Count for Zero #6: "A Good Reason"

     If you want to know how self-centered human nature it, put pizza out for a group of teens. The very selfish will rush to the front of the line and pile slices of pizza up with excitement. After a few have done this, some observant teen will ask, “how many slices should each of us take?” The one with ten slices looks around with this embarrassed look on their face as to say, oh now I look like such a pig. The fact is, that teen had one thought and it was centered in his belly. After all, he was the first to make it to the pizza so he has the right to take as much as he wanted.

    This is a silly example for sure. However, I find it interesting how focused many are on their personal rights without regard for the rights or needs of others. Please don’t misunderstand me, I do believe in the importance of individual rights, but I think the focus on them has become a bit extreme. No wonder Apple has struck it big, the majority of their products start with the letter “I”.

We, as followers of Christ, must remember that we are indeed following Him. One of the primary directions in which we follow Him is in the surrendering of our own rights for the sake of others. We have been discussing counting for zero and if we are to live this out we must get involved in the effort for the sake of others. This will undoubtedly lead us to foregoing many of our rights for the sake of others. Therefore, the focus of this post is to make others your reason for involvement.

     A fitting example of this is found in the lives of Naomi and Ruth who make each other the reason for self-sacrifice. In chapter one if the book of Ruth we see tragedy strike a family with Naomi's husband and sons pass away. Here as is customary Naomi releases her daughter-in-laws to find new husbands. However, though it was her right to do so, Ruth makes Naomi her reason for personal sacrifice. This exchange reveals the type of love and commitment that is required to live a life that counts for zero.

     Moving forward in the book of Ruth to chapter four, we see another such example. Reading verses 13-17 we discover that Naomi now had a secure future because of the sacrifice made by Ruth. Here we see that we are to appreciate and understand that the sacrifices of other have produced much good in our lives. Others definitely are the reason why we have much good in our lives. Take a moment and thank God for those people in your life. If possible, you may wish to express your appreciation to these vital people in your life. 

     The challenge for us then becomes to make other our motivation. There are several examples of this throughout the Bible. Take a moment to consider the follow. 
 

Make others your reason...

...for being an example. 1 Timothy 1:16

...for enduring hardship. Ephesians 3:1

...for listening to sound instruction. Proverbs 10:17

     In conclusion, though others can be reason enough for all that we have discussed there is an area that we must not allow others to determine. That area is, we can’t allow others to determine what we believe about Jesus. Observe the discussion between Jesus and Pilate as recorded in John 18:33-40

33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" 34 Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?" 35 Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?" 36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world."

37 Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." 38 Pilate said to him, "What is truth?"After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, "I find no guilt in him. 39 But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" 40 They cried out again, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a robber.

     Did you notice how Pilate struggled to understand who Jesus was? He was conflicted be what he had heard about Jesus was not was he saw in Jesus. There is a big difference between what the world says Jesus is and what Jesus indeed said about Himself. Can we help each other understand who Jesus is? Absolutely, that is what I am doing in the post. However, each one of us must go to Jesus through His own words to understand who He is. Don't just take my word for it. Go read His story for yourself.  

Count for Zero: Sermon 5 - "Generosity"

Generosity is not measured by amount or size, as much as it is measured by desire and willingness. When I lack generosity it usually stems from my lack of appreciation for the things that I possess or the fear that I will not have enough of whatever it is that I am asked to give. I have understood this for some time, but was it new to my understanding is taught by Paul the Apostle in 2 Corinthians chapters 8-9. Here, he teaches that generosity is the result of joy.

As we follow Jesus and see His generosity, we often make it our goal to be the same way. However, we so easily fall back into selfish patterns and the guilt of being stingy is the result. We also live in a very individualistic culture, and God intends for us to live in community. Living in community requires generosity. So why are our attempts to be generous so often fruitless? I think it is because we are trying to be generous by sheer will power. That never works. We need to understand that generosity is a result of something else. I believe that when we learn how to be filled with joy, generosity is the results. The point is, joy generates generosity.  

We learn this truth as we read the Apostle Paul's second letter the Corinthians. In chapter eight he is commending the generosity of the church in Macedonia and encouraging the church in Corinth to complete their commitment to give a gift to the struggling Jerusalem church. Building upon this point, we see that generosity is not from the lack of difficulty (8:2). Joyful generosity can come in poverty and begs to be given the opportunity to help (8:26).     

Moving along in chapter eight, we discover the fact that if you are connected and growing, the natural expectation is to be giving (V. 7-9). A church that is spiritually and relationally connected is a growing church. This type of church is growing in its ability to give love. This is a church that is living in the example of Jesus as generosity flows from joy. 

     
Following Paul's encourage to complete their gift; he offers them advice in relation to being a church where joy generates generosity (10-24). First, a church to finish what it starts. It is easy to think and dream up good ideas, but a whole other idea to fight through obstacles and discouragement all the way to completion. To do this a church and its individual members is to give from they have. There is no sense waiting to give. We are to look at what God has given us and give
that away. One of the important factors in this area is that we are to give knowing that we too may one day have a need.                                            

 
Therefore, be accountable for how you manage what you have been given. If Paul's instruction and advice is applied to a community, the giving church will experience two things. First and perhaps a bit too obvious is many needs will be met. Secondly, joyful thanksgiving is expressed.         

So, to finish this up I wish to ask you to a personal question. If you are not a generous person, what is robbing you of your joy? I thing individual as well as churches go through seasons where they lose their joy and stop giving. We fear that we will not have enough so we turn inward. The results is a lack of ministry effectiveness. As God reveals to us what is robbing our joy may He also restore our joy and generate generosity. 

