Devotional for God’s Family – 1

Hebrews 12:1–2 (ESV): Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

This doesn’t mean that people are watching your every move from heaven. The cloud of witnesses is not like a ball game, your life exposed and the triumphs and failures are all seen by those who have gone before us.

Could you imagine a massive Jumbotron in heaven where thousands, if not millions gathered and are watching, clapping wildly at your triumphs and then all of a sudden they all turn their head away and wretch… hahaha, I don’t think that is what the writer of Hebrews had in mind.

It is different, and more serious.

They are in the heavenlies, they are now above us, there are many who have gone before us, they have seen and now know God personally. They are witnesses to the truth.

There are millions upon millions, compelling us to move forward by their faith and how they lived for God.

———

Now, right here I have to stop.

You have to pay attention – because this is where many people get messed up and the devil records a win.

What are we moving forward into?  

We are moving, all of us, in one direction or another. The best answer is more important than right and wrong. It is more important than good and evil. The right answer is more important than Baptist and Methodist, Catholic or non-denominational. The answer is even more important than the church.

Catch this now, please don’t miss this.

…Looking to Jesus… [I want you to say this a few times, until it sinks in]

What am I (we) moving toward? Jesus.

All of the styles and formats presented by church leaders are not the end goal of why we are here on earth. A big church, a house church, an underground church, a church on a hill so all can see, none of these are the goal. However, we hold onto them because Jesus has asked mens and women to develop these styles and formats to help us on our way to Jesus.

The buildings, styles, formats, all of these things are what Jesus wants, but we don’t stop there, that is not where Jesus wants us to be. Jesus wants us to see that He is who we are pursuing. Countless people attend online and in person services and miss the most important aspect of true spiritual living…Jesus.

Pastor, I don’t get what you mean.

Friend, religion is adhering to a set of beliefs, and in the set of beliefs one finds meaning and value. The world is filled with every kind of religion imaginable.

Christianity is Jesus. The styles and formats are fine, as long as you know that your eyes are on Jesus. You have to know that you are moving toward Jesus. There is a thousand ways to do that stylistically and not one of them is better than the other.

Friend, look at all the body types and personalities that Jesus has made on the earth, not one better than the other and not one the same as another either. Is it possible that the expression of Jesus through the body type and personality of a local church is the same?

Do you walk around and judge people because of how they look? Of course not. Then why would we do that with local churches? Some big and some small, and others are spread out and some are almost hidden. Some are quiet and some loud, just like people.

But all of this is not the most important thing. The church is a glass window.      

See through to Jesus, He is beyond your denomination, styles and formats. See through to Him. That is why the author says, “looking to Jesus…”, do not stop or settle for religion of man. Do not stop and worship the style or format. The best churches in the world can become religious institutions if you make them that in your mind.

If you swap a system of beliefs for Jesus, then what you are doing is simply religious.

Pastor David, how do I make sure that I am keeping my eyes on Jesus?

1. You are in great company if you ask that question, millions have gone before you and have chosen to see Jesus.
2. God says, that setting aside sin will allow you to move toward Jesus, so hanging onto sin must then be what causes us to stop and become religious.
3. Keeping our eyes on Jesus, asking God to elevate our spiritual sight, praying that God would give us a heart that wants to see Jesus more than anything else. You will know you are in trouble when you read what I just wrote and there is a piercing resistance to Jesus in you. That’s the enemy who likes what he has built in you. Do some war with him this morning. Kick him out! Call him by name and hand him his eviction notice!
4. Ask Jesus for help in this. He is your ever present help in trouble.
5. Go to the cross, start there!

God, what is in me that makes me want to judge churches, as if I know what You do or don’t want? Why is it important to me to classify and qualify other churches? You have made churches just like people, no two are the same. God, forgive me for comparing. Thank you for the church that I am a part of. Lord, make more appreciative of what You are doing right here. I do not need to be afraid of anything and I confess my fear to You. Make me one who helps and supports the efforts of the church. Cause me to love all churches that truly love You. Cause me to appreciate church leaders as they work to make a place for the lost and broken of the world.

