James: Practical Biblical Living Pt. 5

WORD POWER

James letter is going to talk about how we use words. First in regards to the teaching of God’s Word. Then in regard to how our ‘tongues’, when not controlled, can poison Christ’s Body and make all of life, a ‘burning hell’. Lastly James is going to address how the redeemed body of Christ, those who ‘bless God’, can have no part in the cursing of anyone who is made in the likeness of God; that is every human.

God is speaking to HIS church in this passage, it is in agreement with and to clarify, the teaching we see throughout the Bible regarding the power of words… for good and evil…

This is an US / WE message as to the Body of Christ and in particular THIS body!

I believe we are building a healthy culture of ‘graceful scrutiny’ of what myself and all who lead in discipleship capacities teach / communicate.

There is nothing more important we do as a church: Teach Biblical Doctrine!

We are all challenged with saying the wrong thing, there is no one who can say they have their tongue under control. We are here to understand God. Part of Biblical Salvation is an understanding of God. It takes wrong thinking about God to invoke a curse because only HE can enact a curse… What we think about the Triune God of Scripture is critical.

James 3:1-12

1 Don’t aim at adding to the number of teachers, my brothers and sisters, I beg you! Remember that we who are teachers will be judged by a much higher standard.

  • The process by which God raises up teachers happens in HIS due time
  • It’s not about quantity of teachers, it’s about the quality of the teaching (Biblical)
  • Those who undertake the teaching of God’s Word will receive more scrutiny
  • Because what is taught about Scripture is our # 1 priority…
  • Those who teach it will be the recipients of more criticism
  • The term denotes there is more quantity of judging…they will be judged more
  • James knows how teaching God’s Word makes you a target
  • The same principals are used (Biblical Standards) to judge teachers as anyone
  • There is more at stake, so the application of those standards is done more

2 We all make mistakes in all kinds of ways, but the one who can claim that they never say the wrong thing can consider themself perfect, for if they can control their tongue they can control every other part of their personality!

  • We are all in the same boat and we all fall short, so judge teachers with Grace
  • If you claim to never say anything wrong, you be able to be totally perfect
  • None of us can make that claim…but that is the goal…that is Christ’s example!
  • This is not saying we can’t have disagreements or even arguments

3 We control the movements of a large animal like the horse with a tiny bit placed in its mouth. 4 Ships too, for all their size and the momentum they have with a strong wind behind them, are controlled by a very small rudder according to the course chosen by the helm.

  • The examples James uses from their regular life are familiar to them not us…
  • We control planes with laptop computers or run our entire life from a phone
  • We see that the size of something is not always indicative of it’s power

5 The human tongue is physically small, but what tremendous effects it can boast of! A whole forest can be set ablaze by a tiny spark of fire, and the tongue is as dangerous as any fire, with vast potentialities for evil. 6 It can poison the whole body, it can make the whole of life a blazing hell.

  • We have much bigger body parts than our ‘Tongues’ / ‘Mouth’
  • Small thing, big effect
  • It is an intense picture painted here, it is dramatic for a reason…
  • Poison, Contaminate, Spoil, Defile = It effects all ‘Members’ of The Body
  • ‘Fire from Hell’ = Destruction because of Evil
  • We can often consider some things that are said to be inconsequential
  • One chance spark can cause a tremendous ripple of effect
  • We must not underestimate the potential damage our speech can do

7 Beasts, birds, reptiles and all kinds of sea-creatures can be, and in fact are, tamed by humans, but no one can tame the human tongue. 8 It is an evil always liable to break out, and the poison it spreads is deadly.

  • This issue needs to be addressed because it is such an ‘untamed’ force’
  • Reality: This is an ‘US’ deal, it was a problem then amongst believers, like now
  • Humans have dominion over animals and can ‘suppress’ / control them
  • Yet humanity has not found a way to tame dangerous speech…

9 We use the tongue to bless our Father, God, and we use the same tongue to curse other humans, who are all created in God’s likeness. 10 Blessing and curses come out of the same mouth—surely, among us, this is the sort of thing that never ought to happen!

  • Remember the context: this is to church bodies / surrendered communities
  • We’ve been given the grace & privilege to use our speech to truly bless God
  • Even those not redeemed by Christ still bear his image (distorted by sin)
  • Why would we of all people use that same speech to curse HIS creation?
  • With God’s authority James says: WE, Christ’s Body, does NOT Do this.

In modern usage, curse is generally considered synonymous with swear.ing / inappropriate words But that is not how the term was used throughout the Old Test ament and also in the new testament. In both the Hebrew Scriptures and in the New Testament, ‘curse’ has a different meanings than we are used to. These are specific statements, such as to invoke misfortune, to afflict, to make an oath against, and to call on God to do bad things to someone

Curse: Genesis 3:17

And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

Blessing: Numbers 6:24-26

May The Lord bless you and keep you, may The Lord make His face shine on you and show you His favor. May The Lord lift up His face toward you and give you peace.

Bless and Keep = Face Face = Favor Face + Peace

11 Have you ever known a spring to give sweet and bitter water simultaneously? 12 Have you ever seen a fig-tree with a crop of olives, or seen figs growing on a vine? It is just as impossible for a spring to give fresh and saltwater at the same time.

  • The answer to the question is NO, it have never been heard of
  • Certain plants only yield certain crops, it’s not possible for them to do otherwise

SUMMARY:

We are not to artificially elevate people into the place of teaching God’s Word. The goal is not to have more teachers, it is to have teaching that is more biblical.

Those who do teach / preach God’s Word will be subject to more scrutiny in what they teach but grace is always prominent in that judgment. (Ch. 2 verse 13)

We all are guilty of saying wrong things, because we are all naturally sinners. Controlling what we say is a discipleship goal.

We are to grow in awareness of our speech and the effects it has on others. God wants us to be warned about the potential for evil our words can have.

WE must be careful not to underestimate the poisonous effect that OUR inconsiderate words can have on THIS Body of Christ. (V. 6 & V. 8)

The cursing of another ‘Image Bearer’ by one who has been redeemed by the ‘Image’ / Jesus Christ, is not to happen. James presents evidence that it is impossible, based on God’s natural order.

APPLICATION:

Biblical Application: Finding the right intentions, AND acting on those intentions

What is YOUR role in a healthy culture of gracefully scrutinizing the teaching of God’s Word here at Midtown?

In what situations and relationships do you need to be more careful about your speech? How are you going to do that?

If you desire God to be your instrument of punishment visiting evil on any person, you may not have fully responded to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Respond to The Gospel

REPENT: OF SIN

RECOGNIZE: CHRIST AS LORD

RELEASE: YOUR LIFE TO HIM

REORGANIZE: YOUR LIFE TO HIS WILL

/by

James: Practical Biblical Living Pt. 4

TRUE FAITH ALWAYS ACTS

I begin with a note about the translation. You may find the version I am using unfamiliar, it was written in 1958. If you read the NASB (1971) or the NIV (1978) or the NLT (1996) or The ESV (2001) you owe a debt of gratitude to The JB Phillips. Phillips pioneered modern translations of the Scriptures, setting a high standard of linguistic scholarship, both in the original Greek and in English.

C.S. Lewis was an advocate of modernizing Bible translations to address the dynamics of the English language in the Mid- 20th century. Here is what he said about the JB Phillips New Testament: “It is like looking at a familiar picture after it has been cleaned”.

