There is no God like our God….

"Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:18-19 (NIV)

Pastor Shannon Nielson started a thirst for the knowledge of Jesus' style of relationship when I attended Mosaic A2 a few Sundays ago. George Barna, in a recent editorial, used such examination to answer the question, "How Jesus would handle the Health Care issue?"

"In fact," Barna points out. "Luke's narrative contains 26 different passages describing how Jesus responded to people's physical and medical needs."

More interesting than Barna's focus on the Health Care Debate is the fact that we can look at the editorial points he makes to a broader context in how we, as Christians and the Church, should deal with people; health, financial and spiritually. As I am sure Pastor Nielson would concur, Jesus leaves us with a wealth of how to respond to the world and our brethren in the context of Christ-following.

Christ was consistent in how He handled people of various cultures, ethnicities and state of grace. We've already looked at Nielson's thoughts concerning the adulterous woman. That concept, as well as others, can bring a larger picture of the characteristics and motivations that should govern our behavior.

Jesus brought into context that life, even living in this broken world, was a precious gift from God and was meant, even in the harshness of this creational nightmare, to be lived with enjoyment and celebration and given only in sacrifice for another…not for their comfort or their desires but for their eternal life. Though Barna focuses on the health issue, we can extend it to those who face financial stresses, mental stresses and physical needs from childcare to transportation. These people, usually when we come across them in the context of our lives, have a hope that is fading because of the trials of their lives. Christ affected change in the lives of these people and sent them on their way…..no paperwork to fill out, committee meetings to wait for or hoops to jump through. He took all who came to Him and focused on restoration of their hope so that they could hear of the gift of Salvation.

Christ was driven by His love and compassion for His people, that "overflowed" (Luke 7:13) for the hopeless, hurting and downtrodden. His motivation wasn't to prove His authority or even develop a following that performed for His good graces, but because He knew the pain and desolation that many felt. He demonstrated God's loving grace was the reason He had come to earth, so that hope could be restored in the hearts of a fallen people God still was desirous of. Christ didn't remotely affect the lives He came across, but showed them as valuable people by becoming invested in their lives. He didn't sit on a committee, didn't look to the storehouses and look at a budget on how much He could invest, He invested all He had in people who He knew one day would crucify Him.

He didn't look to their income, their status or the state of their sins. He didn't ask them to proclaim a statement of faith in Him before the blessings would flow. He was so invested in the lives of the hurting and broken that He helped everyone because He could. Whether it was a kind word or raising people from the dead, He moved into the lives of those around Him and never once refused anyone His help. He identified their needs, that need that was beyond the obvious and addressed the real need, the one that would bring them back the hope they had lost so that they could live a abundant life…..not one of riches or wealthy blessings but a fruitful life lived in the freedom of His redemptive grace.

He got caught up in the principle of servant-hood, spending His time invested in meeting people's needs whether it required Him to travel far or wait for them to come to Him. He didn't require a certain level of education or piety or even wealth to be able to approach….or required them to wait until 'business hours' to come to Him. People left and right disrupted His day, interfered with His schedule and demanded His time constantly. His only time of separation was to communicate with His Father, so that He was assured to be consistently in sync with God's plan. His love, that agape love, drove Him to be available and caused Him to live in the chaos of their lives with a grace and mercy that never failed. Nothing was too small for His touch or too great for His strength.

He realized that the pain and suffering that was at the foremost of their lives needed to be address before they could feel His limitless love.

Not only did He heal, but part of the limited commission that He gave to the 12 included the topic of healing….He empowered and commanded the disciples to heal in His name, with His grace and through His mercy…..the disciples were to enter into the lives of those they brought the good news to and only depart either when they had finished their ministry there or the message was rejected. This was also included in the outreach of the 72 that were sent later, never was it only to speak God's word but to bring the lost to the point where it could be heard.

"You can describe Jesus' health care strategy in four words:" Barna says. "Whoever, whatever, whenever, wherever." This holds true for every aspect of Christ's ministry.

There was no remoteness to Christ. He was deliberately involved wherever He was. He didn't expect others to do what He Himself wouldn't do and didn't leave us some vague model to follow. He graphically lived the life that He expected His followers, starting with the 12 on down through the brethren today. He didn't use the opportunity to be involved in restoration of hope just to heal and move on, but always coupled the foundational principles of His Church. One didn't exist without the other.

We are called to be personally involved in other people's lives, both of the family and those who live in the darkness. We are to judge as we ourselves have been judged and would want to be judged. There are none who are truthful with themselves who don't want, need or hope for forgiveness; unconditionally and repeated in its application. He tells us that familiar phrase, "Do unto others that you would have them do unto you" (Luke 7:31). And, it wasn't to be by committee discussion, by church board or a assembly of the faithful but individually……we are called to action, like Christ exampled, with the only agenda being to 'bear fruit' of our Salvational blessing in service to others in the manner it was received by us; without cost, limitation or expectation.

