The Thrill of Victory

This Sunday kicks off our series on looking at Scriptural references to athletics.  We are both acknowledging the Olympics and remembering the numerous illustrations in God's Word about applying athletic principles to our faith journey (or race).  But we will be careful that our words will not stray from the meaning and application of Scripture.
When I was growing up I remember the commercial for the ABC Wide World of Sports (also what they ran for the Olympics) was "The Thrill of Victory ... the Agony of Defeat."  I always liked the video they ran for the agony part of the equation.  It was a dude crashing off the end of a ski jump.  It made me always note in my mind never to get on a ski jump ... this way I would avoid the agony part.
But I want this series (which will run until the week after school begins) to be positive so I will be speaking about the things we can do to be victorious in our faith ... in our lives ... in our walk (or race) of life.  The Bible has a lot to say about this and has lots of solid advice and applications which will help those of us who run the race slow or those who run fast.  To "kick" this off I am sending a link to a Max Lucado book called "You Are Special" (  http://www.aikentdc.org/You_Are_Special.pdf  ).  It will take you 10 minutes to read.  Will you invest 10 minutes in learning how you can live as a victor in a 'victim-mentality' world?  In the book the characters deal with some very real life issues.  Some characters in the book receive accolades for being fast, pretty, strong or being able to jump high.  Others receive bad marks (dots) that identify them as inferior, guilty, of poor quality, and losers.  I love the advice this book gives the main character ... "Go to your maker and find out what He thinks about you."  The Psalms use the word "refuge" 23 times, telling us that we have a place to go when we need victory over the things we face in life.  One of these (below) tells us a place of hope when we are surrounded on all sides and oppressed.  We go to our refuge (God) and to a source of hope (God's Word).

Psalm 119:114 ... "You are my refuge and my shield;  your word is my source of hope."

Read the Psalm.  Read Max Lucado's short story (and don't be too proud to read what you may think is a children's story).  Think about the characters in the Bible and in the story.  Which character are you now?  Which character do you think God desires you to be?  I believe that the thrill of victory isn't as far away as you think.  Scripture (Romans 10:8) says that God's Word is near ... that it abides on the lips of His people and in the hearts of the faithful.  It is not far away where we cannot see it or reach it.  It is a present help in times of trouble.  For victory, I encourage you to go there.  Listen ... hear ... follow ... live ... be victorious!  Pastor Randy

Freedom to What?

Paul has a way of putting things that gets our attention.  This may be because of his brashness and directness.  It may be because he was of impeccable (in his day) scholarly/apostolic pedigree.  It may be because Paul endured much for the faith and his 'dues' are meaningful to those of us who appreciate hard work.  But I think the major reason Paul's words enter our hearts is that the Holy Spirit has imparted these Scriptural words with both authority and life ... the life breathed by God about our Savior Jesus.


This month as we study the concept of freedom it is worth looking at several directions to this freedom thing.  We have talked about being given freedom from the bondage of the law ... freedom from the thousands of Pharisaical rules ... freedom from Satan's accusations that bring guilt (though not from the conviction of the Holy Spirit) ... freedom from a life directed at self ... freedom from the idols of our time ... and freedom from death that brings eternal separation from God.  Today I want to share a short verse from Paul's writings that tell us we are free from bondage of the popular so that we are free to live in the beauty of God's Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 10:23 says ... "You say, “I am allowed to do anything”, but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial."  I saw a paraphrase of this on a t-shirt that said, "Everything that is popular is not profitable ... everything that is profitable is not popular."  I liked the way the shirt gets to the essence of Paul's words.  In our area there is incredible pressure to seek and be popular.  There are events, places, and people that are "must see."  I ask why?  Why are we so drawn to shadows of life when we are offered life itself from our Savior?  Why should being seen in the right place be better than living life under the protective wing of Jesus?


I was our with my nephew last week as we paddled along a creek in Walton County.  What we saw couldn't be bought.  Last Sunday one of our young families brought their 4 month old son to church for the first time.  He smiled up at me and I shared a priceless moment.  I spoke on the phone with a lady who was about to lose her only brother.  She would have given up every fashionable event ... every posh meal ... every celebrity sighting ... for some more time with her brother.  We settle for too few of those moments when we really have a chance to live, selling them out to a world that offers fireworks that explode and vanish into thin air.  Maybe we should take another look at the popular and look closely to see if those pastimes are worth the value we place upon them.  After all ... everything that is popular isn't profitable!  Pastor Randy

Long Road

It seems that we live in a push-button world (or probably more a 'mouse-click' world).  We want to look it up quickly.  We seek and find a website that affirms what we think so we dig deeper into a hole that takes us nowhere.  Dr. Ben Witherington addressed this in a conversation and stated that we live in a time where our informational access is a million miles wide and an inch deep.  He also stated that we are in unprecedented (at least in the modern era) time of Biblical illiteracy. 

