Restore and Revive Us Again

The following is from a message that I gave on October 5th, the audio can be found here. 

Isaiah 64:1; That You would come down from heaven and dwell among us.

Have you ever wanted to see God?

• To meet with Him and know His thoughts?
• To talk with Him and ask Him about His ways?
• To gaze upon His face and see His beauty?
• To stand in His presence and feel His power?

Just as the prophet Isaiah wrote (700 BC), We beg and we plead; God come down from heaven and dwell among us.

And He did. God came down from His thrown in heaven. He spent 30 years living among us as a common man - born of a humble birth, living a humble, ordinary life. He then spent the final three years of His life teaching, mentoring, healing, training, and ministering to those who are desperate in need. 

But we were not satisfied. We wanted a King, not a servant. We asked God  to come down from heaven and do what He had done in the past – to stand against our enemies – to establish a Kingdom.

Our response was to hand Him over to the highest power we could find so that He could be nailed to a cross, suffocate, and die. 

And because He is God in the flesh, He does something amazing, something that we never expected God to do – He died.

He said that He was dying for us and for our sins. He said that He was dying so that all of humanity can be reconciled to Him. But He died!?

And maybe He did die for my sin. But a dead man can't save me, and a dead man can't save you! 

Three days later this dead man is not a dead man anymore - He is alive – and He is God. He has taken away the curse – the sin of mankind and He has proven that He has power over sin, over Satan, and over death. 

We beg and we plead; God come down from heaven and dwell among us.

He did for a while, but then He left. God ascended back to heaven with the promise of a future gift. 

Ten days later – with sound of a mighty wind and the appearance of tongues of flames – God came down from heaven in the form of His Holy Spirit. 

But this time He does not simply dwell among us – as we have begged Him to – Now He also dwells within us. 

God came down from heaven and gave us help, comfort, understanding, and power. 

But, again, we were not satisfied. We wanted a God that we could see – a God that we could understand, a God that we could control. 

Our response was fear. We began to shut down and close God's Spirit out. We continued to live our lives without this gift – who is God. We continued to live our lives without this help, this comfort, this power. We continued to live our lives without God!

We beg and we plead; God come down from heaven and dwell among us.  And sometimes we wonder why He hasn't.

• Where is God in our world?
• Where is God in our churches?
• Where is God in our lives?

We beg and we plead; God come down from heaven

One day God will come down from heaven and He will make all things right.

• On this day, every knee will bow before Jesus – our King
• On this day every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord
• On this day God will establish His Kingdom

Now is the time to make sure that we are right with God,

• That we have a right relationship with Jesus Christ
• That we have a right relationship with His Holy Spirit

Let me invite you to consider these questions:

·        Do you have a right relationship with Jesus Christ?

• Jesus wants to be more than your Savior - to save you from the penalty of sin.
• Jesus wants to be more than your source of eternal life. 
• Jesus wants to be your everything - and to provide you with everything.
• Do you have unconfessed sin in your life that you need to seek repentance for?
• God cannot be in the presence of sin
• God cannot bless you if you have sin in your life
• Have you dishonored God’s Holy Spirit?
• We cannot fully embrace God until we accept all of Him
• God has more in store for you and for your life.

Let us go beyond the plea of Isaiah 64. Let us make Psalm 85 our prayer:

• Now restore us again, O God of our salvation. Put aside your anger against us once more. Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. (4, 6-7)

I Think I'll Call My Mom

I haven't called my mom at all this week. Last week I probably called my mom 30 times.

My grandfather passed away last week and I was putting the funeral service together. So, I called my mom several times to run over details about the funeral, and gather information from her. Also, As we were grieving the loss of my grandfather has a family, I felt the need to call her more then normal and just talk.

But, as I think about it now, I haven't called my mom at all this week. She sent me a text message late last week and said she missed hearing my voice. Apparently she too was aware of the increase in the number of phone calls that I gave her last week.

