Am I Conditioned to Ignore God’s Word?

As American churchgoers, have we have gotten so used to reading or listening to the Word of God and doing nothing about it? We say “Oh, that’s a convicting message!” or “Wow, that’s quite a tall order!” but then we end up going back to our lives as usual, living in our lukewarmness, never really fulfilling God’s call on our lives, ignoring the words of Jesus to live in extraordinary ways.

Francis Chan in his book “Crazy Love” writes that we are conditioned to hear the Word without responding: In a recent interview about the book:

We’ve conditioned ourselves to hear messages without responding. Sermons have become Christian entertainment. We go to church to hear a well-developed sermonand a convicting thought. We’ve trained ourselves to believe that if were convicted, our job is done. If you’re just hearing the Word and not actually doing something with it, you’re deceiving yourself.

I remember preaching on Luke 6 and I brought up the passage that says: “do good to those who hate you.” I told the congregation to think of someone that hated them, and I asked: Are you willing to go do something good for them? Will you do that? Yes or no? I said, tell God right now, “No I will not do that.” We’re not willing to make that statement because we don’t want to say that to God, but we’re doing that everyday.

We don’t think it through because we’ve developed a habit of listening to the Word of God and not obeying it. If we take Scripture literally and if we actually apply it, we won’t have what our flesh desires, so we walk away sad or we run to the church where no one else is doing it, but they seem okay with that.

I wonder if I have lost the value of simple obedience to God’s Word. Or did I ever really have that?

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. –James 1:22

Can I determine myself to simple and quick obedience?

No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it. We disobey and then wonder why we are not growing spiritually. Jesus said, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” ( Matthew 5:23-24 ). He is saying, in essence, “Don’t say another word to me; first be obedient by making things right.” The teachings of Jesus hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail. The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before.  --Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, July 27

We’ve conditioned ourselves to hear messages without responding. Sermons have

become Christian entertainment. We go to church to hear a well-developed sermon

and a convicting thought. We’ve trained ourselves to believe that if were convicted,

our job is done. If you’re just hearing the Word and not actually doing something with

it, you’re deceiving yourself.

I remember preaching on Luke 6 and I brought up the passage that says: “do good to

those who hate you.” I told the congregation to think of someone that hated them,

and I asked: Are you willing to go do something good for them? Will you do that? Yes

or no? I said, tell God right now, “No I will not do that.” We’re not willing to make

that statement because we don’t want to say that to God, but we’re doing that

everyday.

We don’t think it through because we’ve developed a habit of listening to the Word of

God and not obeying it. If we take Scripture literally and if we actually apply it, we

won’t have what our flesh desires, so we walk away sad or we run to the church

where no one else is doing it, but they seem okay with that.

Evangelism and Free Food.

This past week one of my favorite fast food chains was giving away free food items during certain times of the day. I was so excited about this that I was telling everyone I knew: I put the news on my facebook wall, sent out an e-mail, and told people I ran into. Free food! What could be better? Everyone should know about this.

Then it dawned on me: if everyone should know about free food, then how much more should everyone know the gospel? If I am so quick to tell everyone I know about this great deal, why do I hesitate to tell others about the greatest news, the gospel of Jesus Christ?

The “Real Meat” of Scripture is for the selfish.

I’ve always been bothered when churchgoers say that they want to go “deeper” in Bible study or want “the real meat” when it comes to approaching the word of God. First of all, I’ve found it insulting to the people currently leading the Bible study in question. It’s as if their hard work and preparation in leading people to the word of God was somehow inadequate. It wasn’t good enough. These people felt that they were above this. On top of that, it seemed to me like a very selfish request, as if they didn’t care about others who needed more “foundational” studies. For these reasons, it offended me greatly. I have always found these words upsetting.

However, it recently dawned on me the true meaning behind my uneasiness with this notion of looking for “real meat” or going “deeper.” Ed Stetzer in Breaking the Missional Code clarifies this for me eloquently (emphasis mine):

Ironically that “deep meat” is often a focus on the obscure or unclear in Scripture rather than the life-changing nature of what is clear. The irony is that most people crying for “meat” are really crying for minutia. They want to learn deeper truths about the times of the rapture rather than how to live the Christian life. True meat teaches people how to be transformed by the renewing of their minds so that they will live like Christ, love like Christ, and leave what Jesus left behind…but believers often think it is more important to [learn] about controversial subjects rather than transformational truths.