Let me flesh this out.  By informational shallowness I mean that there are ideas and theories that are offered with little scholarly backup just because people like what they say.  Rob Bell's assertion that hell (in the classical sense) does not exist ... he just likes a God that doesn't do that sort of thing.  A book on Hebrews is being circulated that asserts that the author really didn't mean that the Jewish sacrificial system was inadequate and superseded by Christ ... the 'new' idea (which in the early Church was called heresy) is that God somehow was mistaken over this idea that Jesus was a 'once for all' sacrifice that is totally sufficient and totally complete (Jesus' words from the cross ... "it is completed/fulfilled/finished").  Both 'new' ideas are really not new (the early Church called them false teachings and heretical).  They accept the popular but put aside the real/correct/Scriptural concept.

By Biblical illiteracy I am suggesting that few are critically looking at Scripture and listening for what God said to the original audience and what God (thus) is saying to us.  I have a friend who claims to have been given special revelation from the Holy Spirit, therefore shutting down any argument about scholarship ... real meanings ... historical context ... and what that Scripture really means to people living in 2012.  Fact is, when we are honest about seeking God's truth, that truth does not change over time ... as The Revelation states, we worship the God who was, is and is to come.  As a conclusion to our teaching on essentials and an expression of what the early Church wrote down as 12 (interesting number) concepts that were essential for new believers, here is the Apostles Creed.  It reminds us (all from Scripture) what is truly foundational:
1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: GOD CREATED IT ALL
2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord: GOD PROVIDED A SAVIOR
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary: THE SAVIOR WAS FULLY GOD AND FULLY/PERFECTLY HUMAN
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell: THE PERFECT SACRIFICE WAS MADE
5. The third day he rose again from the dead: GOD DEFEATED HELL/DEATH ... HE IS RISEN
6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: JESUS IS EXALTED AND RESIDES WITH THE FATHER
7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead: JESUS IS RULER
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost: GOD'S SPIRIT LIVES AND INDWELLS GOD'S PEOPLE/CHURCH
9. I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints: THERE IS ONE CHURCH WHICH IS UNIVERSALLY UNDER GOD'S AUTHORITY, PROVISION, POWER AND CARE
10. The forgiveness of sins: JESUS' SACRIFICE WAS MADE ONCE FOR ALL PEOPLE/SINS
1l. The resurrection of the body: JESUS WAS RESURRECTED AND HIS HEIRS WILL FOLLOW
12. And the life everlasting. Amen. WE ARE BEING BROUGHT TO GOD'S PLACE TO LIVE ETERNALLY WITH HIM
While the road back to our foundation might be long, it is not impossible if we stick to essentials, give grace on the non-essentials and calling false teachings what they are ... false, rebellious and divisive.  What do you think?  Pastor Randy

Freedom's Source

In September, 1774, the fathers of our nation met in Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress.  It was a difficult and challenging time.  Emotions (I am sure) ran high and this time the stakes were even higher.  Would a new nation be born?  Would this land called America be a free people?  George Washington and John Adams (two future presidents) were present, along with faithful patriots who were devoted to the American cause.  In there usual practice of inviting our Creator into deliberations Dr. Jacob Duche' (an Anglican minister) was asked to pray for the proceedings.  Here is the prayer he prayed ...

"O Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires and Governments; look down in mercy, we beseech thee, on these our American States, who have fled to thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on Thee, to Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support, which Thou alone canst give; take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in Council and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they persist in their sanguinary purposes, of own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved bands in the day of battle!

"Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst The people. Preserve the health of their bodies and vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask In the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior. Amen"

John Adams observed that this prayer and the Scripture from Psalm 35 brought tears to the eyes of the delegates.  This Psalm calls for God to deliver His faithful from the bonds of oppression and the tyranny of evil.

I (today and on Sunday) will be asking the people called Methodists in Santa Rosa Beach to devote at least five minutes to prayer for our nation and for God's power to provide freedom, provision and protection to our nation.  Also, I will ask each of you to read the prayer contained in this blog as a remembrance of God's deliverance of our nation in 1776 and as a petition for God to again bring us to His calling nationally and individually.  May we all remember that through His creation people are equal, free and endowed with rights, opportunities, dignity and potential from the God who is the author of freedom.  As we study freedom during July (sermon series) may we look at the past, the present and the future God offers those who follow Him. In Jesus' Name, Pastor Randy

God's Grace Is Sufficient

OK ... a Methodist primer about grace ... (really not Methodist, we Methodists are just really into the subject of grace)

Grace = getting what we don't deserve from God.

Preveient Grace - God's seeking grace that precedes our conversion. (Rev. 3:20 "“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.")  God seeks people.  And He teaches us to be seekers (fishers of people) along with Him!

