Have you ever gone camping in the wilderness?
Well, one of the first requirements of camping is that you need a tent. The tent is the place that provides shelter and where you keep all the tools and equipment you will need when you go out on an excursion. Typically, you don’t stay exclusively in the tent, but you grab items you need to take with you when you go into the wilderness.
Did you know God has designed the church to be like a tent? It’s the place God has set aside for us to get the tools so we need to daily go out into the wilderness where Jesus has called us.
In Mark 16:15, Jesus gives us this command,
“Go out into the world and share the good news with all of creation.”
He is saying to us that it’s our job to go and reach others with the gospel or good news. We can’t stay in a holy huddle within the walls of the church and expect to reach those who aren’t there yet! What good would it be if we never venture away from God’s house?
So God’s plan for the tent (the church) is for us to belong then go beyond. It’s in the tent where we get built up, encouraged, empowered and equipped to go out into the world, to expand our reach, and ultimately, to share the good news with others and invite them back to the tent where they can also belong.
Did you know that God gave you the potential to be an agent of change who will influence culture, change communities, and point people to Jesus? By just going back to the tent consistenty, you can get the tools you need.
So tell me, what might be holding you back from going out from the tent?
Do you believe that you can influence others? That you’re capable and qualified?
Are you regularly going back to the tent to get the tools you need to refuel and recharge?
Lastly, will you use your influence with the tools you’ve been given to go out and reach more?
"The Tools Are In The Tent": Day 1
January 21, 2019
"Praise Through The Problem": Day 5
Throughout this series, “Why Church?” we’ve talked about the benefits and blessings that God has for us which we can only experience while gathering together as part of God’s family, the church. What we’ve begun to see is that God blesses a church that celebrates Him. People want to be where there is joy! There’s enough bad news in the world. Church should be a place where people hear good news (the gospel) not bad news. Honestly, it should be fun to go to church. God wired us to express emotion. But too many people have been taught not to express it in church. But when we let go and worship joyfully, people are drawn to our church. We see prisoners literally set free by the worship of Paul and Silas. In Acts 16:22-26, Paul and Silas had been put into prison. It says, “They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.” Notice that Paul and Silas made the decision to praise God in the middle of their pain. They were praising God, not because their situation was good, but because they knew God was still good in the middle of their situation. Here’s the result: “Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!” They made the decision to worship when they could have been crying, complaining or at least angry, instead, they chose to praise God. Paul and Silas had to decide the same thing you will have to decide when things aren’t going your way--which is, “Will your chains break your praise, or will your praise break your chains!” They didn’t wait to praise God AFTER they got their miracle-they began to praise God TO get their miracle! Don’t wait one more minute. Start thanking God for who He is, what He’s done, what He’s said and what He’s promised to do. That is worship and worship changes everything!
"Praise Through The Problem": Day 4
In Matthew 2:2, it says, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” Notice that the wisemen didn’t come to get something FROM God, but they came to give something TO God. They came to offer their worship. Sadly, much of Christianity today has been reduced to some sort of a formula where people actually believe that God exists for us; That God is some sort of cosmic vending machine, and if we do the right thing or say the right prayer then God has to do whatever we want him to do. The reality is that God does not exist for us, but we exist for him, and we were actually created to worship him. Our worship should not be limited to the weekend. We can actually become worshippers and bring honor and gratitude to God every day of the week. You can honor God by the words you speak, the way you live, the way you react, what you post or don’t post on social media, how you love your spouse and on and on. It’s about offering all of you to all of God. Paul said in Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Notice that Paul connects mercy and worship. Paul is saying because of God’s mercy toward us, our response should be to offer all of us “as a living sacrifice” to God. If we are not worshiping in the way we live, we aren’t displaying God’s mercy in Christ, and we are not giving people what they need most. And that is not merciful. A merciful lifestyle depends on a worshipful lifestyle. So before Paul defines Christian living as merciful, he defines it as worshipful. And when we get this, we will start to understand that worship isn’t something we do, it’s who we are. We have been wired to worship God from the depths of our heart.
"Praise Through The Problem": Day 3
“I just don’t feel like worshiping God. Things are coming unglued in my life, and I have too many troubles to deal with.” Sound familiar? Even though we may not ever verbalize these words, it is probably too often the scenario. If you are the one who is experiencing a struggle, a problem or spiritual oppression, you may be the very person who needs more than anyone else to begin to praise God! When the storms of life hit, instead of giving in and giving up and saying, “Woe is me,” (which only fuels our problem) our reaction should be to praise through the problem and worship like crazy! Do we praise Him because of the problem? No, we worship Him because He has all of the help and solutions we need in the midst of life’s problems. Satan desires for us to depend on on our power to get through the struggles of life. Unfortunately, we aren’t powerful enough to overcome our problems. If we were, they’d no longer be our problems! Instead, God desires us to look to Him. He is the source of the power we need to overcome the obstacles of life. The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6–7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” If you are looking for real answers to the storms of life, turn to prayer and praise and in return receive the peace of God!