Speak Up! Homosexuality

In our world, silence implies agreement.  In this series we're discussing issues about which many Christians are silent.  Often times, we're confused as to what Jesus actually stated regarding these important spiritual issues. Since many Christians are silent, the world assumes we agree with its ideas and actions.  However,  the name Christian means believer in (or follower of) Jesus Christ and His teachings, so we must ask the question: Was Jesus silent, as many Christians seem, about homosexuality?

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The answer is no.  Jesus wasn't silent about homosexuality.  It's true He never directly condemns homosexuality, but He makes it clear that homosexuality is not God's design.  Here's what Jesus said in Matthew 19:4:

And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ “and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?’”-Matthew 19:4

Jesus made it very clear that God made us male and female and for that reason a man is joined to his wife (female).  God designed sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman and only within the boundaries of marriage.  God never intended or designed marriage and sexual intimacy to occur between two men or two women.

Furthermore, Jesus was bound to, upheld, and fulfilled God's law from the Old Testament. God's law strictly prohibited homosexuality. (Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Deut. 23:17)  Here is what Jesus said:

"Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose." -Matthew 5:17 NLT

Because Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets, He could not, nor would He, speak against the law or the prophets.  Therefore, Jesus was not silent about homosexuality and upholds the truth of His Father's design for sexuality:  Only between a man and woman.

This does not leave room, though, for the superiority complex.  Just because some of us don't struggle with the sin of homosexuality, we do struggle with other sins.  Only Jesus was, is, and always will be able to live without sin.  For those of us who've put our faith and trust in Jesus, His death on the cross paid for all of our sins, including those for whom homosexuality is a struggle.  Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God with everything and love your neighbor as yourself.

Don't hold the truth of God over someone's head waiting to dump it all over them.  Instead, teach the truth of God through love, relationship, and compassion.  Jesus did it that way for us.  In fact, He gave His life for us.  No matter what our sin struggle is, Jesus desires for us to put our faith in Him, live by God's truth, free from sin, and follow Him daily.

The Apostle Paul summarizes this best in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:

9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. -1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NLT

The hope of the gospel is for everyone!  There is forgiveness and restoration in Christ, for all! Though Jesus was against homosexuality, He was not against the person struggling with homosexuality.  He died for that person, just like he died for everyone stuck in sin.

We must speak up and stand for truth but never without love!  We all struggle with sin, so let's help each other overcome sin by living through the power of the cross and the grace of our savior, Jesus!

For more on God's design for sexuality, go here!

Speak Up! Was Jesus Really Silent About These Issues?

I used to have a professor who'd say "Silence implies agreement." Speaking in temporal (human) terms, he's right.  The world views silence as agreement.  When we don't speak up, the world is free to move in the direction it wants to go.  But why don't we speak up?  We don't speak up because we've been taught since pre-school not to offend anyone with our own ideas or beliefs.  Instead, we remain silent hoping someone else will speak out against the resulting issues.  However, when we don't speak up, the world views silence as agreement and moves further and further away from it's Creator's design.  This issue is certainly one that needs to be fixed, but it's not the purpose of this post.

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[Speak Up! Blog Series Part 1 of 4]

In our world, because silence implies agreement, I fear we view Jesus through the same lens.  If Jesus is silent on an issue, He must agree with it.  Here are three specific issues that our world (and some Christians) would argue Jesus was silent or not clear about:  Homosexuality, living together, and tithing.

It might surprise some of us but Jesus was not silent on any of these issues. Over the next few days we'll be discussing these issues in depth.  In fact, we're going to have a special guest blogger about one of the toughest issues for Christians.  Through this series we'll see, many times, the real problem is we pick and choose what to believe and opt for silence (or gray area) when it's convenient for us.

Speak up! Because in our world, silence implies agreement. Not so with God.*

*21 While you did all this, I remained silent,
and you thought I didn’t care. But now I will rebuke you,
listing all my charges against you. -Psalm 50:21 NLT 

Video Message!

Here is my message about The ONE Thing That Truly Matters from February 13, 2011!

