What makes a person awesome? What makes a person praise-worthy? What makes a person stand out?
Noah was someone who stood out in a terrible world, and someone who was held in high regard by the highest, God.
Gen. 6:9 - "Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God."
I'm not sure if there's anyone you know that can be described as righteous, and blameless; I'm kind of drawing a blank myself. The big question is: What made Noah worthy of such a description?
The answer is found in scripture>
Gen. 6:22 - "Noah did everything just as God commanded him."
Gen 7:5 - "And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him."
Gen. 7:9 - "...as God had commanded Noah."
Gen. 7, 16 - "....as God had commanded Noah."
THE ANSWER IS OBEDIENCE!!
The thing that set Noah apart was his obedience; obedience to God in a world that was anything but obedient. Just like Noah, we are called to obedience, even though it may not be popular.
2 Cor. 9:13 "Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
2 John 1:6 - "And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love."
WHO ARE WE TO OBEY?
> GOD
Exo. 20:2,3 - "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me."
Matt. 22:37 - " ..“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
>BIBLE
Joshua 1:8 - "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."
James 1:22 - "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."
>PARENTS
Ephesians 6:1-3 - "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2“Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—3“that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Colossians 3:20 - "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord."
>AUTHORITIES
Romans 13:1,2 - "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."
Matt. 22:17-21 - "Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
Titus 3:1-3 - "Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good.."
The key to righteousness is found in obedience; obedience puts us on the path of Godly living. Disobedience, following our own way can bring hurt, and leave us dissatisfied. God doesn't want you to obey because he is a ruthless dictator. God wants obedience because he knows what's best for you, and he can only give that to you through obedience.
6/17/2010
6/10/2010
In disputable matters, what dictates my actions?
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
During Thanksgiving one of my relatives said I should check out this movie on the internet about the US economy. So that evening I went home and I watched this movie. The movie showed the weaknesses of the system and how it was vulnerable to collapse. It proceeded to explain how all the power of the system stemmed from a few wealthy people at the top that used money, and corruption to control corporations, politics, and even small countries. They explained how the average person was put in a modern slavery with debt, forcing them to work to pay it off. The movie talked about the environment and things that can easily be done to make it a better world. At this point most people, me included, are thinking this movie has some good points; it makes sense. So at this point, when the movie has hooked you in, they present their solution, the Venus project. The Venus project is this Utopia where everything is automated, everything is free, nobody works, and there is no debt. Still sounds wonderful. So it proceeds to list some of the barriers of seeing this reality; no surprise here. And then they proceed to say that one of the big barriers to this "heaven on earth" is being close-minded and controlled by religion. They mention Islam, Judaism and Christianity, but go on the attack trying to disprove Christianity. Now the true meaning behind this movie emerges as this movie calls for all to expand their minds and be one in consciousness. This movie reveals our first point.
1.The World doesn't dictate your actions. The World will lead you astray.
This should be no surprise to us; we are constantly warned of the dangers of the world. Christianity is always under the spotlight and under scrutiny. I remember when I was younger there was a movie that came out called, "The Last Temptation of Christ" which claimed to be the true story of Jesus, but was far from it depicting Jesus as womanizer among other things. I remember around 2000-2001 Time magazine claimed that 85% of the gospel was false and Jesus never actually said most of the words accredited to Him. And 3 years ago "The DaVinci Code" was a celebrated book and movie claiming that Christianity was a fabrication by the Catholic church. All these things can be compelling to some and lead them astray from the truth. It should be no surprise, as we mentioned last week, that the world sees the cross as foolishness. And we can also note that Satan has been trying to lead others astray since the beginning.
-see Genesis 3
Satan continues this same old trick today: he makes you second guess the truth and provides a convincing alternative to the truth. In our text Paul illustrates this thinking in verse 4, when he says, "We know that an idol is nothing." The world was saying to the believers, "What's the big deal if you eat this meat? So what if it was offered to an idol? What's an idol to you? Nothing. It doesn't matter." It doesn't matter. But as we see later in the text it can matter. Sometimes with disputable matters it won't matter, but sometimes it will. The decision of when it does and when it doesn't shouldn't be up to the world because the world will lead you astray.
