Faithless Prayer Answered

Faithless Prayer Answered

2013-10-27

Acts 12:1-5, 17

1 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword, 3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.

History is filled with powerful & influential people fighting against God's purpose. (Stalin, Hitler, etc.)

·      The French agnostic philosopher Voltaire, “In 50 yrs Jesus Christ forgotten.” 

o   50 years later, they were printing Bibles in Voltaire’s former home in Geneva.

There are four generations of Herod's family in Bible….each evil:  Children copy their parents actions.

·      Herod the Great: murdered Jewish babies.

·      Herod Antipas: Jesus Christ's trial & John the Baptizer's execution.

·      Herod Agrippa II was one of Paul's judges.

·      Here Herod Agrippa I (friend of Caligula) murdered John’s brother James;

Herod persecuted Christians to please the Jewish leaders and to solidify his political position & destroy church.  Acts 12:1-5

·      The loss of James & Peter devastated the young church.

Two soldiers were chained to Peter, as well as two outside, working 6 hr shifts, 16 soldiers in all.

·      That “maximum security” was probably due to Peter's previous escape.  Acts 5:19-24

·      There was no human hope of escape, there was little he could do…he was restricted to prayer.

o   “You can do more than pray after you have prayed; but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.”  John Bunyan

o   When I pray coincidences happen, and when I do not they don't. -- William Temple

Peter was sound asleep….he had divine peace.  Acts 12:7-10

·      The soldiers were dazed, unconsciousness, or blinded; they didn’t know what happened.

o   Executioners executed people, yet condemned Peter set free.

o   Soldiers may have been hesitant to guard Christians after this.

Peter was delivered, but James was executed. Why?

·      Life is full of difficult questions like this. Handicapped vs. athletic gift. etc.

·      Did James pray wrong or have no faith? Acts 12:12-16

o   In spite of the unbelief, God honored their prayers & glorified Himself.

·      These are examples of the contrasting will of God for two different lives.

o   Trust: He works all things according to His own good pleasure for His glory & for Christians good.

·      God is sovereign & is not obliged to treat all Christians alike.

o   "General" send, move, protect, & bring home his soldiers as he sees fit.

o   Peter left for an unknown place.  He fades out. The focus is on Paul in Acts 13-28.

Question? Why pray if God is sovereign, He’ll do what he wants to do anyway?

·      Prayer is not to manipulate or inform God (Mt 6:8) but increase faith & trust in Him.

·      It is one of the greatest privileges of life….it is fellowship with God

o   It is an act of obedience…God’s Word calls us to pray. Phil 4:6, Col 4:2-4

·      It honors and delights God by acknowledging dependence upon a sovereign God & indicates the person is genuinely convinced of His wisdom, love, goodness, power, etc.

o   Prayer not for bending God to our will, but rather it bends us toward His will.

Nevertheless prayer allows us to participate in God’s plan & have some effect in how that plan will be accomplished.  James 4:2b, 5:16, Lk. 11:9-10

·      God does what he does through means like prayer & witnessing. 

Never underestimate the power of a praying church.

·      Chapter opens with James dead, Peter in prison, & Herod triumphing;

o   It closes with Herod dead, Peter free, & the Word of God triumphing.

o   Corporate prayer's value is in unity of mind & spirit not quantity.

·      Fervent, specific prayer to God with other Christians changes things.

o   I fear John Knox's prayers more than an army of 10,000 men. I had rather stand against the cannons of the wicked than against the prayers of the righteous.-- Mary, Queen of Scotland

There is an increasing worldwide animosity toward God & the Christian faith.

·      But we should never be frightened by the loud voices of Satan's influencers.

o   The story from Genesis to Revelation & all of history: nobody ultimately wins who fights against the cross & God’s purposes. Prov. 21:30

Called on the Carpet

Called on the Carpet

2013-10-20

Acts 11:1-4, 15-18

      1Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, 3 “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began and explained it to them in order:

15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to uswhen we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?”18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

The fact that Peter/Cornelius recorded 3 times reveals the gravity of the issue & the significance of this particular event.

• This situation had the ingredients for a major misunderstanding that could possibly result in two entirely separate churches instead of one.

