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Saturday, February 28, 2015
Friday, February 27, 2015
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Lenten Study Guide: "Broken, But Not in Pieces"
Text: Isaiah 6:1-8
OPEN:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a young German theologian. He was hanged on April 9, 1945, by special order of Himmler at the concentration camp in Buechenwald. He wrote a little book entitled, The Cost of Discipleship. I first read it in Kenya back in 1997. What Bonhoeffer attacks in his first essay he calls “cheap grace.”
Bonhoeffer says, "Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting for costly grace." (p. 45) "Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ." Bonhoeffer goes on to say that cheap grace is worship “services” without brokenness, singing without contrition, praying without humility.
On this first Sunday of Lent, we turn to Isaiah’s life changing experience in chapter six. Here, we see two significant aspects about worship. The first is that worship begins with a passion for God’s glory. The second is that brokenness is a prerequisite for worship, both private and corporate. It is this second aspect that we will examine more closely.
The book of Isaiah is named for the prophet who composed the book. His name means "The Lord is salvation." The work of the great prophet was to turn the Jews to the Lord as the only hope of their salvation.
Isaiah's ministry occurred at a critical time in Judah's history. The Assyrian power was rising, and in the light of this fact two groups appeared within the nation. One sought alliance with Egypt and the other with Syria. Isaiah, however, forbade human alliances and urged the nation to trust in God (Young, Introduction. 211).
Isaiah's work as a prophet began in the year King Uzziah of Judah died, 739 BC. His call was accompanied by an apocalyptic vision of God on His throne which foreshadowed John's vision in Revelation. He prophesied during the reigns of "Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah" (1:1). Thus, his public prophetic ministry apparently lasted 53 years (739 B.C. - 686 B.C.), and he lived several years longer. Jewish tradition claims he was sawed in two at the command of King Manasseh (cf. Hebrews 11:37).
Brokenness is the prerequisite to true worship, and authentic worship always results in sacrificial service.
I. Five Observations Concerning Isaiah’s Experience of Brokenness.
1. When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, his own self-righteousness was utterly destroyed and he received true righteousness as a gift of God’s grace. "I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty" (v. 1)
Humanly speaking, he was a righteous man even before he entered God’s throne room. As a prophet, he had dedicated his life to God’s service. Yet, something was missing. There were depths of his own depravity that he had yet to confront, and thus he needed a shattering experience of having God’s grace applied to his guilt.
Many terrifying thoughts must have run through Isaiah’s mind when he saw God on His holy throne. Frankly he thought he was a dead man, for he knew it was impossible for any man to see God and live (Ex. 33:20). “Woe to me!” he said, “For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"
No doubt, Isaiah remembered what had happened to King Hezekiah, who had died earlier that same year. Uzziah had been one of Judah’s more successful monarchs. He was a good king who “sought God” and “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Chron 26:4-5).
However, Uzziah became proud of his accomplishments, and in his pride he entered the Holy Place to burn incense on God’s altar. This was strictly forbidden, so the priests tried to bar the king’s entrance. While they argued back and forth, Uzziah was struck by leprosy. This made him ceremoniously unclean, and was thereby forced to leave the temple and never return. The king lived in seclusion until his dying day. This was the consequence of his arrogant pride that caused his unlawful entrance into God’s holy sanctuary (2 Chron 26:16-23).
With all of this somewhere in the back of his mind, Isaiah was terrified by his vision of God’s glory, and understandably so.
2. Isaiah cried, “Woe is me!… I am lost/ ruined!”
The word “woe” is significant. In the previous chapter, Isaiah had pronounced six woes against the people of Jerusalem, condemning them for everything from drunkenness to unethical real estate development. However, according to the conventions of Hebrew literature, things ordinarily came in sevens—therefore, one would have expected one more woe. By pronouncing only six woes, Isaiah seemed to have left things hanging.
Then the prophet saw the sovereign Lord, seated in majesty, and his woe was made complete. “Woe is me!” he cried, pronouncing the seventh and final woe. Isaiah knew that he was finished. There was no way that he would ever survive this encounter, let alone join the angels in praising God’s holiness. All he could do was say, “I am lost/ ruined.” In other words—“It’s over. I’m finished. I am devastated and dismantled. I’m all in pieces. I cease to exist.”
What so completely overwhelmed Isaiah was a clear and complete view of his depravity in light of God’s perfection. He now has a deep experimental acquaintance with his own sinfulness.
3. This is what always happens when we see God as He really is—we see ourselves as we really are.
We stop comparing ourselves to others and start comparing ourselves with God.
A true vision of God’s sovereign majesty/glory always includes a painful awareness of our own radical depravity. The more we recognize God’s glory, the more we see our desperate need for his grace.
4. What is particularly striking in Isaiah’s case is the specific sin he confessed—foul language. "I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" (v. 5)
He discovered that he was a sinner in the one area of life where he was most committed to doing God’s will.
Isaiah was a prophet, and as a prophet it was his job to speak God’s Word. In the course of his prophetic work, he often had occasion to pronounce judgment against the sins of others. Yet he had not fully understood the depth of his own depravity, and it was not until he saw God’s glory that he realized that he himself was a foul-mouthed sinner. When he was confronted with God’s sovereign holiness, he was forced to admit that he, too, was a man of unclean lips—a sinner like everyone else. His privileged background did not prevent him from needing to be broken before God like everyone else.
5. Furthermore, Isaiah recognized that he lived “among a people of unclean lips.”
In other words, he had a heightened sensitivity to the depravity of his entire generation.
This is the very opposite of the worldliness that plagues our evangelical churches today—that of cultural accommodation at all costs.
Rather than going with the crowd, and bowing to the pressure of public opinion, Isaiah realized his contemporaries were in violation of God’s holiness. This realization was necessary for him to fulfill his calling as a prophet: prophets must always stand apart from the culture of the day and call attention to the disparity between the culture and God’s holiness.
There was another danger inherent in Isaiah’s prophetic profession—it was the danger of becoming proud of his own spiritual accomplishments. Prophets are tempted to judge their listeners instead of bowing before God, who alone is Judge. Churches face the same temptation—proclaiming God’s expectations but then presuming his place as judge.
What preserved Isaiah was his unforgettable encounter with God’s transcendent glory, which produced a forthright confession of his own personal sin. As a result, when Isaiah confronted the sins of others, he did so in a spirit of humble contrition.
II. Three Implications of Brokenness for Worship.
1. Worship Begins in the Mind.
a. Our focus and energy in worship should be directed toward exalting and enjoying God’s glory, holiness, manifold perfections.
The reason so many churches suffer through little experiences labeled “worship” is because they give attention to an inferior god.
What kind of God does our corporate worship reveal? Are we stingy with worship, bland with worship, bored with worship, rushed in worship? All of this things reflect our view of God.
What would worship be like if it really reflected an infinite God who is the sum total of everything beautiful and magnificent in the universe?
What kind of God does your personal worship reveal?
b. We have never truly worshipped until we have dealt intellectually with our sin in light of God’s perfection.
Worship is really not something to be enjoyed—it is a response reflecting the disparity between God’s perfection and our sinfulness.
When God's Spirit confronts my spirit, the inevitable response is brokenness and worship.
2. Worship is not complete until it has touched completely.
Isaiah understood God’s holiness and his own depravity, but that reality sunk so deep into his mind and heart that it resulted in an emotional response—“I am lost/!”
By definition, true worship is never self-centered.
Emotion/passion does not produce worship, but they are necessary by-products of it.
How can one passively and unemotionally stand in the presence of greatness.
3. Genuine worship always results in surrender and service.
"Here am I; send me!" (v. 8)
The goal of brokenness and worship is never an emotional response; it is decisive action.
God always changes us so that we may be agents of transformation in the world.
CLOSE:
Brokenness is the prerequisite to true worship, and authentic worship always results in sacrificial service.
(Dr. Dane Fowlkes)
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Friday, February 20, 2015
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Study Guide: "Satisfied, But Not Satisfactory"
Text: Revelation 3: 14-22
OPEN:
We encounter immediately the sharp contrast between the Lord's message to the Church at Philadelphia and his stern words to the Church at Laodicea. It's as if we have the best and worst case scenarios side-by-side so that it would be impossible to notice the stark differences.
