Grace in Action

So, if you watched/heard/read last weekend’s sermon, you might ask, HEY BILL, HOW DOES THIS WORK OUT IN REAL LIFE?

Great question… let’s dive in.

I’m suggesting that we replace the phrase GOOD WORKS with the phrase GOD WORKS THRU ME. What comes to mind when most Christians think “good works” is NOT what God intended. It is not a burden on your back. It is not the production of your own power.

It is, rather, the work of God through you.

But how does this happen? And what does it feel like?  St Paul nails its (as always):

Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily. (Colossians 1:28, 29, NKJV).

Let’s break it down:

• Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom… To this end I also labor, striving… Who is doing the action of the verbs? Paul and his friends (“we”). He preaches, he warns, he teaches, he labors, he strives.  This is Paul’s work. He puts forth effort. He breaks a sweat. He goes home and collapses in the Lazyboy at the end of a hard day’s ministry.

  And so it will be for us. Again, do not accuse me of advocating passivity. I don’t. The Way of Christ is mightily active, and full of struggle. We must, however, frame both the activity and the struggle as Paul, following Jesus, did.  He worked, and so should you, and so should I. We strive for holiness. We seek to do good in the world. We seek to love as we have been loved.

  But how, in that pursuit, can we avoid the trap of legalism? How can we avoid the duty-based life that has been the church’s death of a thousand cuts for two thousand years?

• …striving according to His working which works in me mightily… There’s the secret. Paul never viewed his herculean efforts in isolation from the monumental work of God. Paul broke the sweat, but it was God’s working working in him mightily. Paul got tired, but it was God who actually did the work. Paul needed a nap, but the credit for the effort went to God, not Paul.

  Perhaps this paradox led Paul to call “Christ in You” the MYSTERY of our faith (v. 27). Christ is working through him, but he still gets tired.  What’s that about? Let me try to pull this all together.

1. There is no official feeling of the power of God. You can feel tired, mad, sad, energized, scared, invincible, weak, or small.  Doesn’t matter. GOD WORKS THROUGH YOU no matter how you feel.

2. The fact that God works through you doesn’t exempt you from feeling tired. It’s not a sign that you’re  bad Christian if you feel worn out at the end of the day. It’s normal. You are a frail vessel filled with the excellency of God.

3. We’re supposed to turn from Self-effort to Christ-effort. From what I produce to what God produces. This is a frame of mind and faith above all else. It is viewing your best efforts the way Paul viewed his: NOT I, BUT CHRIST (Gal 2:20).

4. Grace means that God does the work… that is what I believe. That is where I stand. That is what I remind myself of. That is what I say to any person who asks.  God does the work. God gets the credit. I’m a vessel. I’m a channel. I’m a mouth. I’m arms, legs, feet, hands, and wallet. It is God’s work through me…. and the second I doubt it, the second I forget it, I land myself in the stiff working boots of the prodigal son’s elder brother.

5. The surest signs I’m counting on my own power instead of God’s power: inflation (arrogance), deflation (self-contempt), boasting (taking credit, playing “mine’s better” or “mine’s worse), whining (as if God’s grace isn’t sufficient), and quitting (as if God’s grace isn’t sufficient). In short, when faith evaporates, the channel of grace fizzles.

I want to do good works, but I want them to be God’s work thru me.

You?

that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:5, NKJV).

Here’s a previous post on this topic: http://maxgrace.wordpress.com/2009/03/31/gods-power-for-gods-people/

Grace!

Dear Anne Rice

“For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.” (From Anne Rice’s Facebook page)

Dear Ms Rice,

One of the qualities I love about you is your transparency. I’ve enjoyed a couple of your novels. Your testimony of conversion to Christ is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever read. Thank you for leading with your heart, and not hiding your truth.

I understand the temptation to call it quits on the church — the collected people of God. As a Dad with two kids, I understand the feeling of utter exasperation at their squabbles. God’s people have been at each other for two thousand years.

It’s frustrating.

But as your brother in Christ, I’d like to respectfully ask you to reconsider. I’d like to invite you to chalk up your “I quit” remarks to a person having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day… learn from it, and move on.  Much like an alienated daughter returning cautiously to Thanksgiving dinner with the dysfunctional family.

