The Latest from Developing a Disciple's Heart
Changes to the Jesus Moment Website
I am going to begin the process of changing the Jesus Moment website. The site will be getting a face lift and will hopefully become a regular resource for any of you who desire to more deeply develop your disciple’s heart. I took a screen shot of how the site looked today, January 13 2012, and will post that below. Hopefully, the transition will move smoothly and the new site will be up and running for the latest Preaching in Shorts sermon early next week.
Category: A Jesus Moment Ramblings
1 Corinthians Chapter 10
This Preaching in Shorts Bible study is on 1 Corinthians. Each chapter is read verse by verse with the major points highlighted and discussed.
You can listen to the study by clicking here
1 Corinthians 10:1-33 (NIV)
1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. 6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did–and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did–and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. 18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 23 “Everything is permissible”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”–but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. 25 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” 27 If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if anyone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake– 29 the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? 31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God– 33 even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
1 Corinthians 10 continues the discussion in Chapters 8 and 9. The church in Corinth has a dispute going on over doctrine. They want Paul to tell them who is right, but Paul begins to teach them there is something even more important than being right, and that is loving well.
We always need to remember that not only did Jesus bring truth, He also brought love. The impact of the church on the world depends on both elements. Without both elements at work there will not be transformed lives. When the church is operating the way it is supposed to, there will be truth, love and transformed lives.
The doctrinal issue is about food that has been sacrificed to idols and going to idol feasts. The Corinthians want to know who is right. That is all they care about. In response Paul tell them that approaching any issue from a standpoint of “superior knowledge” alone is not OK. Why? Because each side of the argument is likely to have at least some grasp on God’s truth. If our focus is on knowledge only, then we have a tendency to develop spiritual pride, that we are better than others “knowledge puffs up”. But none of us has it all figured out (“the man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know” (1 Cor. 8:2), so when we develop the attitude that we know the truth and we are right, we usually become just like the Pharisees.
Paul tells the Corinthians that in approaching the issue they had gotten off to a wrong start by focusing on knowledge and forgetting LOVE. They forgot to balance in grace and mercy and that all of us are imperfect in our understanding.
As we look at Chapter 10, Paul picks up his idea that our knowledge of truth is often incomplete. While it is true that an idol was really nothing at all in the world (1 Corinthians 8:4), Paul talks about the dangers of idolatry. He makes a point of saying that idol feasts were associated with immorality. Is a Christian, as someone who is identified with Jesus, someone who should be linked to what the culture associates with idol feasts?
Also, while the idols themselves are nothing at all, the act of idolatry has been used by demonic powers which are real. Should a Christian, who drinks from the “cup of the Lord” (takes communion) also drink of the cup associated with demons?
Paul then takes on again the issue of eating meat that may have been purchases at the temple meat market. What Paul is saying in these verses is that food itself is morally neutral, we are to seek God’s glory in whatever we do including eating and drinking. We are to be sensitive to the impact it may have on people around us.
Let’s some up Chapters 8, 9 and 10 to get some ideas about how we are supposed to handle doctrinal disagreements and issues.
1. We must always start with a commitment to LOVE. Even if we are absolutely convinced that our brother or sister is wrong doctrinally, we are not released from an obligation to love them.
2. We must still seek the truth. We can continue to love people on both sides of an issue while the truth is revealed.
3. We must understand that our understanding of one doctrine cannot cause us to justify ignoring other teachings in God’s word. All truths in the Word must be held in balance with each other.
4. The most important thing is loving well not being right.
5. We must understand, that we have to deal with each other with the premise that all Christians are expected to grow. We don’t need to insist that everyone is doctrinally correct NOW. In the context of a loving church, spiritual and personal growth and transformation will take place. The Spirit of God is at work in each of us, leading us and guiding us into all truth. This premise helps us to love and relate with people who might differ with us doctrinally. All of us have a lot to learn. All of us have an incomplete grasp of truth. But, if we continue to love well, the transforming power of God will continue to work in our midst, helping s to have a more complete knowledge of God’s awesome truth.
Category: Preaching in Shorts
Doing Re-Do
This Preaching in Shorts sermon series is called “Doing” and looks at what disciples DO.
Listen to this message by clicking here
After a busy Christmas season and as we enter a New Year, it seemed like a good idea to do a little review on our Doing series since we took a few weeks break from it to talk about and celebrate the meaning of Christmas.
Scripture Reading
John 13:13-17 (NIV) 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
In the scripture reading Jesus is summarizing what His life and ministry are all about to His disciples at the last supper. He washes their feet to drive home the point and then He tells them “now that they know these things, they will be blessed if they DO them. So DOING what Jesus did, being a disciple of Jesus is where we find life.