Justifying Grace -  God's grace that accepts those who accept Him (as Lord and Savior) and choose His path.  No pre-qualification here.  We come to God dirty, flawed, broken, and guilty.  Not by anything we do but by God's nature of grace, love and forgiveness, God chooses to make us justified before a righteous God (pretty good).  We know we are guilty and God declares us forgiven ... hey, He's God, He can do that kind of stuff.

Sanctifying Grace - This is the grace that grows us, makes us stronger in Christ and allows us to go deeper into God and God's kingdom 'on earth as it is in Heaven.'  Wesley also called this sustaining grace or perfecting because we are sustained by an attitude of pursuing God and God's disciplines (prayer, study, fasting, worship, giving, serving).

None of these types of grace are deserved or warranted by our good deeds, our good behavior, or our following of a set of rules.  We couldn't do enough to earn God's favor if we had the entire world at our command.  They simply flow from God's nature of being a giver ... a lover ... and a sower of seeds that He expects to grow.

Sunday we will work some other parts of grace, particularly that God's grace is enough to get us past/over/through all we face ... whatever life brings.

As a summary ... God seeks/calls us ... God saves us ... God grows us. Today I was reading the name of one of our praise songs ... "Lord Reign in Me."  I read it wrong and read "Lord Rein Me In."  I decided that the way I read it was so appropriate to the way we can experience God's grace ... get out of God's way and let Him work.  AMEN

The table below is from a website called Fastest Growing Religion.  I saw some shaking heads when I said that Christianity was, indeed, the fastest growing religion.  I am pretty sure that part of the reason for the doubt is that most of us see the world in the context of America ... which I continue to believe is the greatest nation on earth.  But in saying this I believe America does have some serious spiritual issues.  While Christianity is growing like wildfire in South America, Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world, in the traditional western world (America, Europe, Australia) that growth is not happening.  I know some of you would like to take me to task on this and argue the point but I will not be participating in such an argument.  The better questions might be "why?" and/or "what should we do?"  John Wesley would say "Offer them Christ."  Billy Graham would say "Stick to the essentials ... not our differences."  Michael Frost (noted author) would say "We are exiles who should be dealing in offering truth, essentials and intellectual honesty ... not cliches'".  Your pastor would offer the following advice ... 1) Love other people like Jesus loved people ... 2) Teach truth that flows from Biblical context ... not beliefs that are traditional yet are traditionally wrong when compared to Scripture ... 3) Relate to people where they live ... don't demand that they become like "us" (whoever "us" is) ... 4) Become more missional in our approach to ministry and 'go' rather demanding that "they" (whoever "they" are) come ... 5) stop trying to answer every scientific question with a book written to ancient Hebrews in their context ... let science pursue truth and science will eventually arrive at God's truth if the pursuit is genuine ...   6) let God and God's people be untamed by the shallow virtues of this world and filled with the deep virtues Jesus taught us ... and 7) when in doubt, see what Jesus said and go do it!

That's it for now ... love you!  Pastor Randy

http://fastestgrowingreligion.com/numbers.html 

The five fastest growing religions in terms of absolute numbers (new adherents per year, in millions):

1.	Christianity	25,210,195
2.	Islam	22,588,676
3.	Hinduism	12,533,734
4.	Chinese folk-religions	3,715,548
5.	Buddhism	3,687,527

Plan A ... Flawed But God's

I am sending this blog from the Sanctuary in Christ UMC in Mobile.  I never cease to be amazed at the time and energy it takes to conduct the Annual Conference each year.  This annual meeting to conduct the necessary business of the Alabama West Florida Conference of United Methodists is paradoxical.  On one hand one could ask "why expend this amount of effort on boards, logistics and just getting all the work accomplished?"  On the other hand I am reminded that every bit of work, every meeting, every discussion and every car in the parking lot represents people serving God, people seeking God and people that need God.  We have been constantly reminded here that we are truly God's mission plan to a world that needs to know Jesus.  The Church, with bruises, warts and infirmity, is still in the business of doing what Moses did when God sent him ... going out to lost and broken people who are loved by a great God who will lead them across/through the wilderness to God's promises.  While I truly struggle through the lengthy meetings, the boring reports, the mundane necessities and the less-than-stellar videos, I do not struggle with the mission ... making disciples of Jesus who know, love and serve God.  I am encouraged that your conference hasn't forgotten the mission, the people and the person of God.  I am absolutely certain that God's Plan A ... the Church ... His only plan ... will be preserved and achieve it's mission with people who know that the Holy Spirit seems to be most active in places where people know they need God (they are the blessed) ... places where folks will suffer for God's Word ... places where worship is more important than convenience ... places where following is risky, so we visit those imprisoned and oppressed ... places where Jesus is more important that the negatives we seem to call essential, so the blind begin to see (though Jesus never did) ... places where loving the poor is a priority (i.e., that is how we bring them Good News).  I so desire and pray for Good News to be such a place.