Casting Down Strongholds
by Cal Bodeutsch

Last week we looked at a question that Jesus asked his disciples. "Why don't you have faith?" Jesus had just calmed the sea in response to their question, "Don't you care?" The answer we came up with last week to "Why don't you have faith?" is "we believe the lie instead of the truth." Today I want us to look at that concept in more depth.

What are these lies and where do they come from? They are thoughts contrary to the truth. About this concept Paul writes "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV). First, what is an imagination? An imagination is something that seems to be real but has no substance to it. Imaginations are in our mind and they are incorrect reasonings or thoughts. They are against the knowledge of God. Not the knowledge about God but the knowledge that comes from God. Imaginations are the opposite of truth.

This passage goes on to say that these imaginations "exalts itself." They pretends to be bigger or more powerful than our God. They are lies that are more real to us than the truth.

Lets take a moment and examine what that look like? Remember when Satan cames to tempt Eve. "And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die! "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:4-5 NAS). The lie became more real to Eve than the truth and so she sinned. The same can be true for you and me. Where are we believing a lie that is directly contrary to God' truth? Last week we looked at the verse, "Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you" (I Peter 5:7 NAS). The truth is that God cares for us. The result of believing the truth is we are not anxious.

A companion verse is found in Philippians. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6 NAS). The truth is that we can go to God about all our concerns. The result of believing this truth is that we are not anxious. What is anxiety? It is the result of not believing the truth. It is what believing the lie looks like. It is the evidence of the lie being bigger or more powerful than God.

Where do these lies come from? "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV). These lie are called "strongholds" They are strongholds in our mind, lies that are more real than the truth. The terminology here is that of spiritual warfare. We are fighting and there are weapons involved.

Concerning this battle Paul wrote, "Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Ephesians 6:10-11 NAS). We are fighting the schemes of the devil. To do this we must remember that Satan is a liar. He lied to himself, convincing himself that he was bigger and greater than God. He lied to Adam and Eve, that they could be gods. And he lies to you and me. Satan doesn't tempt us to commit sins. He tempts us to not believe God, then the sins automatically follow.

When God says we can trust Him, Satan will tell us we can't. When God tells us to humble ourselves and He will exalt us in due time, Satan says no he won't, we have to promote ourselves now. When God says to forgive, Satan says no, he our she doesn't deserve it.

Where is the battle? The primary battlefield is the mind. "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV). Look at the words "imaginations, knowledge, and thoughts." These all speak of our mind. Our mind is a battlefield. The challenge for believers is to steal back our thought life and take it captive to Christ instead. The way to influence behavior is to influence thinking. Who or what controls your mind, controls your life.

Satan is so effective in his lies that after a while he has built in us "strongholds" or fortresses of lies that we believe strongly. Think of it as a wall around a city. The wall is built one brick at a time until the wall is thick and high. These are lies that have been reinforced time and time again. The goal of spiritual warfare is to tear down these wall, fortresses of lies.

What are our weapons? "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses" (2 Corinthians 10:3-4 NAS). They are not the weapons of the world. They are weapons that have divine power. Remember the purpose is to steal back our thought life and make it captive to Christ, to real truth, instead of the lies we have believed. To do that we have the whole armor of God. "Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:13-17 NAS).

There is only one weapon listed in this passage. It is "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." How do we fight against a lie? By believing the truth of God's Word. There is nothing bigger or more powerful than the Word of God. "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12 NKJ). It is powerful because it is living. Some translations have the word "active" for powerful. The Word of God is powerful because it is active. It does something.

Be careful. It does not say that just knowing the word of God is powerful. Warning us to not be like Israel the writer of Hebrews wrote, "For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith" (Hebrews 4:2 NIV). Hearing the Word of God has no power. It is believing the Word of God that is powerful. Faith is the catalyst that unleashes the power of the Holy Spirit. Believing the truth (the Word of God) is the power of God over Satan's lies.

But wait, we have a second weapon. "For the weapons (plural) of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses" (2 Corinthians 10:4 NAS). What other weapon do we have? In the very next verse in Ephesians 6 after a list of the armor we read, "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18 NAS). Our second weapon is praying at all times with all prayer. Most Christians have heard of the expression, "Prayer Warriors." These are people who do spiritual warfare in prayer. Obviously prayer is a weapon against Satan.

It also says to pray "in the Spirit." Praying in the spirit is to pray under control of the Holy Spirit. Spirit led, Spirit controlled prayer is "Spiritual Warfare." There is one man in the New Testament who is known for his prayer life. "Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God" (Colossians 4:12 NAS). The word "laboring" means wrestling. It is the same as in Eph. 6 "We wrestle not against flesh and blood." We wrestle the enemy when we pray.

But not all prayers are effective. "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures" (James 4:3 NKJ). God will not give us what we pray for when our motives are wrong. When we pray for comfort, convenience or please our motives are wrong.

Now, when we put both of our weapons together we have full power. There is nothing more formidable than a stronghold. Strongholds can't be swept away with a spiritual broom. We can't fuss at them and make the run away. We can't ignore them until the disappear. Stronghold are broken one way only. They have to be demolished. I have found that there is nothing more powerful in my life than praying the Word of God. When Satan comes with his lies, to pray the truth that contradicts the lie and affirm to God, in prayer, the truths that will defeat the lie.

What does that look like? Let's say I am worrying about something. What is the lie? It could be "God doesn't care about me." Or it could be that I think I am suppose to be in control. Also it could be that I have believed the lie that nothing bad should happen to me. There are many lies of Satan that lead to us worrying.

Once I have identified the lie, now I need the truth and the truth is in God's Word. Now I pray the truth with faith back to God. "God, I believe you care for me because your Word says so." "God I believe that since you are for me that no one can be against me and therefore I don't need to be in control." "Father, I believe that suffering is a part of your plan for my life because You said, "tribulation worketh patience." The Word of God, expressed in prayer by faith utilizes all of the elements of Spiritual warfare. The Holy Spirit is free to do His work within us. This is what demolishes strongholds of Satan in our minds.

You can fight against strongholds in other people's lives too. "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18 NIV). The primary focus is not in praying for self but for others. This is what Epaphras did. "Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God" (Colossians 4:12 KJV).

Jesus asked his disciples why they had no faith. The answer is they believed the lie instead of the truth. We need to believe the truth. We need to pray the truth. We need to use both of our offensive weapons against Satan.

Unanswered Questions
by Cal Bodeutsch

The text for this message is found in Mark 4:35-41. This is one of those more familiar stories from the life of Christ. Those who have been a Christian for a while probably know it already. It is the story about Jesus calming the sea. If it is unfamiliar to you then take a moment and read it in the Bible.

The background and context of this story is that Jesus is teaching in Galilee. This was the area where he grew up. He has just come from Capernaum, a city near the Sea of Galilee and now is teaching by the sea. Jesus has a large following at this time. "Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed" (Mark 3:7 NIV).

Things are going well for Jesus. He is rapidly becoming a huge "success." "When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him" (Mark 3:8-9 NIV). Some people came from as far away as over by the Mediterranean Sea. Jesus would be success in many people's eyes.

Jesus has also just selected the 12 disciples. "And He went up to the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach" (Mark 3:13-14 NAS). This is early in Christ's earthly ministry and the twelve disciples did not yet know Him very well. But all twelve of them were willing to leave their occupations to follow this man who seemed to be going places.

Jesus was preaching from a boat because of the size of the crowd. "And He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very great multitude gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land" (Mark 4:1 NAS). There Jesus teaches the three parables found in chapter four. Again note the size of the crowd. Jesus has a large following. I am sure the disciples were excited about how things were going. Now it was just a matter of building on their success. They were on Jesus' team. They thought they new what to expect.

But Jesus does something unexpected. "And on that day, when evening had come, He said to them, 'Let us go over to the other side'" (Mark 4:35 NAS). He wanted them to get in a boat and go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They were to leave the crowd behind. That mean they were to leave the success and the known behind. On the other side was the country of the Gerasenes. They were Gentiles and raised pigs. They were not a part of the covenants and promises to Israel.

Jesus and the disciples were moving from the known to the unknown. They were leaving the momentum behind. They would have to start new all over again. I think Peter scratched his head. This made no sense. Maybe he ought to try to show Jesus the folly of his actions. Things were going well in Galilee, why rock the boat?

Has God ever asked you to get in the boat and go to the other side with Him? Maybe things in you life were going very well and smoothly. Your life mirrored success, as the world looks at success. Maybe you were involved in a successful ministry. Conventional wisdom said, "Stay where you are, doing what you are doing." But God said, "I've got something more for you. Come on, let's go to the other side."

