Church, We Have A Problem

The line, “Houston, we have a problem!” Will forever be remember.

Swigert and then Lovell (almost) used the phrase to report a major technical fault in the electrical system of one of the Service Module’s oxygen tanks:

Swigert: ‘Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here.’
Houston: ‘This is Houston. Say again please.’
Lovell: ‘Houston, we’ve had a problem. We’ve had a main B bus undervolt.’1

Dan: “Okay, Church, we have a problem here.”

Church: “This is Church, Say again please.”

Dan: “Church, we’ve had a problem. We’ve had a mistaken identity”

The election is over and some are excited Obama won and others are worried because Obama won. The problems that address us this morning are not political in nature but have been brought to light through the political process. Twenty-percent of American now professes no religious affiliation. Christians are divided over social issues. Many Republican Christians say you can’t be Democrat and Christian. Democrat Christians say Republican Christians are insensitive toward the hurting in America. Democrats are intolerant of Republicans and Republicans are intolerant of Democrats. No one can really doubt that American has some major issues that must be addressed. The economy is bad, unemployment is up, abortion is still rampant, teen sex, pregnancy, and suicide are up, injustice happens, our country is divided and hurting. Here is the problem that must be addressed. This is where you and I can help by addressing the problem before us.

The church can no longer blame the politicians for not doing their job. The church can no longer think that going to church is your mandate. Republicans nor Democrats have the answers for the woes of America or the church. The church does have the answer, but she usually cowers instead of rises. She sleeps instead of fights. She is passive instead of progressive. She is silent, divided and weak. She is struggling, hurting and confused. The church is scared. The church has a mistaken identity.

We have a major problem. It appears the Church has amnesia, she does not know her identity. The Church must realize who she is and whose she is. She must realize the source of her strength, the bounty of her beauty, the power in her passion, the healing in her hands, the forwardness of her feet. She must realize the salvation in her Savior. She must realize the wisdom in her head – Christ Jesus, Lord of Lord and King of Kings. She, the Church, is the Body of Christ. She is radiant and does not reveal it. She has beauty beyond measure but hides it behind hate, blame and excuses.

The church needs to rise to the challenges that face us. We need to step out of our pew on Sunday and into our places on Monday with Christ centered passion in our heart. We need wake from our sleep and fight the good fight. We must obey with radical obedience what Christ called us to be, what the Word instructs us to do, and how the Spirit reminds us to walk. We must die to self and rise with Christ.

Obama is not our enemy nor our savior. Also, Romney is not the enemy or the savior. Our deliverer will be Jesus Christ the Son of God and no other. We must quit looking to men to solve the issues in our lives and turn our eyes upon Jesus (a song just broke out in my head, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus).

The church might look like young David, but she is deadly accurate when she is prepared for battle. Let us fight the good fight of the faith (not politics). Let us not grow weary in doing good. Let us unite. Let us awake. Let us stand and pursue our enemy. Let us put on our armor and not withdraw. We cannot afford to be casual, careless, or calloused. We must demonstrate our strength, passion, beauty, resolve, faithfulness, and more in the pursuit of godliness and live in the righteousness that is ours in Christ.

Satan is our enemy so quit blaming it on men, political parties, and people who you disagree with.

Do you part. Be who you are suppose to be. Do what you are suppose to do. Obey as Christ is your Master. There are not excuses for dirty boots and wrinkled uniforms. Quit letting Satan mislead you with lies, weakening you through suffering, confusing you through pride and discouraging you through accusation.

You have the Word of God, The Grace of God, The Spirit of God and The Son of God, so live like it.

Broken Pieces

I posted this on my Facebook Page a couple of days ago and it seems to strike a cord.

But the Bible says we will find God if we seek Him with all our heart. Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” All my heart includes the parts that are broken. Bring it all to God. Watch this video and listen to the song. 

Mediocrity – Hitting It or Worse

I am reading a compelling book by Michael Hyatt, Platform, Get Noticed In A Noisy World. The book has set a fire within me to start again some things I had put aside. One of the statements that was like an alarm going off was, “I’m afraid we have become content with mediocrity; we aim low and execute even lower.”

You Can Get There From Here

My grandfather wrote Dear Abby one time asking her how much “a little bit” was. He said people will tell you to go down the road a little bit then turn, put a little bit of pepper in the recipe, wait just a little bit. Dear Abby replied, “I will get back with you in a little bit”. Can you get to where you know God wants you to be? Yes, it is going to take a little bit though. A little bit of time, a little bit of commitment, a little bit of determination, a little bit of adjustment, but you can get there from here. But, are you willing to do a little bit?

I am attaching a link to a worksheet that will help you find what God wants in your life and help you get there from here. If you want to learn more about this principle read Andy Stanley’s book, The Principle of the Path

Worksheet Link

What Holes Are You Digging?

Yesterday in my sermon I spoke of a past employee Willie. Willie was a diligent worker who would dig a hole as deep as he possible could. He would throw the post hole diggers into the hole then get on his stomach and reach down in the hole, grab the handles and then lift out what dirt he could. If you have ever used post hole diggers you know that there are times when you can get much out of the hole and other times when it is extremely hard. However, Willie would not quit when it got hard. He just pulled out what he could and kept digging. He would not quit when it got hard.

What holes are you digging in your life? These would be good holes! There are times when you experience great fulfillment about how it is going and other times when it is difficult. We need to find the diligence to keep on when it is tough. Don’t quit every time it seems like you are not making progress. Stick to what God has put in front of your. Don’t change what you are doing just to find softer ground. One of my favorite verses in Galatians 6:9, “Don’t grow weary in doing good for in due season you will reap if you do not give up”.

Today, figure out what it is in your life that you know God wants you to do and do it with all your might. Stay faithful. Stay diligent.

GREAT CALL TO NEW YEAR COMMITMENT

I think Oswald Chambers give us a better challenge for the New Year than I can muster. Read it and print it out and put it in a place where you will see it often. Highlight those areas that really speak to you or challenge you. Ultimately, the whole thing will be highlighted. 

Let Us Keep to the Point

Jan

01

2011

“. . . my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death” —Philippians 1:20

My Utmost for His Highest. “. . . my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed . . . .” We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest— my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point— He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only— my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.

My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness. “Whether it means life or death-it makes no difference!” (see Philippians 1:21). Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide— for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.