Life in the Grove

Passion. Everyone has it. We love someone or something, we pursue a sport or hobby or person. We have a desire that feels like suffering unless we are engaged in finding joy in the object of our passion.

Consider some Scripture for a moment:

Psalm 42:1,2
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Psalm 63: 1-5
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

Can you feel the passion? Can you taste the joy?

Now compare these passages:

Genesis 3:6
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Joshua 7:20, 21
Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

Can you see the passion? Can you taste the… disappointment, fear, shame? … no joy in sight for these passionate people.

Everyone has a passion for something. It is where we have decided joy is to be found. We will pursue something to that end. If our passion is in God, we find joy. If our passion is directed elsewhere, we miss out.

God created us to be passionate. The plan of God is that we would be passionate about knowing and loving him and then make a life style out of that love. This is where joy is to be found in God’s economy.

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:11)

Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God. (Psalm 43:3,4)

It seems clear that if we are going to protect our joy, we will need to protect our passions. Passions, like vectors, have magnitude and direction. As such, passions can become misdirected and weak. Passions directed toward God and lived out “full bore” result in joy unspeakable.

This Sunday morning we will be looking deeper into joy, and passion, and how to protect those valuable treasures. In fact, we will look at how to increase the magnitude and focus the direction of our passion so that all God wants us to experience can be ours.

Yes it’s Father’s day and Dads need to protect their joy.

Imagine, finding joy though loving God and others. That’s something to get passionate about.

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I’ve been migrating through John Piper’s book, Desiring God. The latest of his continual insights that cause me to ponder is as follows:

“The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show his might on behalf of those whose heart is whole toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). God is not looking for people to work for him, so much as he is looking for people who will let him work for them. The gospel is not a Help Wanted ad. Neither is the call to Christian service. On the contrary, the gospel commands us to give up and hang out a Help Wanted sign (this is the basic meaning of prayer). Then the gospel promises that God will work for us if we do. He will not surrender the glory of the being Giver.

The more we see the possibilities of the kingdom in our sphere of relationships and influence, the more eager the follower of Jesus is to accomplish something for the glory of God. It is through seeking the Lord in prayer and searching His word while listening for His Spirit’s leading that we learn how to position ourselves to see the provision of the Lord. This touches every area of our life, from developing strong relationships to cooperating with God in serving him though our gifts and talents. God is the giver of good and perfect gifts. He will give no other kind. Let us pray and live expectantly.

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Mine has gone from good to middling, especially as my kids have become more active. I don’t always remember, for example, where I put my keys, my wallet, my phone, my sunglasses, or some combination of all of them. I sometimes forget whether or not I’ve paid a bill, or made a call. There’s only so much RAM available in my head, so sometimes things just leak out.

But you know what I do remember?

I remember my mentor, Jeff, a man who showed me what loving God and loving people looks like. I remember long conversations with him as he shared his wisdom and experience with me. I remember watching him deal with all kinds of ministry issues with grace and truth. I remember how he consistently served others sacrificially, and I remember how he dealt with his flaws and mistakes. His life is, in many ways, a roadmap for my own.

Why do I remember Jeff? Because he took the time to make sure that his life impacted mine. Because he gave me a vision for what life and ministry can be. Because he passed his legacy on to me.

When I mention the word legacy, many people think first about death or the reading of someone’s will. What will the inheritance be? How much money will I get? Who will get the house? Each of the definitions of the word in the dictionary have something to do with property or money that is handed down from one generation to the next.

Let me suggest, however, that our legacy actually has very little to do with stuff. Our legacy is about the kind of person we are becoming. It’s about our ability to impact the lives of people, to show others what following Jesus looks like. What is the sum total of our legacy when we subtract all of our material possessions?

The Apostle Paul was aware of his legacy. In Acts 20:17-38, right before he boarded a boat for Jerusalem where his life was going to end, he made time to stop and meet with the elders from the church he planted at Ephesus. After spending a total of three years working with these guys, he called them together to sum up his legacy. With great emotion, Paul speaks to these church leaders so that they can learn from his life and take up his legacy as they move the church forward.

This week, as we celebrate Graduation Sunday, it’s a great time to consider what kind of legacy you and I are building right now. What will we be remembered for? How are we impacting lives? What are the elements of our legacy that we should work on now? Let’s talk about these questions together on Sunday.

In addition, we will be honoring all of our graduates from all of the major milestone educational levels. It’s an especially special time for our high school seniors, who will be recognized in a special ceremony. It’s also Communion Sunday. And, to top it all off, our Summer Kick-off All-Church Picnic begins right after second service.

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No one was more surprised that day than the preacher. It all seemed wrong.