Some background is in order:
The city of Laodicea was located about 100 miles directly east of Ephesus, the first city to which these seven letters were addressed.
Laodicea was part of a tri-city area, closely associated with the cities of Colossae (to which the letter to the Colossians was written), and Hierapolis.
The Church at Laodicea is mentioned in Colossians 4:16. In the year 361 AD a Council was held here which established the New Testament canon (which books to be included and those to be omitted).
Laodicea was noted throughout the Roman province of Asia for its wealth, its commercial life, and its medical practice.
As the banking center of Asia, it was the most prosperous of the seven cities. Many large, beautiful homes were built in this city, the ruins of which are still visible, and probably some of them were owned by Christians.
Laodicea also had a flourishing clothing industry. A particular breed of black sheep were raised around this area, and the glossy, black wool was woven into special clothes that were sold here.
The city was also noted for its medical practice, especially for its eye and ear salve. The medical cult of Aesculapius was located here. The symbol of Aesculapius, a staff with entwined serpents around it, is still the symbol of medical practice.
Laodicea was thus a kind of Chase Bank, Macy's Department Store and Mayo Clinic all rolled into one. That will explain some of the references we find in this letter to the church there.
As in all the letters, our Lord introduces himself in a very significant way. His opening description form the key to what the church needs:
"And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write:"The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God's creation." (3:14)
The first and last Word on everything is telling us spiritual apathy is disgusting and the remedy is communion with Christ.
I. Spiritual Apathy is Disgusting (vv. 15-17).
In every letter Jesus says, "I know your works." He is aware of what goes on in every church. He is watching us as well.
"I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (3:15-16)
There were two problems in this church:
1. There was something wrong with their commitment. They were neither cold nor hot. They were suffering from what someone has well called "the leukemia of non-commitment." I call it spiritual apathy.
The church at Sardis was a cold church, a dead church. It was as cold as death.
The church at Philadelphia was hot, alive, and vital.
But here in Laodicea was a church that was neither hot nor cold. It is merely lukewarm.
The word for hot is zestos, meaning to boil or seethe. This church is xlepos, meaning to become warm, tepid. Tepidness is not a rising from coldness toward the boiling point, but the opposite. This is water that was once boiling, seething hot, that has now cooled to being just warm.
Archaeologists have discovered an interesting fact about this city. It had no local water supply, but obtained their water through an aqueduct from the hot springs at Hierapolis, some six miles away. If you were staying in a motel in Laodicea and turned on the tap to get a cold drink, and tasted the water, you would probably spit it out again because it was tepid, lukewarm. Traveling that distance, the hot water had partly cooled down, and it would be nauseating, repulsive.
There is a word to describe this empty living. It is the word “apathy.” Apathy is a state of indifference — the concept derives from the Greek απάθεια (apatheia), a term used by the Stoics to signify indifference for what one is not responsible for. The concept was then re-appropriated by Christians, who adopted the term to express a contempt of all earthly concerns. The concept of apathy became understood in a different and more negative way by popular culture during World War I, in which the appalling conditions of the Western Front led to apathy and Shellshock among millions of soldiers. Many often had no emotion or thought process concerning killing/death in general.
A-pathos/apathy. Without passion. Without heart.
2. There was something wrong with their self-image. They thought they were rich, but they were really poor.
"For you say, 'I am rich; I have prospered, and I need nothing.' You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." (3:17)
What a sad condition! There is a big difference between "you say," and "you are." Our Lord points this difference out.
This church at Laodicea was smug, self-sufficient, complacent. They had plenty of money. Perhaps they had beautiful buildings, gifted preachers, a great choir, a great organ, and the respect of the community. They thought they were doing well. But when Jesus looks at it, he says, "You are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."
The wealth of the Laodicean Christians blinded them to their true poverty.
Why such a difference in these two views? It is because they were being measured by two different standards. They measured themselves by the standard of the world around them. Christ measures us against the standard of the Cross:
The world values fame; the Cross values humiliation.
The world values exaltation; the Cross values crucifixion.
The world values wealth; the Cross values emptiness.
The world values popularity; the Cross values brokenness.
II. The Remedy is Communion with Christ (vv. 18-21).
"Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see." (3:18)
1. Recognition is required to escape spiritual apathy.
The key to that verse is the three little words "buy from me."
What are we to acquire as we experience spiritual renewal?
1) First, "gold refined by fire."
This is absolutely pure gold, nothing impure or inferior about it.
The background for this statement is the wealth of the city and apparent wealth of the Laodicean Christians.
We'll never be boiling again unless our hearts and motives are pure.
2) Second, they needed white clothes: "white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen."
Every one of us knows something about ourselves that we would not want anyone else to know. But God knows! He sees us in our nakedness. What does he offer for it? The righteousness of Christ!
White clothes stand for a changed character; they mark someone who has taken his robes and washed them in the blood of the Lamb.
3) The third thing that is needed is eye salve.
Laodicea was noted for their eye ointment. But Jesus says they need spiritual eye salve that will enable them to see.
2. Continual communion is required to prevent spiritual apathy from occurring again.
"I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me." (3:19-20)
The way this is expressed in the Greek language does not refer to a momentary standing and just a knock or two and then indignant departure if the door is not at once opened. He comes and will wait and knock again and again.
I have heard this passage used most often in evangelistic appeals, but this is not a statement of conversion, but one of communion. Remember, he is addressing people who once were boiling hot but now have cooled to a nauseating state. He is saying that this is the path to regaining spiritual fervor and vitality. This is the way to be passionate once again. It comes not from reading about Jesus Christ, but communing with him.
My good friend calls this "a table for two."
Meal time was the most intimate time for oriental families.
This is not an intermittent, hit or miss kind of relationship. This is a mindset and an action. It is possible to practice the presence of God on a continual basis by having your thoughts turned toward Him. We need to match that with actual time spent with him apart from any other distractions.
CLOSE:
Laodicea is the lukewarm church that once was boiling hot and has grown tepid; the church that is proud and self-satisfied. No rest is made other than the statement of fact, "I will vomit you from my mouth.'
Spiritual apathy is disgusting and the remedy is communion with Christ.
Were you once red hot in your devotion to Christ, but have since cooled to the temperature of those around you? Then it is time to regain your passion for Christ by relishing your relationship with Christ.
(Dr. Dane Fowlkes)
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Study Guide: "People of the Dream"
Text: Revelation 3:7-13
OPEN:
We are familiar with the name Philadelphia, but this city was established in 189 BC by King Eumenes II of Pergamon (197-160 BC). Eumenes II named the city for his brother, who would be his successor, Attalus II (159-138 BC), whose loyalty earned him the nickname, "Philadelphos", literally meaning "one who loves his brother".
Philadelphia was situated where the borders of Mysia, Lydia and Phrygia met together. Strategically located, it was founded especially as a mission city to expand the Greek culture and language to Lydia and Phrygia. Barclay mentions that they were so successful that by A.D. 19 the Lydians had forgotten their own language and were all but Greeks.
It is important to note that this church received no condemnation or words of correction, only words of affirmation and challenge. This is the most exemplary of the seven churches of Revelation. It is the one congregation that stands as a model for us to emulate. This is what it means to be a People of the Dream.
When we love Christ and one another, we will instinctively look for others to love.
I. Unexpected Calling of the People of the Dream (v. 8).
1. This calling came as a complete surprise.
1) This was a church of little or no significance.
"I know that you have but little power"
Scholars such as Robert Mounce (New International Commentary on the New Testament, Revelation) assert that apparently this was a rather small congregation, and because of limited size they were not able to recognize a major impact on the city.
2) This church likely had an inferiority conflict.
They mistook size for influence.
They misunderstood wealth for strength.
They saw giants in the land and themselves as grasshoppers, just like the Hebrew spies in Canaan.
Somehow they had forgotten Zechariah 4:10, "For who hath despised the day of small things?"
2. The risen Christ arrests them from their 'woe is me', inferiority complex:
"Look, I have set before you an open door."
