Humble Listening

As I mentioned last week, I would be continuing with the topic of humility and my lessons learnt in the US. The event I am going to share with you today was a brief encounter I had with a man while waiting for the bus to arrive.

It was a short moment. Rushed, even. With only a few minutes to go until the bus arrived, I felt... rushed. He approached the group of people I was among whom were waiting for the bus and asked us two very simple requests: did we have any spare change and did we know where he could get something to eat and drink.

What didn't strike me was his appearance or anything like that. It was one of his requests. His second one. His request for some food and drink.

But, why? Why did this strike me? What relevance did this have for me? Seeing this man who could barely sustain himself ask for such simple necessities showed me just how much he and I were alike. Here was a man who had been born in one of the wealthiest countries in the world and somewhere along the line, something happened, or he just didn't have the 'right' opportunities.

His situation was beyond his reach.

Don't we feel like that all too often? That we're helpless and misfortune has paid us a visit and heaped a load of depressing situations on our shoulders? And yet what does Christ say?

Matthew 11:28 NIV says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Come. 

That's all we need to do. If we come to Him, He will lift our burden no matter how heavy it feels. What a blessed thought to know that our Saviour cares for us in this way. 

But what about the man who approached me at the bus station? Doesn't Christ also call him? 

You see, when he approached me, two things happened. The first was this: after he had made his requests, a man standing near me made a comment about some good food that could be found at some restaurant I didn't know the name of. 

How vague is that? Yet, how vaguely do we share the truth with those around us? Maybe people like to ask us questions or maybe God calls us to share with someone? Yet, we have a tendency to search for the easy road... when we're too busy. 

Maybe we'll say "Hey, God loves you. It's all good", yet we don't take the time to listen. 

Maybe we'll preach the entire gospel message to them... but we don't take the time to listen

In reality, it doesn't matter what form it comes in, one thing we don't give people is our time. Not time to talk, but to listen. To hear why people are hurting, why they are in need. 

We all know the verse James 1:19 NIV which says, "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry". 

And it seems we commonly use the 'slow to speak part' in relation to 'slow to become angry' and the relationship we find between how sharp our tongue can be because of our attitude. 

But how often do we think about it when it comes to simply listening? Maybe there's something we want to say, but we don't need to. Maybe the person just needs someone to hear them out. 

And isn't it a burden-lifting action in itself? When someone listens, and we have that sense that somehow, in some way, they are sharing our burden? Isn't that such a blessing to us? And the people we take the time to listen to, even simply listening, can release a tremendous burden from their shoulders. 

That was the first thing that happened, the vague comment made. The second was this: sure, I gave the man change I had on me. But it was't much. I knew I had more. If I had swallowed my pride and took out my wallet and gave him what I felt was better suited for his needs... but I didn't. 

I felt... rushed. 

And, again, how rushed are we when it comes to helping people? When we think we know what they need, rather than asking them. 

When I posted last week's message on Facebook, a friend of mine commented. A rather long comment about economics and giving money to the homeless, and as much as I was slightly irritated that he had missed my point, his point was still valid. Because we mistakenly think that money will solve the problems of the homeless... and it will.

Well, for a moment. 

Not only do we have an obligation to share the truth of Christ, but I believe we have an obligation to listen. 

As I'm sure some of you have heard before, "We must be good news before we can share the Good News." 

How? To give people something we value quite highly as middle-class citizens. 

Our time. 

Time is such an important aspect of our lives. We have the money, our needs are met, what we never seem to have enough of is time. And so when we feel that we could better manage our time, we'll block things out... and sadly... sometimes we'll block out divine appointments God has planned for us. 

But, truly, what does all of this have to do with humility? I know I said this message would be on humility and so here's my point.

The humbling truth is that anyone God places across our paths is worthy of our time regardless of who they are. We are not the judge of this. God is. He places these appointments in our lives, we don't. He is in control, we aren't. 

