SEDUCED by COMPLACENCY

Spiritual awakening begins first with WAKING UP!
(An excerpt from weekend sermon at Lifehouse Church)

My youngest daughter used to wake me up at ungodly hours by joyously screaming in my ear, "Daddy! Daddy!" and slapping my rapidly in the face. Trust me, it woke me up and got my attention!

All of us get comfortable and complacent. Life has a way of lulling us to sleep spiritually and causing us to dull our spiritual senses and drown out our cry for God.

Joel 3:14, "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision."

Like these Jewish nation in the time of the prophet Joel, I’ve felt Complacency’s dark figure lurking in the shadows of my heart, whispering with seductive appeal.

I’ve heard Lethargy's comforting song of self-satisfying desires of lust, greed, indulgence, and gluttony.

I’ve felt the brush of Apathy's sleep-inducing touch of self-numbing sins called laziness, prayerlessness, slumber, recreation, and easy-living.

Complacency has told me that my faith is a burden and church is a chore.

Lethargy's whispers have turned violent, as her slumber gripped me with militant tactics- stalking my every spiritual attempt and subverting my spiritual hunger and passion.

Apathy speaks convincingly the dark lies of easy-living, “Why bother? It will cost to much?"

She tells me, "God just wants too much? And it won’t even matter? You’re too weak or too strong. Your too insecure, too ugly, too skinny or too fat. Your too dumb to help or too smart, so why not use your brains elsewhere. You’ll fail so don’t try. You’ll succeed, so take your talents elsewhere where you can be rewarded more noticeably."

She taunts, "People will mock you or laugh at you, are even worse, people won’t care at all."

During times of complacency, inevitably things go wrong.

Like an alarm clock in the night, tragedy, pain, a death, a scare, failure, demotion. They all have a way of challenging us to change How far must God go in getting your attention? If God has to choose between your eternal safety and your earthly comfort, which do you hope he chooses? AWAKENING!

I'm calling us to PERSONAL and CHURCH-WIDE AWAKENING!

Joel 2:1, "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill."

You and me- we’ve screamed at Lethargy's whispers. We’ve grabbed the wrist of Apathy's seductive, comforting touch, and demanded, “NO MORE!”

See, We’re done with easy, comfortable living! We want more from life, faith!

We DON’T want our life to be about "ME." We’re done with ease, comfort, and over-stuffed appetites.

We're TIRED of sitting on the SIDELINES while others live relentlessly their faith in God.

• Let's choose ANONIMOTY to make GOD'S NAME FAMOUS.  
• Let's choose PERSONAL LOSS so some may GAIN CHRIST. 
• Let's choose to GIVE ALL so that SOME MAY BE SAVED. 
• Let's choose RIDICULE so that SOME MAY know CHRIST’S LOVE. 
• Let's choose TEARS so that others may know JOY. 

 Don’t sit on the sidelines. In the short term we may regret what we have done. But in the long run, we will regret what we didn’t do, the risks we didn’t take.

St Patrick Part 3- Living the best life possible

Check out the video trailer for the sermon:



Listen to the message here.

Too often, we see rules and laws as stealing the best in life- telling us what we can't eat and all the fun we can't have. AND in the Name of God...

The Bible seems a like a mountain of laws, rules, civil codes, from hygiene, food care, clothing, home care, medical practices, what foods to eat, not eat, sexual practice and morality. These seem so legalistic!

Jesus actually said the same thing about the religiously leaders who added to God's Law...

Read Matthew 23:25-28 (NIV)

Jesus was challenging these religious leaders that God's Law was not about religious observance but total moral renewal. The Law wasn't about appearances (what can be seen) but the heart.

The goal wasn’t to “cover up” rottenness OR to look religious, but something deeper.

God wants to clean deep parts of our lives. Then, why all the civil law and commands to be holy? How does this apply to my life TODAY?

Read Leviticus 11:43-44 (NIV). The word "consecrate" is to chose an ordinary thing, and set it apart for special purpose.

We are called to Be Set Apart

Read Deuteronomy 26:16, 19, (NIV). God's Law comes from His desire to set apart this nation as His special, chosen people to show all people what is best. His Law is from His love and relationships with Israel.

Be Set Apart for Your Well-Being


Read Deuteronomy 26:17-18, (NIV).

Law of God was for their best- to enjoy, embrace life NOT to prevent them from best. God gave the Law for their well-bring, to instruct them how to live healthy lives and have honorable relationships. This civil law prevented wide spread disease, outbreaks of plagues, sickness.