I am using this translation in the hope that some of you who have extensively read and studied this book will get a ‘clean perspective’ on this wonderful ‘Pastoral Epistle’. I also hope those not very familiar with it may be drawn into the study of this letter and that their life will reflect the Godly principals contained in it. I encourage you to let this book ‘Shepherd’ your lifestyle.

The Book of James is all about PRACTICAL BIBLICAL LIVING. Today our portion of God’s Word is going to clearly define what God considers to be ‘True Faith’. True faith acts. True faith does things. True faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior does things that God’s word commands. True faith is obedient to DO, not just think about, God’s will as revealed by the Scriptures.

James sets the standard for the new testament church. He clearly defines what Christ’s Body will recognize as ‘Faith’. It is what God has previously revealed throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. True Faith always Acts!

James 2:14-26

14 Now what use is it, my brothers and sisters, for a person to say they “have faith” if their actions do not correspond with it? Could that sort of faith save anyone’s soul?

  • You and I do what we believe in, what we have ‘faith in’
  • We have faith in things we trust. As simple as a chair we sit in or a person
  • We know belief or ‘faith’ in something moves us to act
  • So what good is a faith or belief that we will not act on?
  • When it come to faith for eternal life is an ‘inactive faith’ going to get you there?
  • The answer to this rhetorical question is clear: No.

Why not? Why can’t we just believe? Salvation is by God’s grace, we don’t have to ‘earn it’ right? We can’t DO anything to get salvation it is by faith… So faith is HUGH!It is very important that we understand how God defines faith. This info is found in a proper reading of Scripture.

15 If a fellow man or woman has no clothes to wear and nothing to eat, and one of you say,16 “Good luck to you I hope you’ll keep warm and find enough to eat”, and yet give them nothing to meet their physical needs, what on earth is the good of that?

  • This person espouses a position or belief yet does not act on it.
  • Lip Service / All Talk & No Action / All Show & No Go
  • Words are a poor replacement for actions
  • This question points to how useless ‘Inactive Faith’ is

17Yet that is exactly what a bare faith without a corresponding life is like—useless and dead.

  • ‘Bare Faith’: the literal translation: faith by itself
  • It is really a misnomer to call something ‘Faith’ if you don’t act on it
  • Why do you think God moves James to address this issue?
  • It is the responsibility of Jesus Christ’s Church to make clear what salvation is

18 If we only “have faith” one could easily challenge us by saying, “you say that you have faith and I have merely good actions. Well, all you can do is to show me a faith without corresponding actions, but I can show you that by my actions, I have faith as well.”

  • The actions of each person are a result of what they have faith in
  • If there is action then there is some sort of faith behind it (a reason we act)
  • But a ‘bare faith’ has no actions to join in partnership with it, so it it really faith?
  • Not as the Bible teaches…
  • What follows are examples from practical life and also from previous Scripture

19 To the one who thinks that faith by itself is enough I feel inclined to say, “So you believe that there is one God? That’s fine. So do all the devils in hell, and they shudder in terror!”

  • Faith without action is knowing who God is and yet not acting accordingly
  • Faith in God without acting like HE IS GOD puts you in the company of demons
  • Demons know what their level of ‘faith’ gets them: Eternal Damnation

20 One is short-sighted if they can’t you see far enough to realize that faith without the right actions is dead and useless.

  • Short sighted means you are not seeing everything that is there
  • If you don’t see that ‘Saving Faith’ results in action you are missing info
  • If you don’t realize ‘faith’ not acted upon is dead, you are wrong
  • Please don’t forget, what we are reading is what GOD says

21 Think of Abraham, our ancestor. Was it not his action which really justified him in God’s sight when his faith led him to offer his son Isaac on the altar? 22 Can’t you see that his faith and his actions were, so to speak, partners—that his faith was implemented by his deed?

  • One of many Biblical examples of how true faith IN God always acts (Heb. 11)
  • It took an enormous amount of faith to act as Abram did
  • But the action was the proof of what he believed about God
  • Abram believed Yahweh was who HE said HE was, and acted accordingly
  • Faith made him act, his actions proved he had ‘Saving Faith’ in God

23 That is what the scripture means when it says: ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. And he was called the friend of God.’ 24 A person is justified before God by what they do as well as by what they believe.

  • What validated Abram’s belief was his action
  • The faith that made His righteous was proven by his actions
  • What matters to God is both what believe and what you do about that belief

25 Rahab who was a prostitute and a foreigner has been quoted as an example of faith, yet surely it was her action that pleased God, when she welcomed Joshua’s reconnaissance party and got them safely back by a different route.

  • This example show how reputation, past and position do not matter to God
  • Her actions that resulted from faith pleased God, not her thoughts or words
  • What she DID resulted in being part of the linage that birthed the Messiah

26 Yes, faith without action is as dead as a body without a soul.

  • A body devoid of a soul is not actually a body…
  • Faith without actions is not actually faith…Not as God defines it!
  • Without a soul to animate it, a body is just a corpse, devoid of life
  • Is your ‘faith’ one that is active and alive or inactive and dead?
  • God is telling us that if you do not act on our belief it is NOT faith in HIS eyes

SUMMARY:

God’s Word defines ‘Faith’ as belief & action working together.

Faith that results in Biblical Salvation has corresponding right actions that accompany it. This is known as ‘Saving Faith’.

A profession of care about something that is not acted on in any way, is widely recognized as not really caring. Actual caring involves doing something.

Examples of faith found in the Scriptures always communicate what God’s people believed AND what they did.

So called ‘faith’ in Christ that is without actions flowing from it, is NOT a faith that receives eternal life.

APPLICATION:

Application is meant to be our guidance for God-desired change. We have to change in order to align our thoughts, attitudes, values & actions with God’s Word. (no one is ‘Naturally Aligned’ with Scripture). So we don’t just want change, we want THE RIGHT KIND OF CHANGE. What we are shooting for is that our actions would correspond to what the Bible teaches followers of Christ are to do. Scripture gives us what to believe and what to do regarding what we believe!

Is your theology aligned with what this Scripture is teaching? Why or why not?

When you evaluate YOUR ‘faith’ in Christ, do you focus on actions or intentions?

By focusing on actions more, what could you change about how you practice your faith?

Are you clear about what Scripture says we are to DO (Not just think) in response to Jesus Christ’s call on EACH OF OUR lives?

/by

James: Practical Biblical Living Pt. 3

God’s Grace Over God’s Judgement!

We have been involved as a church in a quest to become as Biblical as possible. Why? Because it matters how Christ’s body lives! As those surrendered to the Lordship of Christ we want to live as God wants us to. Scripture gives us commands and principals for how we are to live as God’s people. God’s Word is the basis of how we form our church culture, the raw materials that we build our church culture from. We read & interpret and apply The Scriptures as God’s people always have: #1. We believe it is God’s Word, written by people under the power of the H.S #2. We read it in context and examine it according to scientific principals (Hermeneutics: The science of interpreting communication) #3. We practice it. We apply it to our actual lives, we ‘live it out’.

Today we shall read, understand & apply 3 aspects of Biblical Church Culture:

~ Biblical Church culture of welcoming: How we treat people entering our community

~ Biblical Doctrine of the equality of sin to God. How God views sin

~ Biblical Practice of ‘Grace Distribution’. How Christ’s Body is a ‘pass-through’.

James Chapter 2:1-13

1 Don’t ever attempt, my brothers and sisters, to combine snobbery with faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ!