Please consider two central reasons to stay in community with the living, tarnished saints:

1. Jesus hasn’t quit being our Savior.

In your conversion story, you write, “I believe in what we celebrate this week: the scandal of the cross and the miracle of the Resurrection. My belief is total.” That scandalous cross wiped clean the spotty record of every child of God, both of us included. He erased our sins, once for all, and sat down at the right hand of God.

Anne, when you quit on Christians, don’t you a little bit quit on Christ? Don’t you spotlight sins he has forgiven? …sins heaven has forgotten?  Yes, they are all too real to us. But hasn’t God revealed his limitless forgiveness?

• As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalms 103:12, NKJV).
• Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. (Micah 7:18, NKJV).
• He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:19, NKJV).

When Jesus hung on that cross, he effected humankind’s reconciliation with God. He did this through an atonement so deep, that the Infinite Mind of God has chosen to Forget his children’s sins.  And not through a legal fiction, but through the full payment of the ransom price via the precious blood of Christ. That humankind can fellowship with God is a mystery of love and grace we’ll never fathom.

He saved us. By that salvation, Jesus created something that never existed before: a UNITED FAMILY OF GOD.

• There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:4-6, NKJV).

The unity is true. Jesus died to create it. It is our core identity. Our truth. Our ontological reality. Our adoption papers in heaven prove it.

• There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28, NKJV).

Anne, as long as Jesus remains Savior, the church remains one, no matter how much we squabble. The reconciliation he effected is not only vertical, but horizontal. Person to person. Family to family. Tribe to tribe.

As Savior he made us one. That’s the first basis for my invitation to stay in the family. Here’s my second:

2. Because he hasn’t stopped being our Sanctifier, either.

As Savior he made us one. As Sanctifier he makes us united.

Jesus prayed…

• “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: (John 17:22, NKJV).

He prayed for our oneness to be brought into reality. He prayed for the actualization of our reality. Every Christ-follower who pulls away from that oneness only postpones the answer to Christ’s prayer. Yet one more cat to be herded back to the flock.

Anne, you might follow the steps of countless others who’ve given up on the institutional church. I get it. I’m a pastor, and I’ve been pulled that way a thousand times. I live and breath church people. I see the dark side daily. But I can’t get past this:

The unity of the church is Christ’s own creation. It is his gift to the world. We who have embraced him as Savior share the same last name. We don’t act like it all the time, but it’s true. Jesus loves the church. Please don’t hate what Jesus loves. Please don’t pull away from what Jesus is calling you into.

The church contains the mystery of Christ in us (Col. 1:27). He lives in us to sanctify us — to make us into what he says we are. This is his work, his effort, his grace. He never stops. When Christ moved within, he didn’t come with an off-switch. He always lives to sanctify us — to baby-step us closer and closer to his own radiant image. We display his likeness to the world, not only as individuals, but as a close-knit body, in community. Christ, our sanctifier.

Sanctification is a process. In a sense, we build on our spiritual ancestors, but in a deeper sense, each generation starts over. We grow toward Christ-likeness, and we grow together… and when we die, it’s the next generation’s turn to model this in the world. Let’s hand down the most united church we possibly can.

Anne, doesn’t your decision echo that of the servant who received the cancellation of a debt from his master but wouldn’t cancel fellow debtor’s (much smaller) debt (Matt 18:23-35)?

To pull away from the community of believers — I don’t care what kind of community you prefer, no matter how loosely or tightly organized — is to pull away from the primary means by which Jesus delivers his love, grace, and truth into the world. I hope you stay connected. I hope you find a church, a house church, a fellowship, or a Bible study and prayer group… any group that incarnates the love of Christ, and the truth of Scripture and delivers the gospel of grace to the world.

Anne, I personally apologize to you for my contribution to the disputatiousness of the church. I’m sorry for our “deserved infamy.” I felt bad when I read your Facebook posts. I’m sorry.

Making sausage is ugly, but something delicious happens when it’s done, this I believe.

Anne, please, stay. I’d like to invite you to our imperfect community in Redding. But you really don’t need to come here. God has his outposts in every place… please don’t give up looking.

I miss you.

Your Brother,

Bill Giovannetti

Dear Mel Gibson,

I’ve been around the block enough to know not to judge a man by his reaction to crazy-making family dysfunction. Yeah, there’s a thin line between love and hate; I get it. Some of the best men I know lost their minds they day the lost their children. Or when they felt the knife in the back from the woman they loved. Literally, they lost their minds. I’ve seen it happen.

I hear that pain in your jacked up phone calls.