When Times Are Tough

Times are tough right now.  There is no doubt about it.  However, there is no better time than now to stand and declare to a hurting world: OUR GOD IS A REGUE AND STRENGTH, ALWAYS READY TO HELP IN TIMES OF TROUBLE!

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Whether we find ourselves in good times or bad, God's Word broadcasts the character of God.  One of God's main attributes is hero.  His desire is to save us, even from ourselves!  Below is a passage from Psalm 46:1-11.  For me, this passage has been solid ground during the earthquakes of life and a declaration of God's presence and power during both good times and bad.

Psalm 46
God Protects His People
1 God is our protection and our strength. He always helps in times of trouble.


2
So we will not be afraid even if the earth shakes,
or the mountains fall into the sea,


3
even if the oceans roar and foam,
or the mountains shake at the raging sea.


4
There is a river that brings joy to the city of God,
the holy place where God Most High lives.


5
God is in that city, and so it will not be shaken.
God will help her at dawn.


6
Nations tremble and kingdoms shake.
God shouts and the earth crumbles.


7
The Lord All-Powerful is with us;
the God of Jacob is our defender.


8
Come and see what the Lord has done,
the amazing things he has done on the earth.


9
He stops wars everywhere on the earth.
He breaks all bows and spears
and burns up the chariots with fire. 10 God says, “Be still and know that I am God.I will be praised in all the nations; I will be praised throughout the earth.” 11 The Lord All-Powerful is with us;the God of Jacob is our defender.

Weekend Highlights: What We Need To Know!

Here are some highlights from the message this past weekend at New Life.  The video will be available tomorrow and will be posted on this blog and on New Life's media page.

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"The ONE Thing That Truly Matters!"


The Definition of Worldly Success: To make oneself financially stable fulfilling ones own wants and desires.

Many times, we seek success for excess. The world teaches us that success is based on how much "stuff" we acquire.  To acquire "stuff" we need money.  Thus, the real culprit of worldly success is the pursuit of wealth.  When we're wealthy we're seen as successful because we can provide for anything we want!

The next best!  We've all experienced the worldly expectation of success because it's been pounded into our hearts.  If it was only pounded into our minds we could overcome it with our hearts, but because the world has pounded it into our hearts it is extremely hard to overcome.  The world teaches us that we aren't successful until we have the best and the next best.  In order to have the best and next best, we need money.  (Again, the pursuit of wealth.)


We need money to:

1. Buy the best.
2. Maintain the best.
3. Upgrade to the next best.

Jesus knew that the pursuit of wealth or worldly success would be the biggest roadblock to following Him. Here is what He said:

13 Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” 15 Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” 16 Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ 21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” -Luke 12:13-21 NLT

Jesus makes it abundantly clear that we can't serve God and money.  We have to choose.  Since people are eternal and they will live life in one of two places, Heaven or Hell, what is most important:  Stuff or a relationship with God?  Jesus makes it clear what's important:

STUFF DOESN'T MATTER.  GOD DOES!


Psalm 50:10-12 tells us God owns everything and His resources are endless.  Everything we have is given to us by God (James 1:17).  He allows us to use His stuff while we're here on the earth.  We will take nothing except other people to heaven with us when we die.  We must use the stuff He has given us for His purposes and His glory.  Not our own.

So where are you at today?  Are you focusing on your stuff or on God?

Either you (with God's help) will will rule your stuff or your stuff will rule you.

Remember: STUFF DOESN'T MATTER.  GOD DOES!

Weekend Preview

This weekend at New Life, we are continuing our series "Stories Of The Kingdom: The Power Of One!"  This series has a powerful message:  God cares about us!  The series is based on the parables of Jesus in Luke 15.  This weekend we are moving into the second part of the series discussing what our response must be to God's searching for us!

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This weekend I am preaching a message on "The ONE Thing That Truly Matters"!  We are going to take a look at some of the things we think matter when it comes to living our lives here and now.  We're going to be challenged by God's Word and we'll see what God has to say about what truly matters here, now, and forever.

Saddle up and get on down to church Sunday.  No matter where you are, find a great church and go!  Don't put it off.

I will post the message up here next week.  You can also watch this message and past messages by myself and Dr. Chris Marshall on New Life's media page here.

See you Sunday!