Observance of law made them different and distinguishable.

SO? God's Law is for OUR well-being. The Bible is not restricting us, but teaching us how to live for our own well-being. We think we know what’s best, but we must be willing to trust that God knows best, then obey Him by FAITH.

When we obey God's Law, we are noticeably different and distinguishable without the devastation and destruction that comes from sin.

Be Set Apart for Your Wholeness

Read Deuteronomy 26:16, (NIV).
The Law is about heart issues not appearance issues. Jesus corrected Pharisees since they missed point.
The Bible is not about behaviors- trying to make people look holy. BUT to lead people to wholeness in their BODY, SOUL, HEART- whole being.

However, the Law cannot make someone whole, anymore than a traffic sign can make someone drive safely. it can only exposes disobedience.

Therefore, the Bible is not about conformity but consecration.
Read Romans 7:19-8:3 (NIV). The Law isn’t bad. It actually is a reflection of God and His character.
BUT the Law does reveal that we cannot live up to it to experience the best wholeness God offers.

Jesus taught that wholeness doesn’t come from being perfect in the law (impossible), but by having a whole heart. Only God can make the heart whole- restore life and offer true wholeness.

Thus, faith in Jesus is an inner-work: see 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV).

When we give God full access and invite Him to clean up our insides rather than just change some of our behavior, an amazing transformation occurs. What we once were gives way to the new life that God intended for us to have. We are cleansed from the inside.

Not only are we cleansed but the inner wholeness begins to spring out of us, just like the filth and vile once did.

We can’t keep anything hidden- whether evil or good. It will come out. When we allow Jesus to transform our hidden shame, the new joy, life, and hope that begins exists will emerge.

Newest ST PATRICK Series- Law & Order

Rules can seem so… restrictive, so… prudish.  Morals and regulations seem to limit all of our fun and freedom.  What’s more, Christianity seems to be the greatest offender of that freedom.  Many people view the Bible as nothing more than a list of do’s and don’ts.  In their estimate, it’s filled with rules designed to restrict and rob us of pleasure.  Could their assumptions be true?

Join Pastor Patrick Sundays 8:45, 10:00 or 11:15 AM as he dives into "LAW & ORDER: St. Patrick Unit," a new series that explains that God's laws were not meant to be burdensome but to be a blessing.  God's laws reveal his heart and his character, so as we turn our focus from the law to the Lawgiver, we discover the key to a free and fulfilled life!

Catch a sneak peak of the series by watching the trailer, and we hope to see you this Sunday!

Being Jesus in OUR Community- notes from Exponential Conference

Incarnational Ministry, by Michael Frost (author of several books including ReJesus and well-known missiologist)

Just as Jesus was God incarnate (in the flesh) to the world, we must incarnate Jesus into our communities.

How do we live incarnationally in our neighborhoods to reach people with the Good News of Jesus?

1. Listen to your neighbor- take to to both talk and listen. Listen deeply. 
2. Say YES to every invitation to engage your community and neighbors. If they invite you in, go in. Invite you out, go out. Don't avoid interaction with community.
3. Say “we will serve you” and mean it and do it!
4. Be a doggedly-loyal and intimately committed presence of God to your neighborhood and community. This commitment is the leading influence of Christian impact. We need selfless, caring, grace-filled believers to add salt and light in our communities.

My personal take-away is the re-affirmation of a passionate appeal that I often articulate regarding church- BE THE CHURCH! We don't go to church, attend church, or do church. We are the church. We live, gather, scatter as the church. I love the concept that church is a verb not a noun. 

Where do you turn when you're not getting your way?

In life, sometimes things don't go our way. In those moments, we are all forced to "trust" something.

Where do you turn? Most people fit into two categories- pride or blame.

If pride, then a person puts their trust in themselves. They trust their:

• abilities,
• power,
• position,
• intellect,
• money,
• people-prowess- charm, manipulation, etc.

If blame, then a person believes that others are at fault for their out-of-control situation in life. They trust:

• others are powerful and they are powerless,
• that their life is beyond control,
• that they are a victim.

Where do Jesus-followers turn when situations don't go our way?

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. Psalm 20:7–8.

For those who love and fear God, the only option is to turn to Him and trust His power, providence, and provision in times of struggle and when situations seem beyond our control.

God is all-knowing, sovereign, and good. He knows the beginning from the end. For those that place their life in God's care, He cares for them.

