of Jenga, the structure is weakened and the individual piece is no longer fulfilling its function.

We think people, like the Jenga pieces, can be removed without any real consequence.  After all, it’s my life… right?

The church doesn’t exist to serve its members.  It exists to fulfill the purpose and mission of Christ.   He needs to be pleased and satisfied in all we do in the church and as the church. 

And when you remove yourself, you leave a gap.  You isolate yourself and cannot accomplish the work of the Kingdom.

I remember watching the movie, The Patriot with Mel Gibson about the Revolutionary War.  The British forces would often concentrate on the militia rather than the Regular army because they had seen the everyday farmers break ranks and flee for lack of discipline and training.  The fact that they ran made the rest of the army easier to defeat.

That’s where we are.  We have holes in our structure… soldiers are missing from our front lines and our flank is vulnerable because we are not true disciples (ironic that Disciple and Discipline are so close isn't it?).

How is your church?  Do you see a lot of missing pieces?  Is the structure teetering and near collapse.  Are you taking yourself out and leaving a teetering structure?

When a church collapses, there’s only one winner and a whole lot of losers trapped in darkness waiting to be freed.

Don’t play Jenga with the church!

Mr. Bob Ueker says... "I must be in the Front Row!"

Why is it that for a concert, performance or sporting event, we want to be on the front row.  Yet in the church, the most desired place is on the back rows?

Why?

Let me suggest a couple of reasons and their usually unintentional consequences.

1. We Want to Watch - Not Be Watched
   
   We Want to Judge, not be Judged
   
   We want to see who is there. 
   We want to see who is late. 
   We want to see who's kids are behaving. 
   We want to see who is visiting and what they are wearing.
   
   Sitting in the Back helps us to see everyone else better.  We form opinions about people based on what we see.  We speculate about someone's job, family, marriage if they seem in a bad mood.  On the flip side, we don't want other people watching and forming opinions about us. 
   
2. We don't Want the Responsibility of Being Examples in Worship
   
   Philippians 3:17--"Join in imitating me, brothers, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us."
   
   Paul frequently tells his readers to look to him, his behavior and actions for an example of how they should be.  He's not asking them to do anything that he himself is not willing to do or practice.
   
   A church service can be confusing for people who haven't been to that congregation or to church at all in a while.  But when all the church members sit in the back, it forces the visitors to sit further in the front and they don't get to see what they should be doing.  This makes them more and more self-conscious, nervous and uncomfortable.
   
   They need to see what the expectations are.  What should they be doing?  Worship is not automatic knowledge--it is a learned behavior. Unbelievers and Visitors need to learn how to worship.  Visitors want to see if we're sincere in our worship, if we're genuine and passionate in seeking after Him.
   
   They need to see that from the regular attenders.  Visitors learn about the congregation by watching the members.  But if we only sit in the back, they have to sit in front of us and we are refusing to let out worship be their example.  We are refusing to lead them, instead we criticize them for not knowing what to do.
   
3. We Want Distance from the Voice of God
   
   In Exodus and Deuteronomy, when the Glory of God descended on the mountain, the Israelites wanted to stay as far away as possible.  The Glory of the LORD is very intimidating.  It reveals His holiness and our sinfulness.  We don't want to be too close to that.. we don't want that kind of accountability. 
   
   And when the Word of God is preached... we don't want to get our toes stepped on.  When we sit so far away from the minister, it creates a distance that makes us more comfortable.  It allows us to think that he is talking to or about someone else.  We're able to glance around and see the other people who need to respond to what is being said, i.e. deflection.
   
   When God is speaking clearly and powerfully through the minister by the Word--it forces the hearers to consider it carefully and potentially make needed changes in order to grow as a disciple.  But we can avoid that and be out the door before we are expected to change.  Sitting in the back helps us do that more.
   
4. Things Visitors Fear that keep them from Visiting Your Church
   
   Being Watched
   Being Judged
   Feeling Out of Place
   Not Knowing What to Do
   Not Having the Right Clothes
   
   All of these things are made worse for them when all of the church regulars take up the back rows.
   
   But We who are mature need to be Examples in Worship - to our children and for visitors
   
   We who are mature need to be seen passionately worshiping God - 1 Corinthians 14:23 assumes that unbelievers are attending our services and watching what we do.
   
5. When mature believers all stay in the back we are saying by our actions... unintentionally, but sometimes intentionally...
   
   You're Not Welcome
   We Are Watching and Judging You
   We Don't Care whether you are comfortable or not
   We're not going to make it easy for you to be here
   We aren't interested in showing you how to Worship God
   
   You mature believers are in a place of familiarity and comfort.  Visitors are not.
   
   Regular attenders know what is going on.  Visitors do not.
   
   Making them sit in front of you increases their fears and insecurities.
   
   It also increases the likelihood that they won't come back. 
6. So What should Mature Believers in Church do?
   