The disciples followed Jesus and right away they were severely tried. "And leaving the multitude, they took Him along with them, just as He was, in the boat; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up" (Mark 4:36-37 NAS). They never would have gone through the trial of the storm if they had just stayed where they were. I wonder if Peter was thinking, "I knew we shouldn't have gone with Jesus. We should have played it safe where we were. Why is this happening to me, I'm trying to follow Jesus."

You may have recently made a decision to follow Christ and right away a major trial came your way. It may have left you confused or even angry. But remember, Jesus knew there would be a storm. He also knew that the storm would give them the opportunity to grow significantly in their relationship with Him. If our goal is to avoid the storms of life then we will want to play it safe. But if we want to be obedient to God we have to get in the boat and go to other side with Him. Now there is the potential for storms but the storms are ways God teaches us and molds us into the people he has called us to be.

Where is Jesus? He is sleeping in the stern of the ship. "But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow" (Mark 4:38a NKJ). He is not just dozing off, he is sound asleep. I think he went to sleep on purpose. He is going to give the disciples time to experience the storm. Why? Because he wants to give them the opportunity to process in their minds what they know about Him (God), with what the circumstances tell them. He wants to put their theology to the test. He wants to make their faith practical.

If there is a storm in your life today, it is there to make your faith practical. Maybe there is a storm in your life because of your service to God. You may be saying, "God, why did you let this happen when all I was trying to do was serve you?" Again we must remember there is something more important than successful ministry. It is "going to the other side with Jesus." It is following him in our day-by-day walk. People worship success today. God wants us to be full of faith. If it seems like God is asleep and not noticing your problem it is because God is wanting you to "flesh out" your faith.

In the rest of the story we have unanswered questions. Let's look carefully at each one. The first is, "Don't you care?" "And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" (Mark 4:38b NAS). Have you ever been there? I have! "Don't you care about me?" "Why don't you do something?" "I thought you loved me." When we question if God cares, what we are really questioning is God's love. "God if you really loved me you would do something." "If you loved me you wouldn't have allowed this to happen." "If you loved me I wouldn't have any problems."

What the disciples didn't understand was that it was God's love that allowed them to be in this trial. In love God wanted them to see His power. In love God wanted them to increase their faith. In love God wanted them to his faithfulness to them. So, does God care about you? We know He does! "Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7 NAS). God wants us to know that He cares. Now we can answer the first unanswered question. Does God care about me? Yes, He cares for me because He loves me!

The second unanswered questions is, "Why are you afraid?" This time it is Jesus asking the question. "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid?'" (Mark 4:39-40a NIV). The disciples asked Jesus a question and now he asks them a question. Jesus often answers questions with questions. Let's ask ourselves this question. Why are we afraid?

There are three basic fear reactions.
1. Anxiety over our helplessness
The disciples weren't able to do anything about the storm. I'm sure they tried bailing out the boat before waking Jesus. They were helpless to do anything. When we are helpless to do any thing (not in control) then we become anxious and that produces fear.

2. Anxiety over failure
We have failed before and therefore we fearful of failing again. The next failure might be terminal. When we fail we think of ourselves as failures. We don't understand that God's plan for our lives involves some failures. We have to come to the end of ourselves before we can begin to trust him. For the Christian failure doesn't have to be terminal.

2. Anxiety over the future
This is the fear of the unknown. Like, fearful of getting older. Fearful of leaving the predictable life behind for the unpredictability of following God.
These things bring us fear. But most of all we are fearful because we forget God. God tells us, "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10 NAS).

There are five promises found in this verse.
   I am with you.
   I am your God.
   I will strengthen you.
   I will help you.
   I will uphold you.

We are fearful because we forget that we have no reason to be fearful. Our God is with us to strengthen, help and uphold us. Our helplessness, failure and uncertain future are all in the hands of God. We don't need to be afraid. That answers the second question.

Jesus also asked the third question. Getting to the heart of the matter Jesus asked, "How is it you have no faith?" (Mark 4:40 NAS). God has a way of getting down to the nitty-gritty. He points out that the root problem is a lack of faith by asking how come they don't have any faith.

Let's ask ourselves that question too. Why don't we have faith? The answer is both simple and profound. It is because we believe the lie instead of the truth. The lie here is "God doesn't care about you." But we know the truth is "Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7 NAS). Each time we have a lack of faith it is because there is some lie that we are believing. The key to faith is to replace the lie with the truth. We will see more abut that in the next message on "Casting Down Strongholds." Why don't we have faith? Because the lie is more real than the truth.

The disciples get to ask the last question, "Who is this man?" "And they became very much afraid and said to one another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?'" (Mark 4:41 NAS). We have no evidence that Jesus answered this question at that time. Yet, for the rest of his earthly ministry he was answering it. Who is Jesus? He is the Son of God! He is the physical manifestation of the invisible God. He is God.

Then who is God? Volumes of books have been written to answer that question, but in the context of this story there was only one answer. They had the answer in their own Scriptures, from the book of Psalms.

"Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him" (Psalm 32:10 NIV).

"The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love" (Psalm 33:5 NIV).

"But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love" (Psalm 33:18 NIV).

"May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you" (Psalm 33:22 NIV).

A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all" (Psalm 34:19 NIV).

Today we can answer all four of the unanswered questions.

Does God care?
  Yes, he cares for you.
Why are we afraid?
  Because we have forgotten God.
Why don't we have faith?
  Because we believe the lie instead of the truth.
Who is Jesus?
  He is the God of unfailing love!

Authentic Christians
by Cal Bodeutsch

Since the end of January I have been preaching a series based upon Romans 12:2, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will" (NIV). Our lives are transformed by having our minds renewed (renovated). From the response I have received each sermon has had a powerful impact in different individual's lives. But as I have preached these seven sermons I have realized that I needed to preach one sermon that is a summary sermon of all these sermons. I want to talk about authentic Christians.

What is an authentic Christian? The word "authentic" means real, true, honest, and documented. It's the real thing. It is real because it is documented. It has been tested and found to be real. The opposite would be a counterfeit. The seven ways of thinking we have been studying the past seven weeks are really seven tests of an authentic Christian.

Today I want to contrast authentic Christians with another type of Christian. We will call them cultural Christians. They are Christians, but not the type of Christian God has called them to be. They go to church, love to sing the songs, serve the Lord in some ministry, and maybe even give a little when the plate gets passed. From all appearances the look like an authentic Christian, but there is a major difference, they lack God's power in their lives. "[They have] a form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Timothy 2:5 NIV). This passage is talking about Christians who look godly, but aren't. What distinguished them from authentic Christians is they lack the power of God in their lives.

Authentic Christians have God's power – power of sin and temptations, power to know the will of God, power to desire to obey the will of God, power to do the will of God. Authentic Christians have supernatural power. Cultural Christians do not. Today I would like each one of us to ask ourselves the question, "Am I an Authentic Christian or a Cultural Christian?"

Let's quickly look at the seven signs of an authentic Christian. First, authentic Christians seek after God! Unsaved people and cultural Christians do not seek after God. They go on their merry way each day without giving God a thought. Or they might force themselves to read a devotional or a chapter from the Bible each day. But there is no real desire to spend time with God, only duty.

Authentic Christians long to be in the presence of God. "O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, in a dry and weary land where there is no water" (Psalm 63:1 NAS). Can you feel the longing? Longing to experience the presence of God? "And without faith it is impossible to please Him for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6 NAS). God rewards those who seek Him. The reward is a more intimate, more personal and an experiential relationship with Him. "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?" (Psalm 42:1-2 NAS). It sounds like David is in love. He can't wait to be with them, can't get enough of them.

Cultural Christians are satisfied with knowing about God. Authentic Christians long to have a close, intimate and personal experience of the presence of God. Where are you in your relationship with God in the area of seeking God? Can you back that up with evidence from your life?

Second, authentic Christians delight in sacrifice! Cultural Christians are basically selfish and don't want to sacrifice their stuff for the Kingdom of God. Their value and importance in life is tied up with how much stuff they have. Then they want bigger and better stuff. When they do give to God it is minimal and from their surplus.

Authentic Christians have the same attitude toward sacrifice that God has. God delights in sacrifice. "And He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on" (Luke 21:3-4 NAS). It is not how much you give that is important. What matters to God is the sacrifice. God's great love for you and me resulted in the greatest sacrifice. "We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (I John 3:16 NAS). A real sacrifice is an expression of love.

Our desire to sacrifice for God is the evidence of our love for Him. It is also an evidence of how much like Christ we have become. "And walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma" (Ephesians 5:2 NAS). Our lives are to be a living and holy sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2). What are you willing to sacrifice for Christ? Cultural Christians are more interested in getting than giving. Therefore they give very little of themselves and their things to the Lord. Where are you in your relationship with God in regards to delighting in sacrifice? Can you back that up with evidence from your life?