____
How many people here went to Bibleschool? How many had kids that went to Bibleschool? My bibleschool years always have a special place in my heart because of the lessons learned there as well as the friendships that were formed. A big part of life at Briercrest was life in the dorms. You learn a lot about yourself and people when you live on a hall with 30 guys. For the majority of the guys moving into that hall it's their first time moving away from home without the leash of their parents. I had grown up with a good balance of guidelines and freedom, so I didn't feel I was being freed from oppression when I left home; plus I had gone to university before so being on my own wasn't new to me. Some guys however, were in a completely new world. Some guys do well with their new freedom and others not so well. With no one to make you do your homework, some guys fail and are out quickly. Some guys without their parents around and living on an all-guys hall think clothing is an option, something I was never a fan of. Some guys stay up ridiculously late everynight without a curfew. Some guys gain lots of weight, eating whatever they feel like. Not everyone self-destructed without strict guidelines. Some excelled a studies, studying subjects they enjoyed on their schedule, or found a balance in their sleep schedule and diet. And I locked my door to keep the nudists out. Dorm life can show us what can happen when we are left to our own decisions.
2.You Shouldn't Dictate Your Actions. Your Freedom Will Lose Your Focus.
As we mentioned earlier these were new situations and experiences for earlier believers, particularly Jewish believers. The Jewish believers had come from a religious system where everything was regulated, and guidelines were set for you in the hope that you may draw closer to God. Christianity came along and said, "If you believe, confess, and accept Jesus then you are as close to God as you can get on earth." And with it this freedom came. Like the dorm, some took this freedom and did well, while some self-destructed under it. A movement called the agnostic movement arose where people believed as long as you believed in Jesus it didn't matter what you did. Some took that to the extremes living a life of partying and excess that made a lot of pagans look like saints. We know that some of this behavior was finding its way into the church at Corinth, as you may recall the man in chapter 5, who was having an affair with his step-mother.
1 Peter 2:16 - "Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God."
Galatians 5:13 "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love."
In each of these verse the author addresses the problem of freedom gone astray, and offers the alternative. In our text verse 9 says, "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak."
In this verse Paul addresses the fact that there is freedom and while it may not affect one's salvation, it does have affect. As well, this reason for someone to mind their freedom is also an opportunity to serve, like the other verses called for; that is, I can choose to live to a standard to serve others' interests. This attitude does not come from within ourselves, but is from the influence of God's Holy Spirit, His Word, and the faithfulness of fellow believers. We cannot trust ourselves to dictate our actions alone, for our freedom will dim our focus.
Education is a double-edge sword. It can be used to better a person's life and the lives around them. It can be used to make a person arrogant and hold their knowledge over others. Christian education can, unfortunately, be the same. Some people have put almost as much into their theological theories as universal scripture truths. There has been churches divided and denominations formed over theological debate. Some scholars have taken their theological thoughts and strayed far from where they started from, denouncing their faith. Theology in itself is not a bad thing, but when a person's theology is the source of their faith it can lead them astray.
3.Your theology shouldn't dictate your actions alone. Knowing God comes through loving God.
In the gospels Jesus is constantly at odds with the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the authority on religion and scripture. The Pharisees were the experts, but yet they were not compatible with Jesus; why? Let's look at the beginning of our text.
Vs 1-3 "..We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God."
Verse 3 speaks great truths about human wisdom. We can gather all human knowledge about God and think we know a lot about God, but I wonder if we really only have a glimpse of God. And one of the true wonders of being in glory with God is truly getting to know how wonderful He really is. As for our life on this earth we can continuously learn about God, but we don’t really get a feel for what God would want us to do in situations until we are loving God and living for Him.