Let God arrange those divine appointments in your life and simply listen. Listen intently without trying to come up with some smart answer. 

Humble listening. 

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13 NIV) 

Pride, Abundance and Direction

Today I want to begin to share three lessons that I learnt while in the US this summer. As I do, I'll spread the lessons out over several weeks. I went to Portland, Orgeon with my mum and her partner and got to get a little taste of the city. It was a good summer, bought a lot of books, went to some good churches, went numb to the point of pain because of the seawater. Good times.

But there was something that really got to me on three separate occasions during the summer. It was the homeless. If there was ever a time that God spoke to me about those in need financially, it was during the summer. I hope the three lessons I share will hopefully reshape or inspire the ways in which you view those around you who benefit less than you do.

The first lesson God taught happened while I was on my way to the bookstore. I'm telling you, this was a massive bookstore, about five stories high and consisted of an entire block in the city. To understate things, it was a cool place.

On the way there, I was walking down the streets of Portland and noticed people with signs on the side of the road. What didn't strike me was the people nor the fact that they were homeless... but what they were asking.

On all of the signs I passed, they were asking for one thing.

A dollar.

That's all it was. A dollar. And here I was walking down the road, heading to a fairly priced bookstore with roughly US $600 dollars in my pocket. We all know the terms ten-fold and such. I had 600-fold the amount they were asking for.

I want to pause for a moment and reflect on what Christ said about giving to the poor.

Matthew 6:1 NIV says, "Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven."

This says a lot about pride. At the time Christ said these words, the Pharisees were experts on pride. They would demand respect wherever they went, imposing their power on other people, completely full of pride.

I wonder how many people are like that today. Not by imposing their power... but by how they give to others. Sure, they give. But they boast about it. They brag and say "That's what you did yesterday? I gave $700 dollars to a charity. Beat that!"

I'm not sure many would phrase it like that, but you get the point, and I see it in my own life. I don't talk like that but I'll mention what I've done to a couple of friends and as soon as I do, the God-given joy disappears, and I end up feeling hollow by having told my friends.

Pride puffs up, just like a balloon, but tt only takes a needle to show how hollow it is.

Whatever you do with regards to giving to others, do it in secret. Not with the intention of hiding the light Christ has given you, but to give the glory to God and allow Him to work through what you have given and He will reward you in return.

So, I kept this in mind. But I had other intentions regarding a damaged pride at having stopped and taken the time to give money. I would probably call this the exact opposite of the previously pointed out but is just as dangerous.

How many times are we hindered from doing good because of a fear of looking like a fool? I think many of us face this fear but here's a better question: would you rather be a fool to the world... or a fool to God?

So, I was partly a fool and partly following Christ's teachings. I went around the corner, stopped, pulled out two twenties I had in my wallet, took them in my hand, turned around and gave one to each of the people on the side of the road.

I got to tell you, and I'm not telling this for the sake of pride, I'm doing this for the sake of how awesome giving is. The guy saw me give it, look down and then burst into joy. He stood up, gave me a man hug and started spouting happiness. I was surprised by his reaction but also glad because of the joy of giving that God had given.

Acts 20:35b NIV says, "Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said:  'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Giving is an amazing thing. Its even more awesome when the rewards we get in return are not material, but spiritual. Now's that's awesome.

But God took me a step further after this. I had just given money, seen their joy and shared it. But I had no twenties left and there was more person I felt God telling me to give to. Again, I don't want to share for the sake of pride but because of how this next act humbled me.

I had only hundred dollar bills. So, I paced back on forth (in a subtle manner, I didn't want to look nuts) on the sidewalk, debating with God. I felt Him telling me to give, I didn't want to give so much away. What would people who didn't share the same views think of me? Finally, God won. I took out the money, walked over, bent down, gave it to the girl (she was probably in her early twenties) and walked away without seeing her response. I didn't want to see her response but by having walked away, this humbled me. I had just given away what I considered to be a fair sum of money and I didn't know why and I wasn't sure of myself, but I knew God knew. That's what really mattered.

