robert wendt@robertkwendt || lead pastor Have you ever done something that caused you to apologize? I have done a lot of unwise things in my life, but there is a moment growing up that really stands out. I was in high school and had just recently gotten my driver's license. Like many teenage boys, I was always up for something fun, but not necessarily brilliant. This time it involved my mom's new car and a lot of food off of McDonald's value menu. My friends and I had this brilliant idea. We went to the grocery store to buy eggs and other cheap food items. We then went to McDonald's and ordered a bunch of items off of the value menu. Cheeseburgers, fries, drinks, you name it. From there we got into three separate cars and began what we thought at the time was the most epic food fight ever. Driving up and down the road, we tossed items at one another. Some went out of the sunroof, while other items came right inside. Then it hit me. We were out of food. The "fun" was over. Somehow I had to return my mom's car back to her. I won't even begin to explain my parents reaction when they saw their beautiful car (this was after a car wash). It was trashed. Ketchup stains were on the seats and the car was an utter mess. What seemed like fun at the time quickly spiraled into a headache for the weeks ahead. This teenage illustration is an image of many of our lives. We grab onto a moment. We chase after a certain high until we come crashing back to reality. Our lives have become an utter mess. We've hurt someone. We've ruined something. We've broken trust. While I definitely had my consequences, my parents would forgive me for my actions that evening. They showed me love in a time when they could have very easily wanted to disown me. We have a God who has done the very same thing for us. A God who has sought to forgive us, despite the fact that we have run from him. Here is the thing: FORGIVENESS IS UNDERSTOOD WHEN WE'VE BEEN FORGIVEN. the prodigal son. chasing.Luke, an early follower of Jesus, recorded down for us a story that Jesus himself told. It was the story of a father and two sons. We refer to it as "The Prodigal Son." (READ HERE: Luke 15:11-32) In this story the younger son asks the dad for his inheritance early. This simple request is insane, as it was basically as if the son was saying to his father, "hey dad can you just die right now, so I can have your money." I've had the blessing of meeting with people from all over the world and can attest that from India to Central America, this request in and of itself is as bad of an insult as they come. However, the father, doesn't shun the son, but rather he gives both of the brothers their equal portions. The one brother stays home while the younger one goes as far away from home as he could. He then went on to squander all his money on meaningless thrills, only to find himself broke, hungry, and alone. At first we may not see ourselves in this story, but in some shape or form we have all gotten to this place. We've chased after a career, dream, popularity, or high to the point of finding ourselves empty and alone. Maybe we have cut other people down in order to build ourselves up. This has left us without friends. Maybe we have dreamed of reaching the top of the corporate ladder only to realize that the higher we climbed, the lonelier we felt. Maybe we have chased after a certain lifestyle or image only to discover ourselves wrapped up in loans and credit card debt. Maybe we have experienced a high that we couldn't resist, and in the end we lost everything we had because of it. To many of us these are really real examples. To others, they are a little extreme. Maybe you have seemed to have done everything right. You've been in church every week of your life. You've watched your mouth, stayed pure until marriage, and even done you're very best to honor your father and mother. You've always been known as a "good person." While we definitely strive to live more and more like Jesus, the reality is we have all lied, cheated, or slandered in some capacity. We have all looked for value and esteem in someone or something other than God. I would argue that you've lived as the young brother (or prodigal son) anytime you have searched for unconditional love where it cannot be found. What we see happen with the younger brother is what can happen to us. When you live for you, you're left with just you. the prodigal son. lost.Lost people don't want to stay lost. I have not seen a movie, read a story, or seen a news article where someone who was lost did not desire to be found. After a certain period of time, we all recognize that we have become lost. We've lost perspective and don't know where to turn next. The younger son comes to the point where he says, "But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! (verse 17)" When we have wondered or strayed we eventually come to the place where we realize how much we have lost. Whatever we chased down did not fulfill our desires and we reflect back on all that we gave up to get to where we are. Maybe that relationship didn't work out. Our career left us married to it. We haven't picked up the phone in so long that we've forgotten we even have siblings or parents. We've run, but we are lost and exhausted. Here is the good news, we don't have to stay lost. The son decides he will head back home. He will ask for his dad's forgiveness. the prodigal son. found.This is the most amazing part of the story to me. Before the son even arrives home, or utters a word, his father finds him, has compassion for him, embraces him, and even kisses him. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him." Luke 15:20 ESV This is the picture of God the Heavenly Father, and us the running, rebellious son. God has chased us down. He has sought us out. He has compassion on us even when we don't seem to deserve it. I love how Paul explains God's love for us in writing to the Jesus followers in Rome. He writes, "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8 ESV)" On December 25 we will celebrate Christmas. This is a time to reflect on the birth of Jesus, his coming into the world. It is a moment to reflect on the fact that God came to us to seek us out. He came to forgive. The birth of Jesus points to the cross which leads us to the hope of the resurrection. All of this is because of the love of God. His desire to forgive us, even when we don't deserve his forgiveness. the prodigal son. valuable.The son said to his father, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. (Luke 15:21 ESV)" The father could have responded, "Yeah you are pretty worthless. You defamed our family name and squandered my money. You hurt me, betrayed me, and even greatly offended me. Good to see you, but you got what you deserved." I have worked closely with a lot of people battling drug addiction and can say that sadly I've found the world's response to their struggle very similar to the statement above. It was their choice, so they must suffer the consequence. My heart breaks when I realize that's how people think. Often these thoughts are misinformed by the fact that they have never once talked with an addict. No addict wants to be an addict. At the end of a battle is a feeling of worthlessness. A sense of disappointment and shame. No one seeks to feel that way, but they end up there. So what is the response? How do we respond to the people around us who have hurt us, stolen from us, or even disappointed us? The same way that the father responded to the son. Not with condemnation, but with celebration! The father gives his son his very best. He has a giant feast. He celebrates that his son is now back home. God gives us worth when we have deemed ourselves worthless. the prodigal son. forgiven.Jesus shares this story so we may understand God's love for us. He wants us to know that he lived, died, and rose from the dead so we may be forgiven. He wants us to be at home with him forever. So, he did what he had to in order to make that possible.
He came to us. He sacrificed for us. He forgives us. The best part...he wants us to be with him forever! We do not deserve the actions of Jesus at all. Paul writes it this way in a letter to the church in Ephesus: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)" As the father unconditionally forgave and showed love to his runaway son, our Heavenly Father has done the same for us. Now it is our time to share that love with others. Because after all, we don't understand the unconditional love of the father until we have lived as the son. Once such love is experienced, it has to be shared. So here's our challenge. Forgive even when it isn't deserved. After all, that's what God did for you.
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robert wendt@robertkwendt || lead pastor Have you ever been a victim of bullying? Like many teenagers, I was picked on while playing football in high school. I was an awkward kid. I was too much of an athlete to fit in with all the smart kids...but too much of a good student to fit in with the athletes. Throughout my time in high school, I tried fitting in and being popular—but in the end, I was just kind of awkward. I'll never forget the big "shining" moment in my high school career. Following football practice, I made some type of awkward comment in the locker room that ended with numerous teammates trying to shove me into a locker. After that incident, I became really annoyed with those teammates. In fact, I began to build a deep disgust for them because of what they had done. The world would tell me that my feelings were okay, were justified. What they had done was mean. However, as a follower of Jesus, I knew that I was called to live differently. My feelings toward them were not healthy and needed to resolve. Quite removed from those awkward high school years, similar feelings rise up in me in some of the most common situations. My wife or a family member say something in a way that gets me upset. A friend cuts me down. Someone who I trusted and respected shows a side of their personality that leaves me hurt and bitter. In each of these cases, we have two options. We can try to leverage what the other person did to gain control of the situation, or we can forgive—and in so doing, give up complete control. Forgiveness is hard and takes intentional effort. It cannot fully take place until we hand over control of whatever is causing division. following jesus looks different.When we walk with God, our lives should look different than those that are not walking with God. This doesn't mean we achieve some type of holy halo around our head, but it does mean that we treat the people around us differently. In fact, we act differently. We respond to hurt and pain differently. Jesus Christ came from the lineage of a king by the name of David. David was known as a mighty warrior, king, and is a prominent figure in the Bible. While he was far from perfect, his life shows us how to walk with God, especially when it comes to forgiveness and the hurt we face because of other people. In 1 Samuel 24, there is a powerful interaction that takes place between David and the first ever king of Israel, Saul. Here is a brief overview of the situation: Saul was jealous of David and was on a mission to kill him. David was running from Saul. Any interaction between the two could easily have led to a battle royale. They eventually met in a cave (see 1 Samuel 24). David was gathered with his men in the cave when Saul entered in order to go to the bathroom. In that moment, David's men told him that this was his opportunity. He could stop the chase and put an end to Saul in that very moment. Imagine running for your