Devotional for God’s Family – 2

Every church is not a church because it calls itself a church. You might walk into a chapel in a hospital or an airport and see the pews and a podium and conclude that it is a church. Maybe there is stained glass windows too, but is it really a church?

Because it has a pastor or people in it, is it a church?

Is a church truly a church because it is a legal non-profit organization registered in the state where it resides?

Have you ever wondered what a church is?

Or, maybe a better question would be, does the Bible tell us what a church is? You see, it doesn’t really matter what you and I think, what matters on this issue is what God says, right? A person can call a church anything he or she wants.

Are you ok with finding out? What if in the digging we find out that the church isn’t what happens on a weekend? But it is what happens from Monday to Saturday? What if we find out that church isn’t an event on a Sunday morning, but rather a movement. What if you find out that the church isn’t a hospital, but rather a gymnasium?

What if we find out that the current or flow in the church moves out and not in?

(Foreshadowing) In the seven churches that Jesus inspects in Revelation 2 and 3, not once did He mention what happens on a Sunday. And yet the biggest day of “ministry” in modern local churches happens on Sunday. Why wouldn’t Jesus speak to that…Maybe He doesn’t consider what happens on a Sunday the most important aspect of a church? What is important to Jesus?    

There are so many things to think about when it comes to a church, but like you, I want to understand what the Bible says before I draw any conclusions. Also, just because you have been in it or are now in it, doesn’t mean it is right or wrong.

Growing up on Clearwater Beach Florida, there were days when I thought the water was clean, and then I would see things float by that told me otherwise. I had to get out of that water. Sometimes we can be in water that we don’t know is contaminated. Other times, its really good to know that you are in good clean water.

Mark 11:11 (ESV): And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Upon arriving at Jerusalem in the last week of the earthly life of Jesus, He visits the Temple. We are accustomed to assume that He directly starts flipping out and flipping tables. This is not the case according to the Gospel of Mark.

Jesus looks at the temple, He inspects it. Do you think He was looking at brick and mortar?

It seems as though He says nothing, simply walking around and sees what is going on and then He leaves. He does come back the next day and that’s when He implements changes.

So, my question for you today is this, do you think that Jesus still inspects churches? If He does, what is He looking for?

I want to answer this question, we have to answer this question. The first question is easy to answer actually. It is so easy that I can point to another passage, but in the quick answer don’t miss the significance of how important it is to see that Jesus is very intentional about inspecting churches.

Revelation chapter two and three are simply Jesus inspecting seven different churches in varying conditions. Don’t miss that our question is specifically answered by the fact that Jesus calls out seven churches and gives them His assessment of how they are doing.

Does God want us to know that He looks in to see how healthy we are as a church, you bet He does. Therefore we should want to be healthy according to what He wants. But the other question needs to be asked, what is it that Jesus is looking for?

A person who cannot see through to Jesus, doesn’t really care what the answer is to that question. If all a person sees is the style or format of a church, what Jesus sees won’t be important to them. Please look through the church and be concerned for what Jesus sees.

1 Corinthians 12:27 (ESV): Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

As members of the body of Christ let’s look in and see what Jesus sees.

Lord, we are stirring a bit today. We are contemplating the evaluation of who we are trying to see what You see so that we can adjust and do what You want us to do. Please let us not be deceived by what we want or think is right. Please give us wisdom as we move toward the finish with strength and power. We call for the things of the Spirit to invade the physical! Lord, do not let us alone, shape us and make us ready for the final push toward Your kingdom coming into this world. Break every chain that holds us back from truth and powerful living. Bring revival to us, spiritual renewal, courage to see and do. Thank You Jesus for making this possible through Your blood.

Devotional for God’s Family – 3

Pastor, I just want to do good in life. Go to church on the weekends and live my life. You know, not get in much trouble and basically just be ok.

