Anyway, here is last Sunday's lesson and I thought it really hit us in the gut, therefore I wanted to share. It is a study and my notes taken from "Crazy Love".
Lukewarm doesn't satisfy a thirst
"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." – Matthew 13:44
A man joyfully sold all that he had so that he could obtain
the only thing that mattered. He knew
that what he had stumbled on (heaven) was more valuable than anything he had so
he went for it with everything in him.
This kind of enthusiastic response to God’s live is appropriate yet is a
contrast to our typical response.
In the US
numbers impress us. We gauge success of
an event by how many people attend or even come forward. We measure churches by how many numbers they
boast and are wowed by large crowds. From my experience, when I go to meet new pastors - their first question is "How big is your youth group?" That is soon followed by "How large is your church?" They want to either be impressed by my number or validate theirs.
Jesus questioned authenticity of this kind of record
keeping. According to an account in Luke
chapter 8, when a crowd started following Jesus, he spoke in parables – so that
those who really weren’t listening would get it.
When crowds gather today, speakers are extraconcious of
communicating in a way that is accessible to everyone so everyone
understands. Speakers don’t use Jesus’
tactics to eliminate people who are not sincere seekers.
Fact is, Jesus just wasn’t interested in those who faked it.
In the parable of the sower, Jesus explained that the seed
is the truth, or Word of God. When the
seed is flung into the path, it is heard but quickly stolen away. When the seed is tossed into the rocks, no
roots take hold = there is only the appearance of depth and growth because of
the good soil but it is only surface deep.
When the seed is spread among the thorns, it is received but soon suffocated out by life’s worries, riches and pleasures. But when the seed is sown in good soil – it grows, takes root and produces fruit – explain this in a little more detail.
My caution to you is this – Do not assume you are good soil.
Most American church goers are the soil that chokes the seed
because of all the thorns. Thorns are
anything that distracts us from God.
When we want God and a bunch of other stuff that means we have thorns in
our soil. A relationship with God simply
cannot grow when money, sins, activities, sports teams, addictions and
commitments are piled on top of it.
Has you relationship with God actually changed the way you
live? Do you see evidence of God’s
kingdom in your life or are you choking it out slowly by spending too much time
in things of this world?
Are you satisfied in being godly enough to get yourself into
heaven or to look good in comparison to others?
Or can you saw with Paul that you want to know Christ and the power of
his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like
him in death? (Phil 3:10)
I mean I would rather have that scripture end in becoming
like him in his resurrection. That is
the Jesus I want to picture myself like.
Not the suffering, on the cross Jesus.
But this went against everything I was reading in the bible. I quickly found that the American church is a
difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament
Christianity. The goals of American
Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don’t swear, and a good
church attendance. Taking the words of
Christ literally and seriously is rarely considered. That’s for the radicals and those who go
overboard. Most of us what a balanced
like we can control that does not involve suffering.
Would you describe yourself as totally in love with
Christ? Or do the words half hearted,
lukewarm or partially committed fit better?
The bible says to test ourselves so I am going to offer you
what a lukewarm, distracted, partially committed person would look like and as
we go over it, think about your life.
Not who you want to be but who you are now.
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They attend church regularly. It is expected of them and is told that is
what good Christians do, so they go.
Isa 29:13
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They give money to charity and the church as long as it
doesn’t impinge on their standard of living.
If they have a little extra, they give….otherwise, they don’t.
Luke 21:1-4
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They tend to choose what is popular over what is right when
they are in conflict. They desire to fit
in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think
of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of
their hearts and lives.
Rev 3:1
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They don’t really want to be saved from sin; they want only
to be saved from the penalty of their sin.
They don’t believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the
old sinful one.
Romans 6:1-2
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They are moved by stories of people who do radical things
for Christ yet they do not act. They
assume such actions are for extreme Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call radical what Jesus
expected of all his followers.
James 1:22
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They rarely share their faith with neighbors, coworkers, and
friends. They do not want to be rejected
nor do they want to make others feel uncomfortable by talking about religion.
