The 7 Necessary Lessons from Week 1: God Speaks

LOOKING AHEAD: This coming Sunday we will learn, from the 2nd story of creation, why we as humans are not living in peace and harmony, but rather find ourselves working hard and “laboring” through life.  For Sunday, September 15th, READ GENESIS 2:4 – 3:24. Pay close attention to the 4 different “scenes” that are portrayed in this 2nd creation story: 1) Man is placed in the “garden”; 2) A new creation happens – woman – intended as man’s helper; 3) The “serpent” appears … and speaks!; and, 4) The humans choose.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Last Sunday in our morning worship service, we had multitudes of people raise their hand and make a commitment to become a true disciple of Christ. They have decided that being a “Christian” in our culture is not enough for Jesus, and they want to live up to the call from Him that asks us to “do the hard stuff” and live up to the “commands” of the Sermon on the Mount. This Sunday we begin that journey to discipleship together by initiating a new sermon series. For the next 8 weeks, we will be going back to the beginning of The Bible and walking through the first 12 chapters of The Book of Genesis.  This is a walk intended to enlighten us about the work of God in our lives and the eternal reality of Jesus Christ – from before the beginning to this very moment. Many “Christians” have read the Book of Genesis in a manner that does not teach the eternal and universal truths that it contains. Genesis is not a book of history that tells us when the world began. Genesis is not a book of science that tell us how the world began. Instead, Genesis is a book of truths that are “bigger” than either history or science can contain. The authors of the Genesis are teaching us the eternal and universal truths about God, God’s creation, and the relationship between the two. This Sunday – Week 1 of the “In the Beginning” series – we will be walking through Genesis 1:1 – 2:4a together. I encourage you to take some time this week and read through this text. Spend some time with it. Think about what it is really teaching us about God, ourselves, and the relationship between the two. Try not to read with any preconceived notions about what it says and what it means. Go into this as a blank slate that God can fill with new insights. Leave your urge to interpret the text to your silent prayer and meditation after you have read it all.  As you go through this scripture, here are 7 concepts from the text to focus on or think about as you prepare for the message this Sunday:

So, disciples in training, this is your homework: READ GENESIS 1:1 – 2:4a And come to church this Sunday ready to learn about the 1st book of the Bible as if you’ve never learned about it before!  Peace & Grace, Pastor <>< Bob

If a Pastor wants to get in “quick and deep” trouble with the congregation, let him or her preach about the evil nature of money and the call from Jesus to “sell all that you own” and “give all your money to the poor.” The truth is that Jesus knew the perils of money in our lives and its power to lead us astray from a life of faithfulness.                                                                                                                                                                   And because he knew that, he showed us a way to turn that danger around and instead teach us how money can indeed by a spiritual force for good in our lives – a concept I call “blessed money.”  If you read the Gospels closely, you will discover that Jesus talks about money a lot! He brings it up in his teachings, in his parables and in his commands. He understands the power that money can have over us, but he also knows that the power can become “kingdom” power when we learn to approach our money and its use in a spiritually led way.  As people of relative abundance, imagine the spiritual power we could muster up if we all dedicated our wealth to God’s use instead of our own use. Instead of thinking of the money we possess as something we own, think of the money we have been gifted with as something God owns. The truth is, God really does own it, just as God owns all things.  To make that leap from “my money” to “God’s money” requires us to do something that we have a really hard time doing: seeing the world from outside of ourselves. When Jesus commands us to put God and neighbor first, he is essentially telling us to move over and make ourselves less important as we make God and others most important. This is a fundamental aspect of personal conversion, and Jesus teaches this lesson over and over again in many different ways in the Gospels: deny yourself; be born again; become a servant of all; love God with all your heart and soul and strength and mind – and love your neighbor as yourself.  Once we accomplish this, then we have one more step that is required: seeing our lives as extending beyond this world. Jesus teaches us that the Kingdom of God has come – and it’s all around us. He is telling us that eternity has broken into this world and we can now live the eternal life of abundance that God had planned for us all along. With this understanding, we are freed from the urges to use our money for temporal things for ourselves, thinking that this life is all we have and we should buy as much stuff as we can before we die. Instead, Jesus teaches us to use our money for eternal purposes, for things that don’t get eaten by moths, and to store our treasures in heaven. Imagine if we used our money solely for eternal purposes – for things like love, compassion, justice, healing, and comforting. And that doesn’t necessarily mean that we don’t buy stuff or own possessions, but it does mean that in all the things we spend our own money on – each and every one of them either has or is used for an eternal purpose of God. Examples: the new boat becomes the venue for the Sunday afternoon adult Bible study; the new kitchen appliances become a way to gift the used ones to someone in need; the new van gets used for transporting seniors to and from church every Sunday; the new clothes means I can donate some gently worn clothes to shelters or halfway houses; the restaurant bill provides a way for me to help assist a single mom working 2 jobs to make ends meet and raising 3 kids by matching the amount of the bill to the tip I leave; and on and on it goes. Turning money into “blessed money” becomes a way of life.  Imagine if a church decided to turn all of the congregation’s money into blessed money. Just think of the impact that would have – and not just on those who would be the beneficiaries of the gifting, but even more so, the spiritual impact that would have on the individuals in the church who surrendered their need to own and control “their” money and instead gave it all away to God, and used it all as blessed money for kingdom purposes.  That, my friends, is what Jesus teaches us to do. And in so doing, money gets transformed from being one the greatest dangers to our faith lives into one of the most powerful spiritual forces for good in our lives.  Think about it. Definitely pray about it. And then start. Do something blessed with your money once a day. Get into the habit of seeing the money that you have as God’s money. And then see the blessings begin to flow. And follow God’s lead to new ways to bless your money every day!

