the reluctant leader

Suffering for Christ: Radical or Reasonable?

I had a cup of coffee this weekend with a friend who suffered in a Middle Eastern prison for six months. His crime: following Christ. Oh yea, and he led hundreds of Muslims to Christ in a nation where that is illegal.
 
He spoke of his suffering as a “gift” from God.
 
If someone gave me the “gift of suffering” I’d probably say, “no thanks, already have one” - or I’d re-gift it to that person who writes critical comments on my blog.
 
My friend never once complained about his suffering. To him, it was just part of following Jesus and carrying a cross - nothing radical, unusual or unexpected.
 
I’ve heard preachers challenge people to “make a RADICAL COMMITMENT” to Christ.
 
Why do we think the willingness to lay it all on the altar is RADICAL?
 
Real followers of Christ have offered their all as living sacrifices for thousands of years. The Bible presents this as the normal Christian life. But we call it radical, the turf of a few special chosen ones. For the rest of us, as long as we show up at church a couple of times a month and drop a dollar in the offering we think we're in the game.
 
Here’s a one-sentence summary of my sermon yesterday at Victory-Fort:
IN VIEW OF ALL GOD DID FOR US, GIVING OUR ALL IS REASONABLE, NOT RADICAL.
 
“I beseech you therefore, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your REASONABLE service.” – Romans 12:1 (English Revised Version)

I want to challenge all of you to a reasonable commitment to Christ - which means everything all the time forever.

Justice and Judgment Day

In our strange world, justice seems to be a constantly moving target. Consider the following recent failed attempts at  justice:

1 - While drinking in a NYC bar, Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg and got two years in jail. While driving drunk, Dante Stallworth accidentally killed a construction worker and got 30 days in jail. Is this justice?

2 - Philip Garrido was sentenced to 50 years for kidnapping and rape. The US justice system let him out after serving only 11 years. Upon release, Garrido kidnapped and raped Jaycee Lee Dugard, then kept her locked up in his back yard for 18 years. How does a vicious criminal like that get out of jail after only 11 years? Is this justice?

3 - Lybian A-list terrorist, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi who was responsible for the Lockerbie bombing that killed 170 innocent people was recently released from a Scottish prison "for humanitarian" reasons. (Of course, it had nothing to do with the deal British Petrolium was negotiating with Lybian strongman, Muammar Gadaffi.) Scottland's leaders must define justice differently than the rest of us.

None of the above seem just to me.

But, God is just and He is the ultimate Judge. Here's what the Bible says about eternal judgment and our righteous Judge.

When we face our judge, there will be...

NO EXCUSE ACCEPTED - Rom 2:1

NO ESCAPE POSSIBLE - Rom 2:3

NO FAVORS EXTENDED - Rom 2:11

NO SECRETS HIDDEN - Rom 2:16

How can anyone survive this kind of judgment?

Only because, "Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who wait for him." (HB9:28)

How to Survive Death

Orlando. Sunday morning.  An hour before church, as I flipped through the TV channels, here's what was being preached:
- "Expect God's Best" by Joel Osteen
- "God Gives 2nd Chances" by John Maxwell at the Chrystal Cathedral
- "Parenting Tips" by Charles Stanley
- Some local preacher - I have no idea what he was saying. I don't think he did either.
- Spanish preacher - who made more sense than the local guy.

As usual, not a whole lot of preachers were talking about eternal things like death, heaven, hell and judgment. Those topics don't really pad the ratings or bring in the dollars.

Even if preachers don't like to talk about it, we all still have 3 unavoidable appointments: death, resurrection and eternal judgment. We can delay them, but we can't avoid them.

According to the writer of Hebrews, "people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." (HB9:27)

If there is a judgment, there must be a judge. So, what is that judge like?

Find out what the Judge is really like in my next blog tomorrow...

Sermon Preview - "Spiritual Renewal"

We are on week 3 of our "Lupang Hinirang" series on the Book of Nehemiah.
Here's a quick review:
Week 1 - Neh 1-2 - PRAYER
Week 2 - Neh 3-6 - UNITY & DIVERSITY
Week 3 - Neh 7-9 - SPIRITUAL RENEWAL
Week 4 - Neh 10-13 - NATIONAL REFORMATION

Two short stories about renewal...

1. My Philippine driver license expired in 2005. I did not get it renewed because it is too much trouble dealing with the traffic and the transpo dept. (don't worry, i am a legal driver. my usa license is valid for 2 months upon entry and i seem to have an international trip at least once every 2 months.)

2. Friday night I had the honor of officiating the 50th wedding vow renewal service of long-time church members, Bomboy & Vicky Fabregas. Hours of planning went into the event. Thousands of pesos were spent on flowers, clothes, food, invitations, photos...

I decided not to renew my driver license because it was too much trouble.
Bomboy & Vicky decided to renew their wedding vows because their 50th anniversary is too important to ignore.

- Questions:
Do you approach spiritual renewal like my driver license, or like a 50th wedding anniversary?
Do you treat spiritual renewal as too much trouble to mess with,
or as too important to ignore?

Neh 7 - rebuilding the wall is finished, now the real work begins - renewing spiritual life and reviving the heart

Neh 8 - reading, understanding and responding to the word causes spiritual renewal

Neh 9 - longest prayer in the Bible - a prayer of confession of God's greatness and man's sinfulness. when the word is read and understood, people respond with humility and confession.

Next week we will see how spiritual renewal leads to national reformation. 

I'm preaching 9 & 11 @ Victory-Fort and 4 & 5:30 @ Victory-MetroEast. Hope to see you at one of these, or on a podcast.

Tuesday Top 10 – Preaching Pitfalls

From Dr Nomer Bernardino’s 3 day “Biblