What the Chinese Figured Out - Philip Yancey

[A result of the Turning Point?]



Because of their ambivalence about the West, Chinese bureaucrats face a constant dilemma: whether to crack down on or encourage the growth of Christianity in China.

Is faith in God good or bad for society?

Sometimes they launch campaigns against the Chinese church and sometimes they openly tolerate it.

Chinese leaders know that the top 15 countries ranked on a respected Prosperity Index have a Christian heritage.

Indexes that rank nations by corruption and economic freedom show exactly the same trend.  Even die-hard atheists have to recognize that religious faith can have positive affects on society.

...a statement from a Chinese scientist indoctrinated in Maoism who had carefully studied the west:

      "One of the things we were asked to look into was what accounted for the success, in fact, the pre-eminence of the West all over the world.

     "We studied everything we could from the historical, political. economic and cultural perspective.

     "At first, we thought it was because you had more powerful guns than we had. Then we thought it was because you had the best political system. Next we focused on your economic system.

     "But in the past twenty years, we have realized that the heart of your culture is your religion: Christianity. That is why the West has been so powerful.

     "The Christian moral foundation of social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and then the successful transition to democratic politics. We don't have any doubt about this."


*From the Communist Party's perspective, it can have a dangerous effect, too. In 2009, the human rights organization Freedom Watch certified 89 countries as "free;" 81 of them were predominantly or historically Christian.

        --From What Good is God? by Philip Yancy

Meet Me

I am so touched by these words of this song by Bobby Michaels. He dedicates this work --

This song is for our Cambodian hosts, Setan and Randa Lee, who survived the Cambodian "Killing Fields." Setan was saved from death when, at the edge of a pit with a Khmer Rouge soldier poised to kill him, he called out to the "Lord of the Universe" to save him, promising he would spend the rest of his life telling others about the "Lord of the Universe"  -- Jesus.

 

Meet Me

 

Meet me, I'll meet you

In the quiet of this room

I'll close the door of life, Lord,

For a moment with you.

 

Meet me, Oh, I'll meet you

In the quiet of this room

You'll show yourself in this holy place.

I'll know you.

 

Meet me, Oh, I'll meet you

In the quiet of this room

Prepare me now for things to come

For the honor of you.

 

Lord of the Universe, be Lord of me

Loosing bonds of all wickedness

Setting me free

Break every yoke

That now separates me from you

Lord of the Universe, be Lord of me.

 

 

 

Come near to God and He will come near to you.

(James 4:8)

 

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me

(John 10:27)

 

If the Son therefore has made you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)

 

Is this not the type of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? (Isaiah 58:6)

 

He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free. (Psalm 146:7)

What Jesus Revealed to John- Sermon Notes 10/14/12

Turning to the Book of the Revelation...


The declarations and specific datings of Christ's return by William Miller in the 1800s and Harold Camping in the 1900s have scarred the church with the scorn and ridicule of the world.

But the Book of the Revelation has an important message for us today and had an immediate impact on the early Christians.

The early church faced intense persecution -- including death and imprisonment. John's Revelation encouraged them, reminding them that human history is in the hands of God.

[Often, Bro Mike reminded us, we thank God for the freedom we have today - freedom to worship and exercise our faith. But what are we doing with this freedom?]

Did the early Christians wonder what was happening all around them? Did they wonder why saying 'yes' to Jesus seemed to bring them into danger? Was it going to ruin their lives? 

They were reminded in John's Revelation that earthly places are temporary - even Jerusalem and the Promised Land was temporary. So why, they might wonder, did God provide for His people a land and place of worship; why did He encourage them to hold on to it so tenaciously, when it was all temporary?

I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT GOD IS GOING TO DO

IN THE FUTURE

 

Revelation 21:1-5

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."


1. God is going to provide a permanent home for people.

       God cares about a physical place. A physical location. There were no clouds - no floating around - no mist hiding John's vision.

       In Jerusalem today we are not impressed with its actual physical beauty. We look around at the stones and dirt. And some other nation has Temple
Mount. This Jerusalem is temporary.

