Grace Fellowship Blog

With dire headlines and personal challenges, handwringing and fear seem to be the order of the day. The fear factor is alive and well. As God’s people, we have always struggled to face our fears. In fact, it seems God specializes in putting us in situations where we must face our fears and trust in Him or simply become paralyzed. Whether it crossing be the Red Sea, surviving in the desert, or entering the Promised Land, God called forth faith from His people to overcome fear. Is it any wonder that the most repeated command in the Scripture is, ‘Do not fear?’

What is it that you are afraid of today?  Think about it.  We should not be afraid to admit our fears. Frankly I have my moments of fear- I fear the effects of grief in my life, my family and the church. I fear how long it will go on. I fear failure, rejection. I fear inadequacy. I fear the church will not reach its potential and be pleasing to God. Get the point.

Here are some of the things I have been learning about fear.

Everyone experiences fear.  No exceptions. A case can be made that fear, unaddressed by faith in God, is the dominant emotion in human beings. Fear will always be a part of our lives because as soon as we face one down there is new one that is created. Breaking through fear barriers is one of the true cutting edges of all real growth.

Facing our fears is less frightening that living with our fears. Avoiding the source of our fears may seem like the safe way to live, but doing so is truly scary. Do you fear boredom, loss of self-esteem, forfeiting God’s purpose for your life? If so, we must deal with our fears. The only alternative is a life of regret and what if’s.

The only way to face our fears is to do something. Fear never goes away on it’s own. No matter how much we analyze it or even pray about it, it must be faced and something done about it.

Fear doesn’t go away until after we do something. The feeling of fear will only recede after action is taken. When I fear preaching a sermon or attending a difficult meeting, the only time the fear goes away is after it is over- whatever the outcome. I may have new fears, but the previous one is gone.   

So what to do? Clearly, trusting God is the biblical answer to fear. Always. When we learn to trust God, we are free to face our fears and do something about them. Everything, and I do mean everything, comes down to our knowledge of and trust in God. Check it out.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?  Psalm 27:1-2   

When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid; What can mere man do to me?  Psalm 56:3-4

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13

When we begin to trust God, we must act upon what we know to be true in order to defeat fear.

Make the call, have the conversation, sign up for the class/group, give the money away, draw a line in the sand, admit your weakness, ask for help, speak up, shut up, take the trip. You get the idea. I believe that what takes faith for one person may not the same for another.

So as you hear many thing this summer that may up your fear factor, join the long line of Gods’ people who have faced the music and learned to just how reliable God’s promises really are!

We discovered in Psalm 19 this weekend that Nature is pouring forth a ceaseless, voluminous Niagara Falls of communication about Almighty God. From nano to macro, from creeping bugs to supernova – no matter how high or deep or near or far we explore this created world we find the fingerprints of God.
 
Scientists tell us that no two snowflakes are identical. I’m not sure how they know, but that thought alone is astounding. Billions of crystalline flakes buried in snow drifts from the Arctic to Antarctica will never be seen yet are exquisitely crafted to add their voices to the chorus of praise to the Creator.
 
Yet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning was right when she warned: “Earth’s crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God. But only he who sees takes off his shoes. The rest sit round it and pick blackberries.”

Somehow it is easy not to see; to walk down the path of nature’s wonders and enjoy but not see. The test of whether we truly see or not  - whether we hear what Creation is declaring to us – is how we respond. To see is to worship.
 
I truly believe that eternity contains an endless adventure of discovery as we probe the treasures of God’s creation – and at every turn for millions and millions of years we’ll burst out in wonder as we marvel at the indescribable evidence of God’s creative power, not to mention His grace and kindness to us in allowing us to enjoy what He has made – and even more importantly - to enjoy Him. My exhortation for you and me is to open our senses, our mind and our spirit NOW to behold our God.
 