Friend, heaven does not have in it people who think that way. The way that people think who are now in heaven, who were on earth is this:

Ephesians 4:12–16 (ESV): “…equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

There is a lot here. So I want to drill down on a few simple things that will make very clear what Jesus is inspecting in the church.

The first thing I want you to see is that the saints are being equipped, not for life, but for ministry. Our first goal in life is ministry, serving others. That’s what our body does, our physical beating heart serves the rest of the body. Our physical seeing eyes serve the rest of our body. You and I serve the rest of the body – that is our overarching primary responsibility. Learn how to serve others and to serve them.

We don’t simply do our thing and make it through this life, God has a plan for your well being, but it can only be found as you are accomplishing what He made you to do. He made you a minister and He inspects what He made to make sure it operates in a suitable fashion. Don’t feel guilt right now, be blessed. Be at peace, because the door is opening for great peace and blessing.

We have to look through our lives, through the church, through our circumstance and see Jesus. That is the core of this passage. In several ways that is exactly what this passage says.    

“Building up the body of Christ”

“To the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”

“We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ”

Paul sees through to Christ and so should we. Jesus expects this and inspects this. If the church is simply a style and format that pleases us and we stay only to the degree that we are pleased, we never look beyond the face of a church to see Christ building His body there, what are we truly there for?

There are some people and churches alike that simply, only have a face and nothing else. There is no body behind the face and there is no Jesus to see through to.

This teaching today is hardcore. This whole series of devotionals is counter cultural. On one hand we should be accepting of other churches. On the other hand we have to ask the question, exactly what is a church? Just because people gather on a weekend and sing songs doesn’t mean they are a church. Just like people who gather on a weekend and sing worship songs does not mean they are Christ followers.

The Lord tells us specifically what a Christian is, what a church is and also, what He expects and inspects.

Know this, so far in our study the church is defined as that which builds people up into Jesus. If there is no mechanism in the church for people to be built up into Jesus, then it can’t be a church.

Is a concert a church, is a church a concert? Is a grocery store a church, is a church a grocery store? A church is a place where people are built up into the image of Jesus. Is a hospital a church or how about a counseling center? Is the church a bank or a building? No, a church is a place where the people are built up into Jesus.          

Is the church a place? Is it a time? No, it is where people are built up into Jesus.

I can’t imagine anything any more serious than this question…

What is the church to you? What does it need to be for you? Are you being built up into Jesus?

What is holding you back from sinking your teeth in deeper where you are? Seeing through the style and format to Jesus, desiring in your heart to look more like Him. Engage the way your church does this, step in. God has you there for a reason.

Lord, forgive us for not seeing Jesus. Forgive us for seeing only the face of the church and not the heart. Jesus You are the heart of the church and we are each parts of the body. We all serve a purpose and that purpose is Your purpose. Lord, let us love the church and support You, because it is You. Thank You Jesus for making all things possible through Your great love for us.

Devotional for God’s Family – 4

You might be asking a lot of questions right now about the church…that my friend is a very good thing. Anyone worth their weight in salt who is trying to accomplish something is going to stop from time to time to see if they are actually heading in the right direction to accomplish what they have set out to do.

This is precisely what I want you to do. I don’t want you to question the loving relationships you have in the local church, or the teaching and preaching, or the sound of music.

Question hard if there is a clear way inside your church for you to look more like Jesus and a process to help others look more like Jesus. Is there a clear intentional focus upon Jesus more than the personality and style of the gathering?

John 14:6 (ESV): Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Here again we see that we must see through to Jesus. Worship and a sermon does not save us, Jesus does. The worship and a great sermon should help us see Him. Everything we do is to help others see Jesus or see Him more clearly.

Have you ever known someone who loves their car a bit too much? It is as though their identity is wrapped up in the car they drive. Maybe somehow they landed a car a bit outside their price range and now they want everyone to know that they own a fancy car.