Remember, God knows what He is doing when He asks you to give, and He is fully capable of providing so we are not left in need and so we can, in turn, bless others again. He is good like that.

But I want to raise, what I think, is a more important point, in a more sober part of Scripture. This passage is found in Matthew 25. Here Christ compares the sheep to the goats and gives numerous everyday scenarios like taking care of people, giving and taking the time to see people. First, the righteous respond:

Matthew 25:37-29 NIV, “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’"

Matthew 25:40 NIV, "The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’"

That's a nice thought. The thought that whatever good deeds you did out of grace and love for a complete stranger or someone who didn't seem to deserve it, you did for Christ Himself! And to hear Him say that He knew what you did and will reward you in turn though you were not seeking such rewards. That's pretty awesome. 

But before we get too excited about this, let's take a look at what Christ says to the other group, the goats, after they ask Him, when did they ever see him in such need at such times?

Matthew 25:45 says, “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’"

Now, notice this isn't a 'He may reply' or 'He could reply assuming that...'. No, it says 'He will reply'. The choices you make with regards to those around you when they are in need; those choices have eternal consequences. 

But, you might ask 'Since we are saved by the blood of Christ, its okay if we've stuffed up, right?' 

Well, of course. God has mercy, but remember, if you're not only worried about that, but its also a recurring issue in your life, then you have to ask yourself 'How well are you imitating Christ?' Because that's what the Christian walk is all about, isn't it? Imitating Christ. Following Christ. Obeying Christ. 

These are His very words, if we do not obey then I think we have very good reason to be afraid because if we are saved, He will still discipline us while here on earth and I doubt many of would like to take it to that extreme where He needs to intervene to such an extent that it not only grabs our attention but shocks us. 

But, before we get too carried away. Not only does Christ point out the flaws of those who had chosen to neglect the needy. His following words condemn. 

Matthew 25:46 says, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Be careful whom you neglect when you help others. Listen to what God is telling you and follow with regards to how you help others. Be very careful to listen to Him, not only as to not miss out an opportunity to serve but so as not to overload yourself with work God didn't choose for you to do. 

Because we have a tendency to do that, don't we? We'll overload ourselves with ministry work and volunteering and Bible studies and pile up our 'good deeds', and though we may have godly intention and conducting these deeds out of faith, we may not be listening to God. 

As the preacher at last's night's service pointed out: sometimes we need to slow down and receive a new, refreshed revelation from God about where He wants us to be and what He wants us to do. 

The preacher also pointed out that, we all need to take that time. Don't wait for God to make that appointment, go to Him and listen.

I couldn't agree more. 

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 NIV

The Importance of Fellowship

As much as I wanted to give a different message for this week, being so spontaneous, the necessity of fellowship seemed more appropriate for this week.

Fellowship is such an essential aspect to the Christian faith. Not only, fellowship with God, but fellowship with the family of Christ. Without both of these forms of fellowship, what would we do? We would wither and die spiritually. John 15 shows us that unless we are connected to the Vine (Christ), we will wither and die.

A good brother in Christ once illustrated it like this: we are all laptops and the Spirit of God is our A/C adapter. When we disconnect from the adapter, we are no longer running on His power but our own. Our light dims and we slowly run out of power. Towards the end, some warnings flash signalling imminent shut down unless we connect to the power source and, if we ignore these warnings, we ultimately shut down.

Obviously, we need fellowship with God.

1 Corinthians 1:9 NIV says, "God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."

We are called into fellowship. It isn't an IF or "You know, just come fellowship with Me when you feel like it, preferably sometime before you die." No, no. Fellowship with God is a continuous process to which we are called. Not only this, but we are specifically called into fellowship with Christ. 

When I think of this verse, I think of the disciples, and the way they followed and how they were in fellowship with Christ. Can't we have the same? Though, He is not here physically, don't we have the same Spirit of power that He had? If the disciples had this fellowship with God and yet He still calls us into it even though He has already ascended, doesn't that mean the fellowship with Him is just as... powerful? 

