Monday, October 24, 2011
Giving Hurts!
Over the last few weeks, I have shared a series of messages on the subject of Giving Away. For the first message in the series (and an explanation of how the series originated) see my post from Monday, September 12, 2011; entitled: “Give it ALL Away!”
The series is over. But we have learned that Giving Away never ends.
Recently, I have learned something equally important: Giving hurts! And sometimes, it hurts a lot.
I have been, and remain, so proud of North East Park for their heart – their desire and dedication – to Giving Away. We have given much and continue to do so. But recently, more than in the past, Giving Away has caused me some deep anguish and personal pain.
I know some in our fellowship have felt and will feel the same emotions. Maybe the cause was, or will be, different. But here’s the truth: if you live following God’s example and you practice Giving Away regularly, at some point it is going to hurt. You will feel pain.
And here’s something important about pain. Pain, especially prolonged pain, causes us to feel frustration, sometimes anger; and can lead to depression, despair and a real desire to quit…to just give up, or at least, to stop Giving Away.
But here is something else I’ve learned: The pleasure of Giving Away outweighs the pain! Always!
This was true for God.
As John 3:16 tells us, God “so loved the world that He gave…” His gift was Jesus; God come to earth in the flesh to take away the sins of the world. His gift was salvation; an opportunity to be declared righteous, eligible for Heaven. His gift was our adoption into His family.
God’s Giving Away provided you and me with some wonderful possibilities! But never forget the pain it caused Him.
Because He loves you and me, God got to watch His Son die a cruel, horrible death to pay for your sin and mine. Jesus got to experience the pain of physical suffering in an unimaginable way. More importantly, He experienced the pain of being separated from God. The Bible says God turned His back on Jesus as He hung on the cross; not even able to bear watching as our sin was placed upon Him.
You see, we received the blessings from God’s Giving Away. He experienced the pain.
But on the other side of the pain, there was joy! The Bible says: “…[Jesus] for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame…” (Hebrews 12:2)
God gave, so now He experiences the joy of you and me being able to become part of His family. He delights in us. Jesus is preparing a place for us to be with Him in glory – a place prepared with you specifically in mind. And we will get to be with Him. We will get to see Him, face to face, and walk through that Heavenly city with Him. And we shall reign with Him forever!
So much joy! Such a wonderful future awaits every true believer in the Lord Jesus!
And it is ALL possible, and it is ONLY possible, because God practices Giving Away in spite of the pain!
And so must I.
Yes, without a doubt, sometimes Giving Away is going to hurt. Sometimes it is going to hurt really bad. But that is okay. Because on the other side of Giving Away, on the other side of the pain, there is joy!
Joy inexpressible. A joy that may be experienced only by those who practice Giving Away!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Holy Happiness - What Makes You Happy?
Take a moment…think about this question: What makes you happy?
What’s your answer(s)? Now, a slightly different question: As a Christian, what should make you happy?
Where does our happiness as Christians come from…what is your source for Holy Happiness! Holy Happiness is not the same as emotional happiness. Emotions are like the tides at the shore; they rise and fall, often. Holy Happiness is what the Bible means when it uses the word blessed. This is a sense deep within you of joy, one the world cannot touch.
So now, back to our question. Does your happiness as a Christian come from…
- What you are?
- What you have?
- What you do?
- Or something else?
You can only pick one; which one would you pick?
I believe that happiness for Christians is derived from three actions.
1. Fear God
“How happy is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways!” (Psalm 128:1)
To understand this source of happiness for the saints we must understand a key concept in this verse. This verse states that happiness is for those who fear the Lord. If you want the happiness, you have to fear the Lord. Before you can fear the Lord, you have to understand what this phrase means…how it applies – how it’s lived out – in your daily walk.
So, what does fear the Lord mean to you? How do you demonstrate that you fear the Lord daily?
the fear of the LORD – no single English word conveys every aspect of this word, as used in this phrase. The meaning includes worshipful submission, reverential awe, and obedient respect to the covenant-keeping God of Israel.1
The second part of the verse seems to confirm that fear of the LORD includes obedience when it says “who walks in His ways!”
The first action which will help you experience and maintain Holy Happiness! in your walk as a Christian is to fear the Lord. This means to live each day in worshipful submission, reverential awe, and obedient respect.
Might we rightly sum this up by saying: humble submission? Happiness comes to us when we humbly submit to God each day.
2. Trust God
“ …and the one who trusts in the LORD will be happy.” (Proverbs 16:20b)
According to this verse, what is the second action we are to do if we want to be happy as Christians? Answer: trust God.
Certainly, everyone who claims to be a Christian would say, “Oh, yes. I trust God. I certainly do.”
But do we? Do you really trust God? Do you trust God always? What does real trust look like? How do you live – what do you do different – if you truly are trusting God?
To trust God is to walk each day with confidence in Him and conviction in me.
I trust Him. He has made promises and will not let me down. I may not have much trust in myself, or many others – and maybe rightly so – but I know He is trustworthy. In Him we can have absolute and total confidence. If we do, then we trust Him. And it shows in the way we live each day, and in the way we respond or react to circumstances that occur.
Instead of: “Woe is me! What am I going to do?” Our response will be: “Wow; that was surprising! But God is in control; what does He want me to do (if anything)?”
Trust means we have confidence in Him.
But also, this breeds a deep conviction in us: that He is trustworthy. A conviction that He will provide and guide in every situation; that He is worthy of our devotion, respect and obedience, no matter what happens; and because of this, I’m going to stay the course!