How To Hear God's Voice! Part 3

There are many people who have written on this subject. I am not going to say anything they haven't already said, with great wisdom.  Before we get started I wanted to list one person in particular who has the clout to talk about hearing from God and acting on what God says. His name is Bill Hybels, Pastor of Willow Creek Church in the Chicago area. Bill wrote a book called The Power of a Whisper. He has waited 30+ years to write the book so that He could back it up. Check it out here.

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[Part 3 of 3]


Test what you've heard with the Word.


God never speaks outside the boundaries of His Word.  God has limited Himself by His Word.  When Jesus was being tempted in Matthew 4:1-11 he said the phrase "It is written..."  Jesus, being fully man and fully God was limited to the Word of God.  God has voluntarily limited Himself to His Word.  In other words, God will never tell us to do something that steps outside the boundaries of His written Word.

When God speaks to us, we must test it with His Word.  We must make sure when God whispers to us (as mentioned in part 2) to test the whisper with His Word.  We must differentiate between self and God.  Sometimes it can be hard but if we want something bad enough, we can believe God is leading us to act on something when that is not the case at all.

If there's ever a doubt about the response to a whisper being outside the limits of God's Word, don't act.  Seek guidance from a Pastor or trusted friend who is a step ahead of you in their Christian walk.  Why a step ahead?  So they can impart their experiences, knowledge, and wisdom to you.  Remember, God also whispers through other people!  God will never lead you to hurt someone or sin against Him in anyway.  Many people have done stupid things in the name of God.  Trust me, those people will get what they deserve.  The wisdom of God will lead us to test what we've heard with the Word.

Some things don't need testing.  Let's say your out working in your yard and you see a neighbor who needs help.  You don't need to grab your Bible and see if you can find a passage to confirm helping your neighbor.  "Love your neighbor as yourself" will suffice.  Some things are common sense spiritually.


When there's a question: Test what we've heard with the Word!


To Recap:  God is always speaking.  When we hear Him, we must respond.  After all, that is what listening means!  God speaks through Sinai experiences (sometimes) and whispers (most often)!  Test what you've heard with the Word!

How To Hear God's Voice! Part 2

There are many people who have written on this subject. I am not going to say anything they haven't already said, with great wisdom.  Before we get started I wanted to list one person in particular who has the clout to talk about hearing from God and acting on what God says. His name is Bill Hybels, Pastor of Willow Creek Church in the Chicago area. Bill wrote a book called The Power of a Whisper. He has waited 30+ years to write the book so that He could back it up. Check it out here.

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[Part 2 of 3]


God speaks to people in different ways.

1. The Sinai Experience: 

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you.  -Exodus 19:9 NLT

Sometimes God speaks audibly.  Not often, but sometimes.  If God does speak audibly, it's always for the sake of those listening.  In the Sinai Experience, God spoke audibly to Moses in order to give Him the law for the people.  He spoke audibly so the people would hear and know the Lord is God!  His purpose was for the people.  That they would be filled with awe and trust in His name and His laws (Since God's laws were put in place for our good).  When God speaks audibly His purpose is always for those listening—to respond with action to His words.

2. The Whispers:

In the book of 1 Kings chapter 19 we see one particular way God spoke to a very important prophet named Elijah.  Elijah had just won a great contest between 450 prophets of Baal and the LORD (You can read about it in 1 Kings 18).  The end result proved Baal a false god.  God accomplished an incredible victory through Elijah.  Yet, after the contest, Elijah fled out of fear for his life because one person wanted to kill him.   He had just overtaken 450 prophets of Baal but fled due to one person's threat. (How often do we do that?) That's where we pick up the story.  Elijah fled to a cave where God spoke to him.  Here is the conversation:

11 “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.  13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.  And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  -1 Kings 19:11-13 NLT

God chose to speak to Elijah through a gentle whisper.  Many people expect the God of the universe to speak powerfully (like He did to Moses):  A blast of wind, a powerful earthquake, or a firestorm.  But God chose to speak through a whisper.  This begs the question: What is a whisper?