Just so I can put my cards on the table… I’ll say this right up front: there’s no justification, EVER, for intimidating, threatening, scaring, or doing violence to another person — especially man to woman. Powerful emotion, yes. Threats of violence?  Not cool under any circumstance.  To say that if your ex- didn’t pick up the phone you would wind up on her doorstep is totally out of bounds, a veiled threat that you shouldn’t have made, no matter how you felt, or how altered your state was.

I’m just being honest with my opinion.

At the same time, I think you were set up. You were caught on tape, and the woman catching you on tape played to the tape. She made sure she pressed your buttons and got it all recorded and stayed totally cool and above reproach… on tape.  That’s my opinion — I may be wrong, but you’ve been had.

It’s still no excuse, though.

In you, I hear the roar of a wounded lion. A near fatal knife to the heart. The ferocity, the anger, the panting… the sound of a man on the brink of destruction.

It doesn’t have to play out that way.

I also hear the bellow of a chemically unrestrained (alcohol?) madman. That’s what they’re saying on the radio. I hope they’re wrong, but I suspect not. Your dark side is scary big. I imagine it scares you on some days.

God is bigger than it.

Mel, you brought Jesus to the masses, so can I bring Jesus to you?

• When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (John 8:10, 11, NKJV).
• When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Mark 2:17, NKJV).
• Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. (Luke 8:35, NKJV).

I love to imagine you, sitting next to me, clothed, at the feet of Jesus, and both of us in our right mind. A good picture.

And it can happen. I believe that. Your quest for Jesus has been tumultuous, intense, and public. Your sins are on the record for us all to see. You live in a fishbowl — as a pastor, I get that. You can’t take a step without being scrutinized, analyzed, judged, and misjudged. I can only begin to imagine how intense that is for you. Your life with Jesus makes me think of Peter. Loyal to a fault one day, denying him three times the next.

As a flawed brother in Christ, whose failings have not been splashed across the tabloids, can I invite you deeper into a life-giving connection with Jesus?

Can I invite you to watch your own movie again, only this time to see it from a new perspective? From the perspective of his work for you, rather than your work for him? You alone know the price of making that movie. He alone knows the price of living that crucifixion. The price tags are worlds apart. Can you revisit Calvary’s Cross in your heart and mind, and go back to the basics of your faith?

Can I invite you into a church — a community of wounded warriors just like you, stumbling arm in arm toward abundant life Jesus promised? You need a community of saints around you — not perfect saints, but forgiven ones, resting their hearts in the finished work of Christ.

Can I invite you into a healing community?  Where you will receive prayer, and the freedom to tell your broken story as many times as you need to… and receive the support you need to face life without alcohol or drugs or violence or whatever it is you might turn to?

Mel, your life has been about performance.

It’s time to change that. Get off the stage. Let Jesus’ performance count for you. Let him take center stage. Rest in Jesus. Quit performing, and just BE. Disappear. Quit serving, striving, acting… doing. Sit at his feet, and watch him act.  You have Martha’s heart and you need Mary’s. Bring that anguish we hear in your phone calls to the foot of the cross, and find wholeness and reconciliation there.

You don’t have to be a star to be precious to God.

Hollywood’s approval isn’t heaven’s approval. In Christ, you have heaven’s approval, and that’s enough.

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18, NKJV).

Mel, brother to brother… you need help. That’s not a judgment against you. It’s a reality check. You’re in so deep, you’re not gonna pull out on your own. Welcome to the human race. There’s nothing you face that ‘s insurmountable. That life you’ve always longed for — that clean, free, satisfied, abundant life — is right there. Jesus makes it possible. One day at a time… back to Jesus, back to the Bible, back to prayer, faith, and the brotherhood of fellow-Christians.

I don’t condemn you. I don’t like what you did, but I get it. I hope you make it. I hope you go through this fire and come out clean. I hope you find the love and peace you crave. You’ve been giving out for so long; I hope you get out of the limelight and spend your days receiving from Jesus, sinking deep roots into him, and filling up on his grace. Grow mature in Christ. I’m praying for you. I’m rooting for you. I’m believing God’s best for you. It sounds ridiculous for me to say it, but I’m here for you, if there’s anything I can do… or offer… or say… or be… I’m here.

Your Imperfect Brother,

Bill Giovannetti

The Love Chapter (One More Time)

This post finishes a three-part series, so scroll down if you want to start at the beginning. Thanks.

