Live to Honor God

10 Marks of a Strong Church part 2

Welcome back to part 2 of 10 Marks of a Strong Church. We are going to look at the remainder of this passage in Romans 15. See part 1 here.

Romans 15:9-13 "so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name." 10 Again, it says, "Rejoice, O Gentile, with his people." 11 And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples." 12 And again, Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him." 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

6.  Glorify and praise God.  (verses 9-11)

A strong church praises God. If you get nothing else from verses 9-11 you should at least feel the call to offer praise to God. Praising God is different for all people. We can all praise God through singing or speaking or actions but each of us will have a natural way (natural for us) to praise God. Some people sing but singing is about following the notes and trying to stay with others around them or trying to fit in. For others singing is about expressing the love and thankfulness they feel and no other method of expression really does it for them like singing. Their voices are singing but it is really an expression of the heart. Some people offer praises to God through their acts of service more than any other method. That is the way God made them. Paul says in 1^st Corinthians that "we are one body but many parts." Each part has it's own area of gifting and function. All are necessary and all can praise God in their own way. A strong church is a church that praises God.

7.  Have hope in the God of hope (verses 12-13)

A strong church hopes in God. We need to be careful where we place our hope. Over the years I have seen a trend in the churches I have been associated with to look and act more and more like the world. I believe this is a result of a shift from hope in God and only God to a hope in me and my ability and/or the world and the world's resources. Hope in God takes a large amount of faith and trust. But, we live in fast-paced society where people expect to see results immediately and anything that takes too long is sidestepped for something quicker even though it may not be our first choice. Hope takes a lot of patience. A strong will stay the course and continue to hope in God and God's vision regardless of the circumstances. A church filled with the hope of God is a church expecting God to be present with them and working for them--they will not be disappointed.

The kind of hope Paul is talking about requires surrender to God. In verse 13 he makes it clear that God is the one filling with joy and peace … so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we do what we are supposed to God will do what he is supposed to do and our hope will overflow.

8.  Filled with Joy and Peace (verse 13)

A strong church is full of joy and peace that comes from God and His great mercy. There are several key words here. The first is filled. God will fill us but God doesn't just fill is part of the way or even to the top. If you look at the rest of the verse you see that God fills us to overflowing. God is extravagant. The second key word here is joy. When we come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior then we experience true joy. Since God fills us with joy from the inside it bubbles up within us and is not dependent upon anything outside of us. I heard a preacher talk about this one time and it made a lasting impression on me—he said that happy has the root word hap which points to something that is circumstantial. That means when things are going well you feel happy because of whatever circumstances are happening around you. But, when the joy of God is bubbling up on the inside you can experience joy even in bad circumstances, even when you don't feel happy. God fills us with joy. The third key word here is peace. Paul was a Pharisee and very well educated in the Jewish religion. I am confident that Paul would think about peace differently than we do. The reason I say this is that the Hebrew word for peace is shalom. Shalom is a word that is filled with rich meaning—more than the word, peace, which is how we usually translate it. Shalom refers to something being whole, complete, and full. When we are filled with the peace of God we are filled with His fullness and we are made complete. We can rest assured that we are complete in the peace of God.

9. Trust in God (verse 13)

A strong church trusts completely in God. Trusting in God is so much easier said than done.  The strong church will step out and display their trust in God through every action and not just their words. You may have heard the story about a man who prayed for rain but didn't bring an umbrella. We need to let our actions display our complete and total trust in God.

10.  By the power of the Holy Spirit (verse 13)

A strong church is filled with and working through the power of the Holy Spirit. Everything must be done through the power of the Holy Spirit—not just some things, everything. We cannot make a church strong--only the Holy Spirit moving and working through the people in a church will make it strong. Have you heard the song that says, "Let's have a revival, from the pulpit to the pew?" The Holy Spirit must be allowed to work through all people—pastors, teachers, deacons, elders, members, staff, janitors, secretaries—everyone. If what we are doing is not through the power of the Holy Spirit then it will fail eventually and it will not honor God.

Please take the time to comment about this post. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Live to honor God today by being a strong part of a strong church.

God bless you real good!

Tim

10 Marks of a Strong Church part 1

In Romans 15:1-13 Paul gives us a list of some things we should look for in a strong church. In our efforts to honor God let's do our best to have strong churches so that God is praised. In this post we will look at the first 5. The next post will have the other 5. Let's take a look at this passage.