       Why did the God of all space and time and eternity choose a particular physical place?

2. He is going to join us at that permanent home.

        The tabernacle in the desert and the temple in Jerusalem were symbols of God's presence, but in another way, symbolic of where God wasn't. He brought down His shekinah glory and filled the temple with His glory.

       But in reality, He could not live anywhere there was any microscopic cell of sin. He is holy. He was not there in the same way He is going to be with us -- now the dwelling of God is with men - and He will be with them --

3. He will remove all evidence of sin and suffering.

      Preachers spend much of our lives trying to explain pain and suffering - people wonder, 'God, why couldn't You have just made a slight adjustment to Adam and Eve so they would be obedient to You? Why was that tree so important?'

      Doctors in the ER repair bodies from violent acts and people wonder, why? 'I don't know. Pass the scalpel.'

      God is going to remove all evidence of sin and suffering.

      Note from verse 1: there was no longer any sea.
 In ancient literature, including the Bible, the sea represented the unknown, dark, dangerous...a symbol of evil.

      Someday, He will, wipe away all evidence of our pain and suffering.

IMPLICATIONS OF ALL THIS

 

1. This world is not my home. I know this, but I am still caught up in the world.

 

We might think, "Oh, I want Him to return, but maybe He could wait a couple of weeks....we want to go to Hawaii...", or "I have tickets to the big game..."

 

We would be kidding, but not kidding.

 

Question: Do I really long for verse 3 - having God's dwelling place with me?

 

Bro Mike shared that often he is respected and receives special treatment. Other times his forehead is stamped "Party Pooper"! People wonder, why did you invite him? He's no fun! Hide everything til he leaves, which will probably be early because he doesn't like parties!

 

God right there? is that attractive to us? Is that our desire? Or is it like having the Big Boss around....better hide!

 

2. I'm being prepared for it. I'm not ready. Oh, Bro Mike, you can't be serious! No, there are some things I need to take care of --

 

We need to start imaging how wonderful it will be -- that every conceivable fun thing we can think of is nothing compared to what He has for us.

 

This is a fact: I am going to be OK...I'm going to be changed. 

 

We will be ready. He is going to change us. When we take that first breath of heavenly air, we'll be ready!
 

 

ARE YOU GOING WITH ME?

 

Here's the thing: I have believed what the Bible says about Jesus and I have responded. I am a sinner. I am guilty. He is perfect. At the cross I lost my guilt. I asked Jesus Christ to come into my life.

 

I am not perfect. I need to get over some things. He is patient, nudging and guiding me and speaking to me.

 

One day I will arrive in heaven and I don't deserve it. Jesus will introduce me to His Father as one of His because He paid the price for my sin.

 

 

 

Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for what is absolutely going to be true some day. I pray it would make us live differently - and act like it in our loose grip on things and we would look to you as the Author and Finisher of our faith.This I pray in Jesus
name....



Note: This was a really super message - challenging and comforting and uplifting....go to our web site to hear it all - these notes are really inadequate.... I almost deleted them....

Go to: fbc-bc.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
   

    
      
      

Sermon Notes for 09/30/12

Just notes.....to hear full sermon go to: fbc-bc.org and click on "Sermons" -

This has been such a challenging series - The Mission of the Church - Discipleship.  Bro Mike concluded it today.

The basic text has been Colossians 1:24-29.

Introduction:

 

All to Jesus I surrender;

All to Him I freely give

I will ever love and trust Him;

In His presence daily live

 

All to Jesus I surrender;

Make me, Savior, wholly Thine,

Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit

Truly know that Thou art mine.

 

All to Jesus I surrender

Lord, I give myself to Thee

Fill me with Thy love and power

Let Thy blessing fall on me.

 

I surrender all; I surrender all;

All to Thee, my blessed Savior

I surrender all.

 

 

 

This hymn will be today's "Invitation Hymn" at the close of the service. It will the time for a public response, to receive Christ, or join the church, or a private response to fully surrender our lives to His call for discipleship. All should decide something - publicly or privately.

 

Bro Mike referred to Christ's last words to His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20: 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you..."