Third, authentic Christians are not self-centered! Cultural Christians allow their wants to control their decisions. Whatever self wants, self gets. They focus on their rights and needs. Self is sitting on the throne and controlling their decisions.

Authentic Christians understand that "self" is dead. "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me" (Galatians 2:20 NAS). We do not go back to the graveyard and dig "self" up and ask it what it wants to do. What self wants is not the driving controller of our lives. The one thing that keeps us from enjoying the blessed presence of God is self. The one thing that keeps us from being used by God is self.

Until we say "I am nothing, my wants are nothing and my needs are nothing" we will not live the transfigured life. "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:4-5 NAS). Authentic Christians do not base their decisions on what they want. It is based upon the will of God as revealed in the Word of God. Where are you in your relationship with God in the areas of being dead to the wants and desires of self? Can you back that up with evidence from your life?

Fourth, authentic Christians appreciate the value of suffering! Cultural Christians don't believe they should suffer. When they do suffer they question God's wisdom or power. They get angry with God. If they are experiencing suffering, then they want to get rid of it quickly. They have only one prayer request (demand) "Lord, get rid of it!" Pain is something to be avoided at all costs.

Authentic Christians understand that the path to intimacy with God involves pain. They are willing to accept the pain because of what it will produce in their lives. They value the end product so much that they are will to accept the process, even when it involves pain. "But He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10 NAS). Refining gold involves a process that includes fire and fire for us means pain. The path to intimacy with God involves pain. "That the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:7 NAS).

We all value money and the things it can buy. But, do we have the same value for the trials we must experience to develop our spiritual lives to what God wants them to be? "Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (James 1:12 NAS). "The only soldiers fit to be in God's army limp." God's path to intimacy involves pain.

Cultural Christians like to go to church and feel good sermons and songs. But to be the real thing we must be willing to believe God. The suffering of this life are for a purpose. God's power is perfected in our weakness. Where are you in your relationship with God in appreciating the value of pain ? Can you back that up with evidence from your life?

Fifth, authentic Christians live unpredictable lives. Actually there are two thing that are predictable. They will always trust God and they will always follow God' s leading. What is unpredictable is that they have not already planned out their lives. Cultural Christians seek the safety and comfortableness of schedules. They don't want change because change makes them uncomfortable. They've made their plans and they are sticking to them. They want the dull, the boring, the lifeless, the unmoving and the predictable.

Authentic Christianity is not for the comfortable. The goal of the Christian life is to be like Jesus and Jesus was anything but dull. They do not prefer the predictable over an exciting life full of wonderful surprises that God has for them. Abraham, Moses, Peter and Saul of Tarsus all had their lives turned upside-down by God. They all had their plans wonderfully ruined by God.

God has not called us to a life of dull religion. "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (Philippians 3:7-10 NAS). Paul had the dull religion and he traded it in for an exciting adventure with Christ. He suffered and he sacrificed, but it was all worth it. Paul was an authentic Christian. Where are you in your relationship with God in your willingness to live an unpredictable life? Can you back that up with evidence from your life?

Sixth, authentic Christians want "Spirit-control" not "self-control." Cultural Christians rely on self-control to overcome temptations and sins in their life. They try to live the Christian life in the energy of the flesh. They keep trying and keep failing until they finally give up. Self-control may work for awhile, but it is doomed to fail.

Authentic Christians acknowledge their weakness and helplessness. Authentic Christians know that nothing good comes from the flesh. They know the power to live the Christian life does not come from within. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power" (Ephesians 6:10 NIV). It is not self-power or self-control. The Holy Spirit's control is a power that has no end. Victories over sin and temptations to sin do not come from the flesh, but from the Spirit. "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another" (Galatians 5:16-17 NAS). How do we get the power of the Holy Spirit? By coming to the end of our own power. We gain Holy Spirit control by giving up our self-control.

Cultural Christians want to do something for God. They want to surrender their lives to God. They want to commit themselves to God. They want to give themselves to God. The only "give" God wants from us is to "give-up." The first step to victory over sin is to say you can't do it yourself. Where are you in your relationship with God in allowing the Holy Spirit to take control? Can you back that up with evidence from your life?

Seventh and finally, authentic Christians live honest lives! Cultural Christians think there is safety in secrets. They keep their distance and secrets from people so people won't see what they are really like. The more distance they keep the less friends they have. The less friends they have the more they feel alone and isolated. The more isolated from people they feel, the more isolated from God they feel. All because of secrets.

Authentic Christians do not want to live a lie. Secrets build barriers and barriers destroy intimacy. Complete honesty is an expression of love. We cannot have an intimate relationship with God and not be honest with God. We cannot claim to have an intimate love relationship with God and not be honest with others. "The one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen" (I John 4:20b NAS). If we are not honest with others then we do not love them. If we do not love them then we cannot claim to love God.

Many Christians who would never think to tell a lie, think nothing of living a lie, pretending to be something they are not. Real love says, "I would rather love the real you, than the person you pretend to be." Secrets hurt our relationship to God and our relationships with others. Where are you in your relationship with God in living an honest and transparent life in front of others? Can you back that up with evidence from your life?

I have given you seven contrasts.
1. Seeking God or ignoring God in your daily life?
2. Delighting in making sacrifices for God or wanting to keep our stuff for ourselves?
3. Self-centered decisions or God-centered decisions?
4. Accepting suffering as part of God's will or resisting suffering for comfort?
5. An exciting and unpredictable life in Christ or a dull religion?
6. Spirit-controlled and victorious or self-controlled and defeated?
7. Open and honest before God and others or living a lie?

It will take courage to live the authentic Christian life. Cultural Christians will think you are some kind of a radical. It is a life of sacrifice, suffering and uncertainty. You have to choose it for yourself.

So, are you an authentic Christian or a cultural Christian?

Rethinking Secrets
by Cal Bodeutsch

This is the last of our sermons on the "renewed mind" or new ways of thinking. Each week we have been challenged to be different from the world by thinking differently. Today I would like for us to rethink secrets. How does the world think about secrets? First they would say it is impossible to keep other people's secrets. Mark Twain said, "Three people may keep a secret if two of them are dead." Actually we like to tell secrets so others will know that people trust us with their secrets.

But the most damaging idea the world has about secrets is "There is no harm in keeping secrets." We have a common saying, "What they don't know can't hurt them." This is the one I want us to look at today. The world thinks there is safety in secrets because the world judges people based upon their performance. When our performance isn't up to the acceptable standards we keep it a secret. We think, "If people knew what I was really like they wouldn't like me." Then we keep our distance from people, so they won't see us like we really are.

The more we keep our distance the less friends we have. The less friends we have the more we feel all alone and isolated from people. We also feel isolated from God. God seems distant from us. All because of keeping secrets.

God desires total honesty and transparency from us. Scripture tells us that God hates lies. "Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases to be, for the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. They speak falsehood to one another; with flattering lips and with a double heart they speak. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that speaks great things" (Psalm 12:1-3 NAS). The ungodly lie to each other and are not truthful. They speak with a double heart (like the native American expression, "a forked tongue").

David prays that they might be cut off– die. "Let their lying lips be silenced" (Psalm 31:18 NIV). Secrets are lies. It is pretending one thing, when the opposite is the truth. That is a lie. Husbands and wives are lying to each other by keeping secrets. Pretending that all is well in the marriage when it isn't. Pretending to be devoted to their spouse when they aren't. Pretending to be someone that they really aren't.

Keeping secrets is living a lie. Many who would cringe at the thought of telling a lie, have no problem living a lie by keeping secrets. But living a lie is just as damaging to relationships as telling a lie.

God desires radical honesty. We resist total honesty. In my marriage class we had some discussion questions on honesty. Questions like, Is honesty always the best policy? Is anything short of the truth is a lie? Are we honest about one another's short-comings to their face? Are we honest about our personal feelings to one another? Do we lie to avoid conflict in our relationship? These are hard questions to honestly answer and live out in our daily lives. We would rather keep secrets than speak the truth. "But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ" (Ephesians 4:15 KJV). Speaking the truth includes not keeping secrets. Why are we to speak the truth? So that we will grow in our relationship with Christ.

We will never be more intimate with God than we are with those around us. Complete honesty is an expression of love. If I love you I will be honest with you. Love and truth go hand in hand. I " Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us" (1 John 4:11-12 KJV). We can not say we love God, and not be truthful to those around us. "If someone says, ‘I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen" (1 John 4:20 NAS). Hate is not used here in the sense of malice, but just not loving. To lie, by keeping secrets, is evidence of not really loving God.

