Iron Sharpens Iron

Kids Who Rip

2009-10-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

Jayshaun Agosto does what it takes to succeed when it comes to basketball and track. If only God's people would take their faith even half as seriously...

Last Sunday I spoke about as Christians we need to strive to be a blessing. One illustration I used was of a person's life cycle, starting with infancy.

An infant cannot care for itself and must be taken care of. An adult is one who can not only care for him or her self, but is also capable of caring for others at the same time. The childhood/teen/young adult years are the training ground to adulthood. In our culture, becoming an adult takes decades.

But for a Christian, one does NOT need to be a believer for many years (let alone decades) in order to be a mightily used by God. It is not only possible, but should be. If a child like Jayshaun can do amazing things in the natural world, how much more a believer with Almighty God living in him or her?

Did you know that in other parts of the world, new believers are trained from day one to learn to feed themselves as well as feeding others? Those believers daily spend time with God and grow in their faith, share their faith regularly, and help others to do the same; and God's Kingdom grows exponentially because of it.

They think that this is normal for Christians. In case you didn't hear me, let me say it again. The international believers think that growing in Christ daily, sharing your faith regularly, and helping others to grow in their faith is NORMAL. It should be normal, but wouldn't they be discouraged if they found out the truth?

I've heard an objection to that being people in those other countries live in a different place and culture and can't be compared to ours. But what do those believers possess that we don't, besides a desire to grow in Christ and to help others know the blessings that come from being God's child? Is sharing Christ with someone any less difficult because the language and culture is different? No. In some cases those differences make sharing even more difficult.

Somewhere along the way Christianity in America has degenerated into mediocrity as the norm. People who try to do everything that God says are labeled "radical." But there is no such thing as radical obedience - either you are obeying or you are not.

If you are not living in a way that transcends your human capacity, stop deceiving yourself. The Holy Spirit did not raise you in Christ just so that you can look like those without the Spirit. Take time to repent and let the rivers of living water flow from your innermost being. Be the blessing.

Prone to Wander Lord, I Feel It. . .

2009-09-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Siu Sum! Xiao Xin!

In my sermon last Sunday, I didn't have time to address this issue again, but Jesus once again reiterated the point that no one can come to him unless the Father draws him or her. When the Father draws you to Jesus, how do you respond? Do you keep wandering or do you turn and go to Jesus?

The first half of Isaiah 53:6 says, "All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way..." You know it's true. Even the children of God have a tendency to wander, a situation that won't be remedied until we die or Jesus comes back again, whichever comes first.

Problems start when we turn to our own ways, what seems right to us. In the days of the Judges, the biggest problem came because "every man did was was right in their own eyes." We need to do what is right in God's eyes. It does not matter if every person in the world is against us, we need to always do what is right in the eyes of God. And the way to do that is to stick with him.

Don't wander from God. You might get hit by a truck!

God Does God-sized Work

2009-09-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

The blog entry title is the third point of my sermon a couple of days ago but I really want you to explore the ramifications of that statement. To help you get the ball rolling, watch this video about the universe:

Can you imagine how much power it would take to create the universe? That same God lives in you! Don't you think it's a little abnormal that the lives of the vast majority of Christians are so powerless?

If it is true that the God who created the universe lives in you, then why do Christians have lives that resemble people who don't have the Lord Almighty in them? We have been underachieving for so long that what is abnormal seems normal.

Actually, Jesus said that we would accomplish even greater things than he did on earth in John 14:12 - I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

The possibilities are: Jesus was wrong, lying, deluded, or correct. Here lies the tension. Of course Jesus was correct, but for some reason most Christians don't show it. It is something we only know cerebrally and have yet to experience it.

So what do we do? Cling to God with a tenacious death-grip and seek to obey with all you have. I am confident that if we give all we can to God, his statement will hold true for us. Let's stop the mediocrity in Christianity right now.

Do Hard Things

2009-09-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

Underachievers. Irresponsible. Unreliable. These are the words that describe many teenagers today. Our culture places such low expectations on teens that they have descended to meet the expectations.

Teenage twins Brett and Alex Harris are seeking to change that. They have written a book called Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion against Low Expectations.

But are low expectations the realm of teens alone? I think not. In American church culture, it is evident that we also have low expectations for our members.

If you go to church on Sundays and attend Sunday School, give 10% of your income, and maybe even attend a fellowship, then you are in good shape. Heck, if you do those things long enough, you might even be asked to teach or be a deacon or trustee or a leader of some sort.

But is that what Christianity is all about? Seriously? Jesus said in John 14:5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

Somehow expectations have shifted and mediocre Christianity is considered normal, and complete and total surrender to the Lordship of Christ is considered "radical." Read Jesus' words again. If you are in him and he is in you, you will bear MUCH fruit.