   Sit in the first 6-7 rows
   Lead in Worship
   Consider the Visitor's comfort more important than your own
   Serve them
   Allow the Word of God to mold and shape you
   
   Thoughts?

    

Philip and the Ethiopian - Acts 8:26-40

  

My family and I have been reading through Acts.  We just made it to 8:26-40 and the familiar story of the Ethiopian eunuch.  In my experience growing up in church, I typically heard this passage preached in regards to the need to be able to share the Gospel at any time with anyone, even if there is a racial barrier.  Given our country’s racial history, this is an important lesson—Jesus is not just for my race, but for all races—people from every nation, tribe and tongue will be before the throne of the King.

We should not limit Gospel opportunities to people of our own race.  Nor should we limit Gospel opportunities just to people we know or are comfortable with.  God led Philip to a total stranger.  He listened and observed and when the door opened, he stepped through it, trusting God to guide his words.  The words the Eunuch was reading, Isaiah 53, is one of the most prophetic and messianic passages in the Old Testament but Philip still had to have the knowledge and courage to start with those Scriptures and lead someone to Christ.

But something else struck us in reading this passage.  When the Eunuch asks, “Why shouldn’t I be baptized?”, he and Philip were not talking about race or a racial barrier.  They were talking about the man being a eunuch.

Ethiopia had a significant Jewish population from the days of the Exile, highlighted particularly by the flight of Jews who took Jeremiah with them into Africa.  To this day there is a significant Jewish population in that area and they maintain an entrenched tradition regarding the Ark of the Covenant replete with many replicas.

It’s likely that this man was either born a Jew or was a convert to Judaism.  He had made a long pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship.  But when he got there, the doors would have been closed to him.  He would not have had access to the Temple because of the injury done to him in making him a eunuch.

Deuteronomy 23:1 is a graphic verse which prohibits anyone with his type of condition from entering in the Assembly of the people.  He was cut off physically, and that cut him off spiritually.  He was not allowed to worship in Jerusalem, not allowed to offer sacrifices, not allowed to enter into the courts of the Temple.  He was excluded from full participation and citizenship in the Assembly of the people.

Imagine his disappointment after traveling all that way. 

This is worse than a rain out at a baseball game.  Worse than coming home to the house burned down.  Worse than your honeymoon flight to Hawaii being cancelled.  Worse than making a trip to the Statue of Liberty only to have it closed for repairs.

He was denied access to God.  It wasn’t that it was closed, or rained out or shut down for maintenance.  He was stopped at the door while everyone else was walking right in and worshiping.

It wasn’t his race that stopped him; it was the fact that he was a eunuch. 

What happened to this man was probably forced upon him and yet he was denied access to God.   

This was not a moral issue, this was an injury.  

 Sadly, to the Temple establishment, it didn’t matter how far he had come to worship.

He was on his way home: disappointed, confused, frustrated. 

He was wealthy enough to have brought or bought a copy of Isaiah, but it’s unlikely anyone would have helped him, anyone would have answered his questions

And then along came Philip. 

Philip had been in Samaria—a city maybe 30 miles north of Jerusalem.  God told Philip to get on the road that goes south from Jerusalem.  So he knew that God had something for him to do on this trip.  The amazing thing is that God would have told Philip to start his journey a couple of days before the Ethiopian was even ready to leave Jerusalem—there’s no mention of miraculous transportation like happened later. 

Philip would have made this trip looking for God’s opportunity.  Then he heard the voice of God saying to go near this wealthy man’s chariot.

Reading into it a little bit, the text mentions the man’s wealth.  But so far, Acts reminds people that the believers were willing to give away everything.  So I’m guessing that Philip did not have clothes to match the status of this man.  And he came running up to the chariot which likely had a number of servants and animals in a traveling group, for a wealthy man would not travel alone and he couldn’t be reading the scroll and driving the chariot at the same time.  Not to mention that the whole scroll of Isaiah was likely a very expensive item.

Here’s an example of what the scroll looks like and a museum housing a whole copy.  

The first picture below may give you a sense of what it could look like.  The second is an actual picture of the Isaiah scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls.  It is about 24 feet long.

Now what do you think their first thought would be to Philip running up to them?

·         Was he a beggar, asking for food or money?

·         Was he the first wave of robbers that they have to defend against?  A distraction?

·         Was he going to treat their master with contempt if the stranger finds out he is a eunuch?

·         In other words, is this guy going to be a problem?

And yet God sent Philip, not to beg but to be a blessing.  The physically poor was going to give to the wealthy.

This tells me something about the heart of God.  The Ethiopian may have left Jerusalem disappointed, and cut of from God, but God wanted to make sure they “met together”.  God wanted to restore this man and men like him—to once again tear down the wall, the veil that kept people separate from him.

Philip obeyed and ran to the chariot—he was allowed to approach or at least get within earshot.   

Maybe the Eunuch wondered how long it would take before the stranger asked for a handout.   

Instead, Philip did the unexpected because God had prepared the opportunity.