  • Zero tolerance for discrimination, prejudice or unequal treatment in Jesus’ Body
  • Real faith in Christ and snobbery are mutually exclusive

2 Suppose one person comes into your meeting well-dressed and with a gold ring on their finger, and another, obviously poor, arrives in shabby clothes.

  • More-so then than now, people’s socio-economic status was reflected in dress
  • Each of these people are God’s ‘Image Bearers’

3 If you pay special attention to the well-dressed one by saying, “Please sit here—it’s an excellent seat”, and say to the poor one, “You stand over there, please, or if you must sit, sit on the floor”, 4 doesn’t that prove that you are making class-distinctions in your mind, and setting yourselves up to assess a person’s quality?—a very bad thing.

  • These kinds of interactions fuel pride and comparison
  • Making class distinctions is opposite of God’s heart throughout Scripture

5 For do notice, my brothers and sisters, that God chose poor people, whose only wealth was their faith, and made them heirs to the kingdom promised to those who love him.

  • God doesn’t assign eternal life based on socio-economic status
  • God has a different value system than the world’s

6 And if you behave as I have suggested, it is the poor person that you are insulting. Look around you. 7 Isn’t it the rich who are always trying to “boss” you, isn’t it the rich who drag you into litigation? Isn’t it usually the rich who blaspheme the glorious name by which you are known?

  • Can we afford to offend those God has placed great value in?
  • Why would we give preferential treatment to people who oppose God?

8 If you obey the royal law, expressed by the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’, all is well. 9 But once you allow any invidious distinctions to creep in, you are sinning, you have broken God’s Law.

  • The royal law = God’s heart, the full message of Scripture / The Gospel
  • He uses Jesus’ teaching that it is sin to ‘pick’ your neighbor based on appearances (you can pick your neighbor based on actions)
  • Invidious distinction is openly saying: ‘You are worth more’ for whatever reason
  • It is sin to judge people based on appearances of affluence and or influence
  • Our value to each other comes from the fact that each of us bears God’s image

V9: prosopolempteo typically is translated as ‘show favoritism’ or ‘partiality’. Here it is translated as ‘invidious distinction’ which conveys motivation for the action and the result of such action on relationships that fits the context!

  • This is why I chose to use the JB Phillips NT: masterful linguistic work from both ends!

“It is like looking at a familiar picture after it has been cleaned”.

~ C.S. LEWIS, on J.B. Phillip’s original translation

Invidious: An action is invidious when it sows discord or strife between people. Invidious behavior can also be hurtful for no clear purpose. Invidious comparisons drive a wedge between people by comparing them in an unfavorable way. It is similar to the word insidious: it is thesame kind of actions that cause conflict, but insidious things are done covertly, in secret. This ‘invidious distinction’ is happening right out in the open (at worship).

10 Remember that a man who keeps the whole Law but for a single exception is none the less a law-breaker. 11 The one who said, ‘Do not commit adultery’, also said, ‘Do not murder’. If you were to keep clear of adultery but were to murder a man you would have become a breaker of God’s whole Law.

  • Biblical Doctrine: break one commandment & you’re guilty of breaking them all
  • Is this an Unachievable Standard? Absolutely!
  • All of God’s commandments are connected to who He is and His heart for us
  • God’s point of view: We are all equally guilty, all in equal need of forgiveness

12 Anyway, you should speak and act as those who will be judged by the law of freedom. 13 The one who makes no allowances for others will find none made for them. It is still true that “mercy smiles in the face of judgment.”

  • James, under the control of The Holy Spirit is writing to proven followers of X
  • Read: “You, who have fully surrendered your life, should speak and act…”
  • Who we are informs everything we do
  • When we live from gratitude and honor the one who judges based on heart
  • What makes us who we are is that God has transformed our hearts
  • Being judged by the law of freedom means that EVERYTHING is forgiven
  • Everything is forgiven because of Jesus The Christ!
  • In Christ: Repentance + Surrender = Forgiveness
  • And we are to speak and act from that place of liberty from sin and God’s wrath
  • We should be the most forgiving people in the world!
  • The rest of the world is going to judge and be unforgiving, we will offer mercy
  • We love because HE first loved us. We forgive because HE forgave us.
  • We have experienced the reality of how Mercy triumphs over judgement
  • Literal: God’s Compassion assumes superiority over God’s Judgement
  • Compassion is to assume superiority over judgement in our lives! ‘In Christ’

We are all guilty and deserve God’s Judgement. Instead Christ died for us. To be forgiven and have eternal life will you live for HIM? Will you truly lay down your life, turn it over to HIS will, HIS plan, HIS ways? We who follow Christ do this EVERY DAY!

SUMMARY:

Scripture commands us in Christ’s Body to welcome everyone into our community equally. It is a stewardship to be taken very seriously.

How we live as Christ’s Body is important. Each command is of equal importance to God because He cares about our heart condition.

Jesus Christ’s Church exists based on God’s Mercy. We make God’s grace reality in our lives by expressing God-given grace to others.

MERCY

JUDGEMENT

APPLICATION:

What is your responsibility as far as making people feel welcome here at Midtown?

Why is each and every sin equally offensive to God? Why is this an important biblical doctrine?

How can you specifically elevate mercy over judgement in your life this coming week?

/by

James: Practical Biblical Living Pt. 2

LIFESTYLE RESPONSE TO THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

Be clear about the audience of this letter. Based on what these people had done to demonstrate a wholehearted surrender to The Lordship of Jesus Christ, there is an assumption that these people had been given eternal life in Christ and were indwelt with the Holy Spirit.

James audience either had comfortable lives as residents of Jerusalem, or had come to Jerusalem about 20 years ago for Pentecost and never went home! Or they came to be part of the ‘Called Out Ones’ in Jerusalem from the surrounding areas of Judea and Galilee more than ten – twenty years ago, but they now find themselves as part of this group that fled Jerusalem during the ‘Persecution’ that followed Stephen’s stoning that was led by Saul, soon to be Paul.

They had been living scattered throughout Palestine for between eight and twelve years. This exemplified ‘Giving Up Your Life For ME’ as Jesus requires of His recipients of Eternal Life:

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? ~ Mark 8:35-37

Luther called this a ‘Straw Epistle’ because the Gospel was not central to the text. Luther missed the historical context I just referred to, he placed the Scripture in his own context rather than understanding the actual context of the Scripture. The Gospel is central to the people James writes to. The Gospel is central to James, more so than perhaps Luther’s experience would allow him to understand.

James, Jesus’ half-brother, writes this as the clearly established leader of the Jerusalem church, 18 – 20 years after Jesus Christ’s Death and Resurrection. His Bonafides are unquestionable and this letter was considered Scripture perhaps before any other new testament book was afforded that status. I love Luther but he was wrong about the book of James.

Last week Jame began this letter with an encouragement to persevere in our discipleship, to let God transform us by walking with HIM through the temptations and trials that HE sees fit to give us. He points out two things that keep us from the kind of relationship God wants for us to have with HIM: Divided Loyalty and ‘Stuff’.

From there James gets right to the heart of the matter: Sin and Salvation.

James Ch 1:13-27

13 No one should say when they are tempted, “God is tempting me.” For God has no dealings with evil, and does not himself tempt anyone.

  • Biblical Theology: Believing what we do about God based on Scripture
  • God’s people have read the scripture in unity for thousands of year
  • God has NOTHING to do with temptation to sin or with sin itself.
  • This is something Christ followers are not double minded about: Repentance
  • This is a crucial aspect of Biblical Christianity: God is BLAMELESS in our sin.

