I shared this briefly on Sunday morning but wanted to elaborate just a litte.
In Matthew 16 Jesus told the apostle Peter, "I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." A quick couple of points to ponder as men who belong to Christ's church.
1. First of all Christ will build the church. It is not something he might do, or is thinking about doing. He will his church. So the question for us is this: Is Christ building his church with me or without me?
2. Next notice that Jesus said my church. That means the church belongs to him and not to us. That takes a ton of pressure off of us because we aren't the owners of church. The pressure comes back though in a different form...while we are not the owners of the church we are it's managers. Christ has put every man in charge of a his family, and some of us to be leaders of small groups, and some of us to be shepherds of flocks. Knowing that the church belongs to him helps me trust that he's in charge, but reminds me of the seriousness of our charge as leaders. What are you doing with your little corner of Christ's church?
3. Hell has gates. My mentor Bob Wood pointed out that the church doesn't have gates that are withstanding the attacks of Satan's forces. That would make us on the defense and Satan on the offense. But things are the other way around. Satan's territory is gated because it's being attacked by God's Kingdom. Let's never become "Fort Adventure" where the Christians hide out from the world in fear of the enemies attacks. We're the attackers. We're the ones who are supposed to be attacking. That's sword (Bible) in hand, attention focused, locked in combat, life and death on the line, souls in the balance, battering the gates of hell and rescuing people who've been held captive! (like the P.O.D. song "snuff the punk") Are you playing offense or defense?
4. The gates of hell will not prevail. Meaning? We win. Do you think, act, and speak victoriously regarding Christ's church?
5. Recap: The church of Christ is being built. It isn't ours it's his. The church is crashing the gates of hell with the truth of God's Word. They lose, we win.
Cool verse right? It's the theme of our men's ADVANCE this year...watch for info coming out the next couple of weeks. August 8-10. Be there.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
New Things From Old Scriptures
by John Eldredge
I love it how the Scriptures continue to speak, opening up new things to us all the time even after (in my case) thirty years of reading the Bible.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the Gospel of John (its my favorite) and a lot of time in chapter ten. For years I’ve used it to try and help people understand that God’s offer to us is far more than forgiveness (most Christians still think Christianity is pretty much forgiveness). God’s offer is life. Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10b). Anyhow, I was reading again in John last week, and God showed me something new.
Jesus begins the chapter talking about false shepherds and false Gospels. He then goes on to say
The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice…whoever enters through me will be saved [or “kept safe” according to the editor’s footnote]. He will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
What clicked for me was the connection between hearing his voice and finding life. Forgive me, but somehow I’ve never quite seen the union of the two ideas. I believe we can hear the voice of God. I also believe that God wants life for us. But somehow I’ve held these two convictions for years in separate shoe boxes in my mind. Both are true. But I never really saw how connected they are to each other. In fact, Jesus makes it more than a connection – he makes it a condition. “You want the life your good shepherd has for you? You’ve got to follow my voice.”
This is a big deal. Because – in spite of the fact the Scriptures urge us to listen for God’s voice – most Christians do not make it a daily practice to ask God what he thinks about what they are planning to do. Then they feel disappointed when things don’t turn out, or abandoned when things go badly. They lose confidence in God’s goodness, or at least, in God’s goodness towards them. It doesn’t occur to them that maybe they missed some essential part of life with God. Like, following closely.
Now, I am NOT saying (as some very successful authors are) that life can be completely fantastic if we just “believe,” or “lay hold of it,” or listen for God’s voice. I am NOT preaching a Gospel without suffering. Life can be hard, really hard, especially for the friends of God. Jesus said that the world would treat us as they treated him. They didn’t treat him very kindly. We simply have to be prepared for that.
What I AM saying is that even so, even in a broken world, there is a LOT of life that God still has for us. He says so. “They will come in and go out and find pasture.” Jesus was an essentially happy, joyful person. We can be, too. When we find our life in God.
By the way, I think every parent, every friend, every lover knows something of the condition Jesus is talking about. As a father, I want good things for my sons. I want to bless them. Not spoil, not overindulge, not pamper. But I do want lots and lots of good things for them. But not when they blow me off. Not when they ignore my counsel. Not when they don’t really care about our relationship. Much of what I have to offer depends on my boys staying close to me, listening to me.
Anyhow, it’s the same with God. You want life? You want to find good pasture? You’ve got to go “in and out” through Jesus, run all things through him. Listen for his voice. And follow.
I love it how the Scriptures continue to speak, opening up new things to us all the time even after (in my case) thirty years of reading the Bible.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the Gospel of John (its my favorite) and a lot of time in chapter ten. For years I’ve used it to try and help people understand that God’s offer to us is far more than forgiveness (most Christians still think Christianity is pretty much forgiveness). God’s offer is life. Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10b). Anyhow, I was reading again in John last week, and God showed me something new.
Jesus begins the chapter talking about false shepherds and false Gospels. He then goes on to say
The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice…whoever enters through me will be saved [or “kept safe” according to the editor’s footnote]. He will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
What clicked for me was the connection between hearing his voice and finding life. Forgive me, but somehow I’ve never quite seen the union of the two ideas. I believe we can hear the voice of God. I also believe that God wants life for us. But somehow I’ve held these two convictions for years in separate shoe boxes in my mind. Both are true. But I never really saw how connected they are to each other. In fact, Jesus makes it more than a connection – he makes it a condition. “You want the life your good shepherd has for you? You’ve got to follow my voice.”
This is a big deal. Because – in spite of the fact the Scriptures urge us to listen for God’s voice – most Christians do not make it a daily practice to ask God what he thinks about what they are planning to do. Then they feel disappointed when things don’t turn out, or abandoned when things go badly. They lose confidence in God’s goodness, or at least, in God’s goodness towards them. It doesn’t occur to them that maybe they missed some essential part of life with God. Like, following closely.
Now, I am NOT saying (as some very successful authors are) that life can be completely fantastic if we just “believe,” or “lay hold of it,” or listen for God’s voice. I am NOT preaching a Gospel without suffering. Life can be hard, really hard, especially for the friends of God. Jesus said that the world would treat us as they treated him. They didn’t treat him very kindly. We simply have to be prepared for that.
What I AM saying is that even so, even in a broken world, there is a LOT of life that God still has for us. He says so. “They will come in and go out and find pasture.” Jesus was an essentially happy, joyful person. We can be, too. When we find our life in God.
By the way, I think every parent, every friend, every lover knows something of the condition Jesus is talking about. As a father, I want good things for my sons. I want to bless them. Not spoil, not overindulge, not pamper. But I do want lots and lots of good things for them. But not when they blow me off. Not when they ignore my counsel. Not when they don’t really care about our relationship. Much of what I have to offer depends on my boys staying close to me, listening to me.
Anyhow, it’s the same with God. You want life? You want to find good pasture? You’ve got to go “in and out” through Jesus, run all things through him. Listen for his voice. And follow.
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