EXALT Youth Ministries: October 2008

Immediacy. Tobiah is all about immediacy. Surprise, surprise.

When he wants his diaper changed, he wants it done right now. When he wants your attention, he wants it right now….not when it’s convenient for you. But most of all when he wants to eat, he wants it now. He wails. Granted his wailing is pretty quiet, but its still passionate and full of immediacy.

At 4 am the other night as I was setting with him giving him a bottle I started wondering where our immediacy is. What are we so passionate about that we need to yell? Or maybe it’s not yelling we need to do. I wonder if we’re missing something. Do we overlook injustice? Do we rationalize evil because we’re “just one church” or “person”? Are we content letting the world just go on around us or are we willing to speak our minds because the Bible says right is right and wrong is wrong? Why don’t we get fed up with things and speak out? Or Yell? Or cry?

Why are only 2% of US Christians willing to do something about AIDS orphans in Africa (there are currently around 13 million children without parents in Africa)? Why do we turn a blind eye to child slavery and trafficking? The US bails out Wall Street for 700 billion but the entire G8 can’t find 25 billion to stop the 25,000 children that die daily from preventable disease (thank you Bono). Where are our priorities in the church? Why aren’t these the biggest problems in our lives?

These are some of the things we should be yelling about. Instead we complain because of the flower arrangements or the music or the lack of a drama team or how we don’t have a puppet ministry anymore or how the pastor changed the order of worship or why we’re not

having enough potlucks or why we’re doing too many potlucks or why if we should call it a potluck or a tureen………

What happened to shouting the Gospel from the mountaintops? What happened to taking care of widows, and orphans and the least of these? When is enough enough? Where is our immediacy?

Question:
Hey Pastor J

I've been feeling really out of touch with God, and reality....my life is spiraling out of control before my eyes and i cant stop it...but it feels like a car accident could have been avoided, my dad is unemployed and cannot pay child support and will go to jail soon, my mom is sick and has lung problems, and i find myself alone....ive done some things im not proud of during this time in my life and ive gotten in with some baaad people. i just wish there was some way to fix this....it hurts alot..

Response:

Two thoughts:

1. Live with more than the knowledge (head) of Jesus... live IN the REALITY of Jesus (heart)!

God is God but unlike all other world religious views of Him... Jesus makes it possible to not only worship God but to genuinely connect with Him through the Holy Spirit. I'm not saying there are many paths... in fact, Jesus said that nobody comes to the Father... but through Him!

2 Corinthians 13:14 ~ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Which leads to point #2

2. Jesus clearly left (3) things to us after he took off! = Holy Spirit / The Bible / The Church (other Believers & Followers of Jesus).

I'm convinced that God will not dictate a relationship with us. That's not how it works. Relationships take sacrifice and effort on both ends. I'm also convinced that our part of action is to pursue God through the (3) things mentioned above and if we eliminate, ignore, or overemphasize any of the three... the relationship will be confused, unbalanced, struggle... fade... seem distant!

Yeah bro'... we all fall short of who we desire to be for God... that's why we really need God to inhabit us and make that transformation. The three things I'm talking about are the best possible ways to put ourselves in position for that to happen! Those three things really put us in position to: a) Hear from God b) Allow God to work in our lives. This will not necessarily change our circumstances... but it will change our heart amidst the circumstance!

Jesus speaks of the coming "Counselor" (4) times in the Gospel of John. The writer, John, was no doubt addressing the same spiritual need that you are experiencing... the active work of Jesus in your life even though he is physically absent. That this coming "Counselor" is actually in their (and our) best interest! The spiritual work of Jesus is through the availability of the Holy Spirit and the best way to describe that work is = COUNSELOR! Awesome stuff!

Counselors comfort, listen, teach, point out things that aren't working and show us ways to overcome our own missteps! In fact, Jesus even points out that this is a necessary step for his followers to take... a step of faith! [John 14:16, 26 / John 15:26 / John 16:7]

2 Corinthians 3:18 ~ And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Following Jesus really has two parts: 1) Realizing that sin separates us from the work God wants to do in our lives and is the cause of eternal separation. Once we realize the gift of forgiveness and accept what Jesus has done... something else has to happen. 2) We surrender to the work of Jesus in our heart and life by way of His Holy Spirit (the Counselor). How do we know what that looks like (the reflection mentioned in 2 Cor. 3:18)?

Galatians 5:22-23
22But the fruit (result) of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. ...

Remember that this is not the result of us changing for God... rather God transforming us when we submit to His work within us! It happens both instantly (to some degree) and we also grow in these areas as well!

John also took the first part of his Gospel to articulate that Jesus and the Word of God are synonymous [John 1:1-18] . They are one which leads us to realize that if we want to clearly hear from God... we invest time in His Word (Bible). When this is done we avoid the trappings of hokey pokey

new-age stuff... it's clear and it has stood the test of over 2,000 years. God will not contradict His Word! Some like to say that God has revealed a "new" word... or is doing a "new" thing... that it was "revealed" to them in prayer. Really? What does the Bible have to say about it? We do this a lot ourselves... it's very human to adapt God to our ideals, standards, and ultimately our desires. That's never more easier to do than to to neglect or "cut-and-paste" the Word of God.

Hebrews 10:23-25 ~ Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

When we neglect, avoid, or ignore the word of God we easily slip into the trendy (individualistic, post-modern, unbiblical) view that says "I don't need to go to church to be a Christian". Really? The third thing Jesus left is encapsulated in the above scripture from Hebrews. We were never meant to do any of this alone! Sure, there are churches who have been a pretty poor example but we are never to give up on it. It's not about attendance, programs, and ritual... it's about what motivates and compels us to gather.

So now, the church becomes a conduit (tool) of the Counselor (Jesus / Holy Spirit) to one another... and the world! It is of the utmost importance to find and belong to a group of others who follow Jesus. Where we find that... we are never alone!

So, this was a lengthy response but I encourage you from the depth of my heart to seek these 3 things! I promise that you will find something that is missing. Remember, your circumstances may not change... but your heart will be transformed!

Pastor J.