14 Instead each person’s temptation is due to the pull of their own inward desires, which can be enormously attractive. 15 Their own desire takes hold of them, and that produces sin. Unrestrained sin, in the long run means death. 16 Make no mistake about that, my brothers and sisters!

  • This is wisdom as to the nature of sin’s source being in each of us
  • Sin, rebellion against our Creator, is inherent in every human being.
  • Our desires / pride / lust / selfishness consume and capture us
  • We have all gone against God
  • Each of us needs forgiveness of our sin in order to be in relationship with God
  • Our rebellion (SIN), if it is not reconciled, it will end in ETERNAL DEATH

17 But every good endowment that we possess and every complete gift that we have received come from above, from the Father of all lights, with whom there is never the slightest variation or shadow of inconsistency. 18 By his own wish he gave us life through the Word of truth that we might be, so to speak, the first specimens of his new creation.

  • In contrast to who & what we are; naturally rebellious and evil, God is GOOD!
  • HE has proven to be complete and unchangeable in HIS goodness
  • There is proof is what HE has done for us, how HE has had MERCY on us
  • The proof is that HE has given us life through HIS Word of Truth
  • The Word of Truth is The God-Man Jesus Christ and The Gospel Message!

19 In view of what He has made us dear brothers and sisters, let everyone be quick to listen but slow to use their tongue, and slow to lose their temper. 20 For human anger is never the means of achieving God’s true goodness.

  • Because we have been humbled by being forgiven, by being given eternal life
  • Because of The Sacrifice of Christ for us… PROVING His goodness
  • We are to reflect God’s goodness in our relationships (3 specific how to’s)
  • Be a good listener. Don’t go shooting your mouth off. Control your temper.
  • There is a distinction between ‘Human’ anger and ‘Godly Anger’ (Motive)
  • If God has saved YOU from eternal death and indwelt you with His Spirit…
  • Here is how you validate the reality of your faith: Listen / Be Quiet, / Chill Out!

21 Be done with impurity and every other evil which touches the lives of others, and humbly accept the message that God has sown in your hearts, and which can save your souls. 22 Don’t only hear the message, but put it into practice; otherwise you are merely deluding yourselves.

  • Bottom line: renounce evil and in humility fully accept what God has done
  • That is what is known as ‘Saving Grace’
  • God gives each of us who is to be HIS child the grace to humble themselves
  • The reality of how we live our lives is the proof that God has humbled us
  • We practice behaviors that flow from the message of Christ, what HE taught

What does this look like, only hearing the message and not putting it into practice?

23 The person who simply hears and does nothing about it is like someone catching the reflection of their own face in a mirror. 24 They see themself, it is true, but they go on with whatever they were doing without the slightest recollection of what sort of person they saw in the mirror.

  • You see yourself, no problem recognizing that, it is obvious who you are
  • There is zero impact of seeing that person, you basically ignore the information
  • That information is, for all intents and purposes, meaningless to you
  • How crazy: to know of Christ and not respond by surrendering your life
  • You have see that Jesus is God and yet you are un-impacted / unchanged

25 But the person who looks into the perfect mirror of God’s law, the law of Liberty, and makes a habit of acting on it, they are not like the one who sees and forgets. They put that law into practice and are blessed by their actions.

  • This is a description of one who has come to saving faith in Jesus Christ alone
  • This person sees God exactly as HE is: The perfect giver of ultimate liberty!
  • This person is wholeheartedly impacted to the point of radical change of habits
  • This is opposite of a ‘unregenerate’ person who’s life unaffected by the Gospel
  • Practicing the reality of our salvation is who we (Christ’s Body) are meant to be!
  • Our actions agree with God’s Will… so blessing flow from them!

26 If anyone appears to be ‘religious’ but cannot control their tongue, they deceive themselves, and we may be sure that their ‘religion’ is useless.

  • Religion is used here to denote a proper relationship to God (humble servant)
  • This relationship is a lie if we don’t grow to honor God with our words
  • If we surrender our lives to Christ that includes our words (I Surrender All)

27 Religion that is pure and genuine in the sight of God the Father will show itself by such things as visiting orphans and widows in their distress and keeping oneself uncontaminated by this world.

  • These are examples of what real Christians do, not meant to be a definitive list
  • Two categories of ‘Such Things’ that ‘True Religion’ shows itself in:
  • Caring for those who are without family structure to care for them
  • Living in ways that renounce what is valued in this world: Riches / Power / Self
  • It is a given that this world is trying to contaminate you with it’s disease: SIN
  • You must proactively & intentionally counteract the effects of this corrupt world

James calls us to live, make decisions and act on the reality of the ‘Message’

SUMMARY:

Each of us is born with rebellion against our Creator inside us. We also bear God’s image, though our SIN taints it. God is not to blame for our sin and without God’s forgiveness our sin will ARE Spiritually, Eternally DEAD!

God in His all encompassing goodness has made a way for us to be ‘New Creations’. The Word of Truth became one of us humans, God Himself was incarnated in the man Jesus Christ. God Himself was the sacrifice for each of our sin & rebellion, violently killed by His own creation. And then Christ rose from the dead the and He lives and HE is coming back!

God implants the truth of Christ in all those who are to be new creations and indwells them with His Spirit. This is the Good News, the Biblical Gospel of Jesus The Christ!

When God Biblically converts us to faith in Christ we can now behave in ways that reflect God. We will reflect HIS goodness in our relationships. We will renounce our anger as an affront to God.

Humble submission to God’s will in Christ is the source of our eternal life and we display that in a total rejection of everything that opposes God. We live like the Gospel is our ever present reality… because it is!

Christ -Given salvation is the basis of the Body of Christ. Christ’s people live by standards that are possible only because we have God’s Spirit, that is the way to have ‘True Religion’ as defined by God.

APPLICATION:

How honest are you about YOU being the cause of your sin? How honest are you about what the end result of your sin remaining unforgiven will be?

In the days and weeks ahead how can you more fully embrace the reality that in Biblically converting to Christ following you are a ‘New Creation”?

What is the connection between humbly accepting the message God has sown in your heart with being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to lose your temper?

If your daily life is not consistently impacted and directed by the Biblical Gospel, is it possible you are not all the way there with surrendering your life to Jesus The Christ?

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James: Practical Biblical Living Pt. 1

A LIFESTYLE OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH

We need this book as a church; we need wisdom to guide our discipleship. The Book of James mirrors the book of Proverbs at times. Prescribed practice is detailed then Theology explains why or Theology is explained by citing ‘Normative Practices.

The book of James is considered a ‘wisdom’ book in regard to Biblical genres along with Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job, Psalms and Song of Songs. It was written to guide a flock that had yet to develop a culture of shepherding. James is caring for their souls with his explicit warnings about sin and it’s consequences.

Here at the beginning of the letter, the stage is set for series of practical lessons that are meant to have the goal of glorifying Christ through our character and spiritual maturity. It is about embracing the idea that Spiritual Growth is a lifestyle for those of us who have surrendered our lives to Christ!

The rest of our world is not concerned with ANY personal growth, much less growth towards OUR CREATOR. The rest of the world is becoming more and more self-absorbed. We cannot imitate Christ AND live self-centered lives; unless we are living in ‘virtual reality’, which is where narcissism lives. How do we reject this wretched life of self absorption? We live for OUR Lord, we do it by BEING His Body, here, now, in person, warts and all.

