A FAITH-LIFT--GOD'S PART & YOUR PART

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In order for a faith-lift to be effective, you need to understand who does what and when. A faith-lift includes God's part and yours.

We visited a study group this morning where the topic was atonement. Now that's a big word, but it actually is quite simple. It's the term that means reconciliation-especially between God and man. Through Jesus man can be reconciled with God. Through Jesus we can experience atonement-be at-one-ment with God. Every religious system has atonement as its ultimate goal.

The group discussion revolved around the grace of God-God's undeserved love toward everyone in the world. Grace is divided into two-common grace and specific grace. Common grace is what everyone on the planet enjoys-the sunshine, flowers, mountains, beaches, the love of another, the breath of life and the joy of children. Once you accept the reality of common grace that is extended to everyone, then you can either acknowledge God or not. When you acknowledge God and His grace, you then have the opportunity to receive it or reject it. In other words, if you want the love of God and all of its fulfillment and eternal satisfaction, you can have it. And if you don't want anything to do with the love of God, you will not be forced into it.

There are always two sides to every story and it is no different with mankind. There is God's side and your side-God's part and yours. His part is unconditional love and acceptance of you just as you are. Your part is to actually receive this love for yourself. This is easier said than done. You see, everything you hear and see in this world will communicate just the opposite to you. The most common communication about man's possible relationship with God is that man must do certain things to appease God-to do enough to earn the love and acceptance of God. This performance message is promoted by all kinds of religious groups as well. The result? You feel the stress of having to perform and the guilt of not performing well enough.

So, how do you counteract this constant flow of wrong information? You have to remind yourself of God's unconditional love and acceptance. That's the Good News of Jesus! In order to remind yourself of God's love and acceptance, you have to employ personal discipline-to transform your mind and heart with the Good News message. If you are able to do this, you will enjoy a sense of peace that will give you a faith-lift and get you through any situation you may face.

I've come to realize there are only two kinds of pain-discipline and regret. You choose which it will be. If you discipline yourself you will make progress toward what you want to accomplish. If you don't discipline yourself, you will sit in a pile of regret.

There are many things you might want to discipline in order to bring about a faith-lift. For instance, if you want a faith-lift, why not begin with exercising discipline in the area of peace. Peace is the direct result of the Good News of Jesus. There are two kinds of peace-peace with God and the peace of God.

When the heavenly host appeared with the angel announcing the birth of Jesus, they said: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men." When the disciples were first sent out by Jesus they were to take the peace with them and give it away to those they found in the various villages who were leaning in. The first thing Jesus said to His disciples when He met them in a room after the resurrection was "Peace be with you."

I love the passage that says: "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus the Christ." (Romans 5:1) Or later in the letter to the followers of Jesus in Rome: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:13) And, then to the followers of Jesus in Thessalonica: Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. (II Thessalonians 3:16)

Now if you discipline yourself to read and meditate on the many passages that speak of peace, this will make a great contribution to getting another faith-lift. However, there is one more passage that I like to use personally and share with others. Disciplining myself to do what this passage teaches has really served me and others well in giving us a lift.

Here it is. There are three things that require your discipline. FIRST-Do not be anxious about anything. Did you get that? In order to work on your faith-lift, you must discipline yourself to stop worrying about everything! Worry gets you absolutely nowhere. But it is so easy to get caught up in the swirl of worrying, as if you could do something to control the situation.

SECOND-but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Instead of worrying, discipline yourself to pray about everything! Note that you are to ask God while being grateful-with thanksgiving. Then, note you are to present your requests-desires-what you want-to God. Tell God what you want. Discipline yourself to take all of your requests or desires to God. Just by offering up your desires to God indicates a surrender of your control and giving the matter over to Him. Remember, God already knows your desires before you ask them. What He wants to know is whether or not you are willing to present them in surrender before Him.

After the first two disciplines-(1) do not worry about anything, instead (2) let your desires be made known to God, there is a major result: And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. You will experience the peace of God and it will be the kind of peace that is beyond belief. It will be incredible! Your part is to discipline yourself not to worry and to take your desires before God. Note that this peace that you are given will guard your heart and mind. Why is this so important? It's because your heart and mind is where your worry resides.

THIRD-The 3rd discipline is to fill your mind with the following: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. The discipline here is to fill your mind with all things, true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable excellent-all good things.

The result? The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. "Practice these things" means to discipline yourself by thinking on these things. That's your part! Then, the peace of God will be with you. That's God's part!