life. Someone with power and authority is out to, not only to catch you, but to kill you. They want nothing to do with you than to kill you. What would you do if they came right into your presence without them even knowing it? Common thought may be that this is your moment to take them down, to gain control of the situation, to make things right. That's exactly what David's men thought. BUT, David was different. He chose not to kill Saul, but instead to cut a piece of his robe off instead. David was kind to Saul. He only cut a little bit of clothing. Yet, he still felt guilty about it! 1 Samuel 24:5 says, "And afterward David's heart struck him, because he cut off a corner of Saul's robe." David did nothing wrong, yet his conscience was compromised and he had a punch to the heart. He felt like he had just done something bad. So what does David do? He not only called out to Saul, but he bowed down before him. When we're hurt, our gut instinct is often to strike. We want to pay someone back for what they did. However, as followers of God, we are called to live differently. Rather than striking the person, we are called to humble ourselves before them. Instead of striking a blow, we are to offer a bow. leave revenge up to god.Often we want to avenge someone so that they can get back what they deserve. If someone punches us in the face we have ever reason to punch them back. Right? Not according to Jesus. Here are his words: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’...But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matthew 5:38-39 ESV) When someone hurts us, as Christians we are not called to strike them, but to even offer up the other cheek. This seems insane because it is. It's different than the world would teach. The reason being, as followers of Jesus we are not to deliver revenge, but instead are to offer love. Revenge is for God to handle. He never asks us to bring payback, he simply asks us to spread his love. Look at how David handles his situation. He says to Saul, "May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand (1 Samuel 24:15)." Instead of trying to carry out justice himself, he leaves it in God's hands. This is not easy to do. There are many times when someone says something or does something to hurt me. Every part of me wants to lash out and pay them back for what they just did, but I have to remember that it's not my place to give justice. That is God's job. 2 Thessalonians 1:6 (NIV) says, "God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you." Have you ever given or been victim of the silent treatment? I have tried this tactic a time or two when someone has hurt me. I may not pay them back with physical punishment or even verbal words, but rather I pay them back by saying nothing at all. In my head I think, "They will understand they hurt me when I just ignore them." However, in my many trials of this tactic I can assure you that it doesn't work. In being silent, I am actually trying to take matters into my own hand. I am trying to gain control. In so doing, I am being the carrier of justice rather than God. This doesn't work well What I have found works is this: When situations arise that make you want to give someone the silent treatment, speak words of love instead. it's our job to love.When we seek forgiveness, when we make things right with someone we are showing love to them. David bowed before Saul. He left the justice up to God. David didn't try to change Saul's heart, but he simply showed him love and respect. The response...Saul wept. God changed his heart.
When David made the decision to speak to Saul and bow down before him rather than kill him, he was risking his own life. He did not know how Saul would respond. In fact, he was talking to a man who wanted to kill him. However, God worked through the love David showed. God changed Saul's heart. Things ended peacefully. It's amazing what happens when we love people well. This requires forgiveness. Payback does not lead to anything but a never ending battle. However, love leads to change. If we want to have healthy relationships, great family gatherings, and a Christmas to remember, then we should begin to love even when it is hard. We are to take a humble approach, bow before others, and seek forgiveness even when the situation may seem like we have every right to feel the way we do. Unforgiveness only hurts ourselves. If we want to truly be freed from the bondage of the pain, than we must begin by forgiving those who hurt us. Back in high school, I realized that fighting back was not going to get me anywhere. While I held on to my bitterness for a while, it only led to more pain, questions of self worth, and struggle. When I let it go, put it in God's hands, and realized those teammates who picked on me had battles of their own, it was freeing. The only way to truly live a life free in Christ is to love and forgive the people who hurt us. Remember this: our job is not to change people, it is to love them. nate raese @narboy96 || worship arts director Why are we a stoppable church? No really. If you look at the church in America specifically, it would seem on many fronts we have lost our influence. We're stoppable. I think you can see our inhibitions from two angles. On the one hand, you have churches who—it seems—the Spirit is really anointing their ministry, numbers are booming, lives are being touched. But then in one fell swoop, scandal strikes. The pastor caught cheating on his wife. The worship leader abandoning his family. The priest caught molesting a child. The ministry leader caught covering up rape. Covering up alcoholism. Covering up extortion. The list could go on and on—and behind each of these I've listed above is an actual story I'm thinking of—real churches, real lives, real witness for the gospel, ruined. What's going on here? An equation