Col 1:29 NIV, one of my favourite verses, says, "To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me."

Isn't that awesome? Paul was so overwhelmed with the Spirit of Christ, of God, within him, that he could barely contain it!

If we are in fellowship with Him, through the Word, prayer and worship, can't we have the same? Can't we come to the same conclusion that we must sing praises of reverence every so often just as Paul does throughout Romans after examining the glories of God?

But we know fellowship with God on our own is good... but that's not the only way He wants us to fellowship in His presence. 

Hebrews 10:25 NIV says, "not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

Out of what I know, this verse has got to be the most used to advocate church-going. But I think we need to make something clear. Church is not a building, its fellowship, its the body of Christ. And a lot of people like to neglect the importance of communal fellowship, whether it be at a home or in a church. 

In one message, a well-known preacher, Paul Washer, told about when he first came to Christ and out of excitement, and likely curiosity, he went to every house where he lived, knocked on every door and discovered to his amazement, that everyone was a Christian! Except... most of them didn't go to church. 

I recall last November, for three weeks in a row, I was unable to attend church because of traveling on cultural/sports exchanges and by about the third week, I was really beginning to feel spiritually sick. I'm hoping some of you can relate to that. Its the feeling where you no longer feel in tune with God. You're spending personal devotional time but that communal fellowship of being in His presence is lacking and your spirit longs for it. That's what I'm talking about. 

Common communal fellowship is important. But why? Experience has little value compared to Scripture. Thankfully, Scripture has a fair amount to say.   

Matthew 18:20 NIV says, " For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

Jesus clearly says that He will be present when two or more are gathered in His name. He has shown this to be true again, and again, and again. Many times, I come to church expecting God to show up... and He does. I remember, before I went to the Hillsong Conference in 2011, I had high expectations for the worship. I knew what it was like for the Spirit of God to show up in a small community of 80, so for 5000+ believers to be present in one place, I expected it to be pretty awesome. 

It was. 

Communal fellowship is important because He shows up. If He doesn't, then you're wasting your time. Without His presence and teaching, communal fellowship has practically no value. 

And how does God teach? Through those He has appointed to share the wisdom God has bestowed. Going to an unofficial church without an official pastor with many different speakers, I've come to see sermons as fellow believers sharing the wisdom God has given them. This is what I think of when I look at Colossians 3:16. 

Colossians 3:16 NIV says, "Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."

Again, we have fellowship, but this goes a step further. This not only talks about songs from the Spirit and worship and enjoying God's presence, it talks about the Word. Scripture says to let it 'dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another'. 

You see, daily devotionals are awesome because it renews the Scriptures afresh in your mind. Its like the manna from the desert. We must be continually renewing it because what we learnt yesterday isn't quite as fresh as what God has for us today. 

With fellowship, not only can the Word be renewed but we can also admonish one another. 

I have to admit, I have spoken to some people who do not attend a regular church and some of their teaching is.... strange. Fellowship with others, based on the Word, can keep us safe from Satan's deceptions and false teachings. 

Yes, we can say things like 'But the Spirit is my teacher, why would I need fellowship?'

Well... Scripture also says Satan disguises himself as an angel of light... and so do his followers. 

We need fellowship to avoid being deceived. Hebrew 10:25 talks about encouraging one another because the Day is near. Paul knew that without encouraging and correcting one another in the Spirit, we can easily go astray.

And finally, what are we left with? Unity.

Philippians 2:2 NIV says, "then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind."

Now, I don't believe Paul was talking about us all singing the same mantra and thinking EXACTLY alike. No, of course not. But I do believe he is talking about being like-minded just as Christ and the Father were: wholly dedicated to the will of the Father and aligning Christ's will with the Father's desires.

By keeping Scripture as the source, wouldn't we all become as one body, lifting one another up in love, being of one Spirit and all having the mind of Christ?