He could hear the Ethiopian reading from Isaiah.  And not just any part of Isaiah… chapter 53.  I have my own experience with this chapter.  It is a powerful and prophetic chapter on the suffering & sacrifice of the Messiah.

Instead of asking for something, Philip offered something.  Instead of taking or receiving, Philip gave and blessed.  Philip may have been poor materially, but he was wealthy spiritually.  He was exemplifying Peter’s words to a paralyzed man—“I don’t have any silver or gold, but what I do have, I give to you…”

Philip had the Truth.  Philip had faith in the Messiah.  Philip had the Holy Spirit empowering him.   

And he faithfully gave.

“Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?”

I hope that each one of us, if presented with an opportunity like this, we would not hesitate to speak.  I love what comes next in describing Philips actions—vs. 35—“Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”

Philip was invited closer, to sit and speak with this man.  Philip followed the leading of the Spirit, showed an interest in him, spoke up when the door of opportunity opened, and started right where the man was and pointed him to Christ.

This with a man who was likely very disillusioned.  Somehow, in the course of their conversation, the man was asked, “Look, here is water.  Why shouldn’t I be baptized?”

This is the man asking about the fine print.  He’s asking if there’s any catch to this Jesus.  He’s asking if there’s something about him or his body that prevents him from fully participating in the Way of being a disciple of Jesus.

If you’ve ever wondered what it was about Philip’s conversation that moved this man to want to go from Judaism to Jesus, this question of the Eunuch’s is the answer.

The answer was No.  There was nothing that hinders him from full participation in the faith.  Philip showed him from Scripture that the Messiah makes a man such as him whole and includes him in the Temple.  The ministry and promise of the Messiah includes him and does not denigrate him.

·         Isaiah 56:3-8--Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,
“The LORD will surely separate me from His people.”
Nor let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
4For thus says the LORD,
“To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
5To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial,
And a name better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.
6“Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD,
To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the Sabbath
And holds fast My covenant;
7Even those I will bring to My holy mountain
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar;
For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
8The Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares,
“Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered.”

Just a couple of chapters from the verse they started with is the answer and hope to the eunuch’s 

frustration and exclusion.

• God through Messiah will escort men like him into the Temple—God’s own house
• God through Messiah will give men like him a Memorial - history with the people
• God through Messiah will give men like him, a family name and essentially adopt him as an heir that cannot be removed.
• God through Messiah will give men like him, a foreigner a role of purpose and significance
• God through Messiah will accept his offerings and sacrifices
• God through Messiah will hear his prayer

This is exactly what the Eunuch was hoping for in the first place and he jumps at the opportunity to be included in what Jesus is doing.  He is excited, he is included, he is wanted.

Jesus will take this man, formerly excluded, and draw him near and make him a citizen.  As foreigners and eunuchs were treated much the same—what Philip explains to him mirrors Ephesians 2:11-13—

“Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves ‘the circumcision’ (that done in the body by the hands of men)—remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”

Vs. 18 says that “For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”

Ephesians 3:12—“In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”

Hebrews 4:16—“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

“Is there some reason why I can’t be baptized?”  Is there anything excluding me?  Is there any fine print I need to know about so I don’t waste my time again?

No there is no reason.  Nothing is stopping you from coming to Jesus.  You can approach the throne of Grace with confidence because you are accepted on the basis of the Blood of Christ.

The only thing stopping this man at this point was not believing the message.  I suspect he was concerned that this was too good to be true.  The same thing that stops any man or woman is our own unwillingness. 

Unwillingness to turn from your sin and turn to Jesus—this is called repentance.  It requires agreeing with God that what He calls sin is your sin—not excusing it, not trying to get off on a technicality, not saying the Bible is wrong or outdated. 

I’m not saying you instantly become perfect or no longer struggle with sin, but you are agreeing that there is something wrong, that something does need to change.  No matter what that sin is, Jesus will welcome you close and promise to cover your sin with His blood shed on the Cross.  He will say, “Go and sin no more” then empower you to overcome the temptation.

Everyone meets and comes to Jesus this way.  The first thing He will deal with is admitting our need for Him and His forgiveness.  That means agreeing with Him and His judgment on your sin—then moving forward in a new life with Him.

We are all born with a sin problem.  It may manifest as a different struggle for you than for me but both of us must start our walk with Christ with the repentant heart—I’m wrong, my sin is wrong—help me overcome my sin by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Over time, your understanding of what sin is will grow and change as you spend time worshipping God through the reading and hearing from the Word of God.  By that I mean, you’ll come to learn that some things you never thought of, some things that you excused, that other people or your culture said was OK, really are not compatible with a walk with Jesus.  Don’t ignore this voice.

This Eunuch was seeing the barrier that excluded him come crashing down in the love of Christ. 

As a result, he stopped everything. 

He stopped his chariot and everyone traveling with him.  He didn’t waste any time committing himself to this new access to God in which even he was acceptable.  His baptism was his crossing over from death to life, accepting the proposal from the bridegroom and identifying himself with the family of God.