According to the Greek text and tense, the door has been open all along, they were simply to discouraged and too inward focused to recognize that it was there, already gaping wide open, waiting only for them to walk through it.
God has already opened the door. We are the ones that make it into a revolving door.
II. Unbelievable Opportunities Await the Church.
"Look, I have set before you an open door."
1. Philadelphia was the Original Church of the Open Door.
It is the great promise of the Risen Christ that he has set before the Christians of Philadelphia an open door which no man can ever shut.
What is the meaning of this open door?
1) It is the open door of missionary opportunity.
Writing to the Corinthians of the work which lies ahead of him, Paul says: "For a wide door for effective work has opened to me (1 Co 16: 9). When he came to Troas, a door was opened to him by the Lord (2 Co 2: 12). He asks the Colossians to pray that a door of utterance may be opened for him (Col 4: 3). When he came back to Antioch he told how God had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts 14: 27).
This meaning is particularly appropriate for Philadelphia. We have seen how it was a border town, standing where the boundaries of Lydia, Mysia and Phrygia met, and founded to be a missionary of Greek language and culture to the peoples beyond.
Two things are well worth noting here:
(a) There is a door of missionary opportunity before every disciple and we need not go overseas to find it. Within the home, within the circle in which we move, within the neighborhood in which we reside, there are those to be won for Christ. To use that door of opportunity is at once our privilege and our responsibility.
(b) In the way of Christ, the reward of work well done is more work to do. Philadelphia had proved faithful and the reward for her fidelity was still more work to do for Christ.
2. It is an open door of outreach to the Jews.
"I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but are lying--I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you."
There was evidently a serious conflict between the church at Philadelphia and the synagogue of Jews.
The prostration "bow down before your feet" is not an adoration of the church; these Jews, who have been hating all Christians, will come right into the Christian assembly. Their elders will bow in true repentance, realizing an acknowledging Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, and will beg to be received as members.
The wording is not at all figurative. We must not imagine that the Christians sat on church pews or chairs in their services; they sat cross-legged on the floor in oriental style (had this experience in Kwang Ju, South Korea in 1979). So also did the bishop or the speaker on the higher platform except when he stood up to read (Luke 4:16).
The fact that Jews, these vicious haters of Christ, would come to the church at Philadelphia, the members of this church would scarcely have believed. The Lord here promises this wonderful victory. It is his special gift to this faithful church.
3. How do we qualify to receive an open door of ministry?
"You have kept my word"
"You have not denied my name"
Although it's hard to say exactly what is meant by "my word", I believe it is safe to say he is referring to that which summarizes his message and most clearly represents him--agape love.
This causes me to think of that chorus: And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes they'll know we are Christians by our love.
Out of love for Christ, they continued to love each other and even those who opposed them. As a result, they qualified as a People of the Dream with an open door for ministry.
CLOSE:
When we love Christ and one another, we will instinctively look for others to love.
(Dr. Dane Fowlkes)
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Study Guide: "The Walking Dead"
Text: Revelation 3:1-6
OPEN:
My wife and I are careful with what we watch on television, and we have our favorites: Downton Abbey, Blue Bloods, most anything on HGTV. One very popular show that we've never watched is "The Walking Dead." The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series that is based on the comic book series of the same name. It stars a sheriff's deputy who awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way. Hollywood has given us a name for corpses that walk about as though they are living, but are really dead. The word is "zombie."
Though it may shock some or even many of you to hear it, I need to inform you that there are zombies among us. This is nothing new. It's as old as the passage we're reading today in Revelation chapter 3. The danger is real and it can destroy you if you’re not aware of it and not courageous enough to do something about it.
It is notable that Sardis was so confident it could not be overcome that it failed to guard its walls adequately. In the dead of the night a band of brave soldiers climbed up the sides of the ravine and entered an unwatched gate and overthrew the city. Thus, Sardis was a city characterized by a complacent spirit; however, unlike the other messages in Revelation that we've seen, in the letter to the church in Sardis there is nothing that has a bearing on the city as such. Neither pagan opposition nor heretical teaching threatened this church.