To have happiness as a Christian, we first must fear God, and second, we must trust God. Third, we must…
3. Obey God
“...you also should do just as I have done…if you know these things, you are blessed [happy] if you do them.” (John 13:12-17)
Jesus gave the disciples an example of leading and ministering by serving; and He, commanded that they do the same! He even stated that their blessedness, or happiness, would be based on their obedience. If they obeyed, then they would be happy. By the way, the reverse also is true: if they did not obey, then they would not find happiness!
Three easy ways to measure your obedience:
Understand: your level of obedience impacts your level of happiness as a Christian!
So ask yourself this question: Are you happy? Are you happy as a Christian?
If not, is it because you don’t fear God; or because you don’t trust God; or because you are not being obedient to God?
Fear, trust and obedience…we don’t usually associate these words with happiness.
That’s why this is entitled: Holy Happiness! We aren’t discussing the emotion of happiness; that fleeting, elusive feeling that comes and goes so quickly; that can be so hard to find, even harder to hang onto.
This is about the happiness only available to Christians. And how we can find it, hold onto it, and experience each and every day of our lives!
So again, what makes you happy?
Now – at least for the Christian – you know the answer.
[For the other posts in this series, please visit my Life Issues blog. A link is provided on the Life Issues button at the top of this blog.]
1 From the Bullet Notes section from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
What’s your answer(s)? Now, a slightly different question: As a Christian, what should make you happy?
Where does our happiness as Christians come from…what is your source for Holy Happiness! Holy Happiness is not the same as emotional happiness. Emotions are like the tides at the shore; they rise and fall, often. Holy Happiness is what the Bible means when it uses the word blessed. This is a sense deep within you of joy, one the world cannot touch.
So now, back to our question. Does your happiness as a Christian come from…
- What you are?
- What you have?
- What you do?
- Or something else?
You can only pick one; which one would you pick?
I believe that happiness for Christians is derived from three actions.
1. Fear God
“How happy is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways!” (Psalm 128:1)
To understand this source of happiness for the saints we must understand a key concept in this verse. This verse states that happiness is for those who fear the Lord. If you want the happiness, you have to fear the Lord. Before you can fear the Lord, you have to understand what this phrase means…how it applies – how it’s lived out – in your daily walk.
So, what does fear the Lord mean to you? How do you demonstrate that you fear the Lord daily?
the fear of the LORD – no single English word conveys every aspect of this word, as used in this phrase. The meaning includes worshipful submission, reverential awe, and obedient respect to the covenant-keeping God of Israel.1
The second part of the verse seems to confirm that fear of the LORD includes obedience when it says “who walks in His ways!”
The first action which will help you experience and maintain Holy Happiness! in your walk as a Christian is to fear the Lord. This means to live each day in worshipful submission, reverential awe, and obedient respect.
Might we rightly sum this up by saying: humble submission? Happiness comes to us when we humbly submit to God each day.
2. Trust God
“ …and the one who trusts in the LORD will be happy.” (Proverbs 16:20b)
According to this verse, what is the second action we are to do if we want to be happy as Christians? Answer: trust God.
Certainly, everyone who claims to be a Christian would say, “Oh, yes. I trust God. I certainly do.”
But do we? Do you really trust God? Do you trust God always? What does real trust look like? How do you live – what do you do different – if you truly are trusting God?
To trust God is to walk each day with confidence in Him and conviction in me.
I trust Him. He has made promises and will not let me down. I may not have much trust in myself, or many others – and maybe rightly so – but I know He is trustworthy. In Him we can have absolute and total confidence. If we do, then we trust Him. And it shows in the way we live each day, and in the way we respond or react to circumstances that occur.
Instead of: “Woe is me! What am I going to do?” Our response will be: “Wow; that was surprising! But God is in control; what does He want me to do (if anything)?”
Trust means we have confidence in Him.
But also, this breeds a deep conviction in us: that He is trustworthy. A conviction that He will provide and guide in every situation; that He is worthy of our devotion, respect and obedience, no matter what happens; and because of this, I’m going to stay the course!
To have happiness as a Christian, we first must fear God, and second, we must trust God. Third, we must…
3. Obey God
“...you also should do just as I have done…if you know these things, you are blessed [happy] if you do them.” (John 13:12-17)
Jesus gave the disciples an example of leading and ministering by serving; and He, commanded that they do the same! He even stated that their blessedness, or happiness, would be based on their obedience. If they obeyed, then they would be happy. By the way, the reverse also is true: if they did not obey, then they would not find happiness!
Three easy ways to measure your obedience:
- New Testament shows we are to be maturing/growing as disciples (all of us!). Are you being obedient? Are you doing what is required to grow and mature as a follower of Christ? Are you becoming a little bit more like Him each day, week, month and year?
- Oldie but a goodie: Are you obeying the Great Commandment? It’s even called: Commandment! How much easier does it have to be? This is not a suggestion or an “if you have the time or inclination!” “DO THIS!” God says. Are you loving God, and loving your neighbor as you love yourself.
- You can probably guess the last one… the Great Commission. Are you obediently telling others about Jesus and making new disciples?
Understand: your level of obedience impacts your level of happiness as a Christian!
So ask yourself this question: Are you happy? Are you happy as a Christian?
If not, is it because you don’t fear God; or because you don’t trust God; or because you are not being obedient to God?
Fear, trust and obedience…we don’t usually associate these words with happiness.
That’s why this is entitled: Holy Happiness! We aren’t discussing the emotion of happiness; that fleeting, elusive feeling that comes and goes so quickly; that can be so hard to find, even harder to hang onto.
This is about the happiness only available to Christians. And how we can find it, hold onto it, and experience each and every day of our lives!
So again, what makes you happy?
Now – at least for the Christian – you know the answer.
[For the other posts in this series, please visit my Life Issues blog. A link is provided on the Life Issues button at the top of this blog.]
1 From the Bullet Notes section from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
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