Our vision here at Midtown church is Biblical Church Culture. That means reading The Scriptures, Old & New Testaments as Jesus Christ’s ‘Called Out Ones’ have always read it. That reading of it HAS to include real life application! That is what we mean when we say we ‘read’ the Bible as Christ’s followers have for 2000 years. This means in order to live as we are called to we ALL have to GROW UP! Spiritually / Emotionally / Relationally We ALL have a lot of growing to do!

The rest of this world is not trying to grow, they are trying to lower the bar. They argue that the world of today should be accepting of attitudes and behavior that have been rejected by humanity for centuries, even millennia. The rest of the world is not concerned with growing, it is concerned with being made to feel good about their selfishness, FEEL good about their consumerism, their dysfunctional way of doing relationships, Feel GOOD about their greed and lust and destructive obsessions. We are going to be different. We are committed to a lifestyle of Spiritual Growth! Are you good with that? Have you embraced that?

James 1:1-12 (JB Phillips)

1 James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, sends greetings to the twelve dispersed tribes.

  • Authorship
  • Audience
  • Historical Context
  • Social Context

2 When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers and sisters, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! 3 Realize that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. 4 But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become people of mature character with the right sort of independence.

  • When, not if trials come… Trials are normative for Christians
  • Trials feel like and represent failure (change your thinking about failure)
  • Failure having such bad connotations is a recent thing, a snowflake thing…
  • A Lifestyle that embraces & learns from trials / failures is ‘Biblical’: Discipleship
  • Renounce the fear of failure / Own your failures and let that humble you
  • Nothing has value until it is tested. Is faith OUR meant to be worth something?
  • We are to view it as a process (Sanctification) We signed up ‘to be made Holy’

5 And if, in the process, any of you does not know how to meet any particular problem, they have only to ask God. He gives generously to all without making them feel foolish or guilty, and each may be quite sure that the necessary wisdom will be given to them.

  • The process is a given… now let’s talk about how we navigate the process
  • PROBLEMS THAT WE DO NOT HAVE SOLUTIONS FOR IN SCRIPTURE
  • James assumes a reliance on the Scripture (Old Testament)
  • Beyond the particulars of Scripture we seek God in Prayer (Governed by Bible)

6 But you must ask in sincere faith without secret doubts as to whether you really want God’s help or not. 7 One who trusts God, but with inward reservations, is like a wave of the sea, carried forward by the wind one moment and driven back the next. 8 That sort of person cannot hope to receive anything from God, and such a life of divided loyalty will reveal instability at every turn.

  • Wholehearted / Undivided
  • Humbled / At The End Of Yourself
  • Only God can get rid of your doubts. He doesn’t always do it right away.
  • The anything refers to things only God can give: ETERNAL THINGS
  • If your loyalty is divided you are hoping on superstition and magic, NOT GOD
  • No one is able to ‘Practice’ undivided loyalty in each decision they make
  • Stability comes for the ‘Author of Stability’: THE TRIUNE GOD

9 The person who is poor may be glad because God has called them to the true riches. 10 The rich may be glad that God has shown them their spiritual poverty. For the rich person, as such, will wither away as surely as summer flowers.

  • Your material possessions &connections DO NOT reflect your Spiritual State
  • God has mercy on the humble and down trodden when it matters: ETERNALLY
  • The hope of the rich lies in the discovery of their spiritual poverty (Matt. 5:3)
  • The things of comfort and luxury are not lasting

11 One day the sunrise brings a scorching wind; the grass withers at once and so do all the flowers—all that lovely sight is destroyed. Just as surely will the rich person and all their extravagant ways fall into the blight of decay.

  • This life is but a season
  • The prioritizing of material things over the things of GOD brings death & decay!
  • Everything in this world is temporary. We can choose to invest in eternal things!

12 The person who patiently endures the temptations and trials that come to them is the truly happy one. For once the testing is complete they will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to all who love Him.

  • For those without STUFF inTHIS world, HOPE lies in Eternity with Christ!
  • The definition of true happiness, eternal happiness, eternity with Christ
  • God has a plan for salvation and growth that is a lifestyle and a lifelong deal.
  • Those who are undivided in their trusting Christ for eternity GET THE CROWN!
  • The crown of life IS ‘Eternal Life’ with Christ!…
  • The Bible also teaches of another kind of eternal life…one without Christ

SUMMARY:
A lifestyle of growth is a lifestyle of actively participating in that growth (DISCIPLESHIP), this happens in challenges, trials and temptations (failures).
God’s Word calls us to embrace what God allows in our life, enduring the process that HE has chosen for our growth spiritually. God’s goal is to make your character reflect HIM (Spiritual Maturity).
As we navigate the process of God developing our character, we are directed to consult with our Master on how to proceed. He is generous, gracious and able to provide the wisdom we need to grow spiritually.
The basis of a biblical relationship with God is to approach Him from wholehearted, undivided surrender to Christ as Lord. The stability of our relationship is only as strong as our complete loyalty. Solid Biblical Gospel Foundation.
Our spiritual condition is not based on or reflective of our socioeconomic position. Scripture teaches the ‘Anti-Prosperity Gospel’. Material poverty is helpful in overcoming spiritual poverty. Material success can be a roadblock to overcoming spiritual poverty: We ALL need to overcome spiritual poverty!
Trusting Christ for Eternal life is reflected / expressed in trusting Him for THIS life. When we place Christ in priority over everything this world can offer, then we can find peace in the promise of that eternal life with Christ.
APPLICATION:
What would help you embrace failures as part of God’s process of spiritual growth?
What would help you seek God’s wisdom in the challenges you face?
What do you see when you honestly evaluate what divides your loyalty to God?
How much do you connect your dependence on God and your prayer life?
How well do you recognize when material things distract you from biblical spiritual growth?

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OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST

Scripture Based Identity of Every Believer

THIS is an exciting time here at Midtown Church!

I want to thank everyone who has thoughtfully read ‘Letters To The Church’. I pray it has helped you to apply Scripture more specifically in your life as a church body part. I thank those who attended our 1st listening session 2 Wednesday’s ago and all who gracefully shared thoughts and ideas for corporate changes.

If you are a Covenant Member or want to be, THIS Sunday & THIS Wednesday night are Big! We are clarifying the Biblical Vision for Christ’s Body, THIS body! How we go forward as a church will only be as Biblical as the level of Biblical living each of us does as individuals. We are only as strong as the weakest link! Chan’s book points us to Scripture that describes the identities we CAN grow into as ‘Body Parts’. We are here to become ‘Functioning Body Parts’… HEALTHY Parts!

Our Membership Covenant: the message is on line if you were not here. Everyone should listen to that. Today: More of God’s vision for this Body: The Biblical Identity of Every Body Part.

Chan has taken the Biblical truth about the local church and laid it out so it gives us guidance on how the Scripture envisions Jesus Christ’s Body. I am going to focus on the middle section of the book which addresses the core identity of local church members as it is described in Scripture. There is a series of identities described by these chapter titles. Chan shows how it is normal for each and every member of the Body of Christ is to be described in these ways, identities we grow in to by God’s Spirit working in us. If we are going to be as Biblical as we can as a church, then EACH of us must embrace these identities. We are all called to be GANG MEMBERS, we are all to be SERVANTS, we are all to be SHEPHERDS and we are all meant to eventually be CRUCIFIED!