Primary problem was not Peter’s preaching to Gentiles but that he was eating with them. Act 11:2-3

• Basically there were the same objections as Peter had before his Cornelius adventure.
• Afraid that they would become “unclean” by eating with the Gentiles. Mt 23:24
• The real issue was prejudice: if it is okay for the Gentiles to eat with Peter, then the Gentiles have the right to come into their homes and church as Gentiles, without converting to Judaism.
• In other words: The Gentiles were completely equal to Jews.
• Jews thought they were never really equal but closer if the Gentiles did what Jews did: dietary & circumscision

That legalistic spirit still erects barriers that threaten to divide the church today. Examples:

• Real Christians Do: use KJV only, Homeschool, ring the Salvation Army Bell/soup kitchen, adopt, downsize
• Don’t Do: games, shorts, smoke, foods, music, tatoos~  Lev 19:26-28, 1 Cor 11:5-6  
• We must understand the Word in its historical context & in church history (ex. Gathier’s music).
• It’s easy to accept verses that appeal or support our agendas and ignore the ones we don't like.   

Be careful not designate sin as difference in convictions. Immorality, drunk

• My struggle with legalism is more along the lines of wise and unwise & ^or- edifying
• Unwise based on scripture, personal, and another’s experience.
• We can’t classify it as sinful if it is not so designated so in the Word.

Everyone ask themselves “Why do I do or don’t do? Is it because of legalism, godliness, or shock value” 2 Cor 3:17, Gal 5:13, Rom 14:23, 1 Cor 10:31….LEAVE UP FOR REST OF MESSAGE

• Before judging behavior of fellow believers, it is important to ask them “Why?” &  hear them out rather than silently stewing & judging.
• Here Jewish Christians criticized first & gathered information later.

When responding to “Why do you ____?” follow Peter’s lead Act 11:15-17

• He worked hard to keep peace & promote understanding.
• Instead of addressing their prejudice & legalism, he recounted in great detail events leading to Gentile's conversion.
• Peter's defense was not about what he did, but on what God did in the 3rd Pentecost.
• They couldn’t argue with the Holy Spirit (what God did), testimony of 7 witness, or the Word.
• If God made no distinction between Jew & Gentile, how could Peter?

What God did was not what Jews would have expected or preferred.

• God & Gentiles weren’t doing Christianty “Jewish/their” way.
• But their response of rejoicing when confronted with their prejudice, hardness, & legalism,  displayed the spiritual health & maturity of the young church.

Legalism/prejudice dies hard.

• Not long after, some: “Not allow Gentiles to ignore law of Moses. If let down the barriers pretty soon everyone in church will start acting like Gentiles.”

Believers are glad to have people join as long as live out  Chrsitianty like us.

• If God blesses someone who is not “doing Christianity your way”, do you celebrate or complain?
• Do you delight in their difficulties because they have different convictions? Rom 12:15
• In Acts Jesus calls church to be a unique community:
• love & acceptance rather than judgment & division.
• Unity in the essentials, freedom & love in non-essentials.
• Be humble & repent of legalism & improper motives behind freedom.
• What matters is not whether people fit in with us, but that they have been accepted by Jesus.    2 Cor 3:17, Gal 5:13, Rom 14:23, 1 Cor 10:31

God's Upside Down Community - The Implications - (Part 3 of 3)

God's Upside Down Community - The Implications Rom 12:9-21


Three weeks ago, when we looked at Eph 2:11-22, we discovered that when we were saved, we were not simply saved judicially (and that's not a small thing), but we were saved relationally. We who were far off were brought near by the blood of Christ. But, not only did Jesus bring us near to God when he rescued and redeemed us, he brought us near to each other. He broke down the dividing wall of hostility between God and man but also between Jew and Gentile, between men and women, between young and old, between rich and poor. But Jesus didn't stop there. He also drew us together into a nation--a holy nation 1 Pt 2:9--and he made us into a family--the family of God. And, to top it all off, we've been gathered together to become a holy temple, the very dwelling place of God by his Spirit.


Because the scope of God's upside down community is so vast and so upside down from our natural perspectives, he doesn't propel us into this community unequipped. Instead he sends us all in with the fruit of the Spirit and each of us grace gifts as he has apportioned them. Two weeks ago we looked at love, one portion of the fruit of Spirit. We focused on love, not because it is better than peace, patience, kindness or the others, but as God has structured things, love is the engine that drives all the others. 1 Cor 13, which is conveniently placed between 1 Cor 12 and 14 showed us that love must drive all that we do within the body. But, it is more than that. It is not some kind of love that we conjure up on our own. No, it is the very love of Christ which compels us and controls us and constrains us. (2 Cor 5:14)


Of course that leaves us with an incredible "What now?" or "Where do we go from here?" Before we look at that, I want to show you that I am not the first person to look at what God is doing through the Spirit in the Church and say that it is upside down. Look at [Act 17:6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also"]. So as we consider the implications of being the church, of being the called out ones, and we feel like our whole world is turning upside down, be reassured people in the 1st century saw things the same way.

I also want to come clean on the fact that I will not be able to address every aspect of what the implications are to being the church of Christ. In fact, I will only scratch the surface. But my prayer and my hope is that knowing there is a foundation to this thing called the church, that is established by God through Jesus in the power of the Spirit, and that there is an engine that drives it which is the very love of Christ, will give us a biblical framework with which to process all of what God's word says about his church.

Look with me, if you will, at Rom 12:9-21. For those who may not be familiar with the book of Romans, Paul spends 11 chapters laying down strong doctrine and theology caped at the end of chapter 11 with an incredible doxology of praise. He begins chapter 12 by extending this theology and adoration with first a call to an all-in commitment, second a brief discussion of the grace gifts and third starting in verse 9 some of the implications for life together in the body of Christ.

Read with me again verses 9-13 [Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.] Brothers and sisters, dare I say it? This is upside down.

Reading this, I'm reminded again why we couldn't start here three weeks ago. Who among us can do any one of these things on our own? Who among us would even want to? But, because we have been brought near by the blood of Christ and we are empowered and compelled by the very love of Christ, we are now able to hear what Paul is saying and begin to consider how God may want to will and to work his good purposes in our lives so that we may live these verses out as God's upside down community.

In these first 5 verses Paul focuses on some very close in church family considerations. Love, focusing on good not evil, showing affection and honor. These things are the heart beat of the body of Christ. If we would flip ahead to 1 Corinthians, we would see Paul say he will never eat meat again if would cause a brother to sin. This is affection and honor and love. Elsewhere, Paul calls the Galatians back to the gospel in strong, stark terms and Paul along with Peter and Stephan each confront the Jewish leaders in the book of Acts. This is abhorring what is evil. In Philippians, Paul practically exudes brotherly affection as he encourages them in their faith.

Paul also challenges us in our service. In essence he exhorts us to get up, to get going, to do something. Think of his encouragement to the Corinthians to give or to Philemon to release Onesimus. Then there's the joy in hope as he encourages Timothy, Epaphroditus, Titus and others. Add to that the call to be patient in affliction found in 2 Corinthians, 1 Peter and Hebrews. On top of all this Paul challenges us to be constant in prayer here and in virtually every other letter he wrote. And finally he specifically mentions the Macedonian generosity in 2 Corinthians. In addition to this collection, we have Paul's and the church's own example throughout the book of Acts of giving beyond common sense.

So, La Crescent, how are we doing?

How's our love? Our affection? Our showing honor? Our zeal? Our generosity? Our constant prayer for others? I ask these things not to bash or belittle, but to follow Paul's lead of challenging us to see that on our own we can at best achieve a shadow and a sliver of what the Spirit wants to do through us. Can you see it? God is giving us his standard for life together, just as he does for all other aspects of the Christian life. And just because it is difficult doesn't mean we shouldn't strive toward it in the power of the Spirit. Also we should not think that Paul is trying to give us a prescriptive list of do's and don't's--in essence a new law. Rather, he is trying to give us a descriptive view of what our new world should look like.

But, in typical Pauline fashion, he doesn't stop with the close in considerations of what the upside down community of Christ should be striving toward. In verses 14-21, Paul extends our gaze to items that may be beyond our comfort zone. This may be where God's word presses on us. This may be where the sword of the Spirit cuts down to the joint and marrow. But we need to remember that as

DA Carson and others have said "We don't read the Bible to judge it, as if we are some literary critic. Rather we are read by God's word to see how we measure up to His holiness, graciousness and love and to see how desperate our need is for a Savior."

Paul fills this section with 4 pairs of contrasts, each of which deserve at least a portion of their own sermon. Today, we will simply touch on them briefly. They are all counter-intuitive, counter-cultural and counter our normal self directed, self protecting attitude. They are, quite frankly upside down, and, quite frankly for me, very daunting.

First, Paul says to bless those who persecute and not to curse them. Is this possible, even (or especially) in the church? So, here again, the Spirit is driving us back to the foundation (we are the very dwelling place of God by the Spirit) and the core (we are empowered and compelled by the love of Christ). Think about it. Isn't this what the good Samaritan did? Blessing his enemy, caring for him and giving him what he did not deserve and could not earn. And, isn't this the picture of what Jesus did in relationship to us, but on a much larger scale. Loving and blessing and forgiving the ones who persecuted him.

Second, Paul lays out two expectations that we may relate to, but I think too easily and too quickly limit, maybe even in our own homes and families. Rejoice with those who rejoice (but not too much). Weep with those who weep (but not too far). It seems we Christians pat ourselves on the back and say "hey we do this better than the world". But the reality is that the world is not to whom we should compare ourselves. It is Christ. You see, if our satisfaction is really in Jesus and what he has accomplished for us on the Cross, we will gladly rejoice with others because their success, their joy cannot diminish ours. In fact it may increase our joy as we see the glory God in new dimensions. The same goes for weeping. 2 Cor 1 speaks of receiving comfort so we can be comforters to others. Our security in Christ, the fact that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ, frees us to come along side our brothers and sisters who are hurting and hurt right along with them. Is this easy? No. Is this comfortable? Not at first. Is this upside down? Absolutely. But is it reflective of the love and compassion Jesus showed to each one of us who have put our faith in him? Without a doubt.
Now Paul moves to our heart attitudes toward others within this upside down community. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly when combined with never be wise in your own sight takes a knife to the the throat of our pride. This may be the one of the hardest things for us to do. We more easily pray for, associate with and care for those who are like us. But Jesus asked this question in the Sermon on the Mount "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?" So, the Spirit is calling us to something much more radical. We are called to step beyond those who look like us or think like us or, heaven forbid, beyond those who worship or pray or have a theology like us. Remember, we have all been brought near by the blood of Christ.

There is an interesting aspect to the word lowly. It is not limited to the material or financial aspects of life. It can refer to someone who is simply simple or who has been brought low emotionally or spiritually by circumstances outside of themselves. Given Paul's use of contrasts in these verses, lowly could also mean someone with a faith that may not appear as wise or as sophisticated as our own.

I say this as a reminder to each of us that pride and haughtiness is not limited to the 1%, whoever they are. We all have the root of pride in us. The virus, as it were, of pride and haughtiness and self wisdom has infected each one of us. We need this call and the many others like it to remind us that the only cure for pride is to first focus on Christ then to focus on others. Without Christ, all of this is pointless, because we are still in our sins. But, without the focus on others, my religion becomes simply one more way for me to get what I want both now and in the age to come.

As Paul comes to the fourth item in this particular train of thought regarding God's upside down community, he drops what I consider to be "the bomb". From verse 18 to verse 21, he has one extended thought: the church, which is the dwelling place of God by the Spirit, which is empowered and compelled by the love of Christ, must be marked by peace both internally and externally.

First, let's think internally. What drives conflict? Pride? A lack of love or affection or honor? Sloth or selfishness or impatience? Jealousy over another's joy? Indifference to another's suffering? Yes, and so much more. And yet these are the very things we are called to overcome in the power the of Spirit as part of God's upside down community.
But, since we are also a collection of sinful men and women on a journey between the cross and the crown, we will not live out these ideals perfectly nor will those around us. So what do we do? How do we respond? Paul's answer is both simple and profound. Live at peace with all and trust that God will execute his perfect justice.

The result of this should be a church that is without conflict. How? First by living out the love of Christ, the actual number of offenses should be on the decline. If we each strove to live out verses like [Eph 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.] conflict would surely be reduced. But even when we are offended, if we each actually sought to live at peace with all, what else would the grace given result be except peace with all.

Now, before you think I have drank some Pollyanna kool-aid, let me assure you I have been on the the back side of some incredible church conflict. I have seen the fruit of pride and self wisdom in full flower. Yet, such experiences don't disprove Rom 12 or dissuade me from striving toward it. Instead, these conflicts cause me to be captivated even more by the gospel and power of the Spirit to continually break down the dividing wall of hostility and remake a new man out of the two.