I close with one of my favorite stories of a walk down the path of Creation:
Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Watson were camping in the forest. They had gone to bed and were lying beneath the night sky. Holmes said, “Watson, look up. What do you see?”   ”I see 1000’s of stars.”  ”And what does that mean to you?” Holmes asked.  ”I suppose it means that of all the planets in the universe, we are truly fortunate to be here on Earth. We are small in God’s eyes, but should struggle every day to be worthy of our blessings. In a meteorological sense, it means we’ll have a sunny day tomorrow. What does it mean to you, Holmes?”  ”My dear Watson, it means someone has stolen our tent!”  

Have you heard the story of the 300 pound man who gets on a defective scaled that reads 75 pounds? A boy watching says to his mom, “Look mom, that man is hollow!”  That is a description of many a life- including Christians. Hollow. What an “empty” state of being.

 One of the values of engaging the Sacred Pathways is that they can help prevent hollowness and build solidness.  This is especially true of secrecy. Engaging in acts of secrecy takes us in inward and in a sense “forces” to grow on the inside and learn to trust and love God Himself more than ourselves or others.

Some of you asked me after the services this past weekend about  Matthew 5 :16,” Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father  who is in heaven.”  How does that square with His statements  just one chapter later regarding secrecy?  First of all, the major difference is motive.  There is a big difference between doing what we do in order glorifying Your Father who is in heaven, and practicing our righteousness before men to be seen by them.  Remember God sees the heart.  Motive does matter.

Secondly, in Matthew 5:16, the issue is linking our good works with good news. Living lives of integrity and genuine good works among a watching and needy world is necessary but not adequate in and of itself. The gospel must be shared in order for our Father to get the glory. In fact, good works without good news,  glorifies man, not God.

 I like the image of Helen Keller, “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.”

 This summer we are turning our face to God through Sacred Pathways.

PS

Audio and video recordings of this message, along with other resources are available here.  

When I married into the Leslie Murphy family in 1973, I was introduced into the world of Ohio State athletics.  Leslie’s Dad was the athletic team physician for about 40 years, dating back to the mid-1950’s. He not only worked for Woody Hayes, but was his friend and physician. 

I can remember visiting Columbus  over the holidays in 1973. Dr. Murphy was going to basketball practice to tend to the athletes and asked if I wanted to tag along. Of course I did. After practice, we walked by Woody’s office. “Let’s see if Woody is in,” Dr. Murphy said.  He was. He wanted to introduce me. 

Woody had heard about this guy who soon to be married to Dr. Murphy’s daughter and when he met me he said, “I understand you are going into the ministry son.” Sheepishly I said, “yes, sir.”  “Well, you know you can take this religion thing too far son. I have lost too many ball players that way. Have one right now that if I hit on the left, he’d turn the right!” In my young naiveté, I said, “What’s wrong with that?” He stood up, leaned over this desk, pointed at me and said, “You duck son, you duck!”  

I could not help but think several years later that the guy from Clemson didn’t get a chance to duck! 

 I am still not sure what I learned that day. Perhaps that some can take this “religion thing” too far. Maybe that some of us have not taken it far enough. (James 1:26-27) 

Tom

In January of this year I shared with you some of the questions I was asking myself about our church as I looked out over this next year. 

What could our church be or do in the next five years that would most honor God?

Are our people growing spiritually and how can we know?

How can we be used of God to remove some of the excuses that people use to reject Christ and His church?

What more can we do make more of a long term impact on the next generation?

What will it take for more people to passionately own the mission of our church and live accordingly?

What does God most want for me and from me this New Year?

It is now April. I still have some of the same questions. I suppose one will never fully know the answers. However we are entering a time of earnestly seeking the answers together. The 1-2-3 series is taking us deeper in terms of ownership of the church. It raises the overall question of where we are and where we going in the future.  

Right now we are asking everyone at GFC to take a survey. This is just a start, be we hope to learn things about “us” that will help inform our future. If you have not yet taken the survey, please go to the web site and follow the prompts. 