Are you in need of a faith-lift? There are only two kinds of pain-discipline and regret. You choose! Discipline yourself in the things that produce the peace of God or you will find yourself in endless regret. In other words, you can live in peace or in pieces.

LOOKING FOR JESUS EVERY DAY

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OK, so Jesus says "Where two or three gather together in His name, He will be in their midst", but is there any other indicator about seeing Jesus at work in your life? I think there are a few helpful guidelines in finding Jesus at work around you.

FIRST-Jesus is focused on those in need, therefore look for Jesus as you are able to show concern for and offer help for the needy around you. This is where His heart is. He even says that when you feed, clothe and love those in need, you are actually ministering to Jesus, Himself.

SECOND-Jesus is focused on children, therefore look for Jesus to be hanging around them. Children do see things differently and say things innocently from the heart.

THIRD-Jesus doesn't make appointments; He will show up unexpectedly. If your day is interrupted, look for Jesus to show up in that interruption. Instead of being annoyed with your schedule being interrupted, look for Jesus there. In examining the life of Jesus you will see that He walked in and out of people's lives on His calendar. Although there are a few times Jesus initiates encounters with people, most of the time people seek Him out personally or on behalf of loved ones. In either case, when Jesus encounters a person in need, His touch is always healing and life-giving. None of these encounters were on anyone's appointment book. Each was an interruption to their daily routine.

If you are met with irritations or troubles, look for Jesus to show up through these. I have found that some of the most irritating people I know have been used by the Lord to teach me something I really needed. Look for Jesus to show up in the midst of your troubles, too. It's not that Jesus causes us these irritations or troubles; He is always present to use them for our benefit.

You see, the reason why you can find Jesus around you throughout your day is that Jesus is relentlessly searching for children and child-like faith, those who are in need and those who are caught up with irritations and troubles. And He uses all of these players and situations to grow us up spiritually.

In the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke Jesus offers three stories about His relentless search for those who are lost-the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost child-the prodigal son. All of these illustrate the primary theme of Jesus' day every day. He is out to seek and to save or rescue those who have lost their way.

No matter what the touch of Jesus accomplishes in the life of a person, there is always the same result. Each and every person comes to the point of repentance. "Repentance" gets a bad rap. Most think of repentance as a highly emotional decision-a dramatic conversion experience. Now, repentance may include such emotion, but basically repentance means to change your mind about something or change your direction-turn around. It is usually referring to turning back to God-getting back on track. I like to think about it as simply coming to your senses.

There is an interesting encounter with Jesus that Jesus actually initiates. It's when Jesus met a tax-collector by the name of Zaccheus. Let's look in on what happened: Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a sinner."

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

NOTE that Jesus invites Himself to lunch at Zach's house. And even before they made it to his house for lunch, there is an immediate change in the heart of Zaccheus. It's amazing to me how quickly Zaccheus wants to rectify his wrongs against the people he had over-taxed. He repented. He came to his senses about what he was doing.

I see this all of the time with people. When they encounter Jesus, there is a dramatic coming to their senses about material things, about their family responsibilities, about their finances and about their sense of mission. This initial response to an encounter with Jesus indicates a genuine heart decision to follow Jesus.

Now note what Jesus' response was to the changes in Zaccheus. Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:1-10)

When you're looking for Jesus everyday, you will find Him actively seeking those who have lost their way. What Jesus wants from you is to be aware of His activity, cooperate with Him in His many encounters with people around you and to do whatever you can do to advance the conversation of Jesus in the marketplace. You see, when you are looking for Jesus every day, you begin to partner with Him. To be a partner with Jesus is to participate in bringing people to their senses. By the way, your life will begin to make more sense, too.

So, seek for Jesus and you will find Him every day. He is setting up all kinds of random appointments every day. All He wants you to do is to show up!

GOD WITH US

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The Christmas story is so frequently rehearsed and yet still Jesus' name is strangely missing from many presentations-especially in the marketplace. People make the connection between Santa Claus and Christmas trees with Christianity and this mistaken connection spills over to Jesus. But the birth of Jesus is so not what Christmas has become. There are so many ways to approach the birth of Jesus, but I want to suggest four observations that have been resonating with me and a few friends lately.

FIRST-Jesus came to dwell among us-TO BE WITH US: "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "GOD WITH US"). (Matthew 1:23) GOD WITH US! Christmas is all about God wanting to come down here and make Himself at home with us.

SECOND-Jesus called a few TO BE WITH THEM: He appointed twelve that they might BE WITH HIM. (Mark 3:14-15) Jesus set out to accomplish the work God, the Father, had asked Him to do-to be with the few the Father brought to Him and to teach them about His name. Jesus said: "and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:26) Imagine that! The love with which the Father loved Jesus can be in us and Jesus be in us at the same time!

THIRD-Jesus continues TO BE WITH US TODAY. Jesus shares with us the plan for continuing to dwell WITH US today: "If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever-the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."

"Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home (our dwelling place) with them." (John 14)

Jesus also shares with us how He will show up and make Himself known among us. "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I will show up in their midst." Jesus will show up as a few of us gather in His name. He still is inviting a few for Him TO BE WITH THEM today!

You see, Jesus through His Spirit is present WITH US right now and welcomes us. After seeing how the Gentiles (the non-Jews) readily believed Jesus enough to follow Him, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him." (Acts 10:34-35)

Paul speaks to this same thing, when he was speaking in the marketplace in Athens. He said: "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.' (Acts 17:24-28)

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, Jesus gave His disciples one final command to make disciples of all nations and cultures. He envelopes this command with these words: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations." Then he said: And surely I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, to the very end of the age." (MT 28:19-20) He doesn't say I will be with you again someday. He says "I am with you always-right now on into eternity!

This is the mystery that has been revealed through the coming of Jesus. It is "Christ in you, the hope of glory". Literally the mystery is Christ among y'all. This is just another rendition of "Where two or three are gathered together in my name".

Jesus came as Immanuel-TO BE WITH US and HE IS STILL HERE WITH US today, therefore: · We don't have to ask Him to be with us! He already is! · We don't have to ask Him to bless us! He already has! · We don't have to look for Him! He is invisible, but dynamically present! · We don't have to conjure Him up through powerful charismatic experiences! He is the one who has powerfully come to dwell WITH US! · We don't have to be anything other than we are! He wants to dwell with you just as you are!

A friend in Jesus recently said it this way: Jesus became like us so that we might become like Him and He came to live WITH US for a time so that we might live WITH HIM for eternity. And guess what? Eternity starts the moment you realize that Jesus is Immanuel and you decide to follow Him.

Now to me, this makes Christmas the merriest of holidays! GOD WITH US started 2000+ years ago and He continues to be WITH US today. This is why I talk to Him throughout the day. This is why I am in a constant conversation with Jesus asking a very simple question, "What do you have for me today, Jesus?" And when I ask, He shows up. And when I don't ask, I don't see Him or even think of Him. Since I know God is WITH US, I am so much more at ease about my day. GOD WITH US! Think it over!

THE BEST PART OF CHRISTMAS

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The space-time event in history of the birth of Jesus is filled with so many highlights. And everyone has his or her favorite thing to share about the Christmas story. Jesus was born on time and in the little town of Bethlehem according to the many ancient Prophets.

What fascinates me most about the birth of Jesus is how it all came about through a variety of unlikely players. The Jews very carefully kept track of their genealogies as they relate to the godly line of the Messiah. In Matthew the genealogical record is most likely that of Joseph's and the genealogical record in Luke seems to be that of his Mother Mary.

What is so amazing is that after all of the care to follow each step of the way of the Messiah's godly line, God purposefully inserts some very unlikely people. Let's call these skeletons in Jesus' closet. A skeleton in the closet usually has to do with the uglier side of our family line. Jesus had 7 skeletons in His closet that all have a potential ugly side. Let's look at each of them:

FIRST-Mary, His mother. Mary was a sinful woman just as any other woman on the planet. She was an admitted sinner and was surprised at the choice of the angel to create the Messiah through her. This is the least ugly of the 7 skeletons and yet was a definite application of the grace of God to choose her. She clearly recognized that she personally was in need of the Savior she was to birth.

SECOND-David. Although we know David is known as a man after God's own heart, he was guilty of horrific sins. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and then set in motion the plan to have her husband, Uriah, killed in order to cover up his sin.

THIRD-Abraham. Remember, Abraham was a Gentile and God chose him to be the father of a new nation altogether-the people of Israel. Abraham's life was not a clean one, even though he was to be the father of all who believe. Two different kings brought Abraham's wife, Sarah, into their harems, because out of fear Abraham lied to each of them, saying that Sarah was his sister. What a horrible and shameful way to treat Sarah.

Even though David and Abraham were miserable sinners, Jesus the Messiah is known to be the son of David, the son of Abraham and proud of it. Then, within the genealogy of Jesus in a culture where genealogies were mostly dominated by men, there are four women, probably all Gentiles, who are included in the godly line of Messiah Jesus.