Matt 10:32-33
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They gauge their morality or goodness by comparing
themselves with the secular world. They
feel satisfied because they may not be hard core for Jesus but they are nowhere
near as horrible as so-in-so.
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They say the love Jesus and he is indeed part of their lives
but only a part. They give him a section
of their time, money and thoughts. He
isn’t allowed to control their lives.
Luke 9:57-62
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They love God but do not love him with all their heart, soul
and strength. They would be quick to
assure you they try to love God that much but it really isn’t possible for the
average person. It is only for pastors
and missionaries.
Matt 22:37-38
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They love others but do not seek to love others as much as
they love themselves. Their love of
others typically is focused on those who love them in return. Their love is highly conditional and very selective
and often comes with strings attached.
Luke 14:12-14
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They will serve God and others but there are limits to how
far they will go or how much time, money or energy they are willing to give.
Luke 18:21-25
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They think about life on earth much more than eternity in
heaven. Daily life is focused on today’s
to do list or this week’s schedule or next month’s vacation. Rarely do they intently consider the life to
come.
Col
3:2
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They do whatever is necessary to keep them from feeling too
guilty. They want to do the bare minimum
to be good enough without it requiring too much of them.
Matt 13:44-46
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They feel secure because they attend church, made a
profession of faith at age 12, were baptized, and came from a Christian family,
live in America – whatever,
Just as the prophets in the OT warned Israel
they were not safe just because they lived in the land of Israel
so we are not safe just because we wear the label Christian.
Matt 7:21
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They do not live by faith.
Their lives are structured so they never have too. They don’t have to trust God if the
unexpected happens. They have a savings
plan, they have a retirement plan, they have life figured and mapped out. Their fridges are full, their health is good
and truthfully, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they stopped
believing in God all together.
Luke 12:16-21
LUKEWARM PEOPLE
They probably cuss, drink and partake in worldly things less
than average but besides that they really aren’t much different than the unbeliever.
Matt 23:25-28
This profile of a lukewarm Christian is not a complete
definition of what a Christian should look like nor is it intended to be used
to judge your fellow believers. Instead,
2 Cor 13:5 says – it is a call to examine yourselves to see whether you are in
the fail; test yourselves.
We are all messed up.
No one is totally immune to the behaviors in the examples. However there is a difference in whose life
is characterized by these habits and a life that is in the process of being
transformed.
If you wanted to join the Marines, you would see commercials
and advertisements showing them running, doing push ups, etc. If you hate running, you wouldn’t go and ask
them to modify the rules for you so you could run less or maybe do a few less
push up. That would be pointless and
stupid. Everyone knows if you sign up
for the marines you have to do whatever they tell you to do. In a sense, they own you.
Somehow this realization does not cross over to our thinking
about the Christian life. Jesus didn’t
say that if you wanted dot follow him you could do it in a lukewarm
manner. He said “take up your cross and
follow me” He also said – "Suppose a king
is about to go to war against another king.
Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with 10,000
men to oppose the one coming against him with 20,000? If he is not able, he will send a delegation
while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give
up everything he has cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:31-33)
Jesus asks for everything.
But we try to give him less.
Jesus said – Salt is good but if it loses its saltiness how
can it be made salty again? It is fit
neither for the soil nor for the manure pile, it is thrown out (Luke 14)
Jesus isn’t using a cute analogy here. He is addressing those who aren’t willing to
give everything. Who won’t follow him
all the way. He is saying that lukewarm
following is useless that it sickens our souls.
He is saying that this kind of salt isn’t even fit for a manure pile.
How would you like to hear the son of God say you would ruin
manure?
When salt is salty it helps manure become good fertilizer. But uncommitted, lukewarm faith is useless. It cannot even benefit manure.
When salt is salty it helps manure become good fertilizer. But uncommitted, lukewarm faith is useless. It cannot even benefit manure.
.....to be continued.
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