1 John 4:7,8 - “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
Think about this for a second: What sort of people do we seek out when looking for spiritual direction? Whether it’s an important decision or direction, who do we seek advice from on God’s will? Do we go to someone with a Phd or a Masters? No, usually we go to someone who seems to have a solid relationship with God. A lot of the people that I consider spiritually wise don’t have fancy degrees, but they really love Jesus. And because they love Jesus they got a good understanding on His heart. It’s perfectly fine have a set of beliefs you hold to, a theology to call your own, but it can’t dictate your actions alone.
4.Your actions should be dictated by your purpose.
In his best-selling book Rick Warren starts off by saying, {It’s not about you. The purpose of life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose. The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That’s because we typically begin at the wrong starting point - ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like: What do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams, and my future? But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purpose. The Bible says, “It is God who directs the lives of His creatures, everyone’s life is in His power.}
When it comes to disputable matters, your actions should be determined by your purpose. All of us may have different individual purposes, but there is a common two-fold purpose to all Christians that should guide all our actions and decision. The first part of Your purpose is to love God.
Matthew 22:36-38 - “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.”
Jesus didn’t lay out some deep spiritual insight, that was hard to understand, but a simple command that covers so much. So many of the decisions we struggle with, we struggle because we’re still trying to love ourselves a little more than God. When Jesus shared this commandment it summed up all the commandments in the Bible. If we weighed the things we do on a scale of our love for God, it would make disputable matters easier. Is it right to work this Sunday? It might not affect my salvation, but which decision can I love God more in. To be more specific a second part of Your purpose is to build up the church. For Paul part of his purpose in loving God was building up the church; it drove him and all he did.
1 Cor 9:19- “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.” Paul was willing to do whatever to serve God, share the gospel, and strengthen the church. So when we look at our text we see this issue of meat, and Paul points out in verses 10-13 that it’s not about you, but about others.
This text reminds me of a friend of mine. We went to youth together all through highschool, and he always struggled with his faith. When he graduated he decided he needed to go somewhere away from the negative influences he had at home and immerse himself with Christians. He went to mission base in California. Unfortunately, it was a terrible experience. The other Christians there had a very liberal view on life and were involved in all the things he went there to get away from. He ended up walking away from his faith.
When you think of people like that, some decisions are easily made for you. Paul says in our text, “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.”
You know some of the best food in Birch Hills is available at the bar, but I’ve had people make fun of me for not going in there to pick some up. They say, “What does it hurt to just get food?” My response is it could mean eternity for some youth I work with.
I don’t know what some of your personal struggles are, we all have times where things aren’t clearly spelled out for us, but we got to make a choice. We know we can’t rely on the world for direction, we can’t always trust ourselves, and its not always something that knowledge can address. But if we line it up with our purpose, the purpose God created you for; to love Him, and to serve Him. If we choose the way that will build up His church, then we know we’re going to glorify God in our choices.
During Thanksgiving one of my relatives said I should check out this movie on the internet about the US economy. So that evening I went home and I watched this movie. The movie showed the weaknesses of the system and how it was vulnerable to collapse. It proceeded to explain how all the power of the system stemmed from a few wealthy people at the top that used money, and corruption to control corporations, politics, and even small countries. They explained how the average person was put in a modern slavery with debt, forcing them to work to pay it off. The movie talked about the environment and things that can easily be done to make it a better world. At this point most people, me included, are thinking this movie has some good points; it makes sense. So at this point, when the movie has hooked you in, they present their solution, the Venus project. The Venus project is this Utopia where everything is automated, everything is free, nobody works, and there is no debt. Still sounds wonderful. So it proceeds to list some of the barriers of seeing this reality; no surprise here. And then they proceed to say that one of the big barriers to this "heaven on earth" is being close-minded and controlled by religion. They mention Islam, Judaism and Christianity, but go on the attack trying to disprove Christianity. Now the true meaning behind this movie emerges as this movie calls for all to expand their minds and be one in consciousness. This movie reveals our first point.
1.The World doesn't dictate your actions. The World will lead you astray.