But it's not just any kind of fruit, it should be fruit that is worthy of an awesome God. William Carey, who is also known as the "Father of Modern Missions" put it best when he said, "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God." Our God is a great and mighty God; shouldn't the fruit that we are to be bearing in our lives be demonstrative of that power?

How much and what kind of fruit would God say your life is producing right now? If it's not what it should be, what are you going to do about it?

Do You REALLY Need God?

2009-08-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Do you? If all God does for you is to help you get through the daily grind, I would say, "No." People do that all the time without God, don't they?

But if you want to experience life to the fullest, the life God has planned for you, then you most certainly do need God because as Jesus said, "Without me, you can do nothing."

http://www.iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Nate_Larkin/

On a side note, the video also shows us why we need accountability in our lives, people that can help us get to where we need to be.

What Does It Take. . .

2009-08-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

. . . to change the world? It takes sacrifice and seeking first God's Kingdom at the exclusion of your own. It is amazing how doing that will bring you to a place where you will make a difference in the world.

If you know that you can do more to as a representative of Christ, watch these two videos in order and preferably one after the other. (the first is about 18 minutes, the second about 35)

1. http://www.himonline.org/vid/vid_hon2009/dvd-raf.html
2. http://www.himonline.org/vid/vid_hon2009/dvd-francis-youth.html

I dare you.

Luke 9:23-25
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

Whose Kingdom Are You Building?

2009-08-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

God has blessed us here in the United States extremely abundantly. Why? Is it so that we can have more "stuff"? Or have we been guilty of misusing the wealth that he has entrusted to us?

I believe that we in the United States need to change the way that we view our resources. It won't be easy but since when is denying one's self and daily carry a cross supposed to be easy?

Just by living more simply, we will be able to impact the world. For example, purchasing a Toyota Corolla instead of a Camry might save you thousands of dollars that you might use to help a poor person in Mexico build a house. Or maybe limiting the number of times that you eat out so that you can sponsor a needy child. The possibilities are endless.

The Apostle Paul believes that our resources should be used to glorify God. He says in 2 Corinthians 9:11, "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."

Who in the world is giving thanks to God due to your generosity today?

Let us repent of our selfishness and use God's resources to build his kingdom, not our own.

Cutting Corners

2009-08-04T16:00:00.000-07:00

It was not all work and no play in Alaska. One of the members of my crew nicknamed, "Hot Sizzle!" needed to perform 25 pushups because he was not being encouraging to other crew members. I enlisted 7 year old Emma to count and make sure he did all 25. The results were pretty funny!

Last Sunday I preached about Jesus' requirement of denying ourselves and carrying our crosses daily in order to follow Him. But like Hot Sizzle in the video, we often have to battle our desire to cut corners on the path of discipleship.

But there are no shortcuts to following after Jesus. He did not call it the narrow path for nothing! Make no mistake, the Bible is explicit in its declaration of God's people living for Jesus.

From today's "Read the Bible through in a Year" reading: 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 2 Corinthians 5:15

Do not fool yourself and think that you can live the way you want and still be Jesus' disciple. Jesus himself did not leave room for that and neither should you.

27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27 (Emphasis mine)

Lessons from Alaskan Sled Dogs

2009-07-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

The Scripture that was the foundation for our week in Alaska was taken from Isaiah 6:1-8. In verse 8, God asks, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"

Isaiah's response was, "Here I am. Send me!"

Driving back from North Pole to Anchorage on the last day of our mission trip, our group stopped at the Denali National Park. For me the highlight of the park was the dogsled demonstration. And during this demonstration, it was as if God were reconfirming the message of the trip.

On the video, you can hear all of the 32 dogs in their kennels barking as the ranger chooses dogs to be hitched up to the sled for the demonstration. What you don't see, is that prior to this, all the dogs were lethargic, most were sleeping.

But when the time came for some of them to be hitched up to the sled, they all seemed to wake up and started barking! It was as if all of them were yelling, "Pick me! Pick me!" The dogs were excited because they wanted an opportunity to do the thing which they have been bred.

(For the animal lovers, prior to retrieving the dogs, the ranger explained that the dogs' necks are really strong and being pulled in this manner does no harm to the dog. The dogs get so excited to be put on a sled that they might inadvertantly pull the ranger off her feet and cause injury.)

For some reason, we humans are different. We don't want God to pick us. And what that ultimately means is that we don't want to do the things for which God made us. We want to do our own thing and we agonize over why our lives don't go the way we think it should go.

Only when we completely surrender our lives to God and allow him to use us for the task for which we were created will we truly experience the joy that God has for us.