This series is about what disciples do. We are using primarily the book of Matthew as the foundation for our series. So what is a disciple?
A disciple is simply someone who has decided to align themselves with another person, in order to become capable of doing what that person does and live their lives like that person lived their life.
How does that apply to being a disciple of Jesus? What does Jesus do? He lives naturally supernaturally. He demonstrated what Kingdom of God living looks like. He applies the kingdom of God in encounters that He has with people for their good and makes it possible for them to enter the kingdom as well. As His disciples we are to do what He did.
1. The next right thing
Respectful, loving, Godly, legal. When you mess up, run to Jesus and get a new start.
2. Lord and Savior
Remember that He is not only our savior, but He is the Lord. As His disciples we are to report for duty daily.
3. The heart of a disciple
Matthew 13:44-46 (NIV) 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
The heart of a disciple realizes that real life is found in the Kingdom of God with Jesus.
4. Repent
Matthew 4:17 (NIV) 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Developing a disciples heart starts with repentance. What does it mean to repent? True biblical repentance is a change of mind and purpose and life.
A change of mind is deciding that we want to be more concerned about the eternal than the temporary. We would rather be really whole than just have everything seem to be OK. We can only do that as we understand that we were created for a purpose. We were created for His purposes.
a. Longing for heaven
I think that most people don’t know what the longing for heaven looks or feels like. Deep within each one of us is a longing for heaven. We know deep down that there is something better than we are experiencing. No matter how hard we try to make everything work, it just never does. There is still this deep empty place. We try and fill the emptiness with all sorts of things. Some are seemingly OK, thinks like getting busy, always on the go. Push, push, push so that I never have to stop long enough to feel that emptiness. Or, maybe we try and fill it with things and situations that are not OK. Drugs, alcohol, immorality, pornography, etc.
Sometimes it might be trying to recreate some memories of our past that seem to represent happier times. I believe this is why nostalgic television shows are popular. They remind us of what we have come to remember as better times. It is the driving force behind trying to create Martha Stewart Thanksgiving and Christmases.
But the longing for heaven cannot be satisfied this side of heaven. It is supposed to remind us that this is not our home. We get tastes of eternity now, but we do not get the whole banquet. Rather than be consumed with trying to satisfy the longing now, (temporary and selfish), we need to be…
b. Mourning the brokenness
The reality we must face and embrace is that we live in a fallen world on a broken planet. Everything is broken here, including us.
If we are focused on living for ourselves, then we take every reminder of the brokenness personally. It is like an attack on our plans of trying to make everything work. Why does this happen to ME? We often even get mad at or blame God, or think we are being punished for something. But, this isn’t heaven, everything is broken, and our sin is the cause of the brokenness. If you want to get mad at someone, get mad at the evil one. He deceived us into thinking that we could be like God, he got us kicked out of paradise, and now he tries to deceive us into blaming God for the brokenness and to continue sinning by trying to be like God and fix everything in our own strength or fill the emptiness with empty things.
Every tragedy, every broken thing, every failure, should just be a reminder that this temporary life will never be perfect, but, in His mercy and grace, He has made a way for us to get back into the relationship we had before the fall. This is not as good as it gets and you don’t need to make it your life’s purpose to try and fix it. You were created for a greater purpose, which is to follow Him.
c. Come follow me
We have a change of mind as we decide we want to be healed and not settle for just feeling better, we have a change of purpose as we go from realizing that our longing for heaven cannot be satisfied here, that the brokenness is a reminder that this is not as good as it gets, and that we were created for a greater purpose, which leads us to change of life. An understanding that life is found in being a disciple.
A change of life perspective from temporary to eternal. From fishermen to fishers of men. From selfish to selfless. From self centered to other centered. From having to Being. This is what repentance looks like. This is how the heart of a disciple is developed.
What do disciple do?
5. They develop a private relationship with God
giving praying forgiveness fasting
6. They get an eternal perspective
Fear and Worry (focused on the temporary)
Faith and Peace (focused on the eternal)
Matthew 6:33 (NIV) 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
7. They love instead of judge
Judgmentalism and self-righteousness will cause us to not care about people, which was the hallmark of the Pharisees. And yet the reality of life is that….
a) We are all broken
b) The sin scale
Matthew 7:12 (NIV) 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
“law of reciprocity” the “golden rule”.
c) Sees the beauty of people’s potential
Category: Preaching in Shorts