I sometimes wonder if this is how God feels. That when we have a drastic change in our life - something that we are anxious or disturbed over, something that we sense an increased burden or stress over - or if we need something from him, then we call him more than normal. Yet, when things seem to be going just fine in our lives then we somehow forget to call on him, we forget to go before his throne and just visit a little while.

Perhaps it's normal that when things in our lives have changed, when we are anxious or disturbed, when we are heavy burdened or stressed, that we go before God more than normal. But, let us not forget to go before God's throne regularly, let us not forget to visit with him often.

I'm going to go now, I have to pray. And then, I think I'll call my mom.

Poppy

I'm sitting on a plane - in Traverse City, Michigan - as we taxi down the runway, headed toward Detroit. 

Our family vacation began on Friday and - as we arrived at the lake cottage - it began with some difficult news. My grandpa - "Poppy" - passed away on Friday afternoon. 

This morning I am headed to my parents to prepare for the funeral and to try and bring some comfort and encouragement through a funeral meditation. This morning I am headed to my parents while Kim and our children stay in Michigan.

I am reminded at times such as these just how brief life is and how important family is. I will miss Poppy, his jokes, his stories, and his life. Most of all I will miss his character, his humility, and his family values. Poppy was God-fearing, family-focused man. 

I pray that I can be a husband such as he was - loyal and honoring for 63 years. I pray that I can be a father such as he was - a loving and gentle leader. I pray that I can be a friend such as he was - patient and forgiving. 

As I head south, I miss my wife and I miss my children. And, in our brief separation from one another, I pray that I will learn how to - and I pray that I will grow to be - the husband, father, and friend that Poppy was - the husband, father, and friend that they deserve. 

Notes from Thursday Evening's Service

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

1 Corinthians 10:1-11;  For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 

Exodus from Slavery is a 5 Act Play:

Act 1: "Slavery" (Exodus 1:12-14) The Israelites had been in Egypt - in slavery - for 430 years. In this 430 years they had lost everything - their vision for the future and their vision for any freedom. The only vision they had after 430 years was a vision of slavery - 24/7 work and bondage. The Apostle Paul writes that we are all in slavery. John Wesley preached that we are asleep. 

Act 2: "Awakened Cry" (Exodus 2:23-27) When we are awakened from our slavery - or our sleep - we cry out. This awakened cry is a cry for acceptance and repentance. However, a person never cries out for what could be until they first catch a vision for it. In the same way, we are all content in our sin until we catch a glimpse of God's grace, holiness, and glory. 

Act 3 (scene 1): "When I See The Blood" (Exodus 12:13) When God sees the blood of the lamb He will pass over our slavery. This "passing over" by God comes through the blood of Jesus. This is our justification. 

Acts 3 (scene 2): "Baptism through the Red Sea" (Exodus 14:13-15) Baptism is a new birth. It is not enough to be promised deliverance from slavery - we must be delivered and baptized in a new birth. 

Act 3 should have been the last act. But it is not the end, it is not even the middle. In the same way that "finding Jesus", accepting His salvation, and being baptized into the family of God is not the end of the story for us. 

Act 4: "Wilderness"(Deuteronomy 8:2-5) For 40 years the Israelites walked in the wilderness. For 40 years they tried to recreate Egypt in the wilderness. For 40 years God aimed to discipline the idolatry out of the Israelites. We can be taken out of the slavery situation but it is a process of taking the slavery mindset out of us. 

In 1 Corinthians 10 The Apostle Paul writes about a wilderness that exists past an individual's salvation.

We must ask, why do we choose to stay in the wilderness. John Wesley erote that is came down to negleglct - from prayer and Scripture - sin - we can't imagine a life away from it - or ignorance - we don't know a life apart from it. 

Therefore our options are threefold; we can choose to go back to "Egypt" - that is our venue of slavery, idolatry, and sin (Exodus 16:3), can stay in - and die in - the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:5), or we can take possession of the promised land. 