Like His disciples, of which we are grafted into the same vine, we are to find solutions and implement them…rather than sit back and lament the high cost of such service or wait to collect funding after the new sanctuary or acreage is developed.

At the cost of our homes, our professions, our comforts and even our lives….whatever it took to show God's love through compassionate service or provisioning for the hopeless, the downtrodden and the lost. Christ showed us by example that it is far better to give than receive in the pursuit of restoring the hope to those who have been unloved by the broken world of this creation. It was the desire of Christ, far beyond the fragile desires of His humanity, to do 'the will of the One who sent Me' rather than His own, to follow the Father's leading in His heart with the assurance of living in His plan. His desires matched God's because God's will triumphed His own…He was totally surrendered to His Father's work….far beyond the comfort of a home, food and material things that surely He was entitled to far more than we are.

What would the Church look like today if that was how the Lead Pastors, the council of Elders, the board of Deacons and the 'mover-n-shakers' of the body politic lived in such a fashion? If it wasn't a question of "How" but a dedication to 'whatever, whomever, however, and wherever" that was the "D" of our desire to serve our God?

Far beyond the mega-church building that is beautifully appointed with the stained wooden cross, the high-quality speaker system and technological grandness of the worship….

the holy land films produced by our leadership for the enjoyment of our eyes and the comfort of our ears…..

the massive acreage of the 'visionary' dream of inside outreach….

or the popularity of the message, designed never to offend, never to challenge……..

Just a simplistic desire to being in relationship with someone in need, to shine the light of God's love to them for however long, how many times and what cost.

 

Christ didn't once hesitate when faced with the lifelong knowledge of how it would all end, the human portion of His life, but pushed forward because of it….the joy that would be His because of the living of that unconditional love that set the course of His life; the restoration of God's people in relationship with Him. He lived unhindered by those things that could not be turned in service for others; there is no historical home protected by society of where He ministered out of, no monuments He placed that recall His glory and nothing that He left us that physically stands for His life.

We've created out of the historicity of our need those things, not Christ. He spent all He had in the pursuit of a people separated from God, for simple joy of restoring them to the original design: living in relationship with Him.

He spent all He had before He uttered one word of the new covenant, healed one sick person or raised the dead.

One at a time, one dollar at a time and with the agenda taught to us by Christ; to exhibit in an undeniable, powerful and impactful way the love, the jealous love of our Heavenly Father, who sent His Only Begotten Son to this world so that the punishment for sin was forever paid for…..without cost, without expectation but only a heartfelt request for its blessed restoration. So that the work He had started in us far before we were even born on this earth would progress and be completed in the plan of His story.

The David Crowder Band sings of this expressive and restorative love in their latest hit, "How He Loves Us…"

"He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane; I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful You are, and how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so, oh how He loves us, How He loves us all…He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves.
us
He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane; I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful You are, and how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so, oh how He loves us, How He loves us all…He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves.

And we are His portion and He is our prize, Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes, If his grace is an ocean, we're all sinking. And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss, And my heart turns violently inside of my chest, I don't have time to maintain these regrets, When I think about, the way…

He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves….Yeah, He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves."

A God who loves His people so much that He forgives them for its willful disobedience and turns His righteous anger away despite its justified existence for the costs it demanded so that we could experience the restoration He can affect in each of us because of the sacrifice of His Son…..Only God can remove our sins from our lives, trampling them under the foot of His mercy and dress us in His righteousness.

So that we can show Him to the world still lost in the darkness of the hopelessness of the Fall through the example we live as a people purchased.

What a God! Empowering one person working with the might of Heaven's King….working the gifts He's given with others to become the Body of Christ…..…

for the sake of all.

 

Jesus' Health Care Plan, An editorial by George Barna, September 2009: http://www.barna.org/component/wordpress/archives/70

 

 

 

The Principle of the Path

""I thought that you would reassure me. You are like God's Messenger, who is able to distinguish right from wrong. May the LORD your God be with you!"" 2 Samuel 14:17(GWT)

It amazes me sometimes that there are those within the body that say that they cannot find a fellowship in which to worship, in which to find succor in the midst of this journey. I have been to three churches in the last three weeks, churches that are uniquely their own personalities and styles….each preaching a biblical message in the formats which paint a beautiful and sometimes challenging picture of God's word.

Berean Bible Church in Livonia, Mosaic A2 in Ann Arbor and Life Church in Canton were the churches I have either been invited to or have found on my own. One is in transition from one pastor to another, one is a new church plant in Maize and Blue country and the other a relatively young church of 800 or so. The messages I have heard in the last few weeks have spanned the breathe of the Gospel; from the end times to the destinations we travel.

