Who moved the stone?

Just got back from a week at church planting school in Sydney with about 120 keen emerging planters, what a great time. Nothing better than being in an atmosphere where people are hungry to give their lives to building the church. That thrills the hearts of us guys on the leadership team because we have given the rest of our lives to seeing the church become the relevant force that it was always destined to be. I see the biggest challenge to growing churches isn't the unchurched. They want God its the church, as they know it, that is their problem. Their lives are under incredible stress and pressure, they come looking for answers and the we fulfil their greatest suspicions....that the Church doesn't have any answers.
But this is what we have all given our lives to, to see changed.
On Monday night I shared from Luke 12 where Jesus was talking with the then leaders of the faith.

Luke 12:1 (NLT)
Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and crushing each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—beware of their hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy: an expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction
Its acting as if you are something that you are not
The church leaders of the day wanted to change the boundaries between:
· What is acceptable and what is not
· What is good and what is evil
· What is right and what is wrong.
What used to be called sexual perversion is now called ones “sexual preference”.
What once was living in sin is now an “alternate lifestyle”.

And this is the tension that as we spend longer in the leadership process the greater the temptation can be. That we start to blur the lines of our core convictions. None of us started of thinking about money, the fact that we even got paid to work at the church was overwhelming. To get asked to preach somewhere was huge in itself, but then to find out that they give you an offering as well!! Any home, hotel, caravan park was a joy to stay in you were just thrilled to be asked to preach somewhere. But now your decisions may be more about the size of the offering or the crowd or the rating of the hotel before you decide whether to go or not.

Proverbs 22:28 (NIV)
Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers.

Moral authority is when we lead from who we are and not what we say. Its when our character talks more to people than our words do. Its when we lead from the integrity of our lives. Not all that our fore fathers did or said needs to be embraced but not all of it needs to be brushed aside. There are some characteristics that they had that we need...more on that tomorrow.

Love hate

I have a few love hate relationships. One is exercise, I love what it does in my body but I hate getting motivated to go. Another is hot chips, I love them early but I hate what they do to me and a third one is fasting. I love the spiritual impact that takes place in my life but I hate the process of giving up food. Our church has just begun its 12 day fast with a heart to say God let me place you first in all I do this year. Easier said than done!
I read this verse this morning and it is a beauty for someone who is fore going food to seek God.

Job 23:12 (NIV) I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

What a place to come to. When our desperation exceeds our comfort!

Secrets

Lk 12 :2 – 3
2 The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. 3 Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!

We started a series on Sunday called "Resolution - Living an intentional life" and we are taking this whole series from Luke 12. Sunday night we drilled down into the above verse and talked about how much better our life would be this year if we could live as if there were no such thing as a secret.

There are 5 miscalculations that we make when dealing with secret habits or desires;
1. I will only do it once
2. I have always been this way
3. Everybody else is doing it
4. No one will ever know
5. I can stop at any time

What a great prayer to pray for 2009, "Lord help me to live without secrets".

Resolution

The 1st of the 1st 2009 can you believe it? This last year absolutely flew by and now we line up for another. Years are like a great set of waves, they just keep coming. So what changes are we all hoping for this year? What do we desire to do differently? For me I am determined to lose 5 kg and get back to my acceptable weight division. I was listening to an interviewer asking people what their resolutions were for 2009 and I couldn't help but think that its all good to have the goal but most dreams don't die because of the lack of goals, vision statements or positive thinking, most don't come to pass because of the lack of a well thought out plan.

“MOST PEOPLE SEEM TO PLAN THEIR VACATIONS WITH BETTER CARE THAN THEY PLAN THEIR LIVES, PERHAPS THAT IS BECAUSE ESCAPE IS EASIER THAN CHANGE”.

So how will I lose my 5 kg is the better question to ask! But don't ask me today cause I am away with a car load of teenagers on a surf trip so that can be something for next week.

Matthew 13:53-58 (NLT)
When Jesus had finished telling these stories, he left that part of the country. [54] He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was astonished and said, "Where does he get his wisdom and his miracles? [55] He's just a carpenter's son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. [56] All his sisters live right here among us. What makes him so great?" [57] And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.
Then Jesus told them, "A prophet is honoured everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family." [58] And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.

Jesus couldn't do miracles in his hometown simply because people didn’t perceive him as anyone different to the young man that they watched grow up.
Jesus is out on a preaching tour and the most unfruitful stop for him was his home town.
Nothing had changed about Jesus from the previous months where he healed lepers, fed thousands, healed blind people he was still the same Jesus. But compared to the young carpenter that was a familiar figure in his home town he was a different man.
Have you ever gone back to your home town and driven past the primary school that you attended? Doesn't it seem so small? Yet when you were there as a 7 year old everything was huge. Everything changes!

The only thing that hadn’t changed was their perception.

The question is not what you look at but what you see.

Growing familar with aspects of our relationships, our health, our family and especially our faith is walking on dangerous ground. This Christmas keep fresh eyes that continually look for the new thngs that God is wanting to do through and in you this 2009.

Why do you like me?

Zech. 8:23 (NLT) "This is what the Lord Almighty says: In those days ten people from nations and languages around the world will clutch at the hem of one Jew's robe. And they will say, 'Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.' "

I read this during my daily TXT reading today and I thought what a great prayer for us to pray. That people would want to be close to us because we are close to God! How long since someone has wanted to be close to me not for what I can do for them, not for what they can get from me in a physical way but simply because they know and they can see that God is with me?
I read this and it reinforces yet again that as Christians we must have a life that leans towards Christ because after its all said and done, that's what they want the most. To know and be known by a mighty God.

Life has left me thirsty

Its 6.30am on my first Sunday back from a short holiday and I am sitting in my office going over and over my message for the first of our 2 morning services. We are doing a series called "defining moments" which is all about moments in the NT where Jesus crossed people's lives and they were never the same. Today's is found in John 4 and its the story about the woman at the well, who had been married 5 times and now living in a defacto relationship and Jesus positions himself so that she has an opportunity to hear the message of hope.
This was a woman who had a past not just a past but a public past. She lived in a small town where everyone new each others news.
This is uncommon even today unless you are Liz Taylor who has been married 8 times, but back in this time it was extremely unusual.
· We don’t know why she had 5 husbands maybe they had died
· Maybe they left her for other woman which would had left some scaring on her self esteem
· Maybe she couldn't have children which was an embarrassment in those days.
· We don’t know if she went through 5 husbands because of her decisions or other people’s decisions.
One thing we do know and that is that life has left her thirsty.
I am thirsty because of decisions that I have made
I am thirsty because of decisions others have made.
She was about to have a one on one encounter with the Saviour of the world.
I don’t know what you believe about God but if you will listen to this story you will get a clue on how God views thirsty people.
If we were real honest many of us would say this morning, “I am thirsty, life has left me thirsty and I have been unable to satisfy that thirst”. Christmas is all about understanding and embracing that Jesus came as a thirst crusher. So where are you thirsty?