Losing For A Purpose

...Just read the latest question of the day over at Jesus.org, called, A Gospel for Losers? It really made me think that we need to put such a topic in the proper perspective and in the proper context.

In the article, the author speaks of truth, but does not contextualize it...not to do so is a major weak point of any type of teaching. He states the following:"Jesus came to show us that the gospel explains success in terms of giving, not taking; self-sacrifice, not self-protection; going to the back, not getting to the front. The gospel shows that we win by losing, we triumph through defeat, we achieve power through service, and we become rich by giving ourselves away."

But what does all of this mean? When do we do this? Why do we do this? We must qualify statements such as this by looking at WHY Jesus taught these amazing principles. Statements like this that are isolated from a proper perspective simply sound like feel-good slogans or cheesy bumper stickers.

Jesus does not want bumper stickers, He wants bold servants. He wants people that serve while leading, not those who serve simply to lose. I am seeing a lack of leadership in the Christian community (which includes myself) to take a stand against all the moral filth and secularism that is infecting our country. Moral relativism and religious pluralism have invaded every area of life like a bad virus. And one of the reasons this is occurring is because Christians are saying, "well, I need to just stay quiet and triumph through defeat."

Let me digress for a moment and qualify where I am coming from on this issue and state what I am for and what I am against so that my statements are not taken out of context...

What I am in favor of: I am all for The Gospel and believe in everything Jesus said. I firmly believe in Classical Christianity because I am a firm believer in objective truth. I am in favor of the proper Exegesis of Scripture (explanation of then and there) and the proper use of Hermeneutics of Scripture (interpreting for the here and now).

What I am against: I am totally against Eisegesis (interpreting a text in such a way that it introduces one's own ideas)... I despise relativism and the claim that all truth is subjective truth...

...so to get back to my main point, Jesus tells us such counter-intuitive teachings not so that we can look all humble and sweet, but so that we can live for a higher purpose...His purpose. He exhibited this in His own life. He did not simply take a punishment or die on the cross so that we could say, "Wow, what a nice man." Instead, He willingly laid down His life for a purpose. He came on a rescue mission to save all of humanity from eternal torture in order that we could be justified, sanctified, and glorified.

So could it be that all the secularism that has taken over our planet, the removal of school prayer, the corrupt politics and political correctness, the immoral lifestyles, the pro-choice movement, the double standards, and all the filth that we see in the media is because as Christians, we see it happening, but we are too soft to stand up and do anything about it? Is it because we have an improper view of the definition of humbleness? An improper view of what it means to save our lives by losing them?

There could be other reasons of course, apathy for example, or wanting to take a stand but not knowing how...but when it comes to giving and not taking, self-sacrifice instead of self-protection, and winning by losing, it must be in the context of purpose...If we "lose" then we "lose" in order to assure a greater victory...we need to have a context for our convictions instead of a cop-out for our cowardice...

Do Christians and Muslims Worship The Same God?

If someone were to ask you, "Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?" what would you say?

There are some great discussions going on at Stand To Reason and the Denver Seminary on this specific topic, but I think the best way to answer this question is not necessarily if it is The same God, but rather what are the paths taken to get to such a God...

...I must preface by saying that the identity of God is of utmost importance because Christians believe in the Trinity yet Muslims do not, so we need a way to help deduce the identity of The Christian God and the Islamic God, and this deduction comes through the path...the path in which we get to God...

For instance, John 14.6 states, "I am the way, the truth, and the life!" Jesus answered. "Without me, no one can go to the Father." So let's say, for arguments sake, that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, then we must focus on how to get to Him...

Imagine you and your friend want go to the moon one day. You decide to take NASA's path and head up through the earth's atmosphere, but your friend thinks he can get there by heading East on Interstate 10...You both want to go the same place, but only one of you has the correct path...

...therefore, since Christians believe that Jesus is The One and Only Son of God, and Jesus claims that He is the only way to God, then Christians and Muslims definitely worship a different God...how do I know this? Because if you believe that there is more than one path to the same God, then you now believe in religious pluralism, and this goes against one of the fundamental laws of logic, the law of non-contradiction: something can not be true and not true at the same time...for example, Jesus can't be The only way to God, and not the only way to God at the same time and in the same context.

Bottom line: you can accept the Christian view of The Trinity and that Jesus is The Only Way to God, or you can reject it, but you must understand one MAIN issue that separates all beliefs... Jesus Christ changes everything...Lee Strobel puts it this way:

"In short, if the Resurrection is false, then Christianity is refuted. But if it's true, then regardless of what any world religion teaches, Jesus is the one-and only Son of God. And that changes everything." (see 1 Corinthians 15)

Free Will Or Determined?