The right preacher was preaching and the right baptizer was baptizing until the rabbi from Galilee showed up. Then it was backwards; or so it seemed. It wasn’t just because John and Jesus were related. Nor was it that they weren’t on the same page theologically. John knew that Jesus was the Messiah. John knew he was the lead blocker for the redeemer of Israel and the Savior of the world. But in John’s mind it seemed like Jesus’ life and message superceded his own. John wanted to identify with the person and work of Jesus. Jesus wanting to identify with John’s message was all-wrong in the mind of the tough minded prophet. Review the story for yourself (Matthew 3:13-17).

Jesus’ reason for wanting to be baptized was “to fulfill all righteousness.” This was confusing as well. You see John’s message was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” “Repent!” Jesus had no need to repent. He had never sinned. Why would Jesus want to be baptized in that context?

Perhaps we miss the significance of baptism. We forget that baptism is to publicly identify with a message. Then it makes sense. Jesus identified with the truth about John’s message. He agreed that people needed to repent for the kingdom of God was at hand.

It was humanly speaking a credibility issue. Jesus was completely submitted to the plans of God, the Father and lived that way on earth. He went with his folks to the temple, spent time in the synagogues learning the OT law, and now submitted to the message of God’s prophet, John. He did it because it was right to do. He did what He was asking His followers to do, trust and obey.

Jesus is still asking his followers to trust and obey. Christian baptism is still central. There is a clear message to be accepted:

Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. (Acts 2:38, 39)

Submission to the message from God today begins with repentance, i.e. to think differently about my life and my need for forgiveness. Jesus, the Savior of the world has made it possible to be forgiven of my sin and to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus the Lord, lived the life I couldn’t, went to the cross to die the death I deserved, then rose from the grave to offer new life to any who would place their full trust in Him, becoming His follower. That is the message.

If you are living today, that is the message you must come to grips with. Repent. Have you repented? Do you agree with God that Jesus is our only hope for salvation? Have you heard the call to become a follower of Jesus? If the answer is yes then there is a truth you must recon with. It was never God’s intention that your decision about Jesus would remain a private matter in your heart.

That is why Baptism is at the core of Christian discipleship. Jesus told his disciples to go reproduce themselves. Make disciples was the mandate. Baptize them and teach them were central to that mandate. Baptism is the way we publicly identify with the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is a matter of obedience (Matthew 28:18-20).

On June 13th, a Sunday morning, we will have another opportunity for you to publicly identify with Jesus. Baptism doesn’t save you; it reveals you.

Have you been baptized since you received the Savior and submitted to be a follower of Jesus? If you have, then come and celebrate as others go public with their faith.

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One of the bedrock principles of our capitalist society in America is the idea of property. We can own things, and with that ownership comes certain rights, one of which is that no one can steal something that you own from you.

If you’ve ever been the victim of a robbery (or if you know someone who has), you know how deeply unsettling and violating it can be. No one wants to be stolen from.

Throughout history, the basic reality that people can both own property and have it stolen from them has been widely accepted. The Bible refers directly to this reality by laying out very serious consequences for a thief, including cutting off of hands, stoning, and of course, crucifixion (the thief on the cross next to Jesus). If you own property, you want it to be protected.

How seriously do we take stealing today? I mean, obviously we can look at the people who break into homes and clean them out as criminals. We can also easily identify the Bernie Madoff’s of the world as especially heinous in their ability to take money from people in cold blood. But is that all there is to it?

Consider these examples:

1. The clerk at McDonald’s gives you too much change and you don’t return it.
2. You take a pen from work and use it at home.
3. You indicate more for your charitable giving for tax purposes then what you actually contributed.
4. You have an expense account that gives you up to $25 per day for meals, you spend $3 and keep the $22.
5. You read personal emails at work and play internet games while you are on the clock.
6. You take longer than your hour lunch break for lunch.
7. Someone drops a $20 in front of you in line at the store, and you pick it up and use it to pay for your groceries.
8. You copy a CD or tape of your favorite music.
9. I order the all you can eat crab legs and you order a salad, but when my crab legs come, we share.
10. You do not give God back the first 10% of all He has given you.

How many of these examples would you say apply to that commandment which says, “You shall not steal” (Ex. 20:15)? And, more importantly, how does our response to stealing demonstrate what’s most important to us?

This Sunday, we’ll spend some time discussing these concepts. There are some significant questions about one’s relationship with God that need to enter into any discussion about property and theft, and my hope is that we can think deeply together about what our attitudes are about our stuff. If you have time, read Luke 12 before Sunday to get Jesus’ perspective on these issues, and let’s pray together that God’s Word and His Holy Spirit can transform the way we look at material things.

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