My Situation: How to Thrive in Your Imperfect Place - Part 5 "Responding to Rejection"

            Rejection has played a large part in shaping my life situation into one that I am very thankful. I was not thankful for the rejection when it occurred, and there was temptation to deal with it in ways that were unhealthy. But I thank God that He walked me through those challenges to where I am today. We all have and will continue to face rejection, but it is how we handle it that will shape our life situation. This message addresses the issue of thriving in your imperfect place by properly dealing with rejection. The text for this message as we finish this series is found in 1 Samuel 8. 

           By the time we reach this text, the Israelites had suffered at the hands of poor leaders like Eli and his sons. Therefore, they were rejecting the good leadership of Samuel and God.  As many of us would, Samuel was experiencing this rejection on a personal and spiritual level. However, God came along side Samuel helping him to not take the rejection too personally. Based upon the rejection experienced by Samuel in this text, I want to address avoiding the dangers of improperly dealing with rejection.

            First, improperly dealing with rejection disrupts the safety of community. God created us to live in the safety of community. For the safety of community real reasons for rejection exist. For example, Proverbs 22:10 states, “Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease.” Our brokenness and the brokenness of our community keeps us from getting this 100% right. In our attempts to get this right, we as a church may welcome any and all to attend but not all should be allowed to serve as leaders. For the sake of the community, we must work hard to understand the Lord’s will concerning who is called to lead.
            Secondly, improperly dealing with rejection causes us to become overly self-critical. Psychologist Guy Winch believes “the greatest damage rejection causes, is usually self-inflicted because we usually become overly self-critical”. Life then becomes a battle of being overly self-critical verses understanding the need for personal growth. When we are in this position we must learn to understand our value that makes improvement worthy of the effort. Learning to understand this requires getting connected with emotionally and spiritually healthy people.

            With these two ideas in mind, the personal challenge becomes, to deal with the dangers of rejection by embracing the reality that God understands your heart unlike all others. Read the account of how God leads Samuel to select David as Israel’s second king in 1 Samuel 16. The key verses here are 6 and 7. Here we read, “when they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed is before him." 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."

            This same passage presents a corporate challenge to our church. The challenge is to deal with the dangers of rejection as a church. At times, we may have to reject our own initial reactions and replace them with God’s. Samuel had to reject his initial understanding of God’s will for the real one. Sometimes who we think should serve in leadership is not God’s choice. May we continually be checking for God’s will as to who shall lead His church.  

My Situation: How to Thrive in Your Imperfect Place - Part 4 "Put it Away"

            I have learned the benefit of leaving my cell phone in my home office when I go to bed. I used to keep it on a small night stand next to my bed and use it as an alarm clock. The problem was, as I would try to go to sleep I would desire to check sports updates, or respond to just one more text. Putting my phone away in my office and buying a simple alarm clock gave me the opportunity to have a few moments of quiet prayer leading to sleep. I had to put away my phone to gain a quiet moment.

            At times our lives situations require us to put some things away. There are things that we all need in life, but fail to have because we refuse to put away some things that we should not have in the first place. Some of these things that we need are things that we have lost. Perhaps you have lost a sense of peace or a measure of faith. When we lose peace or faith, life becomes a struggle to regain them. Therefore we have the challenge of regaining what we have lost by putting away what we should not have.

            1 Samuel 7:3 states, “And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, ‘If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’” The context of this verse (1 Samuel 4-7) is a time of great trouble and loss. The Israelites were seeking to regain what they had lost. The trouble was, they had a strong enemy and were not in right relation with God. This had been the case for many years and now they were beginning to experience the challenges of having what they should not.

            Where they found themselves, brought about the need that many of us have today. They and we need to put away our false comforts. The Israelites had been defeated by the Philistines and the Arc of God had been captured (Ch. 4). They had come to believe that if they had the Arc with them, they could not suffer defeat. They were wrong. What brought victor was God, not that which symbolized Him. That which you believe to signify the presence and power of God is useless without obedience to God.

            The Philistines also became an example of what must be put away. Those things to which we trying to add God. The Philistines suffered greatly because they tried to place the Arc of God among their gods and thus returned it to the Israelites (Ch. 5-6). Trying to add God to your gods causes false assurance and failure. Is we want what God offers we cannot add him to life goals. He and His Will must become our life goals.