What will it take for you to learn the lesson that these sled dogs have already learned?

Make Your Summer Count

2009-07-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

I came across an article today that gave 8 tips to make this summer count. The first two are:

1. Look at people with eternity in mind. Everyone has an eternity in front of them. We need to see them as God does and care for them like it counts.
2. Show some hospitality. Believers should be the people everyone else wants to be around. So be the person who invites everyone over for a cookout or a game night. Remember, you’re the ambassador for Christ so get into the lives of people living outside the Kingdom.

Read the rest of the article here.

You only have one life to live, better make it count!

In the Hands of God

2009-07-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is difficult to to submit one's self to God but there is no safer place to be than in his hands. As Dr. O.S. Hawkins once said during a sermon at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, "You should not fear that God would put his hands on you. Rather you should fear that God would take his hands off you."

Don't be afraid to fall in the hands of God.

God's Way IS the Best Way!

2009-06-30T11:47:00.001-07:00

Last week I found a news article put out by livescience.com that talks about factors that bring true happiness. I was going to include it in my sermon on Sunday but time constraints prevented it.

The article's author Robert Goodier writes: Wealth, fame and good looks may be a formula for anxiety rather than happiness, a new study suggests. You can read the entire article here.

It is interesting that the findings of the study of what actually does bring happiness correspond with the teachings of the Bible.

Really, God is all about having meaningful personal relationships; with Him and others. He is also committed to helping us grow as people, conforming us into the image of His Son.

Do what God says and you'll find that maybe God does actually know a thing or two about how to get an abundant life after all.

Fan or Follower?

2009-06-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I heard a news report about a pastor of a church who started a website called "Not a Fan." Its purpose is for Christians to be able to discern whether or not they are truly a follower of Christ, or just a fan of his.

You can get more information here at his website: http://www.notafan.com/

Although the packaging of the concept is fresh, the concept itself comes from Jesus himself. He wants us to not just be converts, but disciples who will follow him even to the ends of the earth. That was the goal when he said to his disciples, "Follow me."

Don't just read this blog entry and forget about it. Take time to ask yourself: Am I just an enthusiastic admirer of Jesus, or do I truly follow him? What is one thing that you can do this week to help you be a better follower of Jesus?

Starfish

2009-06-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

I was at Costco last night and as I sat at the table waiting for Theresa to pick up our food, I was looking around the store, in awe of the sheer numbers of people there. I wondered how many of those people I saw would end up separated from God for eternity.

I prayed for them but was honestly overwhelmed at the sheer number of people. I wondered what just one person could do and whether or not I could make a difference. . .

Yes, one person can make a difference. But what if an entire church decided that they wanted to make a difference? What if it was our church?

Interestingly enough I had already started a draft of this post last week, with this video already attached. Isn't it amazing how God works?

Love Your Enemies, Part II

2009-06-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

It would be tempting to just gloss over last week's post and forget about it, but I ask again: Can you imagine how much better God's church would be if we all strived to do this?

Maybe it might be more powerful to hear it said in this manner as opposed to a stick-figure cartoon:

It really is a shame that even in churches, God's people don't always do it for one another. Even sadder is the fact that rejecting Jesus' command is ultimately rejecting Jesus himself!

But do you want to know something funny? All it takes is one person to take Jesus' command seriously for God to unite people in Him. Ideally it would be from both sides but if just one person in an adversarial relationship decided to love their adversary and pray for him or her, it is easy to see how resolution can and will take place.

Are you willing to obey the one whom you call "Lord" and be the one?

Love Your Enemies

2009-06-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

A short cartoon made by a friend of Shawn Kwon's...

Difficult to do, but how much better off would this world be if God's children took this command seriously? How much better off would churches be?

Luke 6:27-28
27"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Jesus lived what he taught:
Romans 5:6-10
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Sometimes we can get intimidated by not knowing the Bible very well (a situation that you realize that you have the power to remedy, right? but i digress...) but really Jesus' commands were not rocket science.

It's just so difficult to obey sometimes that we go through all kinds of mental gymnastics just so we can feel better about our disobedience with tough commands like these.

Don't settle for mediocrity - be a disciple and obey all that Jesus has commanded.

Revelation

2009-05-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

Whether you realize it or not, Third Day is right - we have nothing without Jesus! Here's a great song from a great band. Who woulda thought they'd be on a late-night show? Cool!

May God reveal himself powerfully and clearly to you this week!

Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law.

Power to the People!

2009-05-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

One school of thought in church leadership is that preachers must not talk of Greek and Hebrew lest the congregation believe that Biblical interpretation is best left to the "experts."