The reason we keep secrets is that we are fearful. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love" (1 John 4:18 NAS). We are fearful that others will use those secrets against us. We are fearful of being rejected or scorned. Lover says I will take a chance on all of this because I love you and want a life that is totally honest and transparent.


Why not lie? (Apart from the harm it does to our relationship to God and others.) First of all, lying is Satan's domain. "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar, and the father of lies" (John 8:44 NAS). Satan keeps secrets. By what he says and doesn't say he misleads us.

When we are dishonest by either telling a lie or living a lie, we are mirroring the character of Satan, not God. God has called us to be like him, not the Devil. And God cannot lie. "In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, in order that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us" (Hebrews 6:17-18 NAS). Our faith and trust in God is based upon the truth that God cannot lie. His credibility is based upon his truthfulness. Dishonesty destroys our credibility. Youth lie about where you are going or doing Married couples lie about an affair. Then it will take a long time to rebuild that trust.

"Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices" (Colossians 3:9 NAS). Telling lies and living a lie by keeping secrets is associated with the old self. The old self that is dead. A few weeks ago, if you prayed for God to give you victory over the old self then it also means doing away with pretense in your life. We can not say that we want to live of life of intimacy with God and not with others. "Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart" (I Peter 1:22 NAS). When our souls are purified, not from the penalty of sin, but the to power of sin then we have a sincere love of others.

We don't lie to those we love. We love them honestly and sincerely with full transparency. Is this easy? NO! People who believed we were honest before may be shaken by our true selves. It may take them a long time to recover. They might not understand your motives. They might not want to be that honest. But real love says, "I would rather love the real you, than the person you pretended to be before."

How do we start living the truth? First, we must start recognizing a lie. The Corinthians needed to recognize the truth about themselves. "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly-- mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?" (1 Corinthians 3:1-3 NIV). They thought they were pretty spiritual. They thought they could profess one thing and live something else. They had other problems too like fighting over personalities, etc. Paul told them they needed to see the truth about themselves. They were carnal. They were acting like the rest of the world. If we are living a life of pretense, we are living like the rest of the world. If we have our own secret world, we are carnal.

Second, we need a godly sorrow over living a life of pretense. "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter" (2 Corinthians 7:9-11 NKJ). Once the Corinthians acknowledged the truth about themselves, they had a godly sorrow.

Godly sorrow is not guilt. I feel guilty every time I eat a donut, but it never stops me next time. Godly sorrow is a sorrow that is directed toward God. Godly sorrow is not focused on self. Godly sorrow looks forward to what God will do within us. That Godly sorrow produced the desire and the zeal to do what was right. That is what we really want. The desire and the power to be totally honest with God and other people. The result was change. The result was victory over the sin. Isn't that what we really want?

Third, we need to establish a truth group. "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16 KJV). I wish I could tell you that any Christian could do. But that is not the case. There are many Christians that can't handle the truth. Find someone who can and meet with them to be open and honest about all areas of your life.

Fourth, communicate objective truth about your self. Radical honesty does not give me the right to go around and judge others ("You're fat, you're lazy..."). Objective truth deals with me. It is being radically honest about myself, my failings and weaknesses. It is taking my mask off, not trying to pry off other people's masks. Seek to dispel false impressions you have given others.
When we catch ourselves not being honest, go back and say that we want people to know the truth. Don't miss any opportunities to go back a remove false impressions.

We all need to rethink secrets. Secrets are not of God. Secrets hurt our relationship to God and our relationships with others.

"Dear God, remove from me all desires to be dishonest in my words and my actions. May I be real to all those around me so they will know me to be a person of integrity and credibility. Take away the fears that others will think less of me. And if my honesty hurts others, give me the strength to help bring healing to them instead of walking away from them. Amen."

Rethinking Self-Control
by Cal Bodeutsch

What does the world think about Self-control? Let me share a few quick quotes.
"Prudent, cautious self-control Is wisdom's root." Robert Burns
"To enjoy freedom we have to control ourselves." Virginia Woolf
"No man is free who is not master of himself." Epictetus (Greek philosopher, c. 100 AD)

Does the Bible say anything in favor of self-control? "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23 NAS). The NIV also uses the word "self-control" in this passage, but the KJV uses the word "Temperance" which is one area of control. In the Greek the word used here means "in control." The word for "self" is not used here.

My problem is with the word "self". We did one whole sermon on rethinking self. Self is not to sit on the throne of our lives, controlling our decisions and ordering our behavior. This morning I want to look at control in the context of victory over temptations in our life. How do we live the successful Christian life? By self-control? I don't think so!

Where do we get the power to have victory over sin? God's Word says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might" (Ephesians 6:10 NAS). It doesn't say that the power to live the Christian life come from our own strength. It is not self-power or self-control but the power of God. Also consider, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit" (Romans 8:1-5 KJV).

Most modern translations drop "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." in verse one. It makes it sound like we have to continue to walk after the spirit in order to stay saved. But Romans 8 isn't talking about salvation - that is in chapter 5 & 6. Paul has moved on to a new topic - the believers daily experience of holy living. The condemnation is not in terms of eternal condemnation, but a day-by-day accusation of sin in the life of the believer. The word "condemnation means an adverse verdict or sentence. No one can look at us and accuse us of sin if we are walking after the Spirit and not the flesh.

In verse 2 it says God has given us the "Spirit of life." A part of this life is living above the power of sin. So we see that God's Spirit empowers us to live above the control of sin. Self-control will work for a while, but it will fail us sooner or later. Holy Spirit's control is the power that has no end.

Verse 3 says the law was weak. All laws are weak. Law does not empower us. Law only threatens us and produces fear or even rebellion. Legalism is based in self effort including self-control. Verse 4 tells us again that victory over sins and temptations to sin do not come from the flesh, but from the Spirit. The righteousness of the law is the ability to do all God asks us to do. The flesh, that is my own ability and power, can not produce the righteousness of God.

In verse 5 we read, "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires" (NIV). If we live with self in control then we with have our mind and therefore our actions fulfill our sinful desires. When we live with the spirit in control then our mind and our actions full the spirits desires. We don't want self-control. We want the Holy Spirit to be in control.

How does the Holy Spirit take control and what does it look like? The how is by yielding. "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace" ( Romans 6:13-14 KJV). Yield means to stand beside, to be a hand, or available. Be available for the Holy Spirit and therefore stand behind so to be available and ready to do what the Holy Spirit says. Our bodies are to be available for the Holy Spirit to do what he wants to do. Allow the holy spirit to control us. The opposite is self-control. To be available and ready to do what self wants.

For too long preachers and well-meaning Christians have told other Christians that to live the Christian life you have to have self-control. And when our self control fails us, well we just need to try harder. That is totally against grace. Notice Paul ends this verse with "We are under grace."

In Galatians 5:16-17 we read "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please" (NAS). The only way to have victory over temptation and sin is to walk by the power of the Holy Spirit. How do we get the power of the Holy Spirit? By coming to the end of our own power. We gain Holy Spirit control by giving up our self-control.

So for all of you who have been told to try harder and for all of you who have been made to feel that it was all up to you and for all of you who have been trying and failing to live the Christian life I have good news. You are exactly where God wants you to be. Now be honest to God and acknowledge that you can't do it. Then tell God you want Him to do what you can't do, victory over temptations and sins. It is another one of God's grace gifts to you.

Rethinking Scheduling
by Cal Bodeutsch

I ran across a wonderful statement by Michael Yaconelli in his book "Dangerous Wonder." "Predictability and faith cannot coexist. What characterized Jesus and His disciples was unpredictability. Jesus was always surprising the disciples by eating at the wrong houses, hanging around the wrong people and healing people on the wrong day. The Pharisees wanted Jesus to be the same as they were. But truth is unpredictable. People do not like surprises—even church people—and they don't want to be uncomfortable. They want a nice, tame Jesus. Take surprise out of faith and all that is left is dry and dead religion."

Which of these sets of words would best describes your relationship to God today?
Dull or full of life?
Boring or exciting?
Lifeless or energized?
Stagnant or stimulating?
Static or spirited?
Unmoving or animated?
Predictable or full of surprises?

Again let me quote Yacenelli, "Take surprise out of faith and all that is left is dry and dead religion." If your Christian life is dull, boring, lifeless, stagnant, static, unmoving and predictable then all you have is a dead religion. Pastor Robert Capon put it this way, "We are in a war between dullness and astonishment. The most critical issue in the church today dullness. We have lost our astonishment. The Good News is no longer good news, it is okay news. Christianity is no longer life changing, it is life enhancing. Jesus doesn't change people into wild-eyed radicals anymore, He changes them into ‘nice people'. If Christianity is just about being nice, I'm not interested. What happened to radical Christianity, that turned the world upside-down? What happened to the kind of Christians who were filled with passions and gratitude, and who every day were unable to get over the grace of God?"