Recap: The Love Chapter (a.k.a. 1 Corinthians 13) wraps its theme in the broader theme of maturity. Paul argues that Christ-like love is the by-product of maturity. It’s hard to argue with the context: “when I was a child… when I became a man…”

Have you ever loved an immature person?  It’s a lot of work.

Have you ever loved AS an immature person? Your love endures until your next tantrum.

The structure of the chapter is cool. The Love Chapter describes four shifts. If you want to love the way God wants you to love, you need to make four shifts.  (I won’t go into how the Greek offers parallel language to introduce each shift: just notice the parallel language “…but when, …but when, …but then, …but then.” Notice how the “but then/when” words introduce the shift from immaturity to maturity.)

The shifts all move you from SPIRITUAL IMMATURITY to SPIRITUAL MATURITY. Check it out:

1. From UNSTABLE LOVE to STABLE LOVE

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. (1 Corinthians 13:8, 9, NKJV).

When your love-life is based on ACTIVITY for Jesus instead of MATURITY in Jesus, it will flame out. This passage is not about certain spiritual gifts going away in history. It is about the relation between love and maturity. When you are immature, you love is as unstable as your service, your ministry, your works of kindness. You’ll take your bat and ball and go home; it’s just a matter of time.

[Please no comments arguing cessationism, okay? thanks.]

“In part” is a reference to spiritual immaturity. You look like a kid with missing teeth.  Your love-life has gaps in it.

But when that which is perfect [i.e., spiritual maturity] has come, then that which is in part will be done away. (1 Corinthians 13:10, NKJV).

IN vv. 8,9, the loving service vanishes.  In v. 10, the fickleness vanishes. If you want to love the way Jesus loved you have to grow mature in Christ. Spiritual babies can love; it’s just that their love is unstable.

2. From CHILDISH LOVE to NOBLE LOVE

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. (1 Corinthians 13:11, NKJV).

Immature Christians display a CHILDISH LOVE.  Your speaking, your understanding, and your thinking are all childish.  So your love is fragile, and it quickly shifts into self absorption.   This is why you should pick your spouse very carefully.  If you marry someone who is spiritually immature, you will be dealing with a brat for the rest of your life.  And if you yourself are immature too, then you have two brats.  Dueling brats.  And how sad that kids get caught in the middle!

But mature Christians display a NOBLE LOVE.  Quiet, steady, passionate, and strong.  Manly love.  Womanly love, that can withstand any hardship and not collapse. A love that puts away childish things… you’re not a kid anymore, and you can endure the self-sacrifice it takes to seek another’s welfare.

Don’t you think it would be cool to see a generation of Christ-followers showing off a mature, noble, self-sacrificing love?

3. From SELF-ABSORBED to CONCERNED FOR OTHERS

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face… (1 Corinthians 13:12a, NKJV).

When you look in a mirror, who are you looking at?  YOURSELF.

When you look face-to-face, who are you looking at? SOMEONE ELSE.

One of these days, I want to preach a sermon on “staying with the other person” in a conversation. Some people never grow out of their need to talk about themselves.

I like this definition: egocentricity: The vanity that makes you wonder what people are thinking about you when they are really wondering what you are thinking about them.

4. From SHALLOW RELATIONSHIPS to DEEP RELATIONSHIPS

…Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. (1 Corinthians 13:12b, NKJV).

Plus, they hide themselves and don’t care to deeply know others. They know in part.  They isolate themselves in a cocoon of self-protective lovelessness.

Mature love is about self-revelation as much as it is about self-giving. That self-revelation is risky, but it’s part of the maturity that comes with love.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13, NKJV).

And now abide… Remain… Stay Steady… Character that doesn’t flame out. Not based on hype or the emotion of the moment. True love. Christ’s love in you.

This is like a half-time speech from a great coach.  There is a reward for your spiritual effort:  LOVE.  True love is the God’s reward for reaching the end zone.  You can get there.  You can get to this kind of life.  You can demonstrate the virtue love that flows from your own integrity, your own character, and your own integrity.

But you have to grow to get there.  That’s all I’m saying.

Let us love one another.

The Love Chapter Revisited (Again)

Today’s post is part two. For part one, scroll down. Thanks.

So, we’re trying to solve the mystery of 1 Corinthians 13:8… what does Paul mean by “that which is perfect”? The answer to that question will give us an INDISPENSABLE CLUE ABOUT LOVE.