            When the Arc of God had been returned to Israel, Samuel proclaimed a challenging truth. Our main verse for this message is that challenge and it is one that remains true. Putting away what you should not have allows you to have what you should.  According to Samuel, we should have a heart directed to the LORD and the ability to serve Him only.  In order to have this, what do you need to put away? The same question can be asked of us as a church. What do we, as a church, need to put away so that we can gain what we don’t have?

            Finishing this thought, it would be wrong to avoid a couple of obvious questions. What if God is not your main concern? What if God is your means to an end? If you find yourself in this positon, you are among many. It is very difficult for us to grasp the fact that God had a reason in mind when He created us. However, when you accept this, you will find peace in nothing else. When you accept this, He will be your main concern instead of a means to an end.   

My Situation: How to Thrive in Your Imperfect Place - Part 3 "An Uncommon Word"

     This week a friend thanked me for giving him a perspective different from his own. His situation involved an issue that could have been acted upon from a multitude of perspectives. For one hour, we thought out loud about many of them. At the end of the conversation we felt like we had looked at both common and uncommon perspectives. My prayer is that God will speak plainly to him, providing a divine perspective. The divine perspective often offers the most uncommon yet most needed word. 

     Similar to the situation faced by my friend, living in a family or community necessitates the need for an uncommon word. We find ourselves being tempted to simply speak about common ideas and popular perspectives. We want to speak what is easy and non-confrontational. However, if we wait on the Lord He can give us an uncommon word. As we continue with the series “My Situation”, may God shape your situation with an uncommon word.

    To elaborate on this topic, we will first look at Samuel’s situation as he was called by God. His situation was unexpected and would require him to be God’s spokesperson. The word of the Lord was rare and there was no frequent vision (V.1). Samuel was young and did not yet know the LORD nor His word (V.7). This was about to change because God was on verge of publically punishing the house of Eli because Eli had known of the sins of his sons and did nothing to restrain (V.11-14).

     Into this situation Samuel was called to speak a difficult and unpopular word. In Chapter 1 Samuel was dedicated to serve the Lord. Now, in Chapter 2 God was calling on him to fulfill the reason for his dedication (v. 3-10). Samuel was confused by the initial calling. The only thing that would clear up the confusion would be to remain still and utter the words, “speak, for your servant hears” (V. 10). When Samuel did this, God gave him a difficult word to speak (11-15).

     Samuel now found himself in the honorable yet difficult position of speaking an uncommon word. His ability to understand the word of God was new. He had to speak difficult words to an authority figure who was being punished for sin. To fulfill this task, he was granted the presence of God and powerful authority to speak effectively (V.19-20).

     God did not stop calling people to speak uncommon words when He called Samuel. He continued to do so throughout history up to today with you. He has shaped you through uncommon words and calls you to speak them to others. For you to fulfill your calling into the lives around you, be a listening servant willing to speak an uncommon word. If you are willing to listen pray the following, “Father, show me the places in my life where Your word is rare and fill me with words to speak.”.

     Not only are individuals to speak uncommon words, but collectively churches are to influence their communities in the same way. In 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10, three important issues are raised. The word must be accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit and full conviction. Secondly, the word may be received with much affliction yet with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Finally, those who receive the word become examples that need no words. May Yucaipa Valley Church of the Nazarene be this type of church. Toward this end consider the words of Ryan Shelton, “We cry out for God to speak with authority and power in our worship meetings and then we open up our Bibles to listen” (http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/only-our-god-speaks).

My Situation: How to thrive in your imperfect place. Part 2

            Job change is bringing many new people into my life. New people that have similar desires and callings. As I get to know them and they get to know me, we summarize how we have arrived at our current jobs. Sharing my path to working at Blooming Christian school has caused me to reflect upon that path and evaluate my current situation. Add 1 Samuel 2 and I begin to ask myself a question. Is my current situation a result of honoring God and is this what He had in mind when He called me into pastoral ministry? The easy answer is yes because they both include the teaching the Bible. However, these kinds of question are never easily answered.

            We all have a path that has led us to where we current sit in life. Maybe you can ask the same question I am asking. Is your current situation what He has in mind? One way to answer this is to ask another question. That question is, is your situation a result of honoring God?

            How about our Christian community? Is Yucaipa Valley Church of the Nazarene what God intended many decades ago? Honestly, there are probably some things that are exactly what God had in mind and other things that are not. This leads us to the main point of this message. Honoring God shapes our situation. Take a moment to read 1 Samuel 2 before continuing.