The goal of authentic Christianity is to become like Jesus and Jesus was anything but dull. How often we prefer the scheduled, the predictable over an exciting life full of wonderful surprises that God has for us. Today we are going to look at people whose plans were wonderfully ruined by God. In Bible College I was told that the pastor's sermon had only two purposes, 1. Comfort the afflicted, and 2. Afflict the comfortable. So my goal for today is to afflict the comfortable.

Why do we have Day-timers?

1. So we won't forget important things we have to do.
2. So we can do more - multitasking
3. So we can plan our lives - here is where we start fighting God.

Some people have five or 10 year goals for their life. Some people have the rest of their lives planned out. As long as things are going as scheduled they are comfortable. They want their lives to be comfortable and their religion too. But authentic Christianity is not for the comfortable. Over and over again we see people whose lives God shook up.

Take Abraham for example. "Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:1-3 NAS). Abraham was living a comfortable life. He was a successful rancher. He had a comfortable religion–he worshiped idols. In his religion the rules were all laid out to keep the gods happy. Just do the do's and don't do the don'ts. You don't bother God and God won't bother you.

Then God comes crashing into the picture. God tells Abraham to leave the only homeland he has ever known. "Leave your family and I will bless you." How does Abram respond? Does he say, "I can't God. Leave my prosperous business? Give up everything I've worked so hard to obtain? I might lose some of my livestock on the trip. The land is good here. I don't know about "there" and I don't even know where "there" is. Sarah and I are trying to have a baby. This will mess up my retirement plan. I'm content with what I have materially and spiritually."

No, Abram obeys God. "So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran" (Genesis 12:4 NAS). Abram chose to go God's way. He chose the way of excitement and uncertainty. He abandoned the predictable life for a life full of surprises. He gave up his schedule to get in line with God's schedule. Would we be like Abraham?

Then there is Moses. "And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. "Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:9-10 NAS). Moses spent 40 years living as a prince in Egypt. Then he was forced to leave Egypt and lived another 40 years tending sheep in the desert. One day he saw a burning bush and God talked to him. God told him to bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt.

Unlike Abraham, Moses did not want to do what God asked. He wanted to continue to watch someone else's sheep in the desert. He had no ambition or goals but he did have an agenda. He was comfortable and wanted to stay that way. Moses argues with God. First Moses said "I can't" and God said "I will do it" Then Moses said "Who are you?" Meaning "I'm not sure you can do it either." Moses questions the wisdom and power of God. God responds "I am the God of Abraham and I don't change." In-other-words "I was powerful and wise enough to take care of Abraham, and I am still the same." God is saying to Moses "Here is what I have done and I will do it again for you." Moses counters with "They won't listen to me." And God said "They will be convinced by my power."

Moses is telling God that he is very happy where he is and doing what he is doing. "It may not be much, but I'm happy so don't rock the boat." God is telling Moses that he has a much more exciting life for him. But Moses has to be willing to be uncomfortable. Moses is settling for dull. God is pushing for "full of life and totally unpredictable."

Moses got irritated with God and God got irritated with Moses. Is God irritated with us today because we have settled for the comfortable when God wants our lives full of life and totally unpredictable? How dare we settle for anything less than all that God wants for us! I want to be like Paul who said "I want to apprehend all that God apprehended me for the purpose of giving to me."

Peter is another good example. "And walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.' And going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them" (Matthew 4:18-19,21 NAS). Peter, Andrew, James and John were common fishermen. They fished for a living. They weren't the country bumpkins that some make them out to be. After all they ran a fishing business. It is how they supported their families and made a living.

Jesus asks them to leave their business to follow him. How are they going to put food on the table now? Can you think of a hundred and one reasons why you couldn't? "People will think I am crazy" like the farmer in Field of Dreams. That whole movie was about giving up the dull and predictable for the uncertainty of pursuing the life-changing. Only with God we have the certainty of his watchful care. What is going through Peter's mind?

Larry Huntsperger in "The Fisherman" puts it this way. "I tried to stay away. I really did. There were so many obvious reasons why it would be ridiculous for me to get involved. I wasn't the student type. I didn't have the temperament. I had a family to support. I had a business to run. A disciple like me would ruin Jesus' reputation. I had a way of blasting and blundering that didn't work well in the religious world. Any further close personal involvement between me and this man was clearly out of the question."

"Andrew, James, and John, on the other hand, lived for their times with Jesus. They were always pushing to bring the boats in early, and once the duties were done for the day, they nearly ran the few miles between Bethsaida and Capernaum. I encouraged them to do it. But not me. I could be an excellent support person for people like them who were more the disciple type. After all, somebody had to work. Somebody had to make a living. Somebody had to feed all of us. That was the best role for me. Of course I was impressed with the man. Who wouldn't be? But he surely understood why my pursuing any greater involvement with him was completely out of the question. It wouldn't be good for either one of us."

Does that sound like something you would say to Jesus today? "We have our goals, we have our schedules, we have our lives all planned out God– nope it would not be good for either of us."

There are some people here today who fall into another category. Abraham, Moses and Peter were somewhat on the right track already. You may be sitting there saying "This whole Christianity thing is not for me." Let me share the story of another man–Saul of Tarsus. This man hated Jesus and all Christians. "So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. "And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. "And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities" (Acts 26:9-11 NAS).

Saul thought he had it all together. For Saul that meant killing Christians. In his own religion he was very influential and high up the ladder of success. One thing he knew for sure was that he did not have any time for this Jesus stuff. His die was cast and it was against the Christ.

Perhaps you are here today and you have your life under control (or maybe not). But you know you don't need religion. I agree, what you do need is an exciting, purposeful life. That is what Christ came to give. One day Christ interrupted Saul. "From the high priest and all the Council of the elders I also received letters to the brethren, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished. "And it came about that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' "And I answered, 'Who art Thou, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.' "And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Arise and go on into Damascus; and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do'" (Acts 22:5-10 NAS). Jesus came to Saul for the whole purpose of shaking up his world. Jesus does that you know.

Saul gave up all his prestige and power willingly. "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:7-8 NAS). Saul of Tarsus' name was changed and he became the Apostle Paul. He said "Compared to my life with Christ, everything in my life before Christ was all garbage. My agenda, my plans, my purposes, my goals, my ambitions were all garbage."

If you have never come to Christ, God is calling you today. Not to a life of dull religion. Not to a life of boring lifelessness. He came to give you an abundant life and it is yours for the taking today.

Christians, have you scheduled God out of your life? Have you settled for contentment when you could have excitement? Jesus came to give us life and the abundant life. Religion saps all the life out of us so that can't be the life God has for us. Christ wants to make our life full of real life. Can you pray this prayer today?

"Lord, I give you permission to turn my life upside down. I can not live with the dullness, the boredom, the predictable lifelessness. I will be what you want me to me, go where you want me to go, and do what you want me to do."

Rethinking Suffering
by Cal Bodeutsch

How does the world think about suffering? The most common thought is "it is OK for other people to suffer, but I shouldn't have to!" Many say, "Why me?" like we should be excluded from what afflicts the rest of the world. The plain and simple truth is pain and suffering are part of life. "For no temptation – no trial regarded as enticing to sin [no matter how it comes or where it leads] – has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man . . . " (I Cor. 10:13 AMP). We all go through trials. We all go through times of suffering. In real life nobody gets a "Go directly to Go" card and thereby misses all the hazards of life.

We can't just skip over all of the hazards of life. "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you"; (1 Peter 4:12 NAS). We are not to be surprised or taken back by our trials. But this goes against our natural human thinking. We think, for reasons unknown, that we should be excluded from any real suffering.

Pastors sometimes preach contrary to the truth on suffering. Some pastors say "Get saved and you will be healthy and wealthy. God will give you favor with everyone you meet." A pastor I saw on TV recently taught that all Christians should expect to get bumped up to first class when they travel because God will give us favor with everyone. "Expect everything to go right and it will" was his admonition.

A second attitude that many Christians have is "do everything you can to get rid of suffering because suffering is bad." If your body is suffering, take a pain pill. Mask the source of your pain and maybe it will go away. If your emotions are hurting, take an emotional pain pill. Don't deal with the source of your emotional pain and maybe it will go away too. If your marriage is causing you pain, then walk away from the marriage. If your job is causing you pain, then change jobs. If your church is the source of irritation in your life, go to another church.

I'm not saying we should just stay in our pain. When I get a kidney stone, I get morphine as quick as possible. But I also deal with the source of the pain. I'm not saying we should be going out looking for pain either. Pain, in itself, is not good. But pain, as a means to something good, is valuable. Childbirth pain is a means to something good when a baby is born. Surgery pain is a means to something good when cutting out a cancer. But to ignore pain or seek to eliminate pain as quickly as possible, is a waste of good pain.

