You Are Powerful

God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)

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Many people are going through life fearing what lies ahead - afraid to speak and act - operating in a mode of timidity, uncertainty, and apprehension.

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Yet God, through His Spirit, offers a better way; power, love, and self-discipline.

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This means that we can - you can - be boldly confident - courageously assured in all things. We are given a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. And we are called and commissioned to use this power to affect others for Jesus - in love - and to live a life of obedience to Jesus - through self-discipline.

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Today, own this. Be filled with God’s Spirit. Be powerful. Be loving. Be obedient. Be self-disciplined.  

Sorry

This afternoon I was driving back from Indianapolis and I was hungry. Because I was by myself the question came to me, "Where is somewhere that I can go for lunch that my wife and children typically will not allow me to go?" Immediately I exclaimed, "White Castle!"

I should explain that my wife hates White Castle, she hates the taste, she hates the smell, she hates the long-reaching effects (they are called "belly bombs" and "sliders" for a reason). 

So there I was, at the White Castle drive-thru, ordering a sack of burgers. And, as I placed my order, I knew that I would soon have to apologize to my wife for my actions. But, regardless, I went ahead and ordered a sack. 

Driving down the road it didn't take long before the burgers were gone. In their place was a stomach aching from an act of gluttony, a car reaking from grease, onions, and pickles, eyes filled with regret, a mind flooded with sorrow, and a heart desiring to repent. 

And even though I knew in advance that my wife would not approve of my actions, and that I would need to make amends and apologize to her for the damage I was doing to my body and to her vehicle, I went ahead, ordered and consumed multiple burgers.

 

This afternoon I am paying for my actions! 

I cannot help but reflect on how closely this resembles our spiritual life. 

So often we are tempted by a selfish desire and - even though we know that it will do damage to our body, our mind, our heart, our soul, and those who are closest to us - we move forward. 

We navigate the road, pull into the drive-thru, place our order, and consume as much as we can. All the while we know that we will soon have to appologize and repent of our ways. 

We focus on the temptation that is before us until the temptation becomes sin in our life. 

What we are left with is a body that has sinned, a mind flooded with sorrow, a heart that desires to repent, and a soul that is broken. 

You see, The most troubling aspect about our sin is that we are scarred for the future. 

Even as I sit this afternoon, still feeling the effects of the burgers, still knowing the pain that I have caused my wife (in her vehicle anyhow) I have to admit that I could eat another "slider" right now. 

It is the same way with our sin. What once was a surface level desire - a temptation that otherwise would pass by - has the ability to imbed itself deep into our life. Over time our temptation becomes sin, our sin becomes addiction, and our addiction becomes our identity. 

So, the next time you are tempted by a selfish desire, call out to God. Let him remind you of the far-reaching pain that your sin will cause - to yourself, to those closest to you, and to Him. 

Walk in Obedience

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,

who walk in obedience to him. (Psalm 128:1)

This passage goes in to outline many of the ways an obedient man will be blessed by the Lord. 

Recently I have been talking with many people about the account of the rich man who came to Jesus (Matthew 19:16-26) and asked what was required of him. Jesus told him to walk in obedience. Then, when the man inquired further, Jesus told him to sell everything and give all his money away. 

Not everyone will be called to sell all their possessions and give all their money away. Yet, all are called to obedience - totally and completely. And, when we inquire further, Jesus will reveal the thing - or things - in our life that compete for our time, allegiance, and faithfulness to Him.

So, this morning, I ask The Lord to reveal the things in my life that keep me from walking in obedience to Him and Him alone.

Notes from Monday Evening's Service

Family Camp 2014: Monday evening service - Pastor Mark Van Valin

This evening we aimed to grasp a deeper level of holiness - this shall help us all as we continue throughout the week ahead. 

1 John 3:1-6; See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

1 John 4:13-18; This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Picture yourself - your life - life as an island. You are an island and the moment that you are saved in Jesus Christ your island has been invaded. When you accept Christ, you accept His salvation for you, and it is Jesus who has invaded your island. From this moment everything changes - or should change. Your desires, your priorities, your attitude - from the moment you accept Christ's salvation for you, everything changes. 

On the outside we can spot the mark of holiness and unholiness - in ourselves and in others. But the further in the island we go the more difficult it is to spot the marks of sin in our lives. 

Often people are taught - and trained in - the "weed whack" approach to getting rid of sin. Get rid if all din in our life one bit at a time and we will then achieve holiness. However, the more we tool and strain at weeding one portion of our island - our life - the more weeds continue to grow in other areas. See, weeds are - just as sin is - relentless! 

There are four fronts if sin that we must be aware of as we strive for holiness. 

1. Self-promotion - this is a need to be first and to be noticed. Self-promotion asks - begs - "What about me?"

2. Self-protection - this is a need to be safe. Self-protection states "Not me."

3. Self-indulgence - this is a need to seek comfort and pleasure, and to avoid pain. Self-indulgence calls out "Give me!"

4. Self-sufficiency - this is a need to reduce all if life to what I can predict , measure, or control. Self-sufficiency demands "Let me!"

All sin of omission or commission fit into one if these four fronts. Yet a powerful force behind all of sin is one this; FEAR. Fear is the ultimate and primary expression of unbelief. 

Deep in the territory of your life is a flag which represents who it is that rules everything in your life; your desires - your priorities - your attitudes. 

Imagine the game capture the flag where there is a battle for that flag. That flag in your life represents everything! 