While it is true that people who have gone to seminary or Bible college may be better equipped to understand the Bible, it is definitely NOT true that unless you go to said school you will not be able to interpret and understand the Bible at all. In fact, I have encountered people without any formal training to be extremely knowledgeable in God's Word through their own reading and personal study.

Honestly I think the problem lies in the fact that many Christians have not learned to feed themselves in the Word daily, for whatever reasons. They neither study nor read the Bible on their own. Is it any wonder that people will automatically defer to the "experts" then?

It will always be natural to question whether or not we are interpreting the passage correctly, but it should not cause you to abandon your own personal Bible reading and study. If anything it should cause you to read and study even more. Otherwise you'll always be at the mercy of someone else to interpret for you.

Don't forget that Satan knows the Bible better than you do, and he will do all he can to twist and distort God's Word in your mind to help you be at best ineffective and at worst, harmful to God's Kingdom-work. If you know your Bible well, then you will be able to counter his attacks just as Jesus did during his temptation in the wilderness.

If you are having difficulty with your Biblical interpretation, stick to the 20-20 rule. This rule means that you read 20 verses before and 20 verses after your passage. That way you will have a better grasp of the context in which the author wrote the verse or passage in question.

Reading big chunks of the Bible daily and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to you through the Word will change your life more than any sermon ever will. When you learn to feed yourself in the Word daily (as opposed to being fed weekly by someone else) spiritual maturity will not be far away.

Don't take God's Word for granted. Learn to love it and you will go far in your walk with Jesus.

It Would Crush Me...

2009-05-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

Written on the memorial plaque for Samuel Dyer in Macau is a quote of his: "If I thought anything could prevent my dying for China, the thought would crush me."

Wow.

Above Mr. Dyer's quote on the plaque is Revelation 12:11 which says: They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Those quotes seem so different than what I am used to in America. Here seeking to preserve one's life for his or her own sake has become the norm!

Seriously, when was the last time that you felt so strongly about the Gospel that the thought of you not being able to give up your life for its sake sounded miserable? But isn't that the call of Jesus to all of his disciples?

Then he (Jesus) called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Mark 8:34-36

May you seek the things that bring you life this week, whatever it may be.

From Made to Saved

2009-05-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across a video about Michael Franzese, a former mafia captain who has since been saved by God and has turned his life around for the better.

Jesus really does save, huh?

Do not sell short the power of Jesus to change a person's life!

A Father's Love

2009-04-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

In the words of Jesus:

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:7-11

Through the Eyes of God

2009-04-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Susan Boyle is an awesome reminder that what's on the outside may not be indicative of what's going on inside.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

James 2:1-9

My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.

It is important to see others as God sees them, looking at the inside not the outside.

If Not Now, When?

2009-04-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

I don’t wanna go through the motions

I don’t wanna go one more day

Without Your all consuming passion inside of me

I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking

What if I had given everything?

Instead of going through the motions

This is my heart's cry now and when I heard this song this morning on K-LOVE, I just knew I had to share it. I had heard this song before but it had not yet touched me like this morning.

I know it's difficult, painful, and scary to give up everything to God, but that's what he requires of us. Anyone who does not give up everything he (or she) has CANNOT be Jesus' disciple. The Master said it himself, in Luke 14:33 if you want to check. Jesus left no doubt as to what kind of person a disciple is.

So if what Jesus says is true, and it certainly is, what does that make you and me?

Let us journey together in giving our all for the One who gave his all for us. Carpe diem!

Here's the song, with a little about the season of uncertainty that Matthew West himself went through:

The Story of Your Life

2009-04-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

Author John Eldredge in his book Epic writes:

Life, you'll notice, is a story.

Life doesn't come to us like a math problem. It comes to us the way that a story does, scene by scene. You wake up. What will happen next? You don't get to know - you have to enter in, take the journey as it comes. The sun might be shining. There might be a tornado outside. Your friends might call and invite you to go sailing. You might lose your job.

Life unfolds like a drama. Doesn't it? Each day has a beginning and an end. There are all sorts of characters, all sorts of settings. A year goes by like a chapter from a novel. Sometimes it seems like a tragedy. Sometimes like a comedy. Most of it feels like a soap opera. Whatever happens, it's a story through and through.

Although you no longer have control over what has been written in your story up until today, what has been written doesn't necessarily have to dictate what will be written.

When you stand before the Almighty, what do you hope will be read aloud in the story that was your life? What will you give up in order to make that story happen?

Which Soil Are You?

2009-03-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word.

The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved.

The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.

The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.

And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

Take time to honestly reflect on this question: Which soil best describes you? If you are not bearing fruit, sow God's word into your life as much as possible. Soon you will show yourself to be the good soil.