Please Pass The Bread

In some posts I recently wrote titled “The Building Blocks of Faith—Parts 1, 2, 3” I taught that the basic blocks of faith are:

1. Believing
2. Speaking
3. Forgiving

Today’s post is going to break down #1—Believing even farther.

 

Yesterday’s post talked about fleshly minded people.  One of the things I said about these people is that while many of them could speak the Word of God, they do not let the Word of God speak to them.

 

Jesus told the crowds in John 6 that he was the Bread of Life.  Many Americans do not understand the symbolism of bread for the rest of the world.  We tend to view bread as a side item to our steak and baked potato.  But bread is the universal symbol for “sustaining life”.  Jesus was saying that he was the only way to have a sustained life on earth and in the world to come.  But verse 66 says that many could not receive that teaching and stopped following Jesus on that day.

 

John 1 calls Jesus the Word.  “In the beginning was the word.  The word was with God and the word was God…And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us…”.  Now if Jesus is the Bread of Life, what is the purpose of bread? 

 

Bread is meant to be consumed and digested.  Once digested it then becomes a part of whoever it was that consumed it.  So if Jesus is “the Word of God”, then He’s telling us that God’s Word is meant to be consumed (read and heard) and digested (meditated upon).  Once digested, it becomes a part of the person who consumed it!

 

THIS is the difference between fleshly minded people and spiritual minded people.  Fleshly minded folks are ruled by their senses.  Spiritual minded peeps are ruled by their spirit (belief system) which for a Christian is the Word of God.  Rather than speaking what they sense or feel, they speak God’s Word!

 

My prayer is that you become SPIRITUAL MINDED.  Consume God’s Word like crazy, but then allow it to digest.  KNOWING AND APPLYING GOD’S WORD IS THE ESSENCE OF FAITH!  So, who’s ready for some more bread?  J 

Are You Fleshly Minded?

You might be wondering, “What kind of question is that?”.  The answer—an ugly one!  No one likes to think of themselves as being fleshly minded.  We’d like to think of ourselves as spiritual people.  Romans 8:5 says, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”

 

Every person is made up of three parts:

1. Flesh—This is your physical body and all of it’s senses.
2. Soul—This is your mind, will, and emotions.  This is what makes you unique from everyone else in the world.
3. Spirit—This is what many refer to as your heart.  It is your belief system.  When you speak, you speak out of your spirit.  Matthew 12:34 says, “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”.  So we can tell a lot about what you really believe by what you say!

 

A fleshly minded person’s thought process moves through this progression:

1. The senses experience something and begin to dominate the other parts of the person.
2. The physical senses tell the mind how it should feel.
3. The emotions then tell the spirit what it should believe.

 

The crowds that followed Jesus in John 6 were fleshly minded people.  They saw Jesus perform the miracle of feeding 5,000 people with a few fish and loaves of bread.  They automatically began to think of Moses that God used to feed the Hebrews for years in wilderness.  They held a weak allegiance to Christ as the Messiah because their understanding of the Messiah was a man that would come set up an earthly kingdom to rid them from Roman persecution and from being at the bottom of the socio-economic barrel.  But who could expect more?  Fleshly minded people only think about earthly things!

 

Jesus came to prove that someone MUCH GREATER than Moses was here.  But their fleshly interpretation of Scripture gave them a warped understanding of the character of God.  WHILE MANY OF THEM COULD SPEAK THE WORD OF GOD, THEY WOULD NOT LET THE WORD OF GOD SPEAK TO THEM!

 

This is so important to understand…Check back tomorrow for more.  It will strengthen your faith, guaranteed!

The Building Blocks of Faith–Part 3

The final building block at the beginning stages of faith is something that is so vital that if we skip this building block, we won’t even make it to heaven.  What could be so important?  FORGIVENESS!   Mark 11:25 says, “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”  If you think about it, unforgiveness sending someone to hell and hindering your prayers from being answered makes complete sense.  Jesus forgave us when we didn’t deserve it.  If anyone deserved punishment, it was you and me.  But HE LOVED US SO MUCH that He was willing to offer us forgiveness before we even asked…heck, before we were even born!  So if we are so undeserving of forgiveness, but it was given to us out of love, then shouldn’t we also forgive others?   I was watching a show on TBN last night called the Lazarus Phenomenon.  It talked about near death experiences.  I don’t know what you believe about them, BUT I TOTALLY BELIEVE IN THEM!  Just look in your Bible for folks like Lazarus, a centurion’s servant, a man’s daughter, and ummmm….maybe even a man named Jesus of Nazareth!  Anyways, one of the most interesting stories was that of a pastor in a country in Africa.  He and his wife got into a fight the night before he was invovled in an automobile accident.  He talked about the beauty of heaven and the torture of hell.  The angel that was standing with him through this experience then turned to him as he was observing the torment of hell and told him that if the book of his life were to be closed that day, that this is where he would spend eternity.   The man quickly responded, “But I’m a pastor!  I’ve preached all over this country!”  The angel replied, “But today you asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins, but you would not grant your wife forgiveness.  Because of this, your sins were not forgiven.”   WOW!!!!!!  Nothing is worth missing heaven over…Especially unforgiveness.  Who do you need to forgive today?