Let's look at God's view of pain. First, the path to intimacy with God involves pain. Do you desire a more intimate relationship with God? Then expect more pain. "And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12 NAS). The persecution is not necessarily from people but it is most definitely from our one and only true enemy – Satan. There are two things Satan hates, people getting saved and Christians becoming more godly.
Satan steps up the battle against believers who want to be more godly. "Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11 NAS). Satan is a schemer. He plots against those who want to be spiritual. There will be physical, emotional or some type of pain involved. Maybe that is why some people shy away from becoming more godly. They don't want Satan's attacks because they are afraid of them. But we don't need to be afraid of Satan. "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (Ephesians 6:11 NAS). We are no match for fighting Satan and his host of demons. But God is! Those who desire to be godly will have the forces of God in them to defeat the power of Satan, so we do not need to be afraid.

Whenever we make a commitment to follow God, Satan will challenge us! God also wants to see if we will put our money where our mouth is. With God the trail is the testing of our faith or confidence in God. "But He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10 NAS). Here is the big difference between the trails of God and the trials of Satan. Satan tries us to seek to discourage us. He wants to cast doubt on God's character. He wants us to fail. God's testing is to refine us. He wants us to succeed. He wants us to pass the test. "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24 KJV). David wanted God to put him to the test because David knew that the result would be good. He asked confidently "lead me in the way everlasting." David gave God permission to put him to the test.

Knowing that the end result will be good, are we willing to give God permission to put us to the test? Can we ask this knowing that it will bring some kind of suffering to our life, but also knowing we will be closer to God in the end! Or would we rather avoid pain at any cost? "Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (James 1:12 NAS).

The path to intimacy with God involves pain. No pain, no gain! The only soldiers fit to be in God's army limp. They have been through battles, taken their share of hits from our enemy, but through faith they came out victorious. The truths we know with our heads must be put to the test in the furnace of life.

The path to God's blessings also involves pain. "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2-4 NAS). Consider it joy when going through painful trials? How can we do that? It is not humanly possible. This is where the renovated mind comes into play. This is a new way of thinking. The word "consider" means to appraise and discern the value. We are to appraise and discern the value of the joy that comes from suffering. What joy and why is it so valuable?

James continues, "the testing of your faith produces endurance." Through the means of pain and suffering we learn to endure. There can be no endurance without first testing our limits. If you value endurance, you will be willing to experience the pain. By keeping your mind on the goal, you can accept the pain as necessary. "And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

"Perfect and complete" mean to be spiritually mature. It is enjoying all of the benefits of God's blessings. It is enjoying the fruit of the Spirit. It is enjoying victory over temptation and sin. "That the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:7 NAS). To have our faith tested through trials and tribulations and to be found faithful is of more value than gold or silver. Now there is another new way of thinking too. We all value money and the things it can buy. Do we have that same value for the trials we must experience to develop our spiritual lives to what God wants them to be?

There are two types of Christians. 1. Authentic Christians - They are the real thing and 2. Cultural Christians - They have a "form of godliness but no power" II Tim. 3:5. The cultural Christians like to go to church and enjoy feel good sermons. They will take the pleasurable but that is all the further it goes. They are not willing to do what it takes to be the real thing. If we are to be the real thing, we must believe God that the sufferings of this life are there for a reason. They can draw us closer to God. They can develop within us the character that we need to glorify God. We are all going to suffer, the question is "will we believe God and what he says about it?" The cultural Christians are the ones that are lukewarm. These are the ones that make God sick in Revelation 3:14-16.

The path to grace involves pain. "And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:9-10 NAS). Paul had the thorn in the flesh and wanted to get rid of the pain. God said, "I'll do something better, I will give you my grace."

What does God mean by grace? Grace is a free gift from God. To have our sins forgiven we need God's grace – His free gift of salvation. So what free gift is God giving Paul here? God says "for power is perfected in weakness." In Paul's weakness God would give him God's own power. Our power is nothing compared to God's. Both in quality and quantity God's power is superior.

So, how does Paul respond? Paul says, "I'll take any and all kinds of suffering if it means I can experience God's power in my life." How can Paul say that? Because experiencing God's power was one of Paul's highest desires. "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (Philippians 3:10 NAS). Paul wanted to know God, intimately, experientially. Paul wanted to experience God's power at work in his life and because the path to experiencing God's power is human weakness. Paul also wanted to have the special partnership with God that comes through suffering. These are Paul's three greatest desires.

Talk about your rethinking suffering! Paul says "I desire suffering for what it will do in my relationship with God and in my service for God." But remember Satan will attack this type of thinking. Let me share some of the lies Satan whispered in my ears. "But what if this isn't really real?" "What if God lets you down?" "What if there really isn't a God?" "What if all of this isn't true?" Do any of those sound familiar to you?

I have put God to the test. I asked him to prove himself to me. And He has over and over again. By faith I believe what I really want in life is an intimate relationship with God and God's power at work within me! But, one of the critical elements needed for this to happen is suffering. I will accept that suffering, in faith, because I believe God. What will you do? Will you surrender to God's loving promises? Or will you be a cultural Christian and miss out on the exciting journey that is authentic Christianity?

Rethinking Self
by Cal Bodeutsch

According to Romans 12:2 our lives are transformed or transfigured by means of our mind being renovated. The old ways of thinking must be changed into new ways of thinking. We do this by yielding to the Holy Spirit's work in our mind. We learn to agree with God and then allow God to change us. God doesn't appreciate what He doesn't initiate!

All that God wants to give us by grace we must receive by faith. Faith takes the handcuffs off of the Holy Spirit. Faith is believing God. We must believe God in order for God to renovate our minds.

In the last two weeks we have been challenged to agree with God about two areas of thinking that need to be changed if our lives are going to be transformed. First was seeking God. God wants it. Second was sacrifice. God loves it. Today we are going to look at another topic we are to rethink – self.

How does the unsaved person think about self? I can think of three statements that reflect well the unbeliever's attitude toward self. First, "Whatever self wants, self gets!" Self-centered people enjoy giving gifts to themselves. After-all love always enjoys blessing the object of its affection. Second, "What I want controls my decisions!" How accurately this is shown in common questions we ask young people. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Or, "What college do you want to go to?" Why don't we ask them if they know what God wants?

The third statement is the most damning, "I am the most important person in the world." People may not say it directly but their actions give evidence of its existence. We drive with the attitude that people should get out of my way when I'm driving down the road. We believe we have a right to have our needs met in home and church. In so many areas we live under the philosophy of "If I'm not happy then I'm out of here!"

A quick check of the dictionary shows there are many words that have the word self in them, words like, selfish, self-centered, self -absorbed, self-interest, self-righteousness, self-seeking, self-willed. These words could well describe our generation.

God wants to completely renovate our minds about how we think about self. This is absolutely critical to having our lives transformed. As long as self sits on the throne of our lives then we are not going to be what God created us to be. There is too much love of self in us that God needs to remove.

Right way some Christians might object saying, "doesn't the Bible teach us to love ourselves?" Let's look quickly at a couple of verses that people use to teach that we need to love ourselves. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And He said to him,"' You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Matthew 22:36-39 NAS).

Notice it does not say that we are to love ourselves. It just assumes that we do. Jesus is talking to Pharisees here. There was never a group of people that loved themselves more. I know there are psychologists who say we must love ourselves. But what I think they actually mean is we need to like and respect ourselves. What Jesus is saying is we need to replace the love of self with a love for God and others.

Another "proof text" for loving self is found in Paul's writings. "So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church" (Ephesians 5:28-29 NAS). What is Paul talking about here? Husbands loving their wives like they love their own body. We take care of our bodies. We provide nourishment for it. We don't do things that we know will hurt our bodies (we are talking about normal people here). We are told to take care of our wife with the same care and concern that we take care of our bodies. It isn't an admonition to love self.

So what is the proper way of thinking about self? "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me" (Galatians 2:20 NAS). The moment I became alive in Christ my "self" died. Therefore, what self wants is no longer of any consequence. I do not go back to the graveyard and dig self up and ask self what it wants. I do not prop up the corpse and ask it to tell me what to do. Self is dead!

But until our minds are renewed we keep thinking it is alive. We keep consulting it. We keep remembering what it wanted and try to give it to the dead self. We forget we have something else in the place of self. We have Christ living within us! Now Christ is calling the shots. No more do we say "what do you want to be when you grow up?" but "what does Christ want?" No more - "Where do you want to go to college?" No more waking up on Sunday and saying, "what do I want to do today?" Now, it is "what does Christ want me to do today. (By-the-way, the answer to the last one is "Go to church!")