My seminary training has helped me to learn and sort through the minutia and theological controversy. I can discuss lapsarianism, dispensations, and the Zwinglian view of the Eucharist all day. But if that is what I am doing, I have failed. Jesus calls me to love God with all my heart, and then to love others.

The measure of a follower of Jesus is not how much theology they can discuss; it is how much they reflect the character of Jesus Christ, imitating Him. Are we putting His commands in action and transforming our behavior?

²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. –James 1:22-24

Dr. Henry Holloman at Talbot is famous for saying “It’s not about your spiritual “IQ”, it’s about your spiritual “I do!” Are we always looking to learn as much as we can about the antichrist, double predestination, or the hypostatic union? Or are we letting God change our hearts so that we can impact others for His kingdom?

The people who had the highest theological IQ during the time of Jesus were the same ones that Jesus constantly condemned for their hypocrisy: the Pharisees. If we are trying to go “deeper” and get more “meat” without being changed to do good works and love others in the name of the gospel, then we are a group of Pharisees.

The passage in Hebrews about solid food is within the context of acts of righteousness:

¹³Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.  –Hebrews 5:13-14

Will we arrogantly say that we want more, that we are above all this simple stuff? That we want to create a “spiritual” elite group of people who have all head knowledge but without the hands and feet of Christ?

Or are we willing to die to self and consider the spiritual nourishment that our pastors and Bible study leaders have (by submission to the Spirit’s leading) offered us? Will we let the word transform us and live our lives like Jesus did, caring for the less fortunate, loving people with the good news, creating an inclusive environment that is redemptive?

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
–Ephesians 2:10

Ken Fong on the task ahead for Asian-American churches.

Tonight at the Asian-American Caucus for the American Baptist Churches biennial convention, Pastor Ken Fong of Evergreen LA discussed the task ahead for our churches. While the event was in the context of the AA American Baptist churches, the challenge applies to all Asian-American churches. Pastor Ken laments that our churches are generally stagnant, struggling; or dying. What do we do? How can we become the redemptive and transforming communities we talk about?

Pastor Ken directed us towards a paradoxical principle: “To go forward, think backwards.” In other words, start with the end in mind.
Instead of talking about structures and programs, think about people.

What kind of people has Jesus always wanted to send into the world?

• A kingdom-bringing people: living proof of God’s coming on earth.
• Fountains of grace rather than legalism.
• Bringers of reconciliation, peace, hope, and justice.
• “Heroic apprentices” of Jesus Christ to embody the good news.

Then, what kind of Asian-American churches do we need in order to raise up these kinds of people?

• Churches with a compelling vision of God’s future
• Willingness to die to self so we don’t become too complacent, self-righteous, and comfortable.
• Willingness to partner with others, because anything truly for God requires more than we have and more than we know.

Then, what leadership do we need for these churches?

• Pastors who are humble enough to know that all of us are followers, and that Jesus is our leader.
• Pastors who model our need for Jesus, not just talk about it.
• Pastors who truly believe that Jesus is alive today, and wants to use His entire body to love and change the world.

Don’t Blog It, Do It!

Dan Kimball write a reflection article for Leadership Journal this week  and convicted me to stop just talking and blogging about the kind of ministry I want to have, but to go out and do it:

Do It, Don’t Blog It | LeadershipJournal.net.

I suddenly faced a decision. Do I go home and read blogs about being missional, or do I go to the club and actually be missional? It sounds like an easy decision, but it wasn’t. In all honesty, part of me truly wanted to go to the comfort of home and just sit in front of my laptop.

Theories and definitions and debates are good, and they have their place, but could they be getting in the way of actually being on mission? After reflecting on my own habits, I concluded that in my life they were. I realized that I had subtly gotten drawn into the very thing I found so troubling about the Facebooking worship leader and the inattentive college students. I still read blogs and write one, too. But I’m trying to be much more intentional about finding balance and keeping my priorities right.