We believe, based on Scripture, that the ONLY thing that makes people Members of Jesus Christ’s Body gathered together locally is their individual confession of Biblical Salvation and subsequent eternal life. This is an explicit and complete surrender of your entire life to Jesus Christ’s Lordship. We believe that all who have surrendered their lives then begin and continue throughout the remainder of this life to pursue Biblical Christ Discipleship. Biblical Salvation makes you part of The Body, Biblical Discipleship makes you a healthy, growing part of the body you belong to (YOUR Local Church). The Biblically given identity of healthy, growing members a local Body of Christ is perfectly communicate by Chan in four terms: Gang / Servant / Shepherd / Crucified

Gang Member (Undivided)

The metaphor Francis Chan uses in chapter 5 of his book ‘Letters to The Church’. It is a helpful twist on understanding how Scripture describes being part of the ‘Body of Christ’.

You join a Gang because you believe the Gang is the only place you belong. You join a Gang because there is no other choice. But it takes a ‘Whole-Hearted’ commitment…It demands ‘Undivided Loyalty’… You don’t go hang with another gang every now and then. You don’t give some of your business profits to another gang, even if they are doing some ‘Really Great’ Things’. You are ‘Undivided’ in your loyalty to the gang, just as Christs calls us to be as members of HIS body!

Philippians 2:1-5

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

  • A description of what be each of us becomes as God makes us part of His Body
  • The reasons why we give our lives to Christ are the same as how we live our life In Christ
  • A oneness of love is about how we value our body parts, how we value THIS body
  • Unity: John 17 ‘The Ultimate Apologetic’ Our unity proves Christ is God
  • The practice of putting others first flows from a heart of unity and undivided loyalty
  • We are only as united as our level of humility towards each other
  • We are to imitate our Lord and Master in His selfless relational practices
  • Undivided unity is a ‘Mindset’, an identity as a fully attached part of THIS body

Servants: (Humble)

What is the difference between serving and being a ‘servant’? One does stuff, the other IS something. It is a matter of God given identity. This is who we are supposed to be, IN CHRIST!

Mark 10:42-45

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

  • The rest of the world is set up so that success is getting served
  • Successful economic, social, political and health choices result in being served
  • Not in the Gang…I mean Body of Christ… this is going to be opposite
  • Jesus measures success by your level of servanthood
  • Servanthood is more than serving (we serve to get attention & dissuade guilt)

The most narcissistic person in the world can serve others, but it take humility to truly BE a Servant. (serving is humiliating). True humility is found not in words or even public actions (public actions can be opportunities to perform). Rather humility is found in what is done day in and day out to serve Christ and HIS mission. BEING a servant means you will go unrecognized, serving Christ’s Body week after week, year after year. Consistent practice serving Christ’s Body transforms us into Servants.

Shepherds: (Selfless)

Caring for those God entrust to you every way you need to, with your entire life. This is not just for Christian leaders, it is for each and every one who has surrendered their life to Jesus Christ as Lord! We are all to care for each other AS HIS BODY, THE LOCAL CHURCH!

John 21:15-17

After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter,“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”

  • The only thing that matters to Jesus is whether or not Peter loves HIM
  • Peter is like: ‘Yes Lord’, then ‘Yes Lord’ then you are God, you know!
  • ‘Feed my lambs’ is special care for baby body members to grow into the flock
  • ‘Take care of my sheep’ is about watching over them where they are (local Ch)
  • ‘Feed my sheep’ is about helping them grow to be more
  • This is often thought of to be only for the leaders of churches (Peter 1st Pope)
  • This is for the same audience as Matthew 28: It’s for everyone who loves Christ
  • When we have become servants then we are ready to be ‘Care Givers’

John 10:14-18

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.

  • We are to be ‘little Christs’, so we are to eventually be ‘little Good Shepherds’
  • He is going to be bringing other sheep in on a regular basis but unity remains
  • He lay down His life, we lay ours down to be like Him…
  • And being like Him means we join the ranks of ‘the crucified’

Crucified: (Sacrificial)

A Lifestyle of laying down your life for people at a local church: THGIS is where you do it, where followers of Christ have always done it! I have this as my goal, this is to be the goal of EVERY follower of Christ!

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

  • Paul was not the 1st or the last to go to this place
  • This is not just for ‘super christians’ this the normative
  • This is the goal…we are not going to lower the bar
  • To be HIS church we all need to agree and act in way that imitate this lifestyle
  • This is going back to why we joined the Gang in the 1st place

First: As members of Jesus Christ’s Body Our surrender to Christ’s Lordship creates a bond as tight as a street GANG. UNDIVIDED unity that flows from each member living selflessly, imitating Christ. As a healthy, growing part of this Gang / Local Church we serve others. Through this we actually become SERVANTS in our attitude, actions and identity. As practicing servants of the local church we grow to care for other body parts and we start to become SHEPHERDS. Not only are we doing for others, but more and more will God entrusts the care & growth of others to each of us! Finally: When We are a seasoned shepherds we begin to think, feel and act as ‘a good shepherd’ (following Christ’s example) you are identified as one who lays down yourself constantly for others. Whatever it takes, in a sense being CRUCIFIED with Our Christ. If this is our pattern of living then God will truly be glorified and we will fulfill the Biblical Vision for Jesus Christ’s Church.

Standards which shape BIBLICAL church culture

  • Healthy, growing members of Christ’s Body live as gang / local church members
  • Healthy, growing members of Christ’s Body live as servants of the local church
  • Healthy, growing members of Christ’s Body live as Shepherds in their church

If you are a follower of Jesus the normative state for you to be in is one of spiritual growth. This doesn’t happen by chance. We believe Biblical Christ discipleship is the lifestyle of EVERY member of Christ’s Body known as Midtown Church.

We want to have a conversation about where this church can grow and or change to be more biblical. But we must put the horse before the cart…as in we must operate in the proper order and that is for us all to get on the same page about what is most important to a Biblical Church Culture.

SUMMARY:

We are only as united as a body if each member is undivided. The Body Metaphor in Scripture is used because it can only be understood one way: being part of Jesus Christ’s Body is an exclusive relationship with a particular group of believers at a particular time.. Each body part is only part of one body, Biblical Christianity has always and will always be about collective ‘Body Life’.

You cannot be a Servant on your terms, a true servant serves how and when and in ways dictated by their Master. Biblical Christianity calls us to imitate our Master Jesus Christ in His Servanthood, not doing some service projects.

Each of us who confesses they love Jesus as Peter did are called to care for sheep. A Shepherd must grow into the identity. You learn to care about sheep by caring for sheep (on the job training only). Wether you care for a few or for many, there is no alternate biblical Christian Identity.

As an undivided member of THIS Gang, we become servants in heart, and deed. As we serve our Master He will grow us into the identity of a shepherd, caring for the body above our own self interests. When we do that as a lifestyle we are ‘crucified with Christ’.

APPLICATION:

GANG MEMBER: How are YOU going to reorder your life to get to being undivided here at Midtown?

SERVANT: How are you going to specifically practice ‘Being’ a servant in the coming months?

SHEPHERD: What is your plan for your ‘on the job training’ to learn how to care for other sheep here at Midtown this year?

CRUCIFIED: ???

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Naaman & Elisha

2nd Kings 5:1-16

1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

4 So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.” 5 And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”

So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

7 And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”

8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.”

11 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

13 But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.” 16 But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.