Count for Zero: Sermon 4 “Reaching the Rest”

     Once I pull out of the driveway in my car, I absolutely hate going back. I have gone without items for days rather than take five minutes to turn around and go back. I have frustrated my family when they say “oh wait I forgot something”, only to have me say “too bad we already left.” This is surely a growth area for me.  Though this is a silly example, in do struggle with anything that makes we feel like I am going backward. Real progress is something that is very important to me. I must sense that I am moving forward and that my efforts are producing good results. It drives me as a leader and it helps me be self-aware of my own progress.

     At our church, we have a lot of activity. The following are a few questions that can be continually asked. Are we bringing salvation and life to each other and our community?  Are we really connecting with God and each other? Are we really growing? Are we really giving?  As we ask this question sometimes we may get discouraged because people that we love are not moving forward and are not giving themselves to the Lord. So, in the spirit of self-reflection, and seeking to count for zero we are going to take a look at Acts chapter 10. As we do, may we discover some key aspects of our partnership with God in helping others come to faith in Jesus.

     A statement that summarizes this message is, God uses us to reach people we would not think of reaching. In acts chapter ten, the idea of reaching Gentiles with the gospel was something new to Peter, but not to God.  It was His idea from the beginning, even as he chose Abraham and his descendants; he had the Gentiles in mind.

     The first thing that I wish to highlight in this chapter is that prior to our efforts to reach people with the gospel, God is at work in their life (Acts 10:1-8). May we never think that we initiate any work of God. God was at work in the life of Cornelius and He is at work in the lives of people around you. In fact, I believe that this is the very reason why God has placed you in their lives.

     Along with this thought, God moves in your heart to share the gospel (Acts 10:9-29). In these verses, God was removing the prejudice that resided in Peter’s heart. As Peter thought that He was being true to the Word of God, he had formed prejudices. This is what happens when we misunderstand why God give certain commands. Once these prejudices were removed, Peter was ready to be used by God to reach Cornelius and those in his home.

     With God doing the work in the hearts of those sharing and listening to Gospel, those who are sharing the gospel are to simply tell the story and request a response (Acts 10:30-36). The words of Peter in this passage summarize much of the Old Testament and focuses on the details of the life of Jesus. They to this is always the death and resurrection of Jesus. This requires those who wish to share the gospel to study and be able to summarize the story.

     In conclusion, I would like to ask what roadblocks must be faced when you are attempting to share the gospel? Here are a few that come to mind. People are difficult. There is heavy opposition from non-Christian ideas about Christianity from Christians. You may therefore fear failure. Remember that God is already at work in their life and the convincing power resides only in the Holy Spirit. It is not your job to convince, but it is to share.

     Within the Church of the Nazarene, we have an avenue of reaching the world. As a local church, we give the World Evangelism Fund. This fund is held in our denominational headquarters and is used in 159 world area. May we have a passion to share the gospel with all those both near and far and may there be zero people around us that have not heard the news of Jesus.

Count for Zero: Sermon Three - "Fullness of Time"

With the advances in technology more can be done now, in our lifetime, than all that has been done in the last 2,000 years. Every time God moves in dramatic visible ways, He has already been working in ways not commonly seen or understood. In Galatians 4:4 Paul describes the timing of Jesus’ arrival by using a phrase common in those days. The phrase was “the fullness of time.” This phrase was used in referencing a woman who was ready to give birth to a child. Paul’s play on words was true for Jesus’ Mother Mary, and it was also true of the world. The world’s condition was right for the pronouncement of “the good news”.  

As Christians we believe that Jesus will someday return and assume His rightful place as the world’s Lord. What did people look for at the first coming? What are we looking for at the 2^nd coming? In light of this reality, are you compelled to do something for nothing? Are you willing to do something for Zero?

God has acted in marvelous ways throughout history. This work has been done when times were right. This work shocks people because there comes a time when we realize that something has changed…and that change changes everything. 

            Looking at Galatians 4, we find such a day in the people of God. This is the day they realized something had changed. They were expected to grow up and see that God was going to be working in a way He had not done before. Along these lines, this post offers the following observations based up the words of the Apostle Paul found in Galatians chapter four. 

1. God works through us as sons and heirs.  

             From the time of Abraham until the arrival of Jesus God's people may have been viewed as slaves to the law. However, through Jesus, God's people were now to live as children and heirs. This new position resulted in their heats being filled with the Holy Spirit resulting in a heart that cries out for God as "Abba". 

2. God works though us by moving us into a future of freedom. 

            People have a propensity to go backwards. This backward movement may be because they accept the labels of past mistakes. It is easier for some to life with these labels rather than accept the challenges that come from newly found freedom. With freedom comes responsibility and many would rather retreat in their past. A path into the future is realized as Christ is formed within His people. This formation is the desired outcome of all those serving others by preaching the Gospel.

3. God works through a liberating promise.          

A look at how Paul speaks of Hagar and Sarah leads to the application that a misunderstanding of ones past may cause the mistake of holding on to it. God has been promising freedom not bondage, yet many see their relationship with Him as being in bondage to rules. This is caused by a failure to recognize the original purpose of those rules. 

            The challenge that is now present for those following Christ is to ask a few related questions. Has anything changed in your life that changes everything? Have you allowed the Gospel to change your whole life, or do you keep going back to the same old sins of your past? We are to be renewed by the reality that we are no longer slaves, but children of God. This is the freedom into which we are to live and invite those we love. May there be Zero around you that fail to understand the freedom proclaimed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.