When it comes to decision making, are you a believer in free-will or determinism? Do you think our choices matter or is our fate already set in stone?

Why am I asking this question? The reason is because we live in a world of irony. We all want God to tell us what to do, but if we lived in this kind of reality, we would all be complaining to God that we never get to choose. So what gives? Take a look at how the Book of Proverbs sheds insight to this subject:

Proverbs 16.1 says, "We can make our own plans, but the LORD gives the right answer."
Proverbs 16.9 says, "A person may plan his own journey, but the LORD directs his steps."

This creates an intellectual dilemma for the human mind. To our thinking, it must be one way or the other, or at least a 50/50 partnership with God...a type of supply and demand relationship, "God I demand this, so you supply it." But Timothy Keller in Your Plans:God's Plans, comments on how The Proverbs teach us that we actually have 100% free will with 100% of the results being under God's Sovereign outcomes.

Despite the intellectual perplexity of such a situation, it actually makes perfect sense. And the reason is that God, in order to know His Will, wants us to know Him...not the other way around. Therefore, He grants us the freedom and the gift of choice, but at the same time, governs the results. Our wisdom to choose is built on The Foundation of our relationship with God. So we now have the solution to the aforementioned question because when all is said and done, would we really want to live in the extremes of an either/or situation. All free will or all determined?

Think of it like this...given the state of the human condition, would we really want 100% free will to shape our outcomes? NO! And at the same time, do we really think 100% of our life is already determined? Of course not...what would be the point of getting out of bed in the morning?

I like how Steven Furtick puts it, "I still believe God gives us enough ink to write our story in His Story."

This is why I love The Holy Scriptures. Even if one denies the existence of God, they have one problem. They live in God's World. Only the writings from God, such as Proverbs 16.1 and 16.9 can give us such insight to our thinking and our actions.

So here is my final point and why I am convicted of it. If Hebrews 11.6 says that it is impossible to please God without faith, then we are living in sin with indecision. Why? Because indecision is a lack of trust and trust is the action form of faith. Don't let indecision force your hand. Forget the fear involved from making a wrong decision from free-will and let go of the depression of believing that everything is already determined. Praise God for our freedom and trust God for His Sovereignty.

Christ-Awareness

The Japanese martial artist have a saying, "Miso No Koro," which translates, "Mind Like Still Water." It is comparable to what most athletes refer to as "The Flow" or "Being in the zone." Basically it is an 'unconscious,' or quiet state of mind that allows peak performance in a chosen endeavor. When you are in the zone, you don't analyze, you act. Your training and experience become one and you reach moments of near perfection.

But what happens when such a state of focus is broken? Worry and panic creep in. Questions begin to be raised. Doubt overcomes trust and faith turns into fear. Why is this? Because we fall into a state of self-awareness and our left brain logic over runs our right brain readiness. What is suppose to be a complete unity has been disconnected into unrelated parts.

This is what happens in our relationship with Christ as well. When we have a Christ-Awareness, instead of a self-awareness, we are "in the zone" and the natural flow of life takes place without any question to what God's Will is. It's what Psalm 16:8 means as it states, “I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”

- Think of Peter. He walked on water when he had a Christ-Awareness, but he sinks when he had a self-awareness. Take a look at how Oswald Chambers states the difference between Christ-Awareness and self-awareness:

A complete life is the life of a child. When I am fully conscious of my awareness of Christ, there is something wrong. It is the sick person who really knows what health is. A child of God is not aware of the will of God because he is the will of God. When we have deviated even slightly from the will of God, we begin to ask, “Lord, what is your will?” A child of God never prays to be made aware of the fact that God answers prayer, because he is so restfully certain that God always answers prayer.

Where have you been rattled into self-awareness? Where have I become disconnected with Christ? As Chambers states, "Simply ask the Lord to give you Christ-awareness, and He will steady you until your completeness in Him is absolute."

“Come on!” Jesus said. Peter then got out of the
boat and started walking on the water toward him.
Matthew 14.29 CEV

* The 'X' in the graphic represents the greek letter Chi as in Chi Rho, one of the earliest forms of christogram, and is used by Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two letters in the Greek spelling of the word Christ ( Greek : "Χριστός" ), chi = ch and rho = r, in such a way to produce the monogram ☧. Although not technically a cross, the Chi Rho invokes the crucifixion of Jesus as well as symbolizing his status as the Christ^[1]

Pray Like Jesus

"Preaching a pagan-style gospel teaches that as long as we
have enough faith in Jesus, then we don't have to be like Jesus."
...a paraphrase from Mark Driscoll,
~ Pray Like Jesus:The Gethsemane Prayer ~

Tired of hearing the pagan practice of the prosperity gospel?...the prosperity gospel is when we use Prayer, Scripture, and experience to try and align God to our will. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is when God utilizes Prayer, Scripture, and experience to align us to His Will.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect,
the prosperity gospel is pagan...