The church in this city is the least attractive of the seven churches to whom these letters are written. Our Lord finds nothing to commend about it. Here is his appraisal of it, given to us in the first verse of Chapter 3:
"To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead."
The tragic fact was that spiritual life had been crowded out of the church by pointless activity. The church was contaminated with the world -- inward decay, spiritual dry rot. In the same way, we are in tremendous spiritual danger when the context of our lives supersedes the content of our lives.
We are in constant danger of settling for the outward appearance of religion in place of the inward substance of relationship.
I. WE ARE IN DANGER OF BEING SATISFIED WITH THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE OF BEING RELIGIOUS.
1. The key word in verse one is “name.”
It is the Greek word onoma, and it means literally “reputation, title – official designation.”
It means that on the outside the Church at Sardis was officially open for business, giving every evidence of life, vitality, energy, but in reality they were dead. There was a reputation, but no reality.
2. As in all these letters, the life of the church is revealed in its actions. Our Lord says, as he does in most of the letters, "I know your works."
In Sardis these were works that were done to impress people. They gave this church a name to live. They had a good reputation, but it was actually a dead church.
The members of it were for the most part not even believers. They were not spiritually alive.
They were what we would call "nominal Christians." Nominal comes from the word "name" -- someone who has a name for something. Our Lord has declared, "You have a name of being alive, but you are dead!"
There was a time, apparently, when this church was alive, when it was filled with people who knew the Lord. That is the way they won a reputation. Here was a church that once had a great ministry but it had slipped away from them. It once had much impact in the city of Sardis, but now nothing is happening.
3. This church in Sardis was so devoid of life that it actually had no struggles going on within it.
Notice the difference between it and the other churches. There are no Jewish accusers of this church even though there was a large colony of Jews in the city of Sardis. They ignored the church, or perhaps did not even know of its existence.
There were no false apostles here. There were no domineering Nicolaitans who needed to be guarded against. There were no female seducers, as at Thyatira.
There was nothing.
How does this happen?
When we lose our passion for our relationship with Jesus Christ and become preoccupied with what others think about us – allowing ourselves to become spiritually schizophrenic – keep up appearances/reputation while ignoring or avoiding the absence of spiritual depth and substance in our lives.
II. WE ARE ALSO IN DANGER OF SETTLING FOR CHRISTIAN CULTURE RATHER THAN CHRIST HIMSELF.
1. Christian activity is not adequate in and of itself.
Another key part of Rev. 3:1 is the phrase, “I know your works.” The Lord says to these experts in their Christian culture, these busy believers, “Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God."
If we're not careful, busy-ness fills our time and keeps us from thinking, so we never have to face ourselves in light of who Christ is and what He wants for us.
So, what’s the solution to the problem? The remedy is mentioned in verse 4:
“Yet you have still a few persons in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.”
The solution is focusing on Christ and not being obsessed with Christian activity.
2. There is constant danger of settling into the comfortable activity of Christian culture and losing sight of the desperate need to walk with Christ for yourself.
You will be tempted to rely on others’ spirituality, church attendance, church activities and ministries, rather than walking with Christ personally.
Does your spirituality consist of a set of habits or a passion for the person of Jesus Christ?
CLOSE:
Some of us are in real danger and we don’t even know it. We can’t see it, we can’t hear it, we can’t feel it. We're in danger when....
We tend to read devotional material but never find time enough to read God’s Word.
We find yourselves talking about church, but never seriously seek the Savior for ourselves.
We attend church because it’s expected, but never come expecting God to speak to our hearts and change our lives.
We are fluent in the language of Christianese, but ignore speaking to the Father in prayer.
We substitute praise & worship for confession and repentance.
Instead of a passion for Christ, we opt for popularity among friends.
Instead of being crushed/broken before him, we do everything possible to appear to have it all together and be in need of nothing or no one.
We are so comfortable with Christianity that we’ve anesthetized ourselves against the penetrating Christ.
Would you pray with me right now that you will allow God rescue you from the Walking Dead, and that Christ will ignite a passion in your heart for Him and Him alone?
(Dr. Dane Fowlkes)
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