Losing Face and Finding Grace

This week Rick Chamness will give the message from Ephesians 6 on how Jesus redefines all our relationships. Next week I will begin a series on spiritual warfare titled "Everyday Battle" from the classic section in Ephesians 6:10-20.

Sometimes when people think of spiritual warfare they think of "fangs in the back" (i.e. dramatic encounters with the devil), but the Bible more frequently speak of "the lies in the heart." We want to make this as practical as possible. Ephesians sets forth the great truths of the Christian faith--who God is, how we were loved from before the world began, and all the the resources available to us to live godly lives in our homes and workplace. But it isn't enough to be able to pass the test and have correct answers. You need to be able to put the truth on everyday. More, you need to be able to put Jesus on if you are going to stand during the everyday battles that we face.

Along with the message series, we are offering a 12 week Bible study called "Losing Face and Finding Grace" which takes up the specific lies of the enemy which have tripped up all of us at one time or another. The class will be taught by David Ludwig at 9:30 am on Sunday in room 402. As soon as we get enough sign-ups we will announce the beginning of the class in November. The class is for everyone, but it particularly addresses the issues that Asian-Americans, or third culture Asians face. When I say "third culture", I mean Asians who have lived both in the East and West which describes most of you.

Here are some of the topics that will be addressed:

1. Low self-image. How can you believe that God values you so much when you don't value yourself? How do you put on the truths of Ephesians 1 and 2 so that you are both confident and humble in Christ?
2. Distorted images of God. Having experienced parental love that often seems to come "with strings attached" ("get good grades, perform well on the job and we will reward you"), how can you put on the armor of Ephesians 2 that says we were loved not because of what we did, but in spite of what we did in the person of Christ?
3. Drivenness and emphasis on security. So many in our congregation have had parents and grandparents who worked so hard to provide financial security for their families--even to the point of exhaustion. We ought to be grateful for their sacrifices. But, how can we put on the truth that our ultimate security--now and forever--comes from our relationship with our heavenly Father? How can we be saved from trying to be our own God manically trying to create our own security?
4. Being unreal. Why is it so difficult for all of us to be vulnerable and to open up emotionally? How does putting on the Gospel in Ephesians lead to true inner healing and the ability to be more open about our weaknesses and sins?

I hope you see how relevant these themes are. The class will both explore these themes from a Biblical text and seek to apply them in practical ways. Part of it will include learning from one another as you talk about these issues with others and how the Gospel can set you free. What we need you to do is to sign-up today or on Sunday. You can simply respond to this e-mail letting us know you will be coming, or stop at the welcome table on Sunday after church. As soon as we have a good class, we will announce the start date. In the meantime, be asking, how can I "put on the full armor of God so that I can stand?"

Falling In Love or Loving Like Christ

Most modern people get the idea that the greatest love is "falling in love." It's the love that is celebrated in most pop songs.  Here is a sample: "Baby, Baby, fallin' in love, I'm fallin' in love again. Every day I love you more and more and more. Baby, Baby, fallin' in love, I'm fallin' in love again." (La Bouche).  In actuality, the Bible promises a bigger thrill that is quite different. It is the kind of love that comes from Christ--the kind we are exploring this Sunday in Ephesians 5 when two people are committed to each for the long haul in marriage and find that in Christ there is the ability to love each other well in the good, the bad and the ugly. This quote from C.S. Lewis summarizes all of this very eloquently and so it is worth reading:

People get from books the idea that if you have married the right person you may expect to go on ‘being in love’ for ever. As a result, when they find they are not, they think this proves they have made a mistake and are entitled to a change — not realizing that, when they have changed, the glamour will presently go out of the new love just as it went out of the old one. In this department of life, as in every other, thrills come at the beginning and do not last....It is just the people who are ready to submit to the loss of the thrill and settle down to the sober interest, who are then most likely to meet new thrills in some quite different direction.

Here we meet that fundamental conviction that there is a progression: first thrill, then loss of thrill to be accompanied by hard work, then something really good, true happiness. I would also note—along the lines of experiences that all human beings share—This is, I think, one little part of what Christ meant by saying that a thing will not really live unless it first dies. It is simply no good trying to keep any thrill: that is the very worst thing you can do. Let the thrill go — let it die away — go on through that period of death into the quieter interest and happiness that follow — and you will find you are living in a world of new thrills all the time.... It is much better fun to learn to swim than to go on endlessly (and hopelessly) trying to get back the feeling you had when you first went paddling as a small boy.

This Sunday we explore the thrill that can give way to a deeper thrill when two people love each other the way Christ does His people. You say, "You have no idea what my marriage is like!" Can you imagine what could change if you simply loved another person like Christ loves us?  How might they change in response to the supernatural love you extend? 

Or if you are called to life-long singleness, can you see that the Bible actually lifts up singleness as oftentimes a preferable option. Like Paige Benton said,

"I am single not because I am too spiritually unstable to possible deserve a husband, nor because I am too spiritually mature to possible need one. I am single because God is so abundantly good to me because this is the best for me. It is a cosmic impossibility that anything could be better for me right now than being single."

Christ's love is sufficient for both singles and married people.  Like the little boy in Sunday School who was asked what he was seeing. He said, "Well I think it's a squirrel, but the answer must be Jesus." Yes, married, single, whatever--the answer is always Jesus.

Do Miracles Happen Today?

For several weeks we have been exploring the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. One of the questions that always comes up is, "Do you believe God still does miracles today?" The short is answer is "yes", but it's complex. The reason that it is complex is because the Bible teaches that we actually live between the times--between "kingdom come" and "kingdom coming", between Jesus' resurrection and our resurrection, between "the already" and the "not yet", between "the groan" and "the glory."

So the large question is how do you live in amazement of God's ordinary work in the world through creation (last week's message), providence (God's weaving of ordinary circumstances), regeneration (bringing us to new spiritual live in Christ) and yet be on tiptoe for his extraordinary work (the miraculous)? Some churches lean too far to the left (expecting a miracle all the time). Some churches move too far to the right (not expecting a miracle at all). What we want to do is to find a Biblical balance that leaves us in awe and expectancy and yet always hopeful when we or people we love go through suffering and no miracle or healing comes.

I've been reading David Watson's "Fear No Evil" which is the story of his battle with colon cancer and eventual death. He was one of the most beloved Anglican pastors of the 1960's through 1980's. He was also charismatic and believed in miracles. This is a wonderful testimony of God's presence and grace in the midst of one of the greatest trials a human being could experience. This Sunday as we complete the five messages on the Holy Spirit, we will try to answer some of these questions. Pray that it will be helpful and that I will have wisdom and Biblical balance to both encourage and challenge.