<>< In the 12th Chapter of the Gospel of Luke, as Jesus is laying down some pretty specific teachings about the challenges of living a life according to His Way, He reminds us all of this eternal and universal principle: “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.”   <>< When we hear Jesus pronounce this as His truth, we are compelled to stop and reflect on our own life. It’s safe to say that most of us are indeed blessed in our lifestyle – with the means and resources we have to live safely and comfortably. And while tragedy and disappointment continue to plague our lives as it does all lives, some of us have a much easier path to walk on a daily basis.  And because of that, we certainly can be counted among the ones that Jesus was directing his comments to in this scripture verse. Even though we always want more … it’s obvious that we have more than enough. Indeed, much has been given to us. And likewise, we have much that we are responsible for. God has entrusted us with many precious possessions and relations in our lives. So, Jesus tells us that even more will be demanded of us.  So, here’s the bottom line of this teaching: God is requiring more from us and demanding more from us. The question then becomes, are you up for it?  The problem with those of us who live in a relative position of abundance is that we become blinded by our attachments and possessions. Our vision grows more and more limited, until finally all we can see is our self and our things.  But recognizing this as our primary hurdle to living in the freedom that Jesus is offering to us is the first step to moving beyond our limited vision and acquiring the sight to see the reality of our situation.  There are 2 conditions that must be rectified if we are ever to emerge from our self-absorbed life: 

If the message of Jesus could be summed up in 2 challenges, these would be the challenges.  First Jesus calls us over and over again to learn to see beyond ourselves. He teaches all kinds of people in all kinds of situations one consistent truth – the “other” is always more important to you, and you are here to serve them.  Of course, the world we live in teaches us the exact opposite message. Every day we are taught that it is all about us, that the world revolves around our values and priorities (or at least it should!), and that we deserve to “have it our way.” Instead, Jesus asks us to reject that self-centered way of life and embrace His “Way” in which we love God with all our being and we love our neighbor as ourselves. That’s the first step. Then Jesus calls us to extend our vision even further. Just when we gain the sight to see beyond ourselves, He asks us to see beyond this world. It’s not all about this world! Jesus tells us that a new world has come – one He calls the Kingdom of God. It is for this world that His followers are now asked to live for … and in.  Again, over and over, Jesus urges us to disdain the ways and things of this life and attach ourselves to the things that our eternal. He teaches us to pray that God’s Kingdom will come, and that God’s will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.  In effect, Jesus is saying that everything we have and all those we love should be dedicated to God in heaven and our Kingdom life ono earth. If we can do that, then the Kingdom begins to take shape in our lives, and we can see God in all the things around us. That is the second step.  If you’re looking for 2 serious but necessary spiritual principles to adopt in your faith life, try this: Fall on your knees and ask God to give you the vision to clearly and consistently see beyond yourself – and to then give you the vision to clearly and consistently see beyond this world.  If you pray this prayer in the name of Jesus, and you pray it sincerely on a regular basis, then God will begin to work in new ways in your life and give you the vision that you ask for – which is the vision Jesus had and the vision he tells us we need in order to be truly free.  To those who are much blessed … let us share a new vision that extends beyond us … and this world … so that we can see God in everybody and everything around us. On that day, we will all proclaim together: Welcome to the Kingdom, sisters and brothers!  All for the glory of God <>< Pastor Bob <><