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. Psalm 118:8.

Dear Jesus-follower, don't take measures into your own hands. Rely on God's wisdom, His purposes, and His best for your life. Trust that He sees the bigger picture and has our life under His control. When we take control and either trust ourselves or trust other men, we aim toward destruction.

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Psalm 118:6.

Purpose of Doubt

“Faith which does not doubt is dead faith” -Miguel de Unamuno

Many contend that we shouldn’t doubt, that doubt is some how the enemy of our faith.

However, doubt isn’t our enemy. God is big enough for our questions and doubts. The Bible deals with people who struggled with doubt and hard questions head on:

“I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me… when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness." Job 30:20, 26, NIV.

Many biblical heroes of the Faith doubted and struggled with dry season in their journey with God! Men like Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Elijah, Samuel, John the Baptist, and even Jesus’ disciples.

David expressed, under inspiration of Holy Spirit, his doubts and spiritual dryness.

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent." Psalm 22:1-2, NIV.

Circumstances led to doubt. Experience trumped belief. Pain darkened his faith.

So, if doubting isn’t unbiblical or an indication of a lack of faith, what do we do with it?

We Walk by Faith.


How? To Walk by Faith, Explore Your Doubts.

God doesn’t correct doubt and spiritual struggle, but teaches His followers to embrace these seasons as part of their faith-journey.

We’re not robots programmed on how to think nor lemmings in a mindless religious cult. Jesus' called us to make "disciples" which means literally "students".

Investigate, study, explore. (see 1 Peter 3:15-16)

When hard questions arise, don’t run from them, allow them to drive you to deeper exploration of the Bible, heightened understanding of truth, and an emboldened faith. The greatest struggles in doubt forge our strongest convictions.

To walk by faith, trust.

"All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 8 “He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” Psalm 22:7-8, NIV.

But faith isn’t just a blind belief. Faith is substance. Faith is active.
How do we demonstate trust? In a bridge? We are willing to rely on it and put our life into care. This trust is earned and learned. Observed and experienced.

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17, NKJV.

Faith grows as we hear and read God’s Story in the midst of scar stories.

We are invited to trust what we discover to be trustworthy- that Jesus is the Son of God.

To walk by faith, obey.

LORD, I praise you in the great meeting of your people; these worshipers will see me do what promised. Psalm 22:25, NCV.

The word “faith” in Greek is means both to trust (rely on) and obey. Not just belief, but my dependence on truth produces action.

And in Hebrew, there is no separation between knowledge and action. To" know" means to live accordingly. We often “know”, but don’t respond. Faith means that my actions match my beliefs.

God’s story intersects with our story, and the scars of Jesus heal our scars.

Who Does God Promote? Lessons from 2 Samuel

Humility is probably a lot like Margret Thatcher's description of being a lady,

"If you have to tell someone you are, you are not!"

"Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up," James 4:10. And the opposite is also true, "God resists the proud" (1 Peter 5:5) and "Pride comes before destruction," (Proverbs 16:18).

Love King David's example of God-centered humility in 2 Samuel 6. He dances and "humiliates" himself before God in celebration and worship. His wife Michal, scorns him by sarcastically saying,

“With what honor the king of Israel acted today! You took off your clothes in front of the servant girls of your officers like one who takes off his clothes without shame!” (2 Samuel 6:20, NCV).

But David wasn't worried about impressing his wife, or other ladies on the street, or his kingdom or constituency. David was worshipping to an audience of One, trying to impress only God,

“I did it in the presence of the LORD."

David understood that humility before God is our act of worship, and that humility before God doesn't mean thinking little of ourselves, but thinking more of others, and having a right understanding of who we really are in His sight.

David also profoundly stated,

"So I will celebrate in the presence of the LORD. Maybe I will lose even more honor, and maybe I will be brought down in my own opinion, but the girls you talk about will honor me!”


God exalts those who humble themselves before Him. Others will honor those who are not ashamed to be humiliated before God.

Who are you trying to impress? Whose attention are you trying to catch? With whom are you most afraid to loose honor?

Faith VS Fear

It would make great reality TV, but no one would sign up to have their faith tested. Would you be a contestant on Faith versus Fear? Here are some indicators of how you'd be tested.

You might be controlled by fear if you think:

• Ambition: The journey of a thousand miles sometimes ends very, very badly.
• Despair: It's always darkest just before it goes pitch black.
• Limitations: Until you spread your wings, you'll have no idea how far you can walk.
  