Act 5: "Take Posession" (Deuteronomy 8:1, 6-9) This is the land that God has promised to each one if us. This is the land of sanctification and holiness that God is calling us to. 

Notes from Tuesday Evening's Service

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

The theme of this week's Family Camp is "Holiness: coming home again". At the foundation of our faith as Free Methodists is holiness - a life of holiness which is totally devoted to God. 

Tonight we looked to John 16:5-11; ...but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. 

The "Advocate" - that is the Holy Spirit - convicts us of sin just as a good Doctor makes a diagnoses.this conviction of sin is a true gift from God. First the Holy Spirit reveals God's beauty, His holiness, His majesty, and His love. Then the Holy Spirit reveals to us our sin - our desperation from God and from God's beauty, His holiness, His majesty, and His love. 

In all of this, the Holy Spirit speaks to us in specifics. Satan always speaks in generalities - you're not good enough, you're strong enough. But when the Holy Spirit speaks to us, He speaks to is in specifics - of our jealousy, our dishonesty, and our pride.

But first the Holy Spirit reveals God's glory to us. Only after we catch a glimpse of God's glory - and begin to comprehend what God's glory is - can we truly recognize and completely understand that we have sinned against God and His glory. 

Romans 3:23 states; ...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Let us consider four stages of sorrow - grief - over sin. 

First, we grieve over how our sin affects us. Sin can seem okay until there is a consequence to my sin that hurts me personally. This first stage is not a sorrow brought by The Holy Spirit and it does not lead to true repentance. 

Second, we grieve over how our sin affects others. Sin that is hurting - ruining - our relationships may bring about sorrow because we are affecting others that we care about. This stage is the beginning of repentance.

Third, we grieve over how our sin separates us from God. A gap exists between us and God - a gap brought about by sin. As sin in our life increases, the gap - separation - between us and God increases. This third stage is a sorrow over din that is brought about by the Holy Spirit and it will lead us to true repentance. 

Fourth and finally, we grieve over how out sin grieves and dishonors God. Very few followers come to this point of sorrow over sin. However, when we reach this stage, we find true repentance and a desire to please, honor, and glorify God. 

Until you reach this fourth level of grief - of sorrow - you will never reach God's holiness.

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.

Notes from Sunday Evening's Service

On this, the first evening of Family Camp 2014, we welcomed Pastor Mark Van Valin from the Spring Arbor, Michigan Free Methodist Church as our Family Camp Evangelist. Pastor Van Valin will be speaking this week on the topic if holiness, more specifically "coming home" to our foundation as Free Methodists founded in and on holiness. 

This evening message focused around John chapter 7 where Jesus goes - in secret - to the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast if Tabernacles was an eight-day feast that followed the harvest, not only did it begin on the Sabbath, it also concluded on the Sabbath. Much like our week of Family Camp, as we begin on Sunday (our celebrated Sabbath) and we conclude on Saturday (the true Sabbath).

Throughout the Bible water is used as a metaphor frequently - water may be the primary metaphor used in the Bible. 

Isaiah 55:10-11; For as the rain and the snow come down from heavenand do not return there but water the earth,making it bring forth and sprout,giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;it shall not return to me empty,but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

And wilderness was symbolic for a lack if water. 

The Feast if Tabernacles was a celebration to help the Israelites remember God's hand if deliverance from the wilderness. 

It was on the final day - the greatest day - of the Feast of Tabernacles that Jesus made himself known (John 7:37) with a statement that would have been quite odd. After eight straight days of feasting - gorging - thelmelves in food and drink Jesus stand before them and says; If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

As we begin our week of Family Camp together, let us ask; is anyone still thirsty. Many of us come from our home churches where we regularly hear the Word of God spoken, we come from lives where we are committed to studying, believing, obeying, and depending on God's Word for our lives. And still, we are still thirsty. 

Let us pray; Lord, I'm going to commit this week to You. 

I'm thirsty and in need of the holiness that can only come from God.