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OUR COVENANT COMMUNITY

Biblical Church Culture

This is document meant to synopsize aspects of The Old and New Testament Scriptures as they pertain to the current church age and to specific bodies of Christ. Our desire here at Midtown Church is to have a Biblical Church Culture, and by culture I mean concrete actions, lifestyle, practices; what we actually do, not ideas, theories or intentions. (Culture does not consist of ‘intentions’, it consists of action, deeds, relationships, practices, habits, rituals, and words spoken face to face) These paragraphs communicate standards, values and practices that are expressed in norms and values and behaviors that mark our ‘Biblical Church Culture’.

Preamble:

Having surrendered our lives to God’s grace as followers of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and having been publicly baptized as a testimony of our love and submission to Him, we, the members of Midtown Church, purposefully and joyfully enter into this covenant with one another, affirming our God-given leadership, in common unity as a family in the Lord. Together before Christ Our Lord, God The Father and The Holy Spirit, as members of Midtown Church we covenant:

  • ‘Christ-Given Unity’
  • A surrendered life is a prerequisite, each member’s response to God’s Grace
  • Baptism is a common declaration
  • We covenant together by choice with purpose and joy
  • In submission to Christ we submit to HIS body
  • John 17 / Ephesians 4 / Philippians 1

Article 1:

Together before Christ Our Lord, God The Father and The Holy Spirit, as members of Midtown Church we covenant: To affirm by action, word, presence and heart, The Midtown Church Statement of Belief. And in unity of belief we will identify as ‘Life-long Disciples of Jesus Christ’ and actively pursue sanctification.

  • ‘Body Member Identity’
  • Our complete agreement on the ‘Biblical Essentials’ found in our Statement of Belief
  • The identity of a disciple means it permeates every aspect of your life (Goal)
  • The active pursuit of sanctification requires showing up and growing
  • John 13 / John 17

Article 2

Together before Christ Our Lord, God The Father and The Holy Spirit, as members of Midtown Church we covenant: To live out our valuing of the gatherings of this body by our consistent attendance in our Sunday Activities as well as other gathering prioritized by the Leadership, fully participating in the discipleship journey of our church body, including mentoring and small groups.

  • ‘Body Presence’
  • 1st you value being here by prioritizing it in your life, then you live that out
  • Sunday matters! Members of Christ’s body figure out how to be here
  • Gatherings prioritized by the leadership means the stuff we are all doing together
  • Hebrews 10 / Romans 12 / Psalm 133

Article 3

Together before Christ Our Lord, God The Father and The Holy Spirit, as members of Midtown Church we covenant: To Biblically practice the sacraments of Immersion Baptism and The Lord’s Supper. To be dedicated to the prayerful, consistent study and application of God’s Word, and the Spirit-Led praying for others and ourselves.

  • ‘Common Basics’
  • Immersion Baptism: Jesus did it, each of us should do it.
  • The Lord’s Supper: Jesus commanded we do this every time
  • Matthew 3 / Mark 1 / Luke 3 / Acts 2
  • Matthew 26 / Mark 14 / Luke 22 / John
  • 1st Corinthians 11 / Ephesians 6 / 2nd Timothy 3

Article 4

Together before Christ Our Lord, God The Father and The Holy Spirit, as members of Midtown Church we covenant: To prioritize being a part of communicating the Biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ in humble cooperation with God’s Spirit in every sphere of our lives.

  • ‘Shared Purpose’
  • We exist to be the ongoing presence of Jesus Christ
  • ‘Holistic Gospel Declaration’…
  • Spirit led living
  • CANNOT BE DONE WITHOUT A LIFESTYLE OF DISCIPLESHIP IN CHRIST
  • Matthew 10 / Luke 4 / Acts 5, 8, 9 & 17 / Romans 15 / Colossians 4
  • Jeremiah (19 references…) 20:9 ‘God’s Word is a fire, I can’t keep in me’

Article 5

Together before Christ Our Lord, God The Father and The Holy Spirit, as members of Midtown Church we covenant: To practice with our actions, words and attitudes, loving other members by considering others’ needs and perspectives more important than our own, following Christ’s example.

  • ‘Consideration’
  • The practice of caring for people, consistently matching intention with action
  • We will never consider other member’s needs if we don’t know the other members
  • Christ put the needs of the members of His Body before His own needs
  • Philippians 2 / Romans 12:3 / James 4 / Deuteronomy 8

Article 6

Together before Christ Our Lord, God The Father and The Holy Spirit, as members of Midtown Church we covenant: To pursue intimacy in our relationships with other church members, living all of our lives together in brotherly/sisterly love as exemplified in Scripture. To value and practice transparency and openness in our relationship together.

  • ‘Relational Health’
  • The ‘One Anothers’ of Scripture
  • Transparency and openness requires equal commitment and shared sacrifice
  • Healthy relational intimacy comes from real unity of action, belief and attitude
  • Intimacy takes time and trust (Consistent demonstration of commitment)
  • John 13:34-35 / Romans 12 & 13 / 2nd Corinthians 13 / 1st Peter 3

Article 7

Together before Christ Our Lord, God The Father and The Holy Spirit, as members of Midtown Church we covenant: To exercise ‘Spirit-Given Tender Care’ for each other, with the goal of faithfully encouraging, instructing, and admonishing one another in truth and love; guided by The Spirit through The Scriptures. Going out of our way to be slow to take offense, quick to reconcile, sharing burdens and joys with tangible humility and love.

  • ‘Biblical Conflict Resolution’
  • God’s principals for interpersonal issues
  • Recognition of our shared identity and condition
  • We need Jesus to teach us how to encourage, admonish and instruct in healthy way
  • Giving up our rights to everything as Jesus’ disciples, we should be hard to offend
  • Tangible humility and love is the way of Christ / our honoring of HIM
  • Ephesians 4 / 1st Thess. 4 / Hebrews 10 / 1st Peter 1 / 1st John 4

Article 8

Together before Christ Our Lord, God The Father and The Holy Spirit, as members of Midtown Church we covenant: To generously and consistently give financially to the general fund of Midtown Church, as well as to approved designated budget items, based on Scripture and an informed understanding of Body Undertakings.

  • ‘United Generosity’
  • 10% of your net income is a good starting place, give it to your church body
  • In unity we agree how everyone’s shared sacrifice will be used (no ‘pet’ giving)
  • We agree to be informed about what the financial priorities of the church are
  • 1st Corinthians 16 / Malachi 3 / Mark 12 / Luke 20

Article 9

Together before Christ Our Lord, God The Father and The Holy Spirit, as members of Midtown Church we covenant: To serve the church body and our neighbors in humble and repentant representation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, informed by Scripture and empowered by The Holy Spirit who indwells us equally.

  • ‘Servant Attitude’
  • The opposite of demanding and entitled
  • We all serve each other in The Body because we are all vessels of God’s Spirit
  • We don’t serve from our own resources; rather we are empowered by God’s Spirit
  • Philippians 2 / John 13 / 1st Peter 4 / 2nd Corinthians 5 & 8

Article 10

Together before Christ Our Lord, God The Father and The Holy Spirit, as members of Midtown Church we covenant: To actively work together (collaborate with and encourage fellow members) to advance Christ-centered ministry in our church and other Christ Affirming Entities for the purpose of identifying and cultivating our spiritual gifts as we discover and practice them.

