Hindsight

I received this letter at Church this past Sunday and it was so exciting to see God at work at GateWay!  The first thing I would challenge this person to do is get in a Small Group, get connected with other Christians so they can get fellowship and encouragement.

“Dear Pastor Ed,

I am writing you this letter to tell you thank you. I received Christ into my heart one month ago at GateWay Church during one of your sermons. I was completely lost, full of anger, self-pity, rage and hurt.  I was a broken man and considering suicide.  I let other people control my emotions and my feelings. I was fighting a war I couldn’t win and the devil had a choke hold on my life.  I blamed everybody else for all my problems (poor me).  That all changed in an instant when I received Jesus. I was healed, it is an absolute miracle!!  God now fights all my battles and he guides me through every decision I make.  I’m still a sinner and I still have problems but now I let God takeover.  What a feeling!!  Thanks you for your role in this miracle I believe God worked through you that day in church to speak to me and I finally listened. My wife has always been a Christian and all I ever did was judge her and tear her down, but now she saw the miracle in my life and it’s amazing how Jesus works through other people to get his message out there.  I could go on for hours about what’s happened to me but I won’t.  Thank you so much GateWay Church!!”

Receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is a supernatural act of God in which  we all get to participate; from Greeters to Café to Ushers to Sunday School to music to speakers to sound techs, we all participate with God’s purpose!  

That’s what being Biblical, Radical and Viral are all about this year at GateWay.

Hindsight

As Jesus prepared Himself for the cross he spent His last hour of freedom in the Grove of Gethsemane praying while the disciples slept.  Luke 22:44 says that He prayed in agony.  The Greek word is agonia from which we get our English word agony.  It comes from the root word for, “an assembly.”  That seems odd doesn’t it!  We think of agony as an emotional state.  This word was used for an assembly that was gathering to watch contests or gladiatorial games.  Being an observer or participant in gladiatorial games would cause intense emotion because often at least one participant would lose their life in the game.  No one really knows how the word transformed from assembly to intense emotional strain and anguish, we just know it changed emphasis. 

We find Jesus in Gethsemane in agonia.  We know that Gethsemane was an olive press that extracted oil from olives.  It wasn’t a location but a tool.  Jesus is under such intense pressure and agonia that He is sweating drop of blood.  The weight of the physical pain of the cross and the weight of the spiritual pain of separation from His Father caused agonia.

To help Himself deal with the pressure He prayed the same prayer three times.  “Let this cup pass yet not My will but Thine be done.”  God answered His prayer by allowing Judas and the Roman cohort to find Him, place Him on trial and crucify Him!  Yet Jesus never uttered a word of protest, He accepted God’s call and will for His life.

When under extreme pressure I wonder how many times we pray without getting to a point of acceptance for God’s will for our lives!  I’m certainly not saying that all pain is God’s plan but some pain is and it would serve us well to live out the example of Jesus.  To accept the difficulty and be God’s servant through a difficult time.  Maybe we’ll be an example to someone else.  

Hindsight

The interaction in the Gospel of John between Jesus, the Jewish leaders and Pilate is much longer than in any other Gospel, 18:28-19:16.  The statement that I find most interesting is the very first verse in the story, “They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium in order that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.”

The Roman soldiers slept, prepped, ate, and made home out of the Praetorium building, therefore they were called the Praetorium guards. The Jewish religious leaders couldn’t set foot inside the area because holy men would stand on unholy ground and thus defile themselves.

They should have said, “What a great opportunity! Let’s go into the Praetorium and invite all the Roman military to come join us for the Passover dinner and maybe they’ll learn about our God and devote their lives to Him.”

The Jewish leaders God wanted to spiritually impact both Jews and Gentiles would not set foot outside their cocoon.  They built ridiculous boundaries around themselves so that anyone outside their culture looked at them and said, “Why in the world would I want to be like that?!  Forget following their God!”

The reason Jesus was so appealing to both Jews and Gentiles is that he was willing to go where people had a sincere heart to know God.  He would walk on Gentile as well as Jewish soil.  He would speak to Jews and Gentiles.  He would teach both men and women.  He was approachable, likable and normal!  Just think, THE most abnormal guy Jesus, both man and God simultaneously, was also the most normal guy and that’s what made Him appealing!

Wherever you are, whatever you are, however you are, Jesus is willing to get on your page, on your level, into your home, your car and live life with you.  Even if your home is the Praetorium.

Hindsight

I’m a cheapskate!  My wife is really cheap too but we call each other frugal so we don’t feel badly about being cheap skates.  A couple of years ago I needed a pair of high top tennis shoes to play basketball.  I wanted high tops because I had sprained my ankle and I thought they would help.

So I went to Ross and started looking through racks of tennis shoes.  I found a pair of Air Jordans, (I said it was a few years ago) that were beet red and cheap.  The problem was they were a half size too small.  But I tried them on and I thought they were a little bigger than the size (did I mention I’m cheap) so I bought them.

I went to the gym and played for about 30 minutes and the shoes worked great.  They were a little snug but I like them that way (cheapskates are great rationalizers.)

The next time I went to play we played a double header and I played more of each game.  I noticed my toes hurt a little at the end of the first game but I hadn’t been exercising or running much so a little pain was to be expected. 

When I started into the next game I knew I was overdoing it and thought, “I’m going to be a sore tomorrow.” And I thought, “My feet sure hurt but I can’t quit in the middle,” so I finished the game.

I went home and pulled off my tennis shoes and my white athletic socks were soaked in blood!  I pulled off my socks and both my big toe nails had lifted totally off my toes because of the intense pressure my short shoes were putting on them.

We make choices and then our choices make us.

I chose to be cheap.

I chose to buy wrong size shoes.

I chose to play too long.