Today I went to Life Church just up the road from where I am staying.

Where Berean was a generational church, seemingly consisting of families who have called its halls their home for generation upon generation. Then Mosaic A2, a church born of a pastor's passion to plant a church in a college community that would be home for those in the college environment and span the generational gaps between the 'age' groups.

Life Church was born in the backyard of the Lead Pastor and developed into the current location through many cycles of growth. My first impression of it was that it is a comfortable church, one that will engage you wherever you are at….according to what effort you put in….and never take more than you are willing to give. You can exist in a comfortable level in the chairs of its auditorium.

I wasn't born to live in comfortable surroundings.

I have been in a wealth of 'character' churches, each weaving a brand of religion that they feel meets the needs and expectations of the congregation and I have found disillusionment and heartache in each of them to varying levels. Many would point to the growth of their congregations as proof that they are doing something right; expanding a 50+ acre site, following a 'name-it-claim-it' healing doctrine, expounding upon the word of God rather than topical sermonizing and preaching a 'love' postmodern gospel of varying biblical truth. None of which I have found that passion, that drive, that brings me into discipleship.

Few have whispered to me, this is where you belong. Those that have, like fruit, I have found corruption at their core the deeper I have traveled with them. None have accepted anything other than the type of gospel they preach. Some have given the promise of challenge, only to falter upon the shores of realization once I've accepted the challenge. Few have given me the feeling of home.

A Church of discipleship; a church that lives to prepare you to leave.

"Great expectations are great engagements, especially to persons of honour," Matthew Henry states, "to do their utmost not to disappoint those that depend upon them."

Life lived up to its declaration, "Just come in, relax and participate as you feel comfortable." It was a comfortable worship time, no fog machine like at Mosaic and hymnals like at Berean, just an easy flowing melody of music to raise your voice to. We went to the information kiosk to find out the programs for the kids, and after waiting for a few moments, were directed over to the LifeKids area….without any real information for what they had for my son, but the assurance there was something for my daughter. We weren't engaged around the donuts and coffee, weren't approached in any way as to what and where the service would be. When we went into the auditorium, we were guided to seats for the service, assured that we would have to sit together because 'we'll be packed today.'

Their stated vision of planting 20 churches and 20 ministries by 2020 didn't seem to thrum in the heartbeat of this congregation, move among the people with a insistence that pushed the edge of the envelope or flavor the engagement of the congregation to those new to its fellowship. The vision statement seem to fall flat, "As a church that began in the summer of 2002, we have a vision for creating a place where real people can connect with God and experience real life. We desire to be a place where lost people can be found and hurting people helped. This can only happen through the body of Christ being fully engaged and fully empowered. Through obedience to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment our vision is to make a difference for Jesus Christ...in our lives...in our families...in our community...and in our world."

I didn't feel engaged or empowered. I just felt alienated.

I know my church wound colors my perceptions and I know that I hold a view of what a church should be that defies human logic, possibility and possible realistic expectations, but God has enticed me with illogical, impossible and improbable purpose. My expectations of what a church should be is only possible in the realm of God-involved pursuit and free of human limitations. Not exactly what churches today are built to be in today's world.

But Life has proved one thing; that the promise God makes that His word will not go out to return void has been proven time and time again as I search for that place He would have me fellowship for this season.

Pastor Alex Rahill, the Lead Pastor, gave the first of a six-part message entitled "Destinations", based in part on Pastor Andy Stanley's book The Principle of the Path. Today's sermon was entitled, "Not Where You Want To Be?" based on Proverbs 7:6-27….the warnings of immoral women…..

The question asked was simple, "Is the path I am on going to lead to the destination I want to be at?"

Nobody gets lost on purpose and the realization of being lost is one that comes after a lot of distance is covered being in such a state. The principle of the path remains true in this statement; the road you travel on is going to always lead to the same destination. Right or wrong. It is the disconnection of the world's message that we usually get bound up in, not all paths will lead to the same destination…..

This applies far beyond the typical application we use; the road on a map will take us where it goes and conversely so will the path we travel in regards to finances, dating, marriage, profession and health. Spiritual as well as physical.

We start travelling usually because of emotional enticements; this seems right, this seems 'destined' and so on. And prayer doesn't affect our desires or intention when we set out upon the path (we can pray for travel mercies and still head in the wrong direction), the direction we take is the only guarantee we have in arriving at the destination we seek.

Kinda like the saying, "Illogic is doing the same thing and expecting different results."

Maybe God is telling me that it is time to stop following the established line and reach out into the unfamiliar path…..maybe it is time to stop going to churches that are part of the norm and find or create a church that the norm is the un-normal pursuit of a God that defies human conventions and ideas.

A God of the illogical, impossible and improbable salvation of all of us.