It also seems that we need to think for just a few moments about how these verses apply externally. What do we do when, as Kyle is fond of saying, sinners sin? And, heaven forbid, they sin against us! Or, to put the question a little differently, where do we draw the line? Do I really need to live at peace with all? Isn't a little revenge justified, at least for the really big stuff?

Here's the problem. Our justice, our vengeance is seldom pure and is never perfectly applied. If we try to execute our own judgement on someone who is a believer, since their sins (including the one against us) have been paid in full by Christ on the cross, our seeking vengeance actually engages in double payment and says, in effect, Jesus' sacrifice was insufficient for this particular sin. If we try to execute judgement on someone who is not a believer, whatever judgement we perform or prescribe is nothing compared to the eternity they will spend in hell. So, our judgement is probably too little. It is never just right. Because of this, we should leave judgement and vengeance and wrath to God.

Upon consideration of this passage as a whole, and others like it, it appears that God has a double purpose for his upside down community. One purpose is within the community itself. Service, care, encouragement, discipleship, accountability, compassion. We are in fact a family and we've been equipped and empowered to live out that reality. The other purpose is that we are all proclaimers of the gospel. We do this individually as we live out and share the gospel, but we do this corporately as we together become more and more God's upside down community.

At this point, there is one item that's been sitting on the side burner that I think is important to mention before I conclude this trilogy of sermons. It is the idea of commitment or, as the new testament writers would say, devotion. Here are just two examples: [Act 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles ' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.] [2Co 8:3-5 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.]

You see, we are a transient people with transient hearts living in a transient culture. Don't like the pastor's tie? Let's go. The pastor didn't wear a tie? Later. Too many hymns? See you. Not enough hymns? We're leaving. No coffee in the main foyer? We'll find some place more hospitable. Coffee in the main foyer? We can't stay in a place that has sold out. And I could go on and on.

But the call of scripture is one of commitment and of permanence. The passages from Acts and 2 Corinthians both show this. Both Timothy and Titus were commanded to stay in one place to build up the leadership. Paul himself spent extended time in both Corinth and Ephesus. The recipients of the book of Hebrews were exhorted to not stop meeting together as some apparently had. Even the imagry used to describe the church: a building, a body, a marriage partner connotes permanence and commitment.

What is it that marks our commitment to one another? It is the reality that our relationships within the church are not contractual, but are covental. A contract is an agreement for services. I'll provide you cell phone service and you provide me money. I'll fix your car and you will sheetrock my kitchen. But a contract breaks down when it comes to relationships. I'll be your friend if you take me to Starbuck's once a week. I will love you if you clean the house, cook the food and never complain.

But a covenant is a promise to do our part, no matter what. Think of wedding vows. I'm committed to you, better or worse, richer or poor, in sickness or health. A covenant is all-in, not looking for or expecting payback. A covenant doesn't look at another's performance and say "you didn't meet your side of the deal, so I'm out of here".
This is the beauty and the power of God's upside down community. We have a covenant keeping God. We have a Savior who is all-in, who has and continues to bless us and serve us in spite of our inability to ever give anything in return. We have a Spirit who enables us to see what a true covenant is and empowers us now to live in covenant with one another compelled by the love of Christ. All of this for the glory of God and the demonstration of his upside down wisdom to a lost and dying world.

Where does this leave us? Desperate? Confused? Disoriented? Disappointed? Perhaps a measure of each of these? How many of us upon realizing the incredible identity of the church and seeing its high calling said "Yes! I knew God was up to something."? You see our reaction to what God lays in front of us can serve as a diagnostic to where our hearts are actually at.

But here's the really good news. For those of us who have new life in Christ, there is no condemnation. Jesus went to the cross with a full awareness that we would stumble in this (and so many other) areas of our Christian life. The blood of Christ cleanes us of how much unrighteousness? Yes, all unrighteousness (1 Jn 1:9).

Along side this good news there is more good news. The Spirit is not done with us yet. I mean that in two ways. First he is not done shaping you or me into the image of Christ. [Phi 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.] [Eph 4:13-14 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, 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.]