It was my wife’s fault.

How do you like that logic?  Works for me.

Hindsight

Our culture really does teach life consists of the things we acquire.  It is heard in blaring volume from billboards, televisions, radios and high gloss magazine layouts.

We are promised that real happiness comes from a purchase, we try to buy it through buying the newest, brightest and best.

It’s like a man who rides a donkey carrying a long stick.  On the end of that stick there hangs a carrot on a string.  The carrot promises far more than it is able to deliver.  The donkey trudges on and on believing that soon he’ll be chomping on a juicy reward only to find his hunger growing with each step.

Living for acquisition is like the fly who looks down and says, “My dinner!”  Only to hear the Venus Fly Trap say, “MY DINNER!”

Years ago Apple Computer created the iPhone, I recently bought an iPhone 4s.  The next week they brought out the iPhone 5. People stand in line with perfectly good iPhone’s to get the newest.  Why?  The answers vary but they really boil down to one thing, a new toy.

Jesus parable of the “Rich man” tells us if we believe in Jesus Christ we’ll invest in His Kingdom work.  If we believe in the American dream we’ll invest in that Kingdom.  Jesus forces us to make an intelligent choice.  

You can’t purchase eternal life, but our purchases reveal our gratefulness for eternal life.

Hindsight

The result of our GateWay on Mission vote this past Sunday was:

356 people voted yes and 1 voted no on the budget, all the new Leadership Team members (deacons) were approved!  What a great day of reviewing 2012 and envisioning a Biblical, Radical and Viral 2013!

There were a couple of questions that a few people asked me yesterday in regards to the passage from Acts19:1-22.  The most prominent was, “What is this speaking in tongues thing that the book of Acts talks about?”  Let me address that with a couple of clarifying points.

First let me say, not everyone agrees with me.  That’s okay.  Where good men disagree wise men walk softly.  If you have a different opinion, God bless you and please extend me an extra measure of grace.

Second, if your view is different than mine I never want to disrupt nor discourage anyone’s connection with God or anyone’s spiritual development and depth.  You’re totally free to pursue and practice your spiritual disciplines in your life.

Third, I believe that speaking in tongues was a gift only given to the early church to solidify it’s unity, leadership and expansiveness.

How?

First, the people in Jerusalem speaking in tongues was a sign of judgment to Israel for rejecting their Messiah.  Duet. 28:1 & 49 says that if the nation did not obey the Lord then judgment would come from a nation, “…whose language you shall not understand.”  The speaking of foreign tongues on the day of Pentecost was a sign to Israel that God was bringing to pass what he had promised for their disobedience.

Second, the Samaritans, Acts 8:17, received the Holy Spirit when the Apostles Peter and John laid their hands on them.  Why?  Because God was uniting Israel with Samaria demonstrating all descendants of Abraham were welcome in the Church of Jesus Christ under the leadership of the Apostles.

Third, the Romans, Acts 10:35-36 &44-48, received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues when the Apostle Peter went to preach to them and unite them into the church of Jesus Christ.  Why?  Because “…in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right, is welcome to Him…preaching peace through Jesus Christ…” (vs. 35-36)  So even Gentiles and Romans can be an equal member of the church of Jesus Christ!  That was a RADICAL concept to the Jewish people.

Fourthly, the Gentiles outside of Israel, Acts 19:6, received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues when the Apostle Paul laid hands on them so that God could demonstrate authoritatively that all nations are equally welcome in the family, kingdom and church of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:11-22 says that the wall around the Temple that divided Jews and Gentiles has been torn down and that there is now unity.  Jesus Christ has purchased peace and created a new building (Temple) called the Church and it’s built on one foundation called the Apostles authority and Jesus is the chief cornerstone in that foundation.

Speaking in tongues was not a spiritual practice in the early church for deep disciples, it was God’s way of demonstrating to everyone that all nations are welcome in God’s family, the church of Jesus Christ.

Again, let’s never use for disunity what God used to unify the entire world under our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ!

Hindsight 

The Apostle Paul was a Pharisee which means he was an Eastern thinker.  He was also fluent in all Roman culture and customs so he spoke Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic and Latin. 

He was the perfect bridge building leader to be the Apostle to the Western Gentiles.  He was culturally Eastern but was a Western major in college!

When Paul writes his Epistles he writes like a Westerner.  He writes simple, to the point, factual statements about our relationship with Christ. (S.F.S. = simple factual statements)

         Romans 4:5, he who, “…believes in Him who justifies the                       ungodly,”, justifies simply means pronounced righteous. (S.F.S.)

         Ephesians 2:1, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,” without Christ we’re spiritually dead. (S.F.S.)

         I Corinthians 12:20, “But now there are many members, but one body.”  Paul is referring to the church body. (S.F.S.)

Simple statements built on a one-word theme; righteous, death, body.  A one-word theme is the hub of Paul’s thought, we who are Westerners then think about what are the resulting ideas or spokes that radiate outward from that thematic hub.

When we read the stories of Jesus he teaches as an Easterner.  He chooses characters in a plot and gives them motives, friends and enemies. There are evil surprises and unexpected heroes along their journey.

         “A man was traveling down the Jericho road…”

         “A woman lost a coin…”

         “A farmer went out to sow…”

Story is the round tire on a wheel, the characters are the spokes of the wheel, the point of the story is the hub.  We are left to discern from the actions and activities of the characters as they roll down the road what the hub point of the story is!

That’s more work!!!  That's why the Bible says wisdom is so important.

Welcome aboard the U.S.S. GateWay, as you disembark be reminded that going ashore means engaging with the people God has given you to influence and touch.  (If this doesn’t make any sense to you, you’ll have to listen to the sermon from 1/13/13)

God bless,

Pastor Ed