I'd like to suggest to explain this is POWER – FRUIT = TYRANT (hold on, I'm gonna be using quite a few equations in this post). These leaders, these churches, had spiritual power. Yet they lacked the spiritual fruit, the character. And so their leadership became tyrannical. This type of way of Christian living always leads to defeat. On the other hand though, you have churches who seem to have it all put together. Their theology? Flawless. Their doctrine? Theologians would want to write a systematic theology about. They're the nicest people you'll ever meet—perhaps a bit reserved, but they know their stuff. But you know what? They have zero kingdom influence. I was a part of a church for short while that was like this. The community was majority hispanic, yet guess how many hispanics attended the church: zero. The church very brazenly displayed their church covenant in their sanctuary, boasting of prohibition clauses and the like. But meanwhile, guess how many outreach events or attempts at bridge building there were with their community: zero. The answer was, "Oh, the church down the road will handle it." Literally. What we have going on here is the reverse problem as the tyrant. FRUIT – POWER = INEFFECTIVE. Powerless. What does it look like to be an unstoppable church? An unstoppable church has the character of God. FRUIT An unstoppable church has the power of God. POWER A church that has the character of God and the power of God has the Spirit of God. FRUIT + POWER = SPIRIT A Spirit-filled church is an unstoppable church. one-winged bird.God makes clear in Scripture that when we repent and believe on Christ—when we are saved—the Spirit of God indwells us. Yet for some, they're content to simply leave him there as nice theological fact, without him impacting their experience at all. Having the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit are not the same thing. The Spirit doesn't want to just kick back on a La-Z-Boy in your heart. He wants to be active. He wants to move through you. To change you. To make you look and smell more like Jesus. That's why God continually reminds us to be filled with the Spirit in Scripture. In his letter to the church in Ephesus, the apostle Paul writes this to them: I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Those four phrases I emphasized above all speak to the conditional empowering of the Spirit. Or, in other words, it's not a given. It's something we need to pursue. And even as seen through this passage, I think we can see two categories of what it means to be filled with the Spirit—and I already mentioned them above. We need the fruit of the Spirit (that's the love and the character of God) and we need the power of the Spirit (that's the overflow of his presence in us). We need both. Think of it like this. You have a bird, right? A bird flies. What does it need to fly? Wings. If a bird has a left wing but no right, it ain't going anywhere. Same if it only has a right wing. But if the bird has both wings, it can fly and function the way God designed it to. It's the exact same when talking about being filled with the Spirit. We will be a stoppable church if we try to fly with only one wing (spiritual fruit) or another (spiritual power). But it's when we fly with both that we become unstoppable. hot pockets.I was a chunky kid growing up. Honestly. I'd come home from Wednesday night church so excited to eat. I'd pop two Hot Pockets in the microwave, pour me a glass of 2%, and take my snack in the shower. Yes, the shower. I was so excited to eat the Hot Pockets and drink the milk that I'd take them in the shower with me. Needless to say, I wasn't the fittest kid. In fact, those unhealthy (albeit tasty) sandwiches I was putting into my system started to transform me into them. What I mean is, the more unhealthy food I ingested, the more unhealthy I became. What I practiced showed in my life. I guess you really are what you eat. In the same way, you can tell the fruit of your life by the desires you fulfill. Paul talks about this with the church in Galatia when he discusses this war going on inside of us, our flesh wanting one thing and our spirits wanting another (see Galatians 5).The fruit of the flesh, of sin, are things like "sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like" (vv. 19-21). But then he goes on to explain what the fruit of the life of someone walking with the Spirit, being filled with God, looks like: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. . . . Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit" (vv. 22-23, 25). A Spirit-filled church is an unstoppable church. A Spirit-filled church is overflowing with the fruit of the Spirit. When we’re squeezed, when there’s pressure applied, what comes out of us? When the lady drives 20 in a 45 in front of us, does patience comes out, or fits of rage? When your friend gets promoted at their work is making way more than you, even though you’ve faithfully been in the same position for double the time, does joy for them come out, or jealousy? When we’re feeling lonely and misunderstood, does faith and self-control come out, or selfishness and lust? This is hard. This is so hard. Our entire natural selves want what we want. We want to feel good now. The Spirit inside us wants what God wants, and wants to grow our character into looking more and more like Jesus. It’s not growing in order to be a better person, it’s growing in order to be a godlier person. It’s only by partnering with the Spirit that we can be transformed. He’s the grower, yes. “We live by the Spirit.” But nothing will grow unless we position ourselves to be poured into by him: “Let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Until we resolve in our own individual lives to partner with the Spirit in his growing his fruit in us, we can never expect to be a