• Mistakes: It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.
• Wishes: When you wish upon a falling star, your dreams can come true. Unless it's really a meteorite hurtling to the Earth which will destroy all life. Then you're pretty much hosed no matter what you wish for. Unless it's death by meteor.
• Potential: Not everyone gets to be an astronaut when they grow up.
  

The above were taken from www.despair.com. Now, you know I have a dry sense of humor.

HOWEVER:

• Faith knows that darkness, pain, hurt, and hardship are the pathway to greater revelation of who God is and how He works in and through our lives.
• Faith sees those moments, not as an end BUT as the front end of a miracle.
• Faith sees risk through the eyes of God's power and Spirit, which is limitless and all powerful.
• Faith chooses to believe rather than plunge into fear, worry, and doubt. 
• Faith wrestles with deep emotions of anguish, fear, doubt, frustration, and despair BUT is not overtaken by them. How? Not through self-inspiration, but through TRUST in God. Faith allows God to overcome through us.
• While fear worries, faith prays!
• Faith does not look to God to avoid suffering BUT to discover my joy in Christ goes deeper than suffering, lack, or hurt.
• Faith does not ask for comfort BUT learns that Jesus-followers have a peace that surpasses all discomfort in this lifetime.

Okay, not preaching, just explaining from personal experience. Maybe we've all been entered into the reality show of life called "Faith versus Fear".

What are your faith vs. fear stories?

The WHY behind "Don't Go to Church" Sunday

In case you're curious...

Here's NOT why we said, "don't go to church" on Sunday, October 31st:

• to save money- we didn't do this to be cheap or try to save on expenses. We believe reaching people for Christ and leading people in life transforming experiences on Sunday mornings are worth the investment,
• to get out of the theater- we like meeting in rented facilities that gives us the flexibility of keeping our focus on reaching the unchurched and serving our city by showing and sharing God's love. Meeting in the theater allows us to do that.

Here's the BIG whys behind why we lead Lifehouse to "don't go to church":

1. To say "YES" to God. First and foremost, this was a God-led idea. We didn't come up with this in a planning meeting. I had been sharing some ideas with our team that I felt God had placed on my heart, but I kept wrestling with them, and finally shared that it wasn't the right timing. However, i also expressed that there was something BIG that God wanted us to do to conclude the Bare-Naked Faith series, but I didn't know what it was. The next morning, in our staff prayer meeting, Lois Quesenberry shared an idea and my spirit leapt. I said, "That's it! That's the thing God wants to do." That's the genesis of the life group Sunday. It happened on a Tuesday, we announced on Sunday. When God calls us to respond, I've made a commitment to always just say "YES!"
2. To teach Lifehouse and our community that we DON'T GO to church, we ARE the Church. Church isn't a location, a building, or a Sunday morning experience. The Church is people gathered through their common faith in Jesus Christ for the purpose of worship, spiritual growth, building community, and sharing the Gospel with unbelievers,
3. To model our commitment to taking bold faith-risk steps. We, at Lifehouse, will do WHATEVER IT TAKES to teach and lead people to being devoted Jesus-followers,
4. To break us out of our routine of Sunday morning "church". Sometimes we need to be shaken out of routine. Even good routines can lose their effectiveness if we forget why we're doing them. So, Lifehouse's leadership takes bold, God-led steps to mix things up, surprise you with creativity, and catch you off guard with how powerful the Christian life is everyday,
5. To empower our life groups and leaders that they can effectively lead a life- transforming worship experience in their home,
6. To tease our community and Lifehouse with fresh ideas. I don't know if we'll lead a "Don't Go to Church" Sunday again, but I do know that we'll continue encouraging people to meet in homes for life groups. Who knows? We may even develop an idea of launching video church campuses in homes all around this region... Who knows?

Thanks for understanding the "why" behind the "what".

Invite your friends, enemies, neighbors, family THIS Sunday!

Friend Day is a great opportunity to invite your friends to Lifehouse. We go all out for our guests and do everything we can to make them feel at home. We, as a leadership team, will make sure we give this our best effort. That’s our part.

TAG, YOU’RE IT!!

Your part is to INVITE! So, make it a point to get busy- emailing, calling, asking friends, neighbors, whomever to join us at Lifehouse THIS Sunday, September 12th at either 9 or 10:30am.

We’re also kicking off life groups (all 25 of them) this Sunday and introducing you to the Bare-Naked Faith study guide. It’s going to be incredible.

See you and your guests on Sunday!!