This should be no surprise to us; we are constantly warned of the dangers of the world. Christianity is always under the spotlight and under scrutiny. I remember when I was younger there was a movie that came out called, "The Last Temptation of Christ" which claimed to be the true story of Jesus, but was far from it depicting Jesus as womanizer among other things. I remember around 2000-2001 Time magazine claimed that 85% of the gospel was false and Jesus never actually said most of the words accredited to Him. And 3 years ago "The DaVinci Code" was a celebrated book and movie claiming that Christianity was a fabrication by the Catholic church. All these things can be compelling to some and lead them astray from the truth. It should be no surprise, as we mentioned last week, that the world sees the cross as foolishness. And we can also note that Satan has been trying to lead others astray since the beginning.
-see Genesis 3
Satan continues this same old trick today: he makes you second guess the truth and provides a convincing alternative to the truth. In our text Paul illustrates this thinking in verse 4, when he says, "We know that an idol is nothing." The world was saying to the believers, "What's the big deal if you eat this meat? So what if it was offered to an idol? What's an idol to you? Nothing. It doesn't matter." It doesn't matter. But as we see later in the text it can matter. Sometimes with disputable matters it won't matter, but sometimes it will. The decision of when it does and when it doesn't shouldn't be up to the world because the world will lead you astray.
____
How many people here went to Bibleschool? How many had kids that went to Bibleschool? My bibleschool years always have a special place in my heart because of the lessons learned there as well as the friendships that were formed. A big part of life at Briercrest was life in the dorms. You learn a lot about yourself and people when you live on a hall with 30 guys. For the majority of the guys moving into that hall it's their first time moving away from home without the leash of their parents. I had grown up with a good balance of guidelines and freedom, so I didn't feel I was being freed from oppression when I left home; plus I had gone to university before so being on my own wasn't new to me. Some guys however, were in a completely new world. Some guys do well with their new freedom and others not so well. With no one to make you do your homework, some guys fail and are out quickly. Some guys without their parents around and living on an all-guys hall think clothing is an option, something I was never a fan of. Some guys stay up ridiculously late everynight without a curfew. Some guys gain lots of weight, eating whatever they feel like. Not everyone self-destructed without strict guidelines. Some excelled a studies, studying subjects they enjoyed on their schedule, or found a balance in their sleep schedule and diet. And I locked my door to keep the nudists out. Dorm life can show us what can happen when we are left to our own decisions.
2.You Shouldn't Dictate Your Actions. Your Freedom Will Lose Your Focus.
As we mentioned earlier these were new situations and experiences for earlier believers, particularly Jewish believers. The Jewish believers had come from a religious system where everything was regulated, and guidelines were set for you in the hope that you may draw closer to God. Christianity came along and said, "If you believe, confess, and accept Jesus then you are as close to God as you can get on earth." And with it this freedom came. Like the dorm, some took this freedom and did well, while some self-destructed under it. A movement called the agnostic movement arose where people believed as long as you believed in Jesus it didn't matter what you did. Some took that to the extremes living a life of partying and excess that made a lot of pagans look like saints. We know that some of this behavior was finding its way into the church at Corinth, as you may recall the man in chapter 5, who was having an affair with his step-mother.
1 Peter 2:16 - "Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God."
Galatians 5:13 "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love."
In each of these verse the author addresses the problem of freedom gone astray, and offers the alternative. In our text verse 9 says, "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak."
In this verse Paul addresses the fact that there is freedom and while it may not affect one's salvation, it does have affect. As well, this reason for someone to mind their freedom is also an opportunity to serve, like the other verses called for; that is, I can choose to live to a standard to serve others' interests. This attitude does not come from within ourselves, but is from the influence of God's Holy Spirit, His Word, and the faithfulness of fellow believers. We cannot trust ourselves to dictate our actions alone, for our freedom will dim our focus.
Education is a double-edge sword. It can be used to better a person's life and the lives around them. It can be used to make a person arrogant and hold their knowledge over others. Christian education can, unfortunately, be the same. Some people have put almost as much into their theological theories as universal scripture truths. There has been churches divided and denominations formed over theological debate. Some scholars have taken their theological thoughts and strayed far from where they started from, denouncing their faith. Theology in itself is not a bad thing, but when a person's theology is the source of their faith it can lead them astray.