  • ‘Body Ministry’
  • There is no ‘My Ministry’ only ‘Our Ministry’ or Christ’s Ministry or Church ministry
  • The use of the gifts God has given us is not optional,
  • Matthew 25; the parable of the talents / Hebrews 13 / Ephesians 2 / Ephesians 4

Article 11

Together before Christ Our Lord, God The Father and The Holy Spirit, as members of Midtown Church we covenant: To submit in unity to the authority of The Midtown Church Body, as led by Our Elder Team, in all matters that are Biblical, align with our Statement of Belief, Our Church Constitution, By-Laws and this Covenant.

  • ‘Biblical Leadership’
  • Biblically Qualified Elders & Deacons
  • The Authority is held by the Body, exercised by and through the Elders
  • We each submit to the body as we submit to Christ
  • Ephesians 5 / Hebrews 13 / Luke 22 / Hebrews 13

Article 12

Together before Christ Our Lord, God The Father and The Holy Spirit, as members of Midtown Church we covenant: To respectfully question in reverent order, all matters and practices of the church that are not being led in accordance with Scripture, our Statement of Belief, Our Constitution, By-Laws and this Covenant.

  • ‘Biblical Accountability’
  • The leadership of the church is accountable to members
  • The Body is responsible to ensure the leadership is doing what we have agreed to
  • 1st Timothy 5 / Acts 15 / 1st Corinthians 1

SUMMARY:

Our membership covenant is a synopsis of our Biblical Church Culture. It is a summary of God’s Word pertaining to the function of Christ’s Body. It is what we agree to do together as Jesus Christ’s church, standards, beliefs, norms, attitudes and practices. The more Biblical our church culture, the more God is glorified!

APPLICATION:

Learn the Covenant and the Scripture behind it, work through any questions you have and then practice the actions and attitudes prescribed by it.

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BE ON THE LOOKOUT!

Discipleship Is Looking For God

We continue to celebrate Jesus’ Birth, and I want to encourage you to look at this coming year through the lens of Christ. What this means is putting Christ in the foreground of you view so you do things with Him in view. If we live with a continuous view of who Christ really is our future will be bright. Christ came to be the light of revelation for all the nations. This text gives us two big ideas as to how we are to biblically follow Christ. Being on the lookout for what God is doing. Being obedient while being on the lookout. 4 examples of how we are to be as followers / disciples of Christ: Joseph, Mary, Simeon and Anna.

Matthew 2:21-40

21 Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived. 22 Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

  • Named & Circumcised on the 8th day (today is the 8th day…imagine)
  • 41 days from birth they take the 10 mile walk from Bethlehem to Jerusalem
  • Star is still up there…they just do the next thing they know they should do
  • The way they looked to the future is by letting God continue to lead

23 The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.” 24 So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

  • This is an example of a clear command from God and a timely obedience to it
  • They saw something special was going on but didn’t seek special treatment

25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.

  • Scripture gives this man high praise
  • Not just waiting but eagerly awaiting…
  • God promised him he would see the Messiah before he died

27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, 28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, 29 “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. 30 I have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared for all people. 32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

  • Divine Appointments: They happen when you are looking for the Messiah
  • Holy Spirit Guidance (Simeon) and Basic Obedience (Mary & Joseph)
  • Simeon recognizes Messiah because of his consistent walking with the Lord
  • He knows that this baby is going to be the salvation of all nations
  • He is the light that will help everyone see God!
  • Total Recognition of four Spiritual Realities
  • Jesus IS God’s salvation
  • God gives Christ to all kinds of people
  • Jesus is A Revelation of what God is all about
  • Jesus is EVERYTHING to God’s people, the Spiritual Israel

Living In Light of Christ means you are on the lookout for what God is doing
33 Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. 35 As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

  • 1st the shepherds now this…
  • Simeon blesses them then makes the pronouncement to Mary:
  • This child will define who rises and who falls
  • Even though He is a sign from God He will face much opposition
  • He will cause many to get real, but all of that reality will be painful for Mary

36 Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. 37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four.

  • She is called a Prophet where Simeon is not…
  • She had lived a lifetime of devotion (Set Apart)
  • Made the most of her situation & trusted God had her where He wanted her

She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. 38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.

  • She was persistent in her pursuit of God, an example of Spiritual Consistency
  • She lived in God’s presence looking for what HE was doing
  • When she saw God at work she told others who were intentionally seeking

39 When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. 40 There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.

  • They knew what was expected of them and they did it!
  • That is what God expects from us: once we know what He wants, we do it!

Four people looking for God

Four people with incomplete pictures of what God is doing

Four people willing to do what it takes to see God

In your life as a disciple we can be like the examples given in Scripture

Application Suggestions:

Be like Mary & Joseph; while the info is still making sense, focus on obedience.

Be like Simeon: when you know what God wants, be on the lookout for the how, where and when.

Be like Anna, when you know how, where & when to be for God, be on the lookout for what.

Be on the lookout for The Spirit’s scheduling of ‘Divine Appointments’.

Be persistent in your looking for God and His revelation

These are Be-Attitudes of Christ’s Disciples

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How To Approach The Christ Child

Matthew 2:1-18

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: 6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for from you will come forth a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and determined from them the exact ]time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”

9 After hearing the king, they went on their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to a stop over the place where the Child was to be found. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

11 And after they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.” 14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. 15 He stayed there until the death of Herod; this happened so that what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she refused to be comforted, Because they were no more.”

SUMMARY

• It would have been so hard to make something fit as perfectly as it does. This chapter has 4 of the over 300 prophecies Jesus fulfills.

• In the Mormon bible, Joseph smith had to write additional verses at the end of chapter 50, at the end of genesis. He could not find ripe prophecy for the taking, to be interpreted to predict him.

• The reason this is important, is there are more prophecies in the Bible that have not yet been fulfilled. Christ says he is coming back. Much like Herod back then, Satan is not a legitimate king. Satan is troubled, because his dominion over this earth and over us has come to an end.

• The announcement of Jesus as foretold hundreds and even thousands of years ahead of time, gives us confidence in the words of God.

• We can be Herod and all of Jerusalem. Or we can be the magi.

• Jerusalem was perfectly content to sit around and ignore what God was doing around them. They averted their eyes from the star above because it was in their short-term best interest.

• Herod could have gone with the Magi, instead of paying lip service. The bible does not tell us of anyone who goes with them.

• The wise men were seekers, looking for the truth. They went to great lengths, sacrificing earthy possessions and a great deal of time. And when they found the Christ, they fell to the ground and worshiped.

• It did not matter that the magi were foreigners. They were not the religious leaders of the day; they were not Gods chosen people. They were far away from God, but God drew them to Him.

• When David was running from King Saul, his followers consisted of similar outsiders

• 1 Samuel 22:2 “And everyone who was in distress and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul gathered to him”

• David gathered the downtrodden, the rejects, and built-up a following. 1,000 years later Jesus would do the same thing, the religious establishment was content, already worshiping themselves and their wicked ways, they refused to look up, or make a 6-mile journey to Bethlehem.

• Sometimes we can feel like Jerusalem, thinking we’re on the inside of God’s plan. It can be easy to think of ourselves as a pretty good person who was raised in a Christian home, that we go to church, have religious friends. God shows us that isn’t enough.

• Make the trip to Bethlehem. Give what you have, and fall down before him.

Ways we can apply this text

• When God reveals himself, take time a figure out what he’s telling you.

• There is tension between taking time to listen, and to act when he tells you!

• Drawing near to God and serving Him takes obedience and sacrifice

• Study the Old Testament, it will enrich our understanding of who God is and what He has done.

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