That was the greatest miracle this day.  A new creation took place in front of everyone.  A man’s eternal destiny was changed.  It is my conviction that this is a greater miracle than the miraculous disappearance of Philip.

I believe the Eunuch would agree.  My evidence?  The man went away rejoicing, not because Philip disappeared but because he found new life in Christ.  In this moment, his life, and possibly the life of his home nation, was forever changed as he carried home this new hope of access to God.

Missional v. Typical Church

Ed Stetzer had this video posted on his site and I wanted to share it. It describes the Missional Church and how it has a different mindset than what we have been doing in recent church history in America. I'd love to hear your thoughts and ask "what if anything is missing?"

Barna Research came out with a new report today that has some serious implications for American Christianity.

Here are some of the implications off the research from the site.

--> Americans are increasingly comfortable picking and choosing what they deem to be helpful and accurate theological views and have become comfortable discarding the rest of the teachings in the Bible.

--> Growing numbers of people now serve as their own theologian-in-residence. One consequence is that Americans are embracing an unpredictable and contradictory body of beliefs. Barna pointed out, as examples, that millions of people who consider themselves to be Christian now believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the lessons it teaches at the same time that they believe Jesus Christ sinned. Millions also contend that they will experience eternal salvation because they confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior, but also believe that a person can do enough good works to earn eternal salvation.

--> Today, Americans are more likely to pit a variety of non-Christian options against various Christian-based views. This has resulted in an abundance of unique worldviews based on personal combinations of theology drawn from a smattering of world religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam as well as secularism.

--> With people spending less time reading the Bible, and becoming less engaged in activities that deepen their biblical literacy, faith views are more often adopted on the basis of dialogue, self-reflection, and observation than teaching. Feelings and emotions now play a significant role in the development of people’s faith views - in many cases, much more significant than information-based exercises such as listening to preaching and participating in Bible study.


From me:

This is a great concern--while most of the headlines will be that many Americans do not see Christianity as the default religious perspective anymore; I believe that headline is more a symptom or an after effect of these other statements.

Freedom and choice are all vital and good as well as the ability to live out choices without persecution, but when did our emotions and finite minds become the best and final arbiters of truth? Especially when it comes to Cafeteria Christianity--picking and choosing the things we like and dismissing or excusing the rest.

How is this situation not a fulfillment of 2 Timothy 4:3--"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."

Here's another few questions to consider... what is the future for the Christianity in America? How does the church minister effectively in such a culture? How will society view those who still hold to absolutes or the truth of ALL of the Bible?

Quote-- "Eternal Impact"

Back in June, I picked up a book by Ken Hemphill called Eternal Impact. My intention was that I would lead the study in the fall. Well, obviously, things haven’t worked out that way.

I picked it up the other day and began reading for my own benefit and for future ministry. I found a telling quote early on in the Preface.

“Many churches are more concerned with placating the saved than with rescuing the lost. Our budgets don’t reflect that we are concerned with allowing God to add to our number daily those who are being saved. Our small group structure is often allowed to stagnate as we hold our ‘holy huddles’ while people in our neighborhoods search for authentic community. The kingdom-centered church acknowledges that the plight of the lost outweighs the comfort of the saved.”

Do you agree with this quote?

Does this attitude exist in your church?

Why does the church exist?

Sermon-- 1/6/08-- The Consequence of No Vision-- Nehemiah

Here is the audio for this message.


The late Supreme Court Justice Oliver Holmes was on a train when the conductor came through collecting tickets. Holmes couldn’t find his ticket and became rather distraught. The conductor tried to console him by saying, "Mr. Holmes, don’t worry. When you find your ticket, just mail it in. We trust you." Mr. Holmes responded in frustration, "My dear man, that’s not my problem. I need my ticket to tell me where I’m going."
We all need to know where it is that we’re going.

It’s a good thing to know where you’re going—and also how to know when you’ve made it. Exploration requires being able to see farther than just where you are at the moment.

About 350 years ago a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town site. The next year they elected a town government. The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness.

In the fourth year the people tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward into a wilderness. Who needed to go there anyway?

Here were people who had the vision to see three thousand miles across an ocean and overcome great hardships to get there. But in just a few years they were not able to see even five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision. With a clear vision of what we can become in Christ, no ocean of difficulty is too great. Without it, we rarely move beyond our current boundaries.

Losing our Vision is a dangerous thing—it has consequences.

In 586 BC, the Jewish world was hit with a major blow—Jerusalem, the sacred city of David and the home to Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians—the walls were destroyed, the Temple demolished, the precious, holy articles were carried off to be used for pagan gods, their leaders and most of the inhabitants were taken off into captivity. Those remaining behind suffered through drought and famine, continued defeat and other problems. By 538 BC about 70 years later—Babylon had fallen and Persia came to power under Cyrus—and he did something unusual—he let the Jews go home. Under the leadership of a man named Zerubbabel, these exiled Jews returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple. Things were looking up for while. It seemed as if Israel was on the verge of becoming a blessed nation once again. But the people refused to turn away from the very sins that God had judged their ancestors for. The temple was not being maintained. Sacrifices had ceased. The Jews continued to adopt the religious practices and culture of the surrounding nations.
By the time of Nehemiah, the political, social, and spiritual conditions in Jerusalem were deplorable.