I want to give one final warning to anyone who still wishes to believe otherwise about fellowship.

We are in a spiritual battlefield; constantly under attack by demons and the forces of evil though protected by the Spirit. When we go to church or fellowship with one another, its like a safe haven. For me personally, it feels like letting my guard down and allowing God to overflow into my life for an hour and fifteen minutes. And then what? As soon as I walk out that door, I walk straight back into the battlefield as a soldier of Christ. As we are all soldiers of Christ.

Don't let the necessity of fellowship slip from your mind.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 NIV

18 inches

As mentioned, I said I would spend this week looking at another principle that I believe can strongly relate to temptation. However, this principle doesn't solely focus on temptation but the whole topic of salvation.

For some, there is a question that we are all too familiar with "Am I truly saved?" I doubt any of us would like to spend our lifetime here believing that we were saved by having professed Christ as Lord and Saviour and then finally die, end up before the Throne and hear the words "Depart from me, I never knew you."

That's a scary thought, the words echoing from Matthew 7.. "I never knew you."

Eternity is a long time. To think you would spend eternity with Him and then realise in a moment that you will spend it out of His presence... I don't think that's a reality any of us could live with.

The principle I want to talk about today is one I learnt about earlier this year when a friend asked me what he meant when he said that some people miss salvation by 18 inches.

Maybe some of you know exactly what I am talking about when I say that... either that or you're staring at the computer quizzically.

The distance from your head to your heart is 18 inches.

You see, many of us know the right thing to say. We've read the Word, rehearsed all the lines, pray everyday (or how we think prayer should be) but there's something missing. We have all this head knowledge... but it means nothing to us in our heart.

John 14:15 NIV says, "If you love me, you will obey what I command."

Notice that Christ does not say "know my commands", He says obey. Many unbelievers and lukewarm Christians alike could probably recite commands from the Bible when they know that Christ said to love your neighbour or where He said to give to the poor.

But to what end? Its just head knowledge to them.

But here, Christ makes a connection between loving Him and obedience. In the Greek, the word Christ uses here is 'agape' which is essentially the highest form of love. When Christ says 'love your enemies', He is saying 'agape your enemies'.

This love isn't about head knowledge, this is a matter of a transformation of the heart.

In Romans 10:10 NIV, "For it is with your heart you believe and are justified."

The heart is such an influential matter in our lives. It can sway us beyond reason and it seems that too often, the world shows the sinfulness of it and we get this misconception that whatever must come from the heart is contrary to God.

Yet, in such a beautiful way, the Word in Psalm 20:4 NIV says, "May he gives you all the desires of your heart and make your plans succeed."

But what is the difference here? What separates this heart mentioned in Psalm 20 and the heart expressed in the world.

In Jeremiah 31:33 NIV, "'This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel,' declares the LORD. 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.'"

His law is written on our hearts! Why? Because God knows us.

In 1 Timothy 1:5 NIV, "The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and comes from a good conscience and a sincere faith.".

And we see when Christ lays down the greatest command in Matthew 22:37 NIV and says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."

The heart may move us, but it isn't alone. Scripture doesn't just talk about heart. God gave us a brain for a reason. Scripture talks about the renewing of our minds and the necessity to have a good conscience before God.

But why is any of this relevant to 18 inches or temptation? 

Because too easily we remember the verses and yet buckle when temptation hits. We may buckle for a number of reasons but one of them is definitely the lack of belief in what one is saying. 

We can so easily quote the verses on temptation. One of the most famous ones being 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

And yet we fall because we pause and our heart is tempted and we fall into sin. People like to say to put your heart into something when they want you to work harder. I reckon they're pretty spot on with that. 

If you're heart isn't in it, if it doesn't believe what your head knows... what's the use? 

Proverbs 4:23 NLT says, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." 

Keep your heart safe. Allow God to minister to your heart. Teach it. Surrender it and let your will align with His and He will grant you the desires of your heart. 

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13 NIV)