It is a good thing to identify with the people you worship with. It is a good thing to be proud of your church and to promote it in your community. But our identity is not in the vehicle that helps us become more like Jesus, our identity comes from Jesus. Look through to Jesus.

He says that He is the way, truth and life. And as Jesus inspects churches, and especially the Laodicean church in Revelation 3, I want you to see the stern challenges Jesus levies and why.

Revelation 3:17 (ESV): For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

Here is a church that is rich, prosperous, not needing anything. Here is a church (which is made up of individual people who think collectively) that made a very attractive format and style that drew in lots of people. They were very very successful in gathering. They thought they were killing it, only to find out that they were wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked.

What were they missing?

Jesus.

If you read the passage-

Revelation 3:15–20 (ESV):  I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.  18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

You get the impression that Jesus is on the outside of the church looking in. Whatever the people built was certainly attractive, but didn’t have Jesus in it. Although this is a letter from Jesus written to a church, functionally they were not operating like one.

In this larger church (my assumption), there was a face, but the body of Christ was nonexistent. There was gathering, and these poor people worshipped the gathering. They were Sunday (you pick, there are 6 others to choose from) Christians. They liked what they had built and thought they had it going on.

What is Jesus saying to you about what He expects and inspects in this local church? And really all churches?

Let me give you a hint.

Ephesus:          I know your works

Smyrna:           I know your tribulation (which is work)

Pergamum:     You hold fast to my name (which is work)

Thyatira:          I know your works

Sardis:             I know your works (lack of)

Philadelphia:   I know your works

Laodicea:         I know your works (lack of)

Jesus inspects them to see that they are moving toward Him. At the beginning of each of His evaluations, He even describes Himself to them in the context of what they need to see in their pursuing of Him. That’s how important this is to Jesus.

Each church, except for those that Jesus could not commend, had a mechanism inside that helped people on to Jesus and that pleased Him.

Have you engaged that mechanism or process in your local church? Jesus is actively inspecting that in your church and He wants you to engage that so that the whole process becomes better. Yes, it is much better because you are in it.

My friend, keep going, go deeper, be one that the Lord can say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

Devotional for God’s Family – 5

Surprise! Quiz day!

Next week we are going to open up the mechanism that Jesus inspects inside the local church, that which sets it apart from any other entity on earth. A particular way in which He constructed the church so that it would do certain things that nothing else on earth can do.

He wants the church to be doing something. Remember, He said to a majority of the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, “I know thy works.” He is looking at what they do. He is looking at what we do.

If Jesus inspects and expects, then He will have given to us what we need in the way of tools to get the job done. Here is your quiz for today?

Can you list for me the 5 main tools through which Jesus equips people so they get the job done?

1. _____________
2. _____________
3. _____________
4. _____________
5. _____________

Do you want a hint?

Ephesians 4:12–14 (ESV): …to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Verses 12-14 are describing what the mechanism does. This is exactly what Jesus is inspecting. But what are the tools He has put into place so that the scripture you just read can come to pass? Ok, we see what the mechanism is supposed to do, but what is the mechanism?

I can’t be more excited to talk to you about these 5 tools this next week.

Not one tool, 5.

Not 50 tools, 5.

5 stones in a pouch, one pulled out and slung forward to fall Goliath. Four stand ready to finish the job.

5 fingers on a hand working together grasping, holding and shaping what is held.

Pray for Monday!

Lord, we are blown away by the expression of Jesus in our lives and so clearly seen in the local church. Please lift up to our awareness and understanding of what we are supposed to accomplish in the short time we have left. I praise Your name Jesus, for in You is everything we need for life and in You is everything we need for the expansion of Your kingdom on earth. Lord, we speak to the mountain of uncertainty and apathy in our day and we cast that useless mound into the sea. Plant vibrant, power and hungry people around in the right places so that they may bear fruit for the next generation.

Blessings

Pastor D