But, not only is the Spirit not done with shaping us into the image of Christ, he is not done using us to bear the image of Christ to each other and to the world. Here is just one example [Phi 2:14-15 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world]

So brothers and sisters, allow me to exhort us the the way Paul exhorted the churches to whom he wrote [I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called]

If I may, I'd like to end with one more teaser. (No, not for a 4th sermon) I won't comment. I will simply let the Spirit take God's word and do with it what he wills [Eph 3:8-10 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.]

To God Alone be the Glory

Recalibrate Your Perspective

Recalibrate Your Perspective

2013-10-06

Corinthians 4:16-5:10

English Standard Version (ESV)

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

5:1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

One of the most conflicted moments in eternal existence is the moment we die and cross from this life to next.

·  For the unbeliever: the reality that Jesus is real and they have sinned against Him and are lost and now it's too late. For the Christian: great joy and yet a moment of regret as the unseen becomes seen. When before our Savior we will realize that we foolishly spent the majority of our short life on temporal and worthless things. 

God calls Christians to live with an eternal perspective, yet many believers primarily live with an earthly future rather than their eternal future in mind.  Mt 6:19-21, Jn. 6:27a

• This mindset results in a self-centered life because our future goals direct our present actions & words.  Mt 15:18-19
• Examples: Healthy (eat right, not smoke) Debt-free (sale items)

Focus of life for many Christians is on comfort in present life for self & family.

·  “righteous” acts can be selfish: help when convenient, living frugally.

§  A checkbook is a theological document. Billy Graham

• Pursuing good but eternally worthless things. Switched price tags analogy.
• Money, possessions, status, pleasure (moral/immoral)

·  Unmet temporal goals can lead to anger, envy, discontent, ungratefulness.

o   to the degree we have an eternal perspective is the degree to which we are able to endure tough times w/proper focus so fires refine rather than harden us.

• Things of this world are all eventually destroyed/left behind Jam 4:1-4, Lk 12:15, 2 Pet 3:10-13

§  How much did Steve Jobs leave:  All of it and it will all burn one day. 

Because are lives are short it’s imperative that we invest them in what is eternal. Ps. 90:2, Mk 13:31, 1 Cor 15:53, 2 Cor 5:10, 1 Tim  4:8 & 6:6-7

·  Anything having to do with God and relationship with Him (Quiet Time, being here),

·  People & any investment in people's lives for God

·  all done to personally develop Christ-like character.

To invest in what will last for eternity, God must transform our hearts & we must recalibrate in 2 ways: Firstly, emphasis on unseen not seen Col. 3:2, 2 Cor 4:17-18, 5:7, 1 Cor 2:9

·  Living by sight = life dictated by things of this world/flesh; 

·  living by faith in God = life dictated by things of Spirit.

o   Believing Word above circumstances.

·  The most precious & important realities are beyond our present senses

o   Jesus, heaven, eternity, ressurected bodies, boundless joy, peace, fulfillment.

Secondly, we must recalibrate our focus: Higher priority on inward over outward.  2 Cor. 4:16, 1 Pet 3:3-4, Gal 5:22-24, 1 Cor 13:4-7

·  This is especially relevant with today’s self-centered, image-oriented world.

o   Young = certain “look”, Older = youthful looking.

o   All strive for “right stuff”, achievements, accolades

·  We spend much time and money making exterior look good, while inside ugly and broken

o   The most important is not how we “look” but who we are becoming.

·  When we obey Christ we become more like Him: inwardly beautiful (sanctification)

o   humble, patient, generous, deny self, compassionate.

Each day that passes you’re either moving toward or away from your hearts delight. Mt 6:19-21, Ps 90:12, Eph. 5:15-16

·  God calls Christians to live with an eternal perspective which probably means some adjustment in your use of time, money, priorities...even career.

o   To obey is better than sacrifice.  1 Sam 15:22

·  Selflessly live for God’s glory & eternal treasures like praying and serving others, discipling, teaching Sunday School, Quiet Time’s, encouragement at church.

o   When making decisions about your time, money, and priorities, live for the beach not for the grain of sand.

Brothers who have gone before us & understood this:

·  “We live too much in time.  We're too earthbound.  We see as other men see.  We think as other men think.  We invest our time as the world invests it, but if we took hold of eternity as a reality, I'm convinced we'd be a different breed of people.”  Leonard Ravenhill

·   “He who provides for this life but takes no care for eternity is wise for a moment but a fool forever.” John Tillotson

·  "Only one life’ twill soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last." C.T. Studd

• “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Elliot