I want to take a moment to look at the Old Testament idea of the veil of the Tabernacle. "Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to its plan which you have been shown in the mountain. And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks also being of gold, on four sockets of silver. And you shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies." (Exodus 26:30-33 NAS).

When God told Moses to make the Tabernacle, he was instructed to put a veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. There was a very specific and important reason why that veil had to be there. God dwelt in the Holy of Holies. The veil kept people from God. Only one person on only one day and for only one reason could enter into the presence of God. The high priest on the day of atonement entered to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people. Everyone else had to stay out.

The moment that Jesus died on the cross that vein was torn in two. "And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split" (Matthew 27:50-51 NAS). It was torn from top to bottom indicating it was a work of God not man. What is the significance of the destruction of the veil? That veil kept people from God. It was God "stay away" sign.

Now God was saying "everyone may come to me." "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:14-16 NAS). We may now draw near with confidence or "boldly" as it is in the King James Version. The veil that separated us from the presence of God is gone. There is nothing to keep us from coming into the presence of God. "Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus" (Hebrews 10:19 NAS). One of the blessings of the blood of Jesus is the ability to enter into the presence of God. What a wonderful privilege! So why don't we live our lives daily in his presence? With the veil removed by the blood of Jesus and nothing on God's side to prevent us from entering into his presence, why to do wait outside? And what does this have to do with rethinking self?

A.W. Tozer in The Pursuit of God, suggests that we have all created a new veil. It is this new veil that keeps us from entering into the delight of being in God's presence continually. It is the veil of our "self-life." He calls it "the enemy of our lives and an effective block to our spiritual progress."

These are not things we do but things we are. They are self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-admiration and self-love. They are so much a part of our human nature that until the light of God's Word can shine upon them we are unaware of their impairment to our spiritual lives. One of the outworkings of this self-life is self-promotion. Even in the heart of fundamental, evangelical Christianity, there seems to be a tolerance. In some circles this self-promotion has become identified with Christianity.

How then ought we to think of ourselves? "For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think . . . " (Romans 12:3 NAS). This has nothing to do with our value. This has to do with self. Don't think more highly of your self than you should.

How highly can we think of ourselves? "For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself" (Galatians 6:3 NAS). Our self is nothing. Our self is dead. Jesus put it this way, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:4,5 NAS). The fact that our "self" is nothing does not make us worthless. The greatest creative work that God has ever undertaken was the creation of the universe. And he created it all from nothing!

The one thing that keeps us from enjoying the blessed presence of God is self. The one thing that keeps us from being used by God is self. Until we say, "I am nothing, my wants are nothing and my needs are nothing" we won't live the transformed life. We must continually live in light "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me" (Galatians 2:20 NAS).

"Lord, how excellent are Thy ways, and how devious and dark are the ways of man... Rend the veil of our self-life from the top down as Thou didst rend the veil of the Temple. We would draw near in full assurance of faith. We would dwell with Thee in daily experience here on this earth so that we may be accustomed to thy glory when we enter thy heaven to dwell with Thee there. In Jesus' name, Amen." A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God.

Rethinking Sacrifice
by Cal Bodeutsch

This month is very unusual. There are five Sundays in February. This only happens three times in a century. In the 1900's - 1920, 1948, 1976. In the 2000's - 2004, 2032, 2088. An unusual month of Sundays deserves some unusual sermons. In these five Sundays I want us to look at biblical truths that go contrary to our natural way of thinking.

Our basic text will stay the same "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2 NAS). We want to continue to look at new ways of thinking for the believer.

Last week we looked at the idea of seeking God. As unbelievers we did not seek God. God first sought us. Now God wants us to seek him. God wants us to be like Jacob who wrestling an angel and said "I will not let you go until you bless me." We need to experience that persistence in seeking God.

This morning I would like for us to look at another area where our thinking must be renovated. I am talking about the way we think about sacrifice. What do you think about sacrifice? Most people do not like to make sacrifices. We don't like to give up our stuff. We work hard for it and deserve to keep it. We all know the more stuff you have the more successful you are.

We don't like to give up our time either. After all, we only have so much time on earth. Because we have planned out our lives (that will be another sermon this month) so we can live comfortably we can't mess up our plans by making sacrifices. I'm not talking about the animal sacrifices of the Bible. But they were called sacrifices because it was a sacrifice for people to give them. That was instituted by God. Which brings us to our key thought for the day. God loves sacrifice!

The Old Testament is full of references to God's love a sacrifice. Abraham was tested by God to see if he was willingness to give sacrificially. "Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!' And he said, ‘Here I am.' And He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.'" (Genesis 22:1-2 NAS). Most Christians are aware that this was a test for Abraham but Abraham didn't know it was a test. All Abraham knew was that God wanted him to sacrifice his only son.

Have you ever had your faith and love for God put to the test? A couple weeks ago Pastor Pat preached on the Christian gal at Columbine who lost her life on earth but passed the test. We may have not been tested to that degree, but everyone one of us has been tested at some time.

Last Wednesday I prayed for God to wake me up early. Ever since coming back from Hawaii I have been having trouble getting up early. Because I spend the first couple of hours in prayer, getting in at 9:00 a.m. just doesn't cut it. So I asked God to wake me up early, give me the desire to get up, give me the power to get up, and if possible give me a push out of bed.

Maybe I should have been more specific with God, because Thursday morning at exactly 3:46 A.M. I woke up. You have to understand. I don't wake up in the middle of the night. Once we had a car explode in front of our house. I slept through the explosion and the police and fire trucks sirens. I didn't know if this was of God or just a freak of nature. So I prayed and told God that if he really wanted me to get up to keep me awake until 4:15 A.M.. I figured I could be back to sleep in 15 minutes easily. Suddenly and for no reason my left foot shared to throb. Then the pain crept up my leg. At 4:05 A.M. I said, "OK God, I'll get up!" The pain went away and I had a great four hours in prayer. That was just a little test of God. And with some help from God I passed it.

Sometimes we are given a test and we may not have even noticed it. Perhaps God put a burden to give to missions, but we said "no." We couldn't afford it. We were unwilling to make the sacrifice for God. We always have excuses for not doing what God asks us to do. But let's get back to our story of Abraham. "So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance" (Genesis 22:3-4 NAS). Did you notice that God gave Abraham time to think? For three days he could debate it in his mind. Would he be willing to make that kind of a sacrifice for God?

Abraham left immediately for the place sent him. Abraham started well. Some of us have started well, but then turned around. Have you given yourself as a living sacrifice to God only to turn around a take it back? Have you said "yes" to becoming a missionary only to refuse later on?

Abraham started well but he also finished well. "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" And Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together" (Genesis 22:6-8 NAS). Now Isaac is no young boy; he is a young man now. He knew all about the burnt offering. And he notes that there is nothing to sacrifice. Abraham just says not to worry. God would take care of it. It didn't make sense to Isaac and I'm sure it didn't make sense to Abraham either. But that didn't stop them.

Has your reasoning caused you to turn away from God? Have you said things like, "I've got to protect myself!" or "I've got to plan for the future!" or even "I've got to keep everything I've got for me!" God says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5 NAS). When things don't make sense that is when we must trust God. Unfortunately that is when we trust Him least.

"Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there, and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." And he said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." (Genesis 22:9-12 NAS). God was pleased with Abraham willingness to sacrifice. I believe Abraham was expecting to kill his son and God waited until the last minute to stop him. God may ask you to be willing to make a sacrifice. He might then stop you. Or he might not.

There is another story (of many) in the Old Testament that speaks of God's love of sacrifice. It is the account of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. Elijah prayed and it stopped raining for three years. During that time God provided for Elijah. "And it shall be that you shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there" (I Kings 17:4 NAS). But one day the brook dried up. God tells him to go to the town of Zarephath. "So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, "Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink." And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand." But she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die" (I Kings 17:10-12 NAS).

Here is a woman who has next to nothing. The drought brought a desperate famine into the land. Elijah asks this woman for some water and a piece of bread. But she was picking up sticks to make a fire to cook the last bit of flour she had, so she and her son could eat and then die. None of us have been in that type of situation. Maybe we feel like it sometimes. "I can't sacrifice that to God. I couldn't live without that!" What you think that you can't live without is probably what God wants you to sacrifice, home, family, prestige, wealth, health, appearances, life-style.

I Kings 17:13-14 - "Then Elijah said to her, ‘Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth'" (I Kings 17:13-14 NAS). Elijah boldly asks her to fix some bread for him. He promised if she would do that then she would not run out of food until the drought was over. At that moment the woman had a decision to make. Would she sacrifice her last meal for this man who claimed to speak for God?