collective church that is unstoppable. It starts with a Spirit-filled life. an after-class prophesy.My first real experience with someone operating out of a sense of spiritual power was when I was in middle school with my art teacher Sherri. I went to a Christian school. I grew up in a pretty conservative background that never talked about the power of God, and Sherri was a part of a different church tradition than I had grown up in. So my 100%-correct middle school self (please catch the sarcasm) would try to debate her about different doctrinal topics. Yet the one thing I couldn't explain away was her gifting. I could tell so many firsthand and secondhand stories of her healing people, speaking life into people, prophesying over things and then those things happening. But one simple story I remember came when I was in eighth grade after a prayer meeting. She kept me back for a minute because she said she felt God telling her to tell me to go through the book of Daniel and write out each reference to a name of God in the book. I thought this a little strange, but said thanks and went on my way. At church that night, I was asking our student intern what he was going to be preaching on for the upcoming winter retreat—and to my complete surprise, he said, "I'm thinking about going through the book of Daniel." Such a seemingly small thing, sure. Could it have been a coincidence? The timing seemed to peculiar for that to be. But based on her level of spiritual power she displayed in the rest of her life, I had no reason to doubt that it was truly God working through her. I listened to her word and went through the book; and as a result, I was very prepared for God to pour into me his word that retreat. God has given us all gifts that we're to use to encourage and strengthen others. That’s why the Spirit even gives us gifts in the first place, to show his power among us through each other. Spiritual gifts aren't just talents. It's not just being good at music or being able to cook well. It's a supernatural display of God's power working through us in a way we would not naturally be able to operate on our own. It requires a dependence on the Spirit, a seeking out for these things (1 Corinthians 12-14 dives into this on a much more detailed level). How can we be like Sherri? A Spirit-filled church is an unstoppable church. A Spirit-filled church is overflowing with the power of the Spirit. It can be tempting to say that if our character is godly, if we’re full of compassion and joy, of fruit, that’s enough. But that’s not what Scripture says: “...who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Eph. 3:20). We’re in the church age right now. Jesus is not on earth; he’s in heaven. The Spirit is here, working according to his power that’s at work within us. So if we don’t ask him to do more than we can ask or imagine, that power isn’t going to be at work within us. If we don’t expect him to do big things, why would he? Then if they happen, we’d credit ourselves for our own genius and strength instead of crediting God. We are the agents of God on the earth right now. We’re his representatives. So what kind of church is one that’s all talk but no power? Certainly not an unstoppable one. Not a Spirit-filled one. Because the Spirit fills us with love and with power, truth and gifting. earthquake prayer."Okay, Nate, this is all great and all. But what does this practically look like? What does an unstoppable church look like?" I'm so glad you asked. When we look to the early church, they had this concept down. Spiritual fruit and power: they were filled with the Spirit. Take this account from Luke: "And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. You see the boldness in their prayers. They were asking for power. So first, the Spirit poured out his presence onto them as they prayed, made himself felt, as if to say, “I hear you!” Then they went out and did exactly what they prayed for: healing, performing miracles, conquering darkness with the light of the gospel. They displayed the power of the Spirit.
It’s striking, though, how what follows this prayer is a note about how they shared everything. Nothing one person owned belonged to another. That shows incredible fruit, incredible love. That couldn’t have been a human work. They displayed the fruit of the Spirit. And because of their witness, many people believed. In fact, that's what it's all about in the first place: Jesus, and trusting him. Paul writes earlier in his letter to Ephesus, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better" (Eph. 1:17 NIV). This same filling can be for us too. How do we become unstoppable in our worship? All 168 hours of the week, how can our lives be ones that brings the utmost glory to God, brings the most pleasure to God? That when there's a crisis, we're the first ones the city calls. That when there’s a spiritual obstacle, our first response is to come together, praying in faith and seeing God do the miraculous. That individually we respond to our friends and family with a spirit of patience and joy no matter what. That we have conversations with strangers, delivering to them not just the words of the gospel but the power of the gospel to bring them healing and words of encouragement, exactly what they needed to hear. Pursue the Spirit. Pursue spiritual fruit. Pursue spiritual power. Our lives should be shaking things up all 168 hours of the week. By being filled in the Spirit in both fruit and power, we’ll be a community filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. We’ll be a church that’s unstoppable. Because a Spirit-filled church is an unstoppable church. Because he’s a God who is able to and desires to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. Let’s shake our world around us with our Spirit-filled lives. - - - Photo by Kea Mowat on Unsplash |