10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. (1 Corinthians 13:10, NKJV).

One good way to decode a biblical word is to examine the other ways the same book (or author or section of Scripture) uses the same word. Fortunately, we have some examples in Corinthians. I’ll underline the English word that translates the Greek word teleion (perfect, complete).

• 6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.(1 Corinthians 2:6, NKJV).
• 20 Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature. (1 Corinthians 14:20, NKJV).

In many contexts, teleion means mature. Spiritually mature. A follower of Jesus who has sunk down deep roots into Jesus through Scripture and prayer and a faithful walk with the Master. Someone who has graduated from spiritual elementary school and is living the adult life of the follower of Christ. A teleion-Christian is no longer a baby, tossed around by life’s storms, but a steady, strong, capable example of Jesus living through you.

We should be mature Christ-followers, don’t you think?

Let’s substitute the word “maturity” for “perfect” in 1 Corinthians 13:8:

10 But when SPIRITUAL MATURITY has come, then SPIRITUAL IMMATURITY will be done away. (1 Corinthians 13:10, NKJV).

True enough. Our next test is to see if “maturity” works in the IMMEDIATE CONTEXT.

WAIT! Wait! Wait! Wait! Let’s remember what we’re talking about. We are talking about LOVE! Love is the ultimate goal life, for the follower of Jesus. Didn’t Jesus distill the whole Scripture into love for God and love for others? Love is the goal.

But what kind of love?

1 Cor 13 tells us… A LOVE THAT FLOWS FROM A MATURE HEART, ROOTED AND GROUNDED IN CHRIST, DISPLAYING THE LIFE OF CHRIST FROM WITHIN.

That’s my interpretation of this passage. 1 Cor 13 isn’t just the love chapter, it’s mostly THE MATURITY chapter. Watch this: here’s verse 8 with verse 9 added on. Ask yourself if “maturity” doesn’t make the most sense as a translation for teleion:

10 But when [SPIRITUAL MATURITY] has come, then [SPIRITUAL IMMATURITY] will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. (1 Corinthians 13:10, 11, NKJV).

C’mon! Who can argue? True love MUST put away childish things. In Christ, an immature person’s love is flaky, fickle, and dysfunctional. Only a mature person’s love never fails.  When you speak as a child, you speak selfishness and impulse. When you understand as a child, you understand from your own shoes only; you cannot put yourself in the other person’s shoes, and you cannot deeply love. When you think as a child, you don’t get the difficulties of life, you don’t fathom the forces of the heart, and you don’t rise above the passion of the moment, or the offense of your spouse, to CHOOSE a love that endures.

Childish love is flaky. It is the opposite of Christ-like love.

If you want to display the love of Christ, you have to grow mature in Christ FIRST.  That is the argument of 1 Corinthians 13. I am saying that the correct interpretation of 1 Cor 13:8, and the only one that makes sense of the context, is that “the perfect” should be translated “maturity.”

But it gets deeper, and we’ll save that for the next blog.  Thanks for stopping by. If you thought this was helpful, would you please give me a mention on Facebook, Twitter, or your own blog or website?  Thanks.

The Love Chapter Revisited

Jesus distilled the essence of life with him into one word: LOVE. All the teaching, ministry, service, relationships, and worship of the church is a means to an end: love. Love for God, love for people, love for the world for whom Christ died.

I thought it would be fun to jump into the middle of the Love Chapter in the Bible (1 Cor 13), and decode one of its most enigmatic statements. Are you with me?

But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. (1 Corinthians 13:10, NKJV).

This verse, tucked into the middle of the Love Chapter, makes for great debate. The question is: what does Paul mean by “that which is perfect”?

The Greek word [to teleion, from telos (w/the definite article)] appears here as a neuter singular, “the perfect thing” or “that which is perfect.” When the “perfect thing comes” then the partial thing will be done away. So what’s the perfect thing? Let’s test drive two major options…

OPTION ONE:  THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.

When Christ comes, then the spiritual gifts mentioned in vv. 8,9  go away… so we might paraphrase:

8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when [JESUS COMES AGAIN], then that which is in part will be done away. (1 Corinthians 13:8-10, NKJV).

This doesn’t really fit the context. Plus, why would Paul use the neuter gender instead of the masculine to refer to the coming of Christ? Option one doesn’t work for me, though you’re welcome to adopt it and we can still be friends.