There is a moment of decision with God. Will we follow what seems logical to us or will we do what we believe God wants us to do. Will we be willing to make the sacrifice? In Dangerous Wonder by Michael Yaconelli he says "Most of us act as if it is more important to make a living than to live. Financial security is much more valued than the insecurity of following Christ...Jesus called His disciples to a very odd standard of living–nothing."

We read further of the widow of Zarephath, "So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah" (I Kings 17:15-16 NAS). For her sacrifice she received a tremendous blessing. She and her son did not die and they got to see the miraculous power of God. What do we forfeit when we are unwilling give sacrificially to God? We miss seeing God at work. We miss seeing the power of God. We miss seeing what others will never see. We lose so much when we refuse to give God what he asks of us.

The New Testament also teaches that God loves sacrifices. There is the classic story of the widow in the temple. Jesus is in the temple people watching. He observes two individuals giving money to God. "And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a certain poor widow putting in two small copper coins" (Luke 21:1-2 NAS). Two people gave their offering. (Actually the one person was a group of people that were rather wealthy.) They gave a lot of money. One person, another widow, put in a couple coins. I was in a church once that took a "silent offering." This poor widow woman would have been left out.

I doubt if any of us think of us as wealthy. Sometimes we may feel like those with more money than we should give more. Don't want to make this a sermon about putting more in the offering plate. But to ignore that application would be like trying to ignore an elephant standing on the platform next to me. When the offering plate was passed around this morning, did you give sacrificially? Did you sacrifice going out for dinner after church so you could give more? Are you going to wear last years style of clothing? Did you have to postpone a major purchase?

Will you have to buy a less expensive car? Will you have to get rid of your cable or satellite dish? I doubt if any of us gave that sacrificially because we do not think like God thinks about sacrifice.

"And He said, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on'" (Luke 21:3-4 NAS). Jesus laid down an important truth concerning giving to God. It is not how much you give that is important. What matters to God is the sacrifice. God delights in sacrifice! Now God has called us to become like him. So God wants us to delight in sacrifice too. But that means a renovation in our thinking. "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing [renovation] of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2 NAS). We are changed into the people God wants us to be as our mind in renewed or renovated.

Why does God love sacrifice? Sacrifice is the highest expression of love. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16 NKJ). "We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth" (I John 3:16-18 NAS). God's great love for you and me resulted in the greatest sacrifice ever. The Son of God left the glory of heaven and became a human. As a human he suffered and died for our sins. "And it pleased the father to bruise him..." (Isaiah 53:10 KJV). It pleased the Father than the Son was willing to sacrifice himself.

Our desire to sacrifice for God is the evidence of our love for Him. "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma" (Ephesians 5:2 NKJ). Christ's death was pleasing to God. So we are to walk in love, sacrificing. Then God is pleased, because our sacrifice is an expression of our love for Him.

Now, this takes a change in the way we think, but it is possible. Paul was certainly willing to sacrifice, even his life. "But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all" (Philippians 2:17 NAS). Paul was willing to sacrifice anything, and if necessary everything as a sacrifice to God. That sacrifice was in his service of other people. Not only was he willing but he rejoiced.

"I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship" (Romans 12:1 NAS). Our life is to be a living and holy sacrifice. But we need to rethink our attitude toward sacrifice. Do we have the mind of Christ? Do we desire the mind of Christ? Or would we just rather play church? God is looking for believers who want to be authentic Christians. Are you willing to be one?

"Father, I want to know Thee, but my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival. Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in, Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be not night there. In Jesus's name. Amen." From A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

Rethinking Sacrifice
by Cal Bodeutsch

This month is very unusual. There are five Sundays in February. This only happens three times in a century. In the 1900's - 1920, 1948, 1976. In the 2000's - 2004, 2032, 2088. An unusual month of Sundays deserves some unusual sermons. In these five Sundays I want us to look at biblical truths that go contrary to our natural way of thinking.

Our basic text will stay the same "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2 NAS). We want to continue to look at new ways of thinking for the believer.

Last week we looked at the idea of seeking God. As unbelievers we did not seek God. God first sought us. Now God wants us to seek him. God wants us to be like Jacob who wrestling an angel and said "I will not let you go until you bless me." We need to experience that persistence in seeking God.

This morning I would like for us to look at another area where our thinking must be renovated. I am talking about the way we think about sacrifice. What do you think about sacrifice? Most people do not like to make sacrifices. We don't like to give up our stuff. We work hard for it and deserve to keep it. We all know the more stuff you have the more successful you are.

We don't like to give up our time either. After all, we only have so much time on earth. Because we have planned out our lives (that will be another sermon this month) so we can live comfortably we can't mess up our plans by making sacrifices. I'm not talking about the animal sacrifices of the Bible. But they were called sacrifices because it was a sacrifice for people to give them. That was instituted by God. Which brings us to our key thought for the day. God loves sacrifice!

The Old Testament is full of references to God's love a sacrifice. Abraham was tested by God to see if he was willingness to give sacrificially. "Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!' And he said, ‘Here I am.' And He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.'" (Genesis 22:1-2 NAS). Most Christians are aware that this was a test for Abraham but Abraham didn't know it was a test. All Abraham knew was that God wanted him to sacrifice his only son.

Have you ever had your faith and love for God put to the test? A couple weeks ago Pastor Pat preached on the Christian gal at Columbine who lost her life on earth but passed the test. We may have not been tested to that degree, but everyone one of us has been tested at some time.

Last Wednesday I prayed for God to wake me up early. Ever since coming back from Hawaii I have been having trouble getting up early. Because I spend the first couple of hours in prayer, getting in at 9:00 a.m. just doesn't cut it. So I asked God to wake me up early, give me the desire to get up, give me the power to get up, and if possible give me a push out of bed.

Maybe I should have been more specific with God, because Thursday morning at exactly 3:46 A.M. I woke up. You have to understand. I don't wake up in the middle of the night. Once we had a car explode in front of our house. I slept through the explosion and the police and fire trucks sirens. I didn't know if this was of God or just a freak of nature. So I prayed and told God that if he really wanted me to get up to keep me awake until 4:15 A.M.. I figured I could be back to sleep in 15 minutes easily. Suddenly and for no reason my left foot shared to throb. Then the pain crept up my leg. At 4:05 A.M. I said, "OK God, I'll get up!" The pain went away and I had a great four hours in prayer. That was just a little test of God. And with some help from God I passed it.

Sometimes we are given a test and we may not have even noticed it. Perhaps God put a burden to give to missions, but we said "no." We couldn't afford it. We were unwilling to make the sacrifice for God. We always have excuses for not doing what God asks us to do. But let's get back to our story of Abraham. "So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance" (Genesis 22:3-4 NAS). Did you notice that God gave Abraham time to think? For three days he could debate it in his mind. Would he be willing to make that kind of a sacrifice for God?

Abraham left immediately for the place sent him. Abraham started well. Some of us have started well, but then turned around. Have you given yourself as a living sacrifice to God only to turn around a take it back? Have you said "yes" to becoming a missionary only to refuse later on?

Abraham started well but he also finished well. "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" And Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together" (Genesis 22:6-8 NAS). Now Isaac is no young boy; he is a young man now. He knew all about the burnt offering. And he notes that there is nothing to sacrifice. Abraham just says not to worry. God would take care of it. It didn't make sense to Isaac and I'm sure it didn't make sense to Abraham either. But that didn't stop them.

Has your reasoning caused you to turn away from God? Have you said things like, "I've got to protect myself!" or "I've got to plan for the future!" or even "I've got to keep everything I've got for me!" God says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5 NAS). When things don't make sense that is when we must trust God. Unfortunately that is when we trust Him least.

"Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there, and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." And he said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." (Genesis 22:9-12 NAS). God was pleased with Abraham willingness to sacrifice. I believe Abraham was expecting to kill his son and God waited until the last minute to stop him. God may ask you to be willing to make a sacrifice. He might then stop you. Or he might not.

There is another story (of many) in the Old Testament that speaks of God's love of sacrifice. It is the account of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. Elijah prayed and it stopped raining for three years. During that time God provided for Elijah. "And it shall be that you shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there" (I Kings 17:4 NAS). But one day the brook dried up. God tells him to go to the town of Zarephath. "So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, "Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink." And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand." But she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die" (I Kings 17:10-12 NAS).

Here is a woman who has next to nothing. The drought brought a desperate famine into the land. Elijah asks this woman for some water and a piece of bread. But she was picking up sticks to make a fire to cook the last bit of flour she had, so she and her son could eat and then die. None of us have been in that type of situation. Maybe we feel like it sometimes. "I can't sacrifice that to God. I couldn't live without that!" What you think that you can't live without is probably what God wants