The Building Blocks of Faith–Part 2

Once you believe a word from the Lord, the second block to build your faith is speaking.  Matthew 12:34 tells us taht when we become conviced in our heart, our mouth will reveal it.  “…Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”  You can tell what a person really believes by what’s coming out of their mouth.

 

Satan loves to attack this particular building block by speaking thoughts into your mind, “Don’t tell someone that you believe ____.  They’ll think you’re crazy!  What if it doesn’t happen?  You’ll look like a fool!”  But without speaking it, you’ll not receive what it is that you’re believing for.  Mark 11:23-24 says,

“For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive thm, and ye shall have them.”

These are the first two keys to receiving what you’re praying for.  1)  Believe the Word of God, and 2) Speak the Word of God.  Check back tomorrow for the final building block of this series of faith.  I guess you could call it FAITH #101!

The Building Blocks of Faith–Part 1

  We had some really awesome services yesterday.  The message I preached was titled “The Building Blocks of Faith”.  God really taught me a lot about faith in preparation for this message.  Here are some main points.  I hope they help build your faith to finally get your prayers answered!

 

1.  Ther first building block of faith is belief.

• Belief is a heart condition, not a mind condition.  There are lots of times I’ve had to believe God for something, all the while my mind is screaming “IT WON’T WORK!!!”.
• Belief even works at the ground level of Christianity–salvation.  “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART that God raised Christ from the dead, you shall be saved.”    –Romans 10
• In order to believe, you have to convince your heart that it is so.  The only way I can believe that you will pick up my kids at school is if you tell me that you will pick them up.  The same thing works with God.  If you have a WORD…A PROMISE from God, then you have a foundation for belief.  Without a word from God to back your belief up, you’re walking in presumption and will most assuredly fall.  Belief is fed by good preaching and study of the Bible.  “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Check back this week for parts 2 and 3 of this series.  And within the next couple of weeks, I’ll post a huge announcement that God is putting together…STAY TUNED! :) 

You’ve Got Something In Your Eye

  Luke 6:41 says, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”.  It seems to be human nature to point out the failures and problems in others.  But wouldn’t it be much more productive to do a self-check?  After all, once I get my life straight, then I’ll be in a much better position to help you with yours.

 

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is turn down the chance to judge another person so that we can first judge our self.  Maybe judging others makes me feel better about myself.  Maybe it makes my sin look not as bad.  Regardless, the time has come for us not to take off the judges robe, but to put our self on trial.  THEN, we can really help others overcome their issues.

 

Verse 39 says, “Can the blind lead the blind?  Shall not both fall into the ditch?”.  So the next time someone says, “Hey, you got something in your eye,”  take that as a healthy reminder from God’s Word to judge yourself first so that you can be in the position to help someone else later.

Eight Laws of Spiritual Growth

  I wish I could take credit for this one, but the ultimate praise goes to God with a huge “thank you” to Rick Warren for discoverying these laws through prayer and study of the Scripture.  After a study of how Jesus made disciples, Rick came to the following 8 Laws of Spiritual Growth:

 

1.  Spiritual Growth is incarnational–The Christian life is not imitation, but inhabitation.  Galatians 2:20 tells us that “Christ lives in me”.  Spiritual Growth is both mystical and practical.  All of the best practices make no difference without the Holy Spirit, because He is the one who transforms.  I have a part and God has a part.

2.  Spiritual Growth is intentional–Maturity is not inevitable.  You can grow old without growing up.  Maturity is not automatic.  We grow by making commitments.  Maturity is a choice since you are only as close to God as you choose to be.

Jesus had a method that was systematic and graduated in nature.  1)  Come and See  2)Eat my flesh and drink my blood  3)  Take up your cross, deny yourself.  It’s a long process to move people from “come and see” to “come and die”.