FOURTH-The first woman is Tamar, the Canaanite daughter-in-law of Judah. She resorted to deception, prostitution and even incest when she was unable to have a child. She tricked Judah into having sexual relations with her and she had twin boys, Perez and Zerah. Tamar and her son, Perez, both are included in the godly line of Jesus-both part of His sacred family tree.

FIFTH-The next woman who was also a Gentile, Rahab. She made prostitution her livelihood. As we saw yesterday Rahab risked her own neck to hide the spies of Israel when she lived in the ancient city of Jericho. Because of her faith and action on God's behalf, He agreed to spare her life and the lives of all her family during the battle of Jericho. She became the wife of Salmon and the mother of a godly man named Boaz. Boaz was David's great-grandson. By this marriage Rahab was inserted into the Messianic godly line that would produce Jesus.

SIXTH-The next Gentile woman, a Moabite, was Ruth. Although she was a former pagan and a Moabite, having no right to marry an Israelite, God's grace brought Ruth into the family of Israel, and through Boaz into the royal line. She became the grandmother of Israel's greatest king-King David.

SEVENTH-The final Gentile woman who was surprisingly in the godly line of Messiah Jesus is Bathsheba. Now get this! She entered the godly Messianic line through adultery with David. Their first son died in infancy, yet their second son was the great King Solomon, who was successor to David's throne.

As you can see the story of Christmas has some amazing surprises in it. These undeserving, Gentiles not Jewish, people were inserted into the godly list solely and completely by the grace of God.

So, in the birth of Jesus the Messiah, the skeletons in the closet turn out to be all about grace-amazing grace! This is the story of Christmas: That God's Messiah has come to deliver whoever will come to Him. This is truly what the Good News is all about. Jesus accepts and loves anyone and everyone-no matter your origin, ethnicity or religious beliefs. Jesus proves His love and acceptance by including four sinful women in His family tree. By the way, this means Jesus accepts you and loves you unconditionally, too. So, this Christmas celebrate your brokenness, your ways of falling short, the many times you've missed the mark. Jesus simply overlooks all of your negative stuff and wants you to accept His light into your life that you might be whole. Now, that is a Merry Christmas!

ORDINARY PEOPLE--EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS

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We have been making our way through the eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews. And in verses 32-40 the writer begins to make some general swipes over the history of faith. And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. (Hebrews 11:32-40) Wow! Who wouldn't want to have these experiences of faith? This list is amazing!

God specializes in using ordinary people and producing extraordinary results through them! Gideon (Judges 6:13-14) believed the promises, but was pretty shaken up as to how God does His work! Barak (Judges 4:5-6) believed, but wouldn't go into battle alone! Samson (Judges 13:24;16:28-31) believed but his strength became his weakness! Jephthah (Judges 11:9) was a son of a harlot, but was a valiant warrior! David (I Samuel 16-17) was a young lad whom God mightily used to stop the giants! All of these are illustrations of ordinary faith!

Now, let's go on in this list. The writer shifts gears at this point and continues with people who have the same kind of faith, but in each of the experiences now listed the results are all negative, filled with pain and heartache. This sort of result is rarely referenced. Listen to this: and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

Then, in summary of these faithful people with the same faith as those he listed earlier, he says: And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. So these people who walked by faith didn't receive the ultimate answers to their prayers that were to be culminated in the coming of the Messiah. But now that the Messiah has come, we who place our faith in Him are actually completing their faith. We are partners in this walk of faith.

This is spelled out more completely earlier in this same chapter in verses 13-16. All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

In the next chapter we find out how ordinary faith is exercised. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

This faith-walk with God is all about being in a race-the race of life. You are already entered in this race. There is no way to back out. It's a win or lose kind of race. To be a winner you must exercise your faith and trust in God. 


There are four observations here I want to make: FIRST-There are already a lot of winners who stand as witnesses, all testifying that it is winnable and the victory is worth all the effort spent in the race.

SECOND-To win you must follow certain racing procedures. You must put off all encumbrances that might weigh you down in this race. Marathoners don't run in combat boots or heavy clothing. Also, you must put aside that sin-that weakness-that so easily entangles you.

THIRD-Fix your eyes on the best example ever in this race of life-Jesus. All that Jesus did and said can become your model for racing well in this life.

FOURTH-Count on God to turn the results of your faith-whether positive or negative-into something meaningful and extraordinary.

Your ordinary faith will allow God to produce extraordinary results with eternal value to your life. It's ordinary people living by faith, leaving the results completely in the hands of the God of gods that will make life extraordinary. You know what this faith-walk really comes down to? God doesn't want to change your circumstances until he changes you! So, God's work is all about you after all!