Things were looking bad again for Israel—Israel Had Lost Sight of the Vision-the vision that God had for them

Israel had Great Potential—
God’s Great Plan
Genesis 12:2—“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.”

ISA 42:6 "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,

Exodus 19:5-- 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'

Deuteronomy 4:34-35--“ 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
DT 4:35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other.

2SA 7:22 "How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel--the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.

All the nations of the earth were to be blessed through this nation God had created—God’s vision was for them to be a blessing—to be His priests and representatives to the World—to be a light. But somewhere along the way, Israel lost sight of what God had called them to be

At various times, the nation that was His possession, rejected their place in God’s plan—rejected the vision of greatness—each man turned to his own way and did what was right in his own eyes. And that is a dangerous place to be.

There is a Consequence for Not Living in the Vision
Again, Being Outside the Vision Has Consequences

Proverbs 29:18:Where there is no Vision—the people perish—they let it all go—they are let go—they suffer spiritually

The Vision comes from God—He gives it—we must receive it, commit our selves to it and live in His Revelation. When we don’t, when we go our own way—there are consequences—and you can see some of them in and around the man Nehemiah who came back to Jerusalem after about 150 years of Captivity, about 100 years after the Jewish people were allowed to return home

READ Nehemiah 1:1-4—

After all these years of struggle and exile—after the provision of God by being allowed to return home—the people of Israel were still struggling to live the Vision because even after God had tried to get their attention they still hadn’t gotten the fact that their lives needed to change, their commitment to God needed strengthening.

By not living in God’s vision—the people of Israel experienced defeat after defeat—they lived in “great trouble and disgrace”. This is what lies outside of God’s vision. When you and I are unwilling or uninterested in God’s vision it’s typically b/c we’re more interested in fulfilling our own vision. We usually have great visions for ourselves—we can envision the Job we want, we can picture the kind house we want to live in, the kind of car we want to drive, see the figures of our salary, the prestige of our position. There is only one thing wrong with those dreams—if they are yours and not God’s.

You may have your dreams and visions of the future, but if you refuse or ignore God’s vision—there is “great trouble and disgrace” ahead. God doesn’t want us happy nearly as much as He wants us obedient—and not just obedient in the sense of “DO AS YOUR TOLD”—but in the sense of God saying, “Your dreams for your life are nothing compared to mine! They pale in comparison. You are setting the bar way too low because My vision is immeasurably more than all you can ask or imagine for yourself.”

Our dreams are usually too small—what we try to do, the life we try to build on our own is not nearly as beautiful as the one that is in God’s heart.

In reality, our dreams and visions and efforts are embarrassing by comparison. Look over in Ezra 3:12-13—

Many of the older priests grieved at the new temple b/c it did not compare to the previous Temple. They looked at the Foundation, which foretold the size and shape and they wept of the new Temple and they knew. They knew it would never be as beautiful, never be as glorious or as large as it could have been had the old one remained standing—had they remained faithful—that opportunity was lost. They were ashamed and embarrassed even when they tried to do things for God. That foundation sat there for many years before the actually built it.

The things we pride ourselves in gets broken down—the gates have been burned with fire—so many of our dreams are about protection—protecting ourselves, protecting the ones we love, protecting our future—but this world tears through our defenses—but you know—that’s not even right—this world is not the only one that does tears down our walls and our defenses—God does it—when we are not living His vision. God takes full responsibility for sending the Israelites into captivity—Full responsibility for tearing them down b/c His desire is that they be fully Restored and then be Willing to live as He has dreamed--

Out side the Vision—the Israelites were Fearful of everyone around them. They Feared and Catered to the Opposition & their Lies—building stopped—walls knocked back down—the sacrifices for the Temple were given up—they had no confidence in what they were doing, they were not committed to God and so every decision was based more on fear—they could not be trusted.

Even Nehemiah was not confident of the people he came to lead. We’ll get into it next week, but Nehemiah came back with God’s vision and the king’s permission to a people whom he didn’t know how they would take his leadership so he does things secretly.

Nehemiah 2:11-18

He first stayed 3 days, doing nothing out of the ordinary.
He didn’t tell anyone until he could get an honest assessment himself
Only went at night—afraid to go during the day lest someone see him
Examining walls--Broken down
Gates destroyed so that no one could come through effectively which shut down convenient trade—but neither could they stop any enemy.

Why hadn’t they repaired the gates already, why hadn’t they already repaired the walls already—why hadn’t they revamped the Temple?
They let the enemy silence them, they let the enemy stop them—They let the enemy intimidate them—With No Vision from God—they were Perishing—they were letting it all go—neglect, indifference, fear—they were Paralyzed.