A whisper can be an insight God gives us from His Word that challenges us and those around us to act accordingly.  A whisper can be a prompting of our hearts, by the Holy Spirit, in a situation where God wants us to step in and act on His behalf (By the way, that is what the church must do for a lost world!).  A whisper can be a thought God puts in our minds, through prayer, that leads us in a new direction for our lives!  A whisper can even be God speaking through someone else in a conversation, blog, or other type of communication.  

When necessary, God will speak to us like He spoke to Moses, in a cloud on top of a mountain.  Most times, though, God will speak through whispers. 

To Recap:  God is always speaking.  When we hear Him, we must respond.  After all, that is what listening means!  God speaks through Sinai experiences (sometimes) and whispers (most often)!

Part 3 to follow.

How To Hear God's Voice! Part 1

There are many people who have written on this subject.  I am not going to say anything they haven't already said, with great wisdom.  Before we get started I wanted to list one person in particular who has the clout to talk about hearing from God and acting on what God says.  His name is Bill Hybels, Pastor of Willow Creek Church in the Chicago area.  Bill wrote a book called The Power of a Whisper.  He has waited 30+ years to write the book so that He could back it up.  Check it out here.

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There are three things we must understand if we want to hear the voice of God.

[Part 1 of 3]

God speaks when we listen.  Listening is much different than hearing.  Listening means we hear with anticipation to act.  God is always speaking.  Our inability to hear results from our inability to listen.  Jesus said: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." -John 10:27 NLT  Two things get in the way of our ability to listen.  Sin and busy-ness.  

1. If we have sin in our lives that we haven't confessed to Jesus, we must confess it.  Confession is the first step to hearing God's voice.  We can't hear a holy God when we, ourselves, are bound by unholy sin.  In other words we can't hear holy, when we're unholy!  The only way to rid ourselves of sin is to confess and repent.  To confess means to tell Jesus what we've done.  To repent means to turn 180 degrees away from sin and walk towards God.  That's the first step to listening.

2. The second thing is busy-ness.  Psalm 46:10 says "Be still, and know that I am God!"  Notice where the comma is in that sentence.  "Be still, and know that I am God!"  We must be still before Him and expect Him to speak.  Since God is always speaking, we must make time to hear and listen.  If we can't sit down for 10 minutes a day and spend time listening for His voice, we'll never hear Him speak!

To recap: God speaks when we listen.  In order to listen, we must confess our sin and make time to hear from Him.

Parts 2 and 3 to follow.

Growing Up Is Hard To Do!

Growing up is tough!  As we mature into an adults we become responsible for our own lives and, if we're married, the lives of our families.  When those bills come rolling in and it's our responsibility to pay them, its the real deal.  We have to cowboy up, pay those bills, and make sure the needs of our families are met.  Life stages are real.  And with each stage comes new responsibilities.  The same is true of our spiritual lives.  But how do yo know when you're grown up in Christ?

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Here's what Jesus said identifies spiritual growth:

43 For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.   -Luke6:43-45 ESV 

If we are growing spiritually then we will produce good out of our hearts because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross.  We will take seriously His commands and live them out daily.  It can be hard to define spiritual growth because we may not know what it really looks like.  What does "good fruit" look like in the life of a Jesus follower?  The Apostle Paul gives us a clear definition in Galatians 5:22-23a:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, self-control;

Likewise Paul also gives us a definition of selfish desires, those contrary to God, that identify spiritual stagnation:

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  -Galatians 5:19-21 ESV

A true spiritual growth test is to ask those who know you: "What do you see happening in my life right now?"  If they tell of the good things that reflect the fruits of the spirit then you know you are growing, if not, then it might be time to refocus.

Go over the lists.  Celebrate the victories in the areas of growth and dig into the areas that need work.  Ask the Spirit of God to lead you and He will.  You will notice it will be hard to root out the sinful, selfish desires Paul lists.  The reason is it's engrained in our flesh.  But do not give up!  "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Romans 8:37 ESV)

Growing up is hard to do but it so worth it!  

We'll Never Be More Ready...

Here is the video from my message two weeks ago.  Ready or not, Jesus is coming back!  It will be much better for us to be ready than not!  We'll never be more ready for what God has for us than right now!  Please feel free to discuss the video below in the comment section.  Enjoy!