...Mark Driscoll, in his sermon called, Pray Like Jesus: The Gethsemane Prayer, explains (and I paraphrase) that "so much of what we hear today is a brand of theology that will not be strong enough for us when we need it the most."

Christianity is a belief in a person (Jesus Christ)...it is not a coping mechanism or some magic trick for material wealth and prosperous gain...it is a relationship based on a theology that will be everything for us when we need it the most...Driscoll goes on to say, "being a follower of Jesus Christ may not get us around the obstacles of life, but it will get us through the obstacles of life."

At the end of the sermon, Driscoll outlines and speaks briefly on eleven questions about prayer... questions that challenge us to see if our prayer life is in line with God's plan...Below, I have included the eleven questions...but along with those questions, I highly encourage you to either watch Driscoll's sermon or listen to it on the Mars Hill App or via podcast.

01. Do you pray to get from God or to get God?
02. Do you pray to move God or for God to move you?
03. Do you pray to get around pain or through pain?
04. Do you courageously punctuate your prayers with "Your - Will - Be - Done...?"
• We do present our requests to God, but we should always end with, "Your Will Be Done..."
05. Do you pray out of Holy or unholy depression?
• Holy despair/depression = due to sin and its effects
• unholy despair/depression = not getting our way
06. Do you pray in faith knowing that God is not the author of sin, but is the author over sin?
07. Do you ask your friends to pray for you even if you know they will fail to do so?
08. Do you pray to both hear and accept God's will for your life?
09. Do you accept that God will answer your prayers with a "yes, no, or later?"
10. Do you know that knowing God's Will is far easier than walking in it? (Hebrews 5.7-8)
11. Do you know a godly wife who lived like Jesus Prayed? (1 Corinthians 11.3)
• You have to listen to his explanation to understand this question...

"God’s main purpose for you is not what you do. It's who you become."
~ John Ortberg ~

Improv

If you are a fan of comedy, then you know how amazing actors are when it comes to Improv. Now I am all for being proactive and planning, but when it comes to life in Christ and following the leading of our Counselor, The Holy Spirit, then we must be ready to do a little Improv ourselves, which actually brings excitement into life.

Mark Batterson, in his book, In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day, says it like this:

"I know that part of us wants God to take us to a three act play with a clearly defined plot that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. But Jesus takes us to the Improv instead. We want the entire script up front, but that would undermine our dependence upon the Holy Spirit."

The whole point of following Christ is Trust...The peak at the mountain top of our Faith is Trust. Living life in Christ as though it's an Improv forces us to lean on Christ...if we had a script, would we really develop a relationship with Him?

Batterson goes on to say, "Following Jesus and keeping in step with the Spirit requires the art of improvisation. We've got to develop an affinity for uncertainty and learn to enjoy the journey."

The Scriptures reveal many things that increase our certainty. For instance a spiritual certainty. We know we are saved, forgiven, and redeemed. But for circumstantial uncertainty, that is something we must embrace and that is what Faith in Christ is all about!

Evil via Subtraction, God via Sanctification

I was listening to John MacArthur this morning, in his sermon about The Origin of Evil, and he said something that really grips what evil is and how it exists...MacArthur states,

"Evil is not the presence of something, evil is the absence of righteousness."

Very interesting...evil is a negative...it results due to a subtraction. MacArthur goes on to say, "God created absolute perfection. Wherever a lack of that exists, sin exists. And that cannot exist in the nature of God or in anything that God makes.

This confirms what my Preacher Bro informed me of the other day...we need a Jesus Culture...A Culture of Christ...if we object to that, it is probably because our idol is standing in the way...you see, if our culture, our lives, our homes, our families, our computers, our iPhones, our video games, our social outings, our thoughts, our actions, our words, etc, were saturated in Jesus, in Prayer, in Praise, then evil would have no place. But what do we do...we push God out of every area of our lives and then we wonder why people are addicted, lost, and messed up.

Joshua 3.5 gives us a great look at ridding ourselves of evil, becoming Sanctified so that God can work miracles into our lives:

Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."

And then in The New Testament, James 1:21 tells us, “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”

...sin can not exist in The Presence of God...Fill yourselves with Christ and evil will flee.