Our Long Range Planning team is soon to launch into its prayerful process of setting our direction for the future. Your prayers are a very important part of the journey. 

The most personal question on the list is, What does God want for me and from me this New Year?  I think I am getting an answer to that one. Some of it is found in Matthew 11:28-30.

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden light. 

God wants to give me rest. He already has. When I came to Him, when I placed my faith in Him, 

He gave me rest. (v.28)  It was and is a gift. All that He has accomplished for me on the cross and in my salvation equals rest. I simply must count on His promises. So many things in my life are already safe and secure! That’s what God wants for me. 

But He also wants me to “find rest.” (v. 29)  Finding rest is different than receiving rest. There are two conditions. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me…”  That is what He wants from me. “Take… and learn…”  

As I determine everyday to take on His mission, His “burden,”  I must also learn from Him. There is much in what I do that can cause me unrest. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed. These words of Jesus remind me that He is more than able to handle whatever comes my way. When I learn that, I find rest- but I must find it every day, every moment. That’s my ongoing New Years resolution!   

         Several weeks ago, I addressed some controversial topics in our weekend services. It was called Horseshoes and Hand Grenades.  Upon reflection and some input, I have decided that some “If I could do it over again” thoughts would be appropriate.  First, I want you to know that I have strong personal convictions in these matters, and to the best of my ability, I expressed to you what I believe the Bible teaches about the nature of truth, prosperity and salvation. However, the time was limited and there was much that couldn’t be said. I want to make some clarifying comments on both controversies. 

The Prosperity Controversy 

If I could do it over again, I would not have single out Joel Osteen as the sole example of prosperity teaching. Some of the statements in the clip were clearly false, especially the ones regarding health (no chronic pain) and wealth (always enough money to pay bills). This is not to say that everything he says is false. Joel’s ministry can be of help to people who listen with discernment. 

If I could do it over again, I would have emphasized the importance of discernment more. Discernment when listening to any preacher should begin with two primary observations. First, does the teacher clearly teach from a biblical text or texts? Do the texts dictate what he is saying, or is just adding his own ideas?  Secondly, is the teaching balanced? In other words, if the person is always on the same topic and not teaching the whole counsel of God, this is a red flag.  My hope is that this series will make all of us more discerning. 

The Salvation Controversy

If I could do it over again, I would clarify the relationship of commitment to faith in Christ. Many people do trust Christ alone and dedicate their lives to God out of gratitude and desire at the same time.  This is very good and does not mean one is trusting in Christ plus works. It is important to note however that the gospel and what God is asking an unsaved person to do does not include commitment. Anything other than faith alone in Christ alone garbles the gospel and makes assurance impossible 

If I could do it over again, I would clarify that it is possible to lack assurance and be saved.  The devil,  the “accuser of the brethren” delights in creating fear and doubt in God’s children. We may feel like we are in the middle circle at times because we confuse the relationship of faith and works in our mind. The question ultimately is, “In whom am I trusting to forgive my sins and give me eternal life?”

If I could do it over again, I would comment on the condition of a “Christian” who doesn’t live like one. (By the way, this scenario applies to all of us at one time or another!) While this was beyond the scope of the message, here are my thoughts.  If anyone has truly trusted in Christ, they have eternal and never lose it no matter what. It is possible that a person who claims to be a Christian has never trusted Christ, whether in state of sin, or in a state of self-righteousness. He may be an immature Christian who needs to grow. Another option is that he is a Christian who is struggling with sin.  He could also be Christian who is in a state of rebellion and has chosen not to pursue godliness for a variety of reasons. 

In the end, only God and perhaps the person in question, knows for sure if they are saved or not. All we can do is make sure they understand the gospel clearly, and instruct and exhort them in righteousness. (Some of these thoughts I have taken from Dr. Charlie Bing) 

I hope these thoughts help. I will look forward to reading your comments.