Thanks, but no thanks

Matthew 8:34-"And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him they begged Him to depart from their region."

Have you had things happen to you that were definitely of God but in the end you wish that He wouldn't have done them? You would rather of had Him just leave you where you were, because you were comfortable. Sometimes God removes things in our lives because He is trying to do something in us that is for our own good.

In Matthew 8:28-34 Jesus arrives from the sea and notices two men who are demon possessed coming out of a tomb. The scripture says that they were so fierce that no one could pass that way. Jesus casts out the demons into some nearby swine that then proceeded to run into the sea and kill themselves. This had to be quite a sight. Jesus restores these two men back to their families, back to their way of life. So you would think that the town they are from would be happy. But we see the opposite. They are enraged that Jesus would be so irresponsible and send the demons into their pigs. Now they have no livelihood. All they have now are two guys that they had become comfortable with not being a part of the town.

We are a lot like these townspeople. We would rather deal with the small irritations of life than have a life altering event take place. God did not take away their knowledge of how to raise pigs, He took away something that they held higher than these two men. Jesus gave back to these people two men who had been lost to them. Brothers, fathers, sons. But He had to take away something that they essentially cared more about. God will not take something away from you without giving you something in return. Even if that something in return is valued less by you.

God wants to do more in you before He can do more through you. We must be willing to accept whatever that may be. So instead of saying "thanks, but no thanks", maybe we should be earnestly waiting for that moment to come where He gives to us that which we need the most.

Recognizing God

I think for a lot of us its hard to recognize God in our lives. This can be for many reasons. It could be that we truly never had an experience with Him. It could be that it has been a while since we have spent time with Him, so essentially we have forgotten what He is like. Or we have just chosen not to recognize Him for one reason or another.

In Luke 1 we read where Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist, and Mary becomes pregnant with Jesus. In verses 39-45 Mary visits her elderly cousin and upon announcing her arrival, "the babe (in Elizabeth's womb) leaped in her womb." It then goes onto say that it was because of Mary announcing herself that "the babe leaped in my womb for joy." John recognized the Jesus before he was even born. Then in John 1:29-34, which is approximately 30 years later. The scripture alludes to the fact that John and Jesus never met, but when Jesus comes near to John, John proclaims "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John recognizes Jesus for who He is. He recognizes Jesus because he first encountered His presence over 30 years prior to their first meeting. Please get this; John was first in His presence and then he looked to Him.

I think that it is hard for us to recognize Jesus because for some of us, we aren't looking for Him. We find ourselves trying to figure out life on our own, rather than looking to Him. John knew God before he was born, and he then knew Him when he saw Him 30 years later. He was first in His presence (Luke 1:41) and then he was looking for Him (John 1:19-34).

We must begin by entering into a relationship with Him and then we need to continually look to Him. That is how we will be able to recognize Him in our lives. It will be as simple as a peace that will come over us when we pray to God or sing a worship song. It could be a breakthrough in our jobs, relationships, or struggles. It all starts with being in His presence and then looking towards Him expectantly.

So have forgotten what He looks like? Have you never truly known him? He knew you before you were even born, and He recognizes who you are now. Be with Him and look toward Him and you will have no problem recognizing Him.

To Invite or Not To Invite?

For some reason God has really been burdening my heart on creating a culture of inviting at the church that I am a pastor at. It just seems that this has been a concept that has been lost recently. Not just from the attendees, but from the leadership as well. I personally have been challenged in my attempts to invite people to church. Don't get me wrong I have been doing my fair share of inviting, but more out of to hit a quota then out of a heart thing.

We should feel burdened by the fact that there are people out in the world that will die and go to hell if they don't call upon Jesus as their Saviour. But for a lot of Christians this isn't the case. Statistically only 21% of active church goers invite people to church, and shockingly only 2% of church MEMBERS invite people to church. So where is the disconnect? Why are we not actively pursuing people to come and experience the thing that gives us hope? Are we afraid that we might get turned down? Are we too selfish to share the great news of life? Or are we at a point in our walks that if we were to come up to someone who might challenge our faith they might sway us? If that last one is the case then there is more serious matters at hand then you not inviting people to church.

The fact is that that 82% of unchurched people would "somewhat likely" go if they were invited (Rainer, The Unchurched Next Door). 7 out of 10 unchurched people have never been invited to church in their entire lives. That is HUGE!!! In John 1:43-50, it tells about how one man encountered Christ and had to tell his friend. Even in spite of the man mocking and doubting him he continued to invite him. And through that invite the man encountered Christ and it changed his life.

Be that man/woman who sees the urgency and invite your friend, coworker, neighbor, family member, stranger to church. Let Christ do the saving.

Here are three questions you can ask someone when inviting them to church:

1. Do you go to church?

2. What is a reason you don't go?

3. Would you consider coming to my church?

Not everyone is going to give you a good response, but if you are available for God, He will move upon those who are ready to take the next step. So in the spirit of the Great Commission;

Matthew 28:19:20 MSG

"Go out and train (invite) everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."