3.Your theology shouldn't dictate your actions alone. Knowing God comes through loving God.
In the gospels Jesus is constantly at odds with the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the authority on religion and scripture. The Pharisees were the experts, but yet they were not compatible with Jesus; why? Let's look at the beginning of our text.
Vs 1-3 "..We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God."
Verse 3 speaks great truths about human wisdom. We can gather all human knowledge about God and think we know a lot about God, but I wonder if we really only have a glimpse of God. And one of the true wonders of being in glory with God is truly getting to know how wonderful He really is. As for our life on this earth we can continuously learn about God, but we don’t really get a feel for what God would want us to do in situations until we are loving God and living for Him.
1 John 4:7,8 - “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
Think about this for a second: What sort of people do we seek out when looking for spiritual direction? Whether it’s an important decision or direction, who do we seek advice from on God’s will? Do we go to someone with a Phd or a Masters? No, usually we go to someone who seems to have a solid relationship with God. A lot of the people that I consider spiritually wise don’t have fancy degrees, but they really love Jesus. And because they love Jesus they got a good understanding on His heart. It’s perfectly fine have a set of beliefs you hold to, a theology to call your own, but it can’t dictate your actions alone.
4.Your actions should be dictated by your purpose.
In his best-selling book Rick Warren starts off by saying, {It’s not about you. The purpose of life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose. The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That’s because we typically begin at the wrong starting point - ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like: What do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams, and my future? But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purpose. The Bible says, “It is God who directs the lives of His creatures, everyone’s life is in His power.}
When it comes to disputable matters, your actions should be determined by your purpose. All of us may have different individual purposes, but there is a common two-fold purpose to all Christians that should guide all our actions and decision. The first part of Your purpose is to love God.
Matthew 22:36-38 - “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.”
Jesus didn’t lay out some deep spiritual insight, that was hard to understand, but a simple command that covers so much. So many of the decisions we struggle with, we struggle because we’re still trying to love ourselves a little more than God. When Jesus shared this commandment it summed up all the commandments in the Bible. If we weighed the things we do on a scale of our love for God, it would make disputable matters easier. Is it right to work this Sunday? It might not affect my salvation, but which decision can I love God more in. To be more specific a second part of Your purpose is to build up the church. For Paul part of his purpose in loving God was building up the church; it drove him and all he did.
1 Cor 9:19- “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.” Paul was willing to do whatever to serve God, share the gospel, and strengthen the church. So when we look at our text we see this issue of meat, and Paul points out in verses 10-13 that it’s not about you, but about others.
This text reminds me of a friend of mine. We went to youth together all through highschool, and he always struggled with his faith. When he graduated he decided he needed to go somewhere away from the negative influences he had at home and immerse himself with Christians. He went to mission base in California. Unfortunately, it was a terrible experience. The other Christians there had a very liberal view on life and were involved in all the things he went there to get away from. He ended up walking away from his faith.
When you think of people like that, some decisions are easily made for you. Paul says in our text, “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.”
You know some of the best food in Birch Hills is available at the bar, but I’ve had people make fun of me for not going in there to pick some up. They say, “What does it hurt to just get food?” My response is it could mean eternity for some youth I work with.
I don’t know what some of your personal struggles are, we all have times where things aren’t clearly spelled out for us, but we got to make a choice. We know we can’t rely on the world for direction, we can’t always trust ourselves, and its not always something that knowledge can address. But if we line it up with our purpose, the purpose God created you for; to love Him, and to serve Him. If we choose the way that will build up His church, then we know we’re going to glorify God in our choices.
6/07/2010
The real climb
From March 2000: "How blessed is the comfort that Jesus is all forgiving; that He will turn his eyes away and forget our iniquities? How frustrating is trying to live for God on our own strength? How torturous are our thoughts when we allow Satan to convince us that we have ultimately failed and there is no redemption left? Living is a struggle, without struggle we are not really living. We will continually climb up hill to that glorious rest in God's eternal kingdom."
6/03/2010
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