Romans 15:1-8 "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me." 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs

1.  The strong must bear with the failings of the weak.  (verses 1-3)

Paul says we should strive to please our neighbors and not ourselves with Godly wisdom.  In all things we must try to please God.  God will let us know if we are not pleasing Him. A strong church cares for others and works to build them up and help them in their weakness. Paul reminds us that "even Christ did not please himself…" We should follow the example of Jesus.

2.  Scripture - "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us."  (verse 4)

A strong church will acknowledge the authority of scripture and recognize that it is the Word of God. The Word of God teaches us and encourages us. The Word is the foundation upon which we are to build our lives. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." A strong church is thoroughly equipped for the work of God by the Word of God.

3.  Endurance - "...so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."  (verse 4)

A strong church endures through the encouragement and hope we get in God's Word. As we endure we learn to trust Jesus. Consider these verses, "No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse" (Psalms 25:3) and "We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield" (Psalm 33:20). That last verse sums it up, "we wait in hope for the Lord."

4.  Spirit of unity (verses 5-6)

A strong church displays the unity God desires for us. The unity Paul is talking about comes from God. Unity does not mean that all people think exactly alike but they must work together for a God-given purpose. "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity" (Colossians 3:14).  

5. "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God" (verses 7-8)

A strong church accepts one another so that God is praised. God is honored by this. Acceptance is part of the unity from the previous verses. We do not have to agree or even like another person in order to accept them as a child of God--a child of worth in God's eyes.

Come back for part 2 and see the other 5 marks of a strong church.

God bless you real good!

Tim

D is for Discipleship

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:16. The final principle (the last letter of WORD) is discipleship. There are two important sides to discipleship—not only do we need to disciple others we also need to be disciples.

There is no doubt about it, God wants us to teach people how to worship and serve Him. Jesus demonstrated this in His interaction with the 12 Disciples. He spent a lot of time teaching and guiding the disciples. Like the disciples we need to be taught by God to be able to serve Him and to do His will.

Matthew 28:19-20 says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Jesus clearly wants us to make disciples. By the same token he wanted someone to make us disciples. Jesus demonstrated doing this with those who were close to him. The message of Jesus and salvation is important enough for the whole world to hear and that is just what Jesus commands us to do—tell the whole world beginning with those close to us and spreading out from there. The disciples were faithful to follow this principle by telling others about Jesus as we can see in the book of Acts—they started in Jerusalem and proceeded to begin the task of sharing the message with the world. That is where we come in. We are to continue what they began. Disciples have been sharing the message for about 2000 years. Now it is our turn.

Our response to the greatness of God and the mercy shown through Jesus is to be people of the WORD—worship, obedience, relationship, and discipleship. Jesus is Lord (see also part 2).

I hope in these posts about WORD you have found something worthwhile and helpful in your efforts to honor God in your life. I would love to hear your comments about this.

God bless you real good!

Tim

R is for Relationship

Relationships are ultimately important in God's plan for the whole world. It is through relationships that God works. God wants a relationship with all of us, not just the relationship of being a distant God and ruling over us. God wants an intimate relationship with each one of us. He wants us to know Him as our Loving Father and through Jesus our Savior, Lord, and Friend. Paul said, "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection…" Philippians 3:10. The word he uses here implies a greater intimacy than simply knowing about Jesus or even casually knowing him. He was saying I want to intimately know Him. In the book of Genesis, we read about the many father's of the faith—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and many more and the thing that is true for all of them is the intimate relationship they had with God. In fact, God made it clear that He wanted to have an intimate relationship with them. There is no doubt about it God wants an intimate relationship with us. The type of relationship we have with God will be a major factor in whether we honor God in our lives. How can you possibly honor someone that you don't really know? The more intimate we are with God the more we will want to honor Him with our lives.

The relationship we have with God is not the only relationship that is important when it comes to bringing honor to God. Our relationships with others—family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, acquaintances, even people we see at the store and may never see again will be a part of determining whether God is honored in our life. God wants us to share with others the love He shares with us. God wants us to be fair with them and treat them the way we would want to be treated. Ultimately God wants us to share the message of Jesus with everyone around us through our life, our words, and our actions.

Here are a few verses for you to look up and ponder concerning the relationship God wants us to have with those around us: James 1:27; Deuteronomy 14:28-29; Psalm 68; Malachi 3:5. There are many other verses that show God's love and compassion. Why don't you share some that you may know in a comment to this post.

God bless you real good!

Tim

O is for Obedience

John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command."