Jesus has invaded your island - your life - and He desires to gain access - complete control of your flag. However that flag is not the flag of Satan that Jesus needs to capture, that flag is you. 

The solution is not to "weed wack" your life - your island. At the heart of the "Kingfom of Me" is fear. More specifically the fear of death. 

Matthew 16:24; Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

We all must give up the four fronts of sin, remove the flag to "Your " kingdom, and replace it with Jesus' flag. We must - daily - commit to confronting the four fronts of sin in our lives. 

To self-promotion - 1 Peter 5:6; Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

To self-protection - Exodus 3:12; And God said, “I will be with you.

To self-indulgence - Matthew 6:33; But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

To self-sufficiency - 2 Corinthians 12:9; But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

1 John 4:18; There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear...

The four fronts of a life with Jesus Christ - holiness - are focused on His ways for us. 

Humility rather than self-promotion - John 3:30; He must become greater; I must become less.

Obedience rather than self-protection - Isaiah 6:8; Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Self-denial rather than self-indulgence - 2 Timothy 1:7; For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Trust rather than self-sufficiency - Psalm 130:6; I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Clear the Stage

“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:3-6, TNIV)

Being Children of God

1 Peter 1:13-16 states; "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy."


There are several words that stand out as we read 1 Peter 1:13-16, but one stands out the most – "CHILDREN" – we are God’s children. Think about this remarkable truth for a moment;  It is God’s desire that we be His children.

 But, God has a broader desire than that we simply be His children.  So He gives us several adjectives in 1 Peter to tell us what kind of children He desires for us to be.

• Obedient children; Following His commands and directives for our lives – because they are what are best for us.
•  Prepared children; Prepared for action today and prepared for heaven tomorrow.
• Active children; Active in the body of Christ.
• Self-controlled children; Self-controlled and disciplined
• Hopeful children; Hopeful and faithful that Jesus Christ will return and all glory will be given to Him. 
• Alert children; Informed in the wills and ways of God - Alert and conscience of the evil in this world
• Called children; Called by God and set apart for a special purpose.
• Holy children; Without holiness no one will see God. 

Where Are Your Habits Leading You

Habits. We start hearing about habits from such an early age, usually associating habits with the phrase "bad habits" such as biting your finger nails, picking your nose, smoking, spitting, or belching. But habits can be a good thing as well.

As a youth pastor I began speaking to students and young children about the importance of establishing good habits such as the habit attending church and youth group, the habit of daily Scripture reading and daily prayer. It is important that these habits are started early so that these young adults will carry them on throughout their entire lives. As Proverbs 22:6 says: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Now as a Pastor of a church I find myself making these same statements and presenting the same case to grown adults. For many adults, this is the first time they have ever heard of the importance of Christian habits, but for some individuals, this is something that has been taught to them from a very early age. One Scripture that pastor's everywhere love to quote is Hebrews 10:25: "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

But I don't want to talk about the habit of attending church, attending church doesn't get us the "prize" that Paul writes of in Philippians 3. I want to talk about the rest of the habits found in Hebrews 10:25 and the surrounding verses.

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." (Hebrews 10:24-27)

I understand how hard and how harsh these words sound, but they are straight from God's Word and so they are for us and they are for now. So, what are the "habits" we are called to in just these four verses?

• The habit of spurring one another on to love and good deeds - this is outreach and service
• The habit of meeting together regularly - this is worship and fellowship
• The habit of encouraging one another - this is teaching and training
• The habit of turning our back on sin - this is commitment

You see, we often look to the "habit" of loving God and loving others, the "habit" of doing good deeds for others, the habit of attending church and enjoying the fellowship of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and the "habit" of encouraging one another to stay the course as our duty as God's children, and rightly so. But, it's important that we realize that without making it a "habit" to turn our back to sin, to  no longer deliberately sin against God and His creation, we lose the sacrifice for sin that has been made for us, that is Jesus Christ. Without making it a "habit" to turn our back  to sin, we trade our eternal reward for judgement that leads to raging fire and separation from God.

Take a look at your habits, the good habits, the bad habits, and all those in between, and ask yourself where those habits are leading you.

Ten Commandments in Ten Weeks

Exodus 20 gives a list of ten commands given to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai. Throughout the Scriptures, followers of Christ are told to obey these commandments of God, here are just a few places:

• "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Ecclesiastes 12:13
• "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:19
• "If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” Matthew 19:17

And although many followers of Jesus Christ know that we are to obey these commandments of God, that we are to live by them and follow them, many followers don't even know what they are. Do you know what the Ten Commandments are? Are you able to share them with others when asked?

If you would like to learn the commandments for yourself, this is one of the most effective videos I have found. It is a bit dated and cheesy, but it is effective and only takes a few minutes.

 Although I am able to recite them when asked, I have come to realize that I fail to think of them on a daily basis and to consistently evaluate my behavior based on these simple Ten Commands given from God Himself. In Matthew 19 Jesus was asked about which commands needed to be kept in order to inherit eternal life. Not only did He list each one of these commandments as mandatory, He called for further action and further commitment, the same can be seen in Jesus' sermon on the mount.

Given this basis of Scripture and the desire of Jesus' heart, I see it as imperative not only to know the commandments, but to obey them, to contemplate them, and to constantly evaluate my behavior based on them. It is my aim to simply focus on one commandment each week for the next ten weeks and to meditate on the reasoning of the command, the true meaning of the command, and what a life following the command will look like. If you are up for a challenge, I invite you to join me on this journey through the commandments of God.