OPTION TWO: THE COMPLETED BIBLE

The “perfect thing” is the completed canon of Scripture. This is the interpretation I was taught as an impossibly cute little Italian boy. It basically says that all the “partial gifts” like prophecies and speaking in tongues will cease when the Bible is finished. Now that Revelation is complete, there is no room for any so-called “sign gifts.”  They ceased. So, let’s paraphrase again:

8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when THE COMPLETED CANON OF SCRIPTURE HAS COME, then THE PARTIAL REVELATORY GIFTS WILL BE done away. (1 Corinthians 13:8-10, NKJV).

A theological position called dispensationalism (and its nephew, ultradispensationalism) favors this interpretation. It creates a viewpoint called “cessationism” in which certain spiritual gifts have ceased. God no longer gives gifts of tongues, prophecy, or words of knowledge.

I’m not gonna get into this fight, except to say that it’s pressing the bounds of good interpretation to think that Paul had the completed canon of Scripture in mind when he wrote “the perfect thing.” It doesn’t fit the context, and it’s an odd debate to pop into the middle of the love chapter.

So, still no answer. What is the “perfect thing” that does away with the “partial things”?

Let’s save that for tomorrow…

Ramping UP

The ladder is temporary. The green canvas is a sun-shade awning.

Hey, sorry for the big gap between posts. Summers used to be lazy, hazy, crazy days; now they’re just crazy. I feel like I’ve been sprinting for the last couple of months. Building plans for church. Seeking God for resources for that. Figuring out ways to embrace every person that God sends to Neighborhood Church so they experience God’s love… even when sometimes we feel out of space. Then planning 10 talks for Alliance Redwoods High School Camp. What an awesome privilege! Over 30 students responded to the invitation to receive Christ on Wed nite.

My family has been extra-patient, and my children know me as the guy with the laptop glued to his lap… so I promised a treehouse when I came home from camp.  It’s a work in progress, but here it is. I started the 2nd day after camp, and have been adding cool stuff every couple of days.

A fully functional trap door. You can open it from the ground level (the purple rope). Then you climb up the green rope.

Trap door, viewed from ground level.

Favorite thing: an 8-foot wide sling shot (you can see the surgical tubing) to fire tennis balls.

Other cool stuff:

• Flags… pirate for my son, ladybugs for my daughter
• Mailbox… for secret deliveries.
• Bucket… rope and pulley.
• Climbing rope… soft rope w/knots
• Swings (x2)
• Entry bell… loud, ground level.
• Triangle bell… medium, upper level
• Canvas sun shade.
• Tube of Deliverance… a 25-foot long corrugated pipe that winds around and drops golf balls into the bucket.
• Singshot… 8-foot wide, surgical tubing, shoots tennis balls hundreds of feet.
• Coming soon: slide, plank (as in “walk the…”), crow’s nest, fireman’s pole, and whatever else comes to mind.

Whew! Kids love it. Margi loves it. I love it.  I just hope the wildlife doesn’t love it! Kids are already begging to sleep over night… Oh yay!

Heading to Chicago (YAY!) in a few weeks for my nieces wedding. My kids are standing up, I’m officiating, and my wife’s coordinating.  A good time will be had by all. Lou Malnati’s pizza, get a table ready for me!

Yep, we’re already planning for the fall and beyond at church, so keep us in prayer!  God is doing amazing things through the people of our church, and I’m so excited. I’m also involved in the growing A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary, and that’s been awesome. A few writing projects in various stages of evaluation, too. Other stuff as well, but I finally feel I can come up for some air.

Maxgrace.com has been wooing me back, begging, beckoning, at times even nagging, so here I am. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Bill

49 Professions of Faith: What I See

Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:47, NKJV).

Once every 4-8 weeks, I give an invitation for attenders to receive Jesus as their Savior — to “be saved” as Acts 2:47 terms it.

This past weekend was one of those weekends, and what a powerful response! We identified 49 people who received Jesus as their Savior. That is awesome! I am so humbled and grateful that God would allow undeserving ME to be part of a great team of people who lead others into his kingdom.  That brings us to over 2,000 professions of faith in the last 5 years!

It was especially cool coming on the heels of 42 baptisms the previous weekend.

I thought it would be good to describe what I see when we do this.

First, I preach. That’s essential, because it’s the message of the Cross of Christ that contains the saving power.

But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, (1 Corinthians 1:23, NKJV).

Then we go to prayer. I invite the audience to bow their heads and close their eyes. I do this to create a quiet space for prayer, and for God’s Spirit to speak. I usually say so.

Next, I give a brief synopsis of the gospel, maybe 4-6 sentences. “Jesus had you personally in mind when he went to the Cross. On that Cross, he paid for every sin, and every obstacle that keeps you from God. Because of Jesus, the gift of life is absolutely free. It is yours for the taking, and yours for the believing.”  I don’t belabor it, because I’ve already preached it.

Then I offer a sample prayer, and invite people to echo that prayer to God in the quietness of their own heart.  That prayer always follows the same pattern: ABC

A stands for ADMIT: God, I admit I need you. I have not lived up to your standards, I haven’t even lived up to my own standards. I fall short, and I can’t get to you by my own power. God, I admit I need you today.

B stands for BELIEVE: God I believe Jesus is my one and only way to you. I believe he is your Son. I believe he died on the Cross, and rose again, for me. I believe he paid for my sins when he died on the Cross. I don’t understand how it works, God, but I’m telling you as best I can that I believe Jesus is my way to you.

[A and B are primarily functions of the mind. This is the objective, analytical part of faith. The next part is an act of the WILL, and this is utterly essential for salvation, however you word it, because faith is an act of the WILL, in response to the gospel truth in the MIND.]

C stands CHOOSE. So God, right now, I choose to receive Jesus. I embrace him as my only hope for time and eternity. I also choose to turn away from all other confidences. Not my religion, not my good works, not my anything. Just Jesus. I choose Jesus alone. And I’m asking you as best as I can, for Christ’s sake, right now, please save me, God.

After that prayer, I give an assurance that God has never rejected anybody who has come to him through faith in Christ.

Then I mention that there’s a celebration in heaven for every lost sheep who comes back to the Shepherd. And I suggest that we’d like to celebrate too. I promise not to embarrass anyone or single them, out. But I ask them to tell me right then and there in a simple way.

I ask them to lift their head, and look at me.  My friend, Tim Ramsden, taught me how to do this. I was always nervous, and Tim was the Yoda of this kind of invitation. It works for me; I’m comfortable with it.

That’s when the cool stuff, the glory, the power… happens.

I wish you could see what I see.

• Some people are smiling the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. They light up the room, and they’re eager for me to see them.
• Others are weeping.  It’s that powerful and real. Salvation is the power of God. People being saved is the sign and wonder that really counts.
• Sometimes they’re shy… and this is mostly men. They freeze their head so their neighbor doesn’t sense their movement, and they lift their eyes only, and wait for me to notice them. This is awesomely cool, and I understand.
• A lot of kids get saved, and they’re always excited.
• I’d say about 75% are males.  This is also highly cool, and against the averages, I think.
• In come cases, it’s a whole family or a couple or a whole row of seats.  That is so entirely amazing I can’t describe it. Paul said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, AND YOUR HOUSE.” It’s so dang biblical, it’s great to see it happen before my eyes.
• Pierced, tatooed, shaggy, mostly young, but senior citizens too.  Very cool.
• This past weekend, in the Classic service, a gentleman fought to open his eyes. I watched him… the internal struggle was that great. Finally, he looked at me, and smiled. I acknolwedged him.  And he got up of his own accord, came to the front, knelt down, and crossed himself. I made sure some of our best prayer team counselors talked w/him.  His name was Emil, and he was totally psyched.

In each case, I say something simple like “Welcome to God’s family” or “He loves you” and move on to the next person.  I try to keep count, because people count. Jim Botts helps with this.

Then I pray for them and the whole church. We celebrate God’s power in Christ.

Last, we stand, and by applause welcome the new members of God’s family.  We give them a bible, and a card w/the ABC prayer explained and amplified.

I can’t claim that every person who responds is sincere. I can’t see hearts. But I can tell you that what I see is real, and it is powerful, and it just like the book of Acts. This is the power of God, and this is the power we should seek.

Praise God for 49 everlasting souls who stepped across the threshold of faith last weekend. Thank God for Jesus, who keeps on saving. And a huge thank you to the massive team of people who works so hard to make this happen.

Here’s the link to pictures of last weekend’s baptism of 42 people.

When God Gets In Your Face

Here’s last week’s sermon from Joshua. After this, we baptized 42 people!!!

Baptism pictures here.

Sermon .pdf here, so you can follow along. (coming soon)