Paralyzation—inability to do anything, unwillingness to try anything.

They were more comfortable with trouble & disgrace because at least they knew what that was like. Not taking any risk or doing anything new, staying in a bad situation.

broken walls—anyone comes and goes—because you know, having a wall just invites attack—like you’ve got something to hide or something worth protecting—better to not have a wall at all—better not to project a picture of strength and power where you are actually influencing the surrounding area and the lives around you because that just invites the attention of the enemy.

You know there is truth to that—as long as you are doing nothing and having very little impact on the Kingdom of God—as long as you and I are unwilling to ask God for His vision, unwilling to Fulfill the vision He has already given us, then Satan has little to fear from us and he will largely leave us alone—because we’re defeated already.

Sure, he’ll do a few things here and there to remind us not to stick our heads out of our shell—Satan does the little things so as not to awaken a true dependence on God, awaken a desperate cry out to Him.

When I visit with people and they tell me they haven’t been to church in a while but they plan on it this week, I usually give them a warning. Get Ready. Because if you mean it, you’re really interested in making a change and pursuing after God—then Satan will try to intimidate you, he will try to threaten you—I usually tell them that something will happen between now and this Sunday to keep you from following through—especially on Saturday night or Sunday morning. You’ll get in fight with your spouse, one of your kids will get sick, your car will break down, the clothes you plan on wearing will be dirty or have some mysterious stain on them, the water heater will have quit so there’s no hot water to take a shower.

Satan wants to keep you with your Temple Unbuilt and Unused. He wants to keep your walls and your gates knocked down so you won’t be a threat or influence for the Kingdom of God.
Does it feel that way for you? Did you know that Satan really fears you, really fears this church living the dream, living the Vision God has for us and being the influence for the Kingdom of God?

That’s why Satan peppers us with fear and negativity, with bad attitudes and dissention, with laziness, busyness or other excuses.

You can see some of those attitudes and excuses pop up in the words of the people Nehemiah was trying to lead in ch. 4 & 5—I’m going to read these and then you tell me what the attitude and excuse

Nehemiah 4:10—afraid the task is too big and they don’t have the strength

Neh. 4:11-12—afraid their enemies too powerful and will defeat them.

Neh. 5:1-5—giving time & energy to this effort--afraid not going to have enough to pay bills, to support family, we’re so debt ridden that there’s no way—my home needs to be the bigger priority than the church—Rebuilding Jerusalem is not worth my time, effort and money—feel cheated and swindled—are we getting enough return on what we’re doing?

A people not willing or too afraid to live in God’s vision are defeated already. And there is a great Vision from God to be fulfilled.

This week we’ve been looking at a people that have lost sight of the vision of God—we’ve looked at some of the consequences that comes as a result. Being Afraid—living in fear, being Paralyzed to where you don’t do or try anything—the greatest of which is settling for less than God’s best.

Next week we’ll look at the benefits of living and believing the vision from God—using Nehemiah. But in the meantime, I want you to consider something:

Are you in the least concerned that you may have lost sight of God’s vision for your life or for the life of this church?

What evidence, if any, can you see in your own life? Are you, are we paralyzed and unwilling to do anything? Are you listening to the voice that whispers in your mind—no don’t do that, don’t start that conversation, don’t make that commitment—don’t try to build a wall—don’t try to build upon the foundation of my Temple?

Are you more afraid of messing up than you are of trying? Then you’re like the man given a talent in Matthew 25:25-- 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”—essentially paralyzed from doing what God has called you to do? Are you defeated before even trying—not in action but in your heart and in your mind?

Because when we are like that, even what we have will be taken and given to someone who will live the dream, live the vision—God’s Kingdom will not be thwarted by your or my stubbornness—He’ll find someone else.

God does not want to see you defeated, He does not want to see you afraid or hesitant or paralyzed. He wants to see you and me fulfilling our calling, fulfilling His Vision for us. He wants to empower and embolden you to start that conversation about spiritual matters, to pray on the spot for that person who is troubled and not worry about what someone else may think of you.

It is when we have lost sight of His vision that we are those things—it is when we lose sight of His vision that we are essentially like Jerusalem before the coming of Nehemiah—our walls have been neglected, our Temple has only minimal treatment—our commitment to living as God has called us to live is haphazard.

Can you imagine how far removed from the Vision and Glory of God it must have taken for them to have the Foundation of the Temple laid—but still be unwilling or too scared to actually build it?

Think about it—you are called the Temple of the Holy Spirit—Peter tells us that we are being built into a Temple 1 Peter 2:4-- As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…

Each of you has a great foundation of faith that is laid—this church has a great foundation of faith that is laid--and God is calling you and me to build upon it—to not go year after year with your individual Temple unbuilt—year after year with the walls of protection, the walls of strength, the walls of faithfulness unbuilt.

