It was really great to be back yesterday after being gone for most of the month of July. Yesterday, Lindsay and I were talking on the way home from church and the entire morning just reaffirmed what we already know and believe about our church--far from perfect, TPCC is a really great church. There was such and encouraging spirit among our people yesterday. I love it when summer begins to wind down and everyone begins returning from their vacations...there is a sense of anticipation in the air. I was also able to meet several people new to our church who were either traveling or checking us out. All of them came from very different backgrounds and a couple of them have highly influential positions in society and culture. It was great to talk with them about their faith journey as well as the sermon yesterday. I believe our church is in a prime position to "influence the influencers" as well as serve the "down and out".
Speaking of the sermon yesterday...it was a challenging one in the sense that the application was so humbling for me personally. Sometimes--O.K. a lot of the time--the application that comes out of a text causes me to do a gut-check over my own personal obedience to Christ. As a communicator, the big question you ask yourself is, "am I already doing what I'm asking these people to do"? A mentor of mine once told me that the big myth of preaching is that the "expert who has mastered this biblical principal shall now challenge others to". While there is truth in this--and while we need to have integrity and authenticity in our message--we are all still in process and continue to deal with our own sin and inconsistencies. The truth is that often God lays a message on our hearts, we communicate it and then He goes to work "pressing" it into our day to day lives.
Yesterday we talked about the Edomites from the book of Obadiah, and how we often identify ourselves with the nation of Israel. As Christ followers, if we can persevere through difficulties the justice of God will prevail. While true, I also believe that we have more in common with Edom than what we may realize. I've spoken with a couple of people since yesterday who have asked me, "So, do you think that there might be some sort of prophecy against America (similar to the prophecy against Edom) that we just aren't listening to today? Is God's wrath coming against us?"
I have a tendency to feel both discouraged and encouraged by what I see happening in our world and culture right now. Timothy Keller, who is a pastor in Manhattan, NY and who recently wrote a book entitled: "The Reason for God", spends the first part of his book explaining that our world is both becoming more secular and evangelical. Each side wants to say that it is becoming the opposite of where they stand, but there is plenty of evidence for both. I am discouraged by some things I see in culture today, but I am also encouraged by some things that I see. I am encouraged by the fact that there are strong, Bible-believing Christians and churches who are seeking to make a difference in the world. For all of the bad examples floating around, there are two more good examples (it's just that healthy churches don't make as good of news stories as church scandals).
In short, I don't want to be Edom. I don't want our church to be Edom. I want us to be engaged in what God is doing in the world so that we can make a difference in the lives of people. It requires a dramatic obedience to Christ and an irrational love for others. And as we said yesterday, Jesus emphasized that these two things were a package deal--dramatic obedience without love will often lead to legalistic religion. And irrational love without obedience will often lead to humanism.
Aaron, thank you for your message yesterday. Tonight at a medical student Bible study, the leader spoke about loving the unlovable or the "difficult to love". It was nice follow-up to a challenging sermon yesterday. I am working on marrying love and obedience in my life and relationships. As you communicated, the character of our relationships with others reflect in our relationship with God. I think relational breakdown with God certainly leads to relational breakdown with others as well. Thank you for your continued ministry and bringing voice to some of the "Lost Boys" of the Bible.
Posted by: Jordan | August 04, 2008 at 11:23 PM