3.  Spiritual Growth is incremental–We grow through a step-by-step process.  A baby must learn to breath before it learns to eat, etc.  KNOW, LOVE, GROW, SERVE, SHARE Christ…in sequence

4.  Spiritual Growth is personal–You can’t mass produce disciples.  There is no “one size fits all” approach to turn out strong disciples.

5.  Spiritual Growth is habitual–We grow by developing good habits (a.k.a. spiritual disciplines).  1)  Assign homework like “go and make disciples” 2)Journal and write down your prayers  3)Drive Time Devotions are used to download to your ipods  4) Daily email devotionals 5)Offer a guide to fasting

6.  Spiritual Growth is Communal/Relational–We only grow in community.  You cannot grow without love.  Tools to use here are 1)Small Groups  2)Spiritual Coaches  3)Retreats.

7.  Spiritual Growth is multi-dimensional–Real maturity is far more than knowing; it is about “being” and “doing”.  Maturity is behavior and belief.  You only believe the part of the Bible you do!

8.  Spiritual Growth is Seasonal–We grow in spurts

Purpose Driven Summit ‘08

 

I have really been soaking up what some of my favorite pastors and authors have been saying about the topics discussed at the Purpose Driven Summit ‘08 held at Saddleback Church in California.  I’ve been doing some HEAVY praying and scripture reading lately, trying to seek God about some things I see coming down the pike.  Even pastors need someone to speak into their life.  Over the next few days, I’m going to share with you the notes I have gathered from those that attended this conference.  I know they’ll encourage and help you just as much as they have me. 

 

If you want to check out the list of speakers, just CLICK HERE….Enjoy!

Catching Up On My Blog Reading

To everyone who has been reading my blog, I’m sorry for a few down days.  I took a day off just to spend with my family yesterday.  The R&R were much needed.  There are a few blogs I follow on a daily basis.  I found some pretty awesome articles today that I thought I’d share with you. 

•   While Church should never be reduced to simple marketing, there are several things we can learn from top secular companies.  They are in touch with the latest ways to reach people and have a great understanding of how to get their attention…something churches could do much better at.  TONY MORGAN posted a list of these top companies.  He also has a cool quote from Nintendo’s VP HERE.

 

 

• Gary Lamb posted his PREACHING CALENDAR for the next six months.  He pastors a church with an edge, Revolution in Georgia.

 

•   Steven Furtick allowed his Assimilation Pastor, Larry Brey, to write up a great article about the relationship between Senior Pastor and church volunteers/staff on his blog.  Elevation Church is WELL KNOWN for greeting people like they have never been greeted before.

 

•   Craig Groeschel wrote up a great blog entry about strategic disruption.  If any part of your life has gotten into a rut, especially your spiritual life, then you need to take five minutes to read this.  It is such a great insight…and it will help shake things up a bit in a good way!

There have been a lot of others, but this should give you a good start and introduce you to some men that are doing some awesome things for the Kingdom.  I hope your week is going well.  It won’t be long before the kids will be running through their parents’ house all day…HAVE FUN PARENTS!

Spiritual Glasses

Vision is so important, even for those who are not involved in leadership.  Whether or not you know it, you have dreamt of the vision of your life before.  Without a vision, the Bible says you will perish.  God has been speaking to me about vision in a particular area of my life.  It gets me so pumped up when I begin  to hear what plans God has for me.  His plans are ALWAYS much greater than anything I can plan for myself.  The same is true for you too!

 

Now, I understand that life and other people who don’t believe in your vision have a way of kicking the vision right out of you.  Maybe, because of your circumstances, some of your dreams may be out of reach.  But here’s the thing you need to remember.  GOD HAS PLANS FOR YOU!  Plans to prosper you, to give you a hope, AND A FUTURE!  The best really is right ahead. 

 

The enemy would LOVE for you to give up, quit fighting, accept the status quo.  But God has made to for the battle.  He’s got your head covered with the helmet of salvation.  He’s given you the breastplate fo righteousness…you didn’t earn it, it was a gift!  He’s equipped you with the belt of truth.  He’s got your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.  He’s given you the sword of the spirit and the shield of faith (WHEREWITH YOU SHALL QUINCH ALL THE FIERY DARTS OF THE WICKED ONE!).  YOU WERE MADE FOR THE BATTLE!!!!

 

Every man or woman needs to know what they’re fighting for.  If you don’t have a vision today, begin to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to you.  Your life is STILL worth something…and the value of it is more than you have ever dreamed.