If you’re unwilling to build on your Temple or unwilling to build up this church to fight against the darkness—then you have lost sight of the vision God has for you. And if we have no vision—we will perish.

But—the flip side of that is—Where there is Vision—the People Live!

And if God is laying on your heart a vision for our church—I want to hear about it—don’t be afraid to share it.

And if we begin to shake off the dust and idleness of letting our Temple and our Walls remain unbuilt—then Get ready b/c 2 things are going to happen—the first is that Satan is going to try and put a stop to it before it gets very far—that happens over and over again in Nehemiah—the second Get Ready is Get ready for God to show more, for God to do more, for you and I to see Him working in such a way that is refreshing and powerful—Get ready for Him to take you on an adventure.

Are you willing to do that? To seek God’s vision and truly live it?

Revelation Wrap Up--What if a Letter was written to Us?

A few weeks ago, Vicky and I went to the IBSA Annual Conference and as much as I hate to admit it—in the middle of a rather unimpressive sermon, my mind caught on to a single verse that’s very relevant to the series on the churches from Revelation.

—2 Timothy 4:8-- Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

The question that came to my mind was
Do I Love His Appearing? Does the reality of the Return of Christ for His Bride Thrill me? Jesus was speaking to & through the Apostle John to a group of churches that were struggling to come to terms with their place in a world they were convinced would be over soon. They longed for Christ’s appearing b/c of the great injustices they were seeing, for the pain and torment they were feeling, for the anguish. The return of Christ was and is a Very Real Event—and Jesus knows this and He sends them these letters—He preserved them in Scripture so that we as this church might benefit.
We as the church examine ourselves in light of the letters in Revelation.

In essence--what if Jesus wrote a letter to our church like the ones that appear in Revelation? What would He say?

If you love His appearing you will:

1) Hear His Encouragements
a. Almost every letter begins with a word of encouragement. Jesus has something explicitly good to say about 5 of the 7 churches.

b. You know you Love His Appearing When:
i. Ephesus—Persevere in your Hard Work, you do not tolerate Wickedness, but test all teachers for truth
ii. Continue to Bear your Afflictions and remain faithful even when Lacking
iii. Remain True to His Name & you don’t Renounce your Faith
iv. Growing & Doing More than at First
v. Remember the faith that you Received & obey it
vi. Keep His Word & do Not Deny His Name
vii. Fulfill Your Purpose
c. He will tell you what you need to know
d. He will tell you what you need to do—be faithful, overcome, proclaim
e. He will tell you what you need to hear
f. He will tell you what you need to say
g. If you are doing what God has called you to do

h. A demonstration that you love His appearing is that you want to see more and more people ready for that appearing, more and more people looking forward to it, more and more people ready to

i. When you are struggling in the face of great opposition, when you are depressed and wondering if it’s worth it, if you are making a difference—know that Jesus sees and recognizes your faithfulness—no matter the appearances of success, if you are being faithful, not taking advantage, not being lazy, not taking for granted your calling then Hear His Encouragement.

j. If you are doing what God has called you to do… you’d better keep doing it.

k. I don’t care who tells you to stop, who tells you to be quiet, who tells you you’re not doing good enough, who tries to discourage you—opposition which may come from outside the church but can also come from within the church if you are Faithful to the calling of God—Hear His Encouragement—Keep Doing What You Are Doing—Keep Being Faithful—Hear His Well Done—His opinion is the only one that matter

l. If you have the Approval of God, you don’t need the Approval of Men.

m. God knows our situation and wants to encourage you and me in our situation. He knows your works and all that you have been doing to serve Him and make Him known. He knows the spiritual darkness of our community, the apathy, the indifference, the coldness, the hibernation toward the things of God of so many living in Macomb—and how you and I are called to be the light that shines into a dark place—that is our calling as the church—to be the light—to fulfill our Mission—and in fulfilling that mission as a church—each of you has an individual calling and gifting to strengthen the church to do what God has called us to do. So hear the encouragement—if you Love and Look forward to your calling, then:

n. Obey Your Calling With Passion
o. Obey Your Calling with Faithfulness
p. Obey Your Calling with Persistence & Endurance—don’t quit just because it gets hard or not everyone understands it.


What Would Jesus Encourage Us About?

2) Loving Fellowship—people are welcomed and there is a strong desire for a sense of family love & connection
3) Sound Doctrine—we are unified around the essentials of the faith without being uniformists—we exemplify the traditional Christian phrase—“in the essentials—unity, in the non-essentials—liberty, in all things—charity”
4) generosity—UBC is a very giving church—I know not everyone tithes, I know your bills scare you into holding back—but I also know that when someone is in need—you will be generous.
a. Hear His Encouragements but also…

5) Heed His Warnings
a. Why should we?

b. Because you do want to be ready—heed His warnings because you want to accomplish the task, the calling He has given you. if you’re not doing what God has called you to do then Heed the Warning—Be about His business, the Business of the Kingdom—

c. Also, heed His Warnings b/c there is no perfect church. There are many things for Jesus to be pleased with—but every single church this side of heaven will need some correction—Always remember, this warning, this rebuke is a proof of His love—those He loves, He rebukes and disciplines—according to 3:19. So the fact that He warns and rebukes is not a bad thing—it is proof that He wants more for us.

d. If you’re not doing what He has called you to do—watch out—Shape Up—Stop Drop & Roll
e. If you’re not doing what He has called you to do—heed the Warning b/c Jesus wants you to fulfill His calling!

f. Symptoms that you don’t love His appearing:
i. You have Forsaken Your First Love and have stopped doing what you did at first—prayer, bible study, sharing, service
ii. You are Compromising your faith in Belief & Behavior excusing yourself and becoming a stumbling block for other believers.
iii. You have a reputation of being alive, but you’re really going through the motions and are in need of CPR
iv. You are not fulfilling your purpose—neither hot nor cold—remember, being cold in this context is not a bad thing—just like it’s OK for you to not have every gift that some other believer has—if your purpose and function is being cold—then do it. A symptom that you don’t love His appearing is that you have a Gift, you have a Calling and you’re not doing it—you’re resisting it—you’re ignoring it—you’re afraid of it.

g. Remember your first love or your lampstand/church will die

h. Stop Compromising your faith in Belief or Behavior and becoming a stumbling block for other believers or Jesus will oppose us to defend the truly faithful

i. Stop tolerating sinful beliefs and behaviors—no matter someone’s reputation or position, stand for the truth or everyone who follows them will suffer.

j. WAKE UP—if you love His appearing—then you can’t be dead and indifferent. The more we are lukewarm, the more you compromise our beliefs and behaviors, tolerate the attitudes of this world—the less you love and are looking forward to His appearing

k. We are in danger having lost our first love—the energy, the passion with which this church was built needs to be restored—we have such generosity, but

l. Peter lets us know that it is our faith that is more important to God than anything. He wants to refine it, to make it pure, to ensure that you are the best disciple you can be—He doesn’t want to see us going down the wrong road—so He will warn, He will seek to restore our Love—has your love grown cold? Have you forgotten your first love?

What Would Jesus Warn Us About?
1. A Tight Christian Family —Group Dynamics—a tight group can quickly become a closed, self-serving group--can easily dampen the burden for the lost and hurting. Our sense of family must never make us a closed group to new people with new ways to serve—with real hurts and struggles
2. Financial generosity must never take the place of hands on ministry to advance the kingdom of God
3. don’t forget your first & most important love—do what you did at first with more mature motives Now than then.
4. We are in Danger of being Distracted from Our Mission—Missions is not something you have to go off to Africa or Asia to do—Missions happens when you walk across the street to talk to a neighbor, you can fulfill the mission of the church when you go to the store, get in a conversation—don’t make an appointment for someone else to –we exist as a church not to serve ourselves but to Magnify His Name—to Advance His Kingdom—to Make Disciples—to see that others Long for His Appearing

6) Hold On to His Promise—don’t lose sight of it.
a. To him who overcomes…
b. The Tree of Life that had once been denied will be yours. The paradise from which humanity was thrown out—you’ll once again be able to walk in.

c. The Provision of God—the sustaining manna—even in the driest, most depressing times in life, God promises to be all you need—more than that He will give you the White Stone—the All Access Pass to the Creator of the Universe

d. You will See the Great Reversal—all the things that are wrong in this world will be restored to their rightful place under the command and leadership of God. You are promised the Morning Star—which is Christ Himself.

e. You will have the opportunity to walk hand in hand with your Savior and be Announced and even Celebrated before the Father and all the Angels

f. You will be made into a Pillar in the Temple of God and you will never have to leave the Temple of God—you will be a part of raising up the Temple—opening up the temple for God’s Glory to fill

g. Hold on to the Promise that says the Throne of Authority and Royalty is yours.

h. All of that is promised in the Second Coming of Christ—there are rewards—a crown of righteousness in store for you and me.

7) Do you love His appearing?
a. I hope that you haven’t lost sight of the vision of Christ’s Return—
b. Do you have a Vision of His Appearing? What happens when a people loses their vision?
c. Proverbs 29:18—“Where there is no Vision, the people perish” —where the church has no vision of our Savior’s Appearing, no Vision of our Mission and How to Fulfill it—no love for either—then we will perish.
d. Confusion—With NO Vision we won’t know What we’re supposed to be doing until He comes?

8) be like the servants, who when given talents while the master is away—doubles what has been given to them—because they loved their master—don’t be the servant who so feared the master’s return that he buried his talent in the sand—unused, unproductive.
9) you were never meant to be unused—you were never meant to be unproductive—find your passion

a. This vision of His appearing will lead us directly into
b. If you are not saved, if Jesus is not your Savior and Lord of your life, if you have not had your sins forgiven, then there’s no way you can love His appearing—you will be and should be afraid of it. The book of Revelation should freak you out. If you are nervous about seeing the Face