I mentioned before that each of the 4 principles that form the acronym WORD were lessons learned as God kept bringing them to my attention over and over again. This happened over a several year period and some of the lessons were more difficult to learn than others. Obedience was the hardest, not because I want to be disobedient but I have come to learn that I have some built in obstacles that make it hard for me to be obedient. These obstacles include a lack of self-discipline, low self-esteem, and stubbornness to name a few. These character defects have been with me for a very long time and they do not want to leave. Therefore, God was forced to really emphasize the lesson of obedience repeatedly over the years. The good news is I have made much progress with being obedient. The bad news is there is still a lot of work to do.

I have learned several specific things that have been indispensible in my efforts to learn how to obey God. My hope is that you will benefit from these as much as I have.

Bible

The Bible is the key to understanding God's will. You must be familiar with what the Word says in order to be obedient to God. God uses the Bible to help you understand His will.

HOW

HOW is a saying from Alcoholics Anonymous that stands for Honest, Open, and Willing. Being honest, open, and wiling to look at yourself for who you really are all necessary for learning real obedience from the heart. I'm not just talking about compliance with rules but genuine obedience because of a love for God.

Patience

Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God" has been an important verse for me in the process of learning obedience. I have come to realize that I have a tendency to act impulsively in most situations and when I act impulsively I tend to make poor decisions which leads to disobedience. Learning patience has been a very important part of learning obedience. I try to do nothing in major decisions until I have been quiet and still before God to give Him time to speak and make His will known to me.

Peace

Another thing I have discovered to help with obeying God is paying attention to where I find peace in a situation. God is a God of peace and order and He leads in that direction. I have learned this lesson the hard way through many years of bad choices. For me, the opposite of peace is anxiety, tension, and stress in a situation though it may be somewhat different for you. The way this works for me—when I realize that anxiety and stress are confusing my judgment I wait and pray and look for in which direction I find peace. The bottom line is if I chose an option that does not lead to peace I may be disobedient to God's will for me.

Remember what Jesus said, "If you love me you will obey what I command."

God bless you real God!

Tim

W is for Worship

Worship is our first response to the truth that Jesus is Lord.

One of my favorite verses says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”  Romans 12:1

I believe this means all of me, my body, my mind, my spirit, my emotions, my relationships, my everything is to be involved in the worship I offer Jesus my Lord.  Music has been associated with worship since the beginning.  There is no doubt music is a powerful force to help us tune in and focus on God.  Music has a great effect on our emotions.  We often confuse emotionalism with spirituality and I believe this is why we often feel music should be part of our worship.  But, I have come to realize that every part of my life, as I mentioned before, is meant to be involved in my worship of Jesus.  I must offer my body…my life as a living sacrifice.

God wants my worship and I need to give my worship to Him.  I worship God as I honor Him with my words, my thoughts, and my life.  I worship God as I talk with someone in need.  I worship God as I share the love of God with a family member.  I worship God as I give a meal to a hungry family.  I worship God as I join in the fellowship of other believers at church.  I worship God as I apply the truths of the Bible to my life.  I worship God as I become more and more like Jesus.  I worship God as I sing His praise in church, in my home, in my car, and even in the shower. 

Worship is vital if I truly want to honor God with my life.  In fact, you could even say that I can’t really honor God if I fail to worship Him.  Or, maybe it’s the other way around—I can’t worship God if I fail to honor Him with my life.  The truth is they go hand in hand. If I worship Him, then I honor Him.

I do want to worship the Lord with my life.  If Jesus is my Lord I must respond with worship.

Let me leave you today with the following two verses to consider:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” Colossians 3:23

So, what do you think O stands for?  You will find out in my next post.

God bless you real good!

Tim

Jesus Is Lord – Part 2

"… at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:10-11

Jesus is Lord and one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess the He is Lord. As I shared in the last post there are many who may not be ready to confess that Jesus is Lord now, but for me, there is no question. JESUS IS LORD!

So, since Jesus is Lord, what is my response supposed to be? Our response is found in the WORD.

Several years ago when I was a pastor, God was teaching me some difficult but very important lessons. God was using some recurrent themes to teach me the lessons I am planning to share with you in the next four posts. Each of the 4 life lessons is summarized in a single word. But, don't let that fool you. These are four powerful principles that every Christian must understand. Several years later I was reading my journal entries from those earlier times when it occurred to me the first letter from each of these 4 principles came together to spell WORD. These 4 principles are the appropriate response to the truth that Jesus is Lord.

Our response is found in the WORD. Jesus is Lord. Stay tuned.

God bless you real good!

Tim