 

 

Last words are significant. We pay close attention to them.

 

Christ told His disciples to go out and engage people. There must be a point of decision. Baptize - a public statement you are a believer, and then discipleship begins...teaching them to become something different....to lead them to grow to be ready to go to the Lord when the time comes.

 

 

Back to the initial question asked in this series:

 

If the staff of this church asks for volunteers to disciple new Christians  -- would you consider yourself qualified?

 

 If you continue to say "no," then the root problem is not feelings of inadequacy, but pride and unfaithfulness.


Paul gave up everything -- his status, his influence, his authority -- to follow Christ.

If we were to ask him later, "Paul, was it worth it? All the suffering -- prison, beatings, scornful rejection? He would say, 'Yes!'"

Colossians 1:24-29:

I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.


The riches of the glory - not just great fundamental doctrines of the church, but Christ in you - in us - in the people in our church.

Do you see Christ in the people in your church?  Seeing Christ at work in those around you should bless and encourage you.

1. The Person of the Discipleship Process....How does a person grow (mature)? To be genuinely ready to go when God calls them home...Bro Mike again referred to the two recent funerals of women in our church who had become "discipled." They were ready to be called home.

Salvation, new birth,being saved - is the beginning point only. How do you go from there to being ready to go to the Lord? Discipleship --  someone, some church helps us grow....

verse 28: Him we preach - He is  above all denominational lines - above all else - He is the head of the Church.

Is the message we have worth interrupting some one's life to talk about Him? Is it worth being nervous to talk to someone we don't know? Is it worth the feeling of being scared and nervous to talk to a close friend?

You have to answer the question in the privacy of your own heart;  Do you believe someone is better off if they follow Jesus? Better off now? Better off later?

Or better off being left alone.  Is it worth it? Is He worth it?
Do you have a right to interrupt their livers?

2. The Purpose of the Discipleship Process....to present every man perfect (mature, complete). The world may think "perfect" means I think I am better than you. No....I am in the process of becoming like Jesus...changes taking place in my life make me different...on the way to becoming what He wants me to be....

Everyone is worth being discipled.

3. The Power of the Discipleship Process ....to this end I labor,  striving. ..In the Greek it means "agonizing..."

American church attitude: don't expect anything from me...leave me alone. This is the American marketplace.

Hey, relax, chill out, quit struggling...

But we agonize, because He is worth it...

Remember "soccer mom"  - picture of women who get up before dawn, get their kids breakfast, to school, pick them up and take them all over for all their activities....they don't stop til is all done - everyday - 6 or 7 days a week.

"I will agonize till my death for my kids.. there is no sacrifice I won't make.." they are saying.

Would you agonize for anyone beyond your family?

American mentality -- look at my calendar....my schedule is full...

Is there any evidence I am serving the Kingdom of God on my calendar?

verse 29:  I labor for this, striving with His strength that works powerfully within me.  "Power"  - from the Greek word for "dynamite."

We all need His power - laid back, passive people and aggressive, active people.


Bro Mike turned to an example from the life of Bonhoeffer, who said:

  Christianity without discipleship is Christianity without Christ.

Bonhoeffer himself was an supreme example of discipleship. Teaching in the US during the 1930's, and then when he realized what was happening in Germany he returned to his homeland to serve Christ, and suffer there with His Church,  knowing he was facing certain death.

Closing:

If you flew from New York to Los Angeles in (1) a large 747, or (2) a light Cessna... what would be the difference? On the larger commercial plane, the pilot would put it on autopilot and all the course adjustments would be taken care of.

In your friend's Cessna 172 you would make many stops for fuel, and make various course corrections and adjustments, and it would take a lot longer.

Your life: "Lord, what adjustments  do I need to make?"

If so, what adjustments are you making?

Will you consider discipleship a part of it?

Prayer:

Lord, help us to be faithful to You. For some this morning that means we are asking that You would influence them and draw them to Yourself and be saved. For others to be really open about their walk with You and where they are on this road of discipleship. For those who are very intrically involved in church life, to step back and see what this should be about. Help us, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.