            In 1 Samuel chapter two we read of two situations. The first is Elkanah and Hannah’s. Hannah now “exults in the Lord” because He has given her a son and removed her form the scorn of others. They were now living in the blessing of God. Because of this Elkanah and Hannah had left their son Samuel in the service of the Lord and were experiencing the blessing of a growing family. Finally, Elkanah and Hannah had a son who was growing in the Lord and the respect of others.

            The second situation is that of the Eli the high priest. Though he had a respected and important position, all was not well. His sons, who were to inherit his position as priest, lived in selfish rebellion. He was being questioned by God as to why he had honored his sons above Him by joining in their sin. These actions caused his situation to become less of what God had in mind. In fact, Eli was living with God’s changed mind.  

            Based upon what we learn in this chapter of Scripture, the challenge becomes to honor God in your current situation through biblical confidence. Please note that confidence is not pride nor is it self-confidence. In his book A Portrait of Christ-Honoring Confidence, B. Hambrick defines biblical confidence. Its three components begin with faith in the fact that God uses you. This breeds the second component which is courage to act out your gifts and abilities Finally biblical confidence includes contentment with how God forms your situation. Further Hanbrick states “A lack of confidence either calls into question God’s ability to enable you to do those good works He has prepared for you to do, or your desire to do them. Therefore, it is theologically and morally wrong for a believer to lack confidence. Confidence is rooted in our understanding that we are sinners redeemed and enabled by God’s sufficient grace to contribute to His kingdom”

            Closing this post leads me to consider how this applies to us as a gathering of Christians. Teck Hui suggests that churches are to honor God by applying our faith to their communities as a corporate social responsibility. In other words, our faith in Christ should have a place in civic matters. This is very difficult to do in today’s religious and political climate, yet we need to get creative a make this happen.

My Situation: How to Thrive in Your Imperfect Place - Part 1

I have suffered from the “if onlys”. If only I had more time I would do a better job. If I had more help I would reach my goals. If only those around me would do better, I would do better. If only I could get in a better situation. Do you ever suffer from the “if onlys”? I think our culture suffers from them greatly, and we as God’s people can rise above them. I believe this is true because there is a high calling above “if only”.  

One of the popular “if onlys” concerns family. Many say if only you had a better family. Samuel could have identified with those who make this claim (1 Samuel 1:1-8). He could identify because His father was a worshiper of God, but he lived with what God tolerated, not what God desired. The law of Moses allowed polygamy (Deut. 21:15), but God’s original desire was one man and one woman. (Matthew 21:15) Samuel also had a mother that had suffered greatly because if what God allowed prior to his birth. However, his mother trusted the Lord in the mist of heartache and rejection. Samuel had a good family, but he could have wanted a better one.

A second popular “if only” is, if only you had a better church. Samuel’s place of worship was imperfect (1:9-18). Samuel’s mom’s heartache was misunderstood as drunkenness by her priest. Many people fail to live up to their high calling because they have a pastor who missed something going on in their life. Pastor’s often fail in this area because, they are human and prone to making mistakes. A pastor’s mistake is not reason for personal mediocrity. Because of this mistake, the advice she received was not in accordance with her need. This issue of compounded by the leadership situation. Eli the high priest had problems of his own and would soon turn over leadership to corrupt sons (Ch.2). All this was about to change because God has a high calling for one that had yet to be born.

           

There are many other “if onlys” that can be discussed. However, we must understand that our calling is to live above each on of them. Samuel’s calling was to thrive above his imperfect. Situation and so is ours. His mother made a vow to the Lord as she prayed to conceive (1:11). His parents offered a generous offering of appreciation at his birth (1:21-25). His parents gave him over to the service of the Lord (1:26-28). All of this formed a calling that would later be described by Jeremiah (14:1) calling Samuel Israel’s greatest leader between Moses and David.                   

Because of what we read in 1 Samuel 1, I want to challenge you to commit to greatness amid imperfection. Consider the following thought. A commitment to greatness is a commitment to service within the imperfect (Greenleaf –Servant Inspired The Journey East by Herman Hess)

As we move forward as a church, the challenge from this message is to thrive in our high calling to do this we must understand that the road of effective church ministry is bumpy. There will always be “if onlys”. Consider the following thoughts from some historic leaders. “Where the Lord builds a church, the Devil will also build a chapel” (Martin Luther). “Church attendance is as vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich healthy blood to a sick man” (D.L. Moody). “The Christian church in the U.S. is still strong numerically, but it has lost its decisive influence both in American public life and in American culture as a whole, especially in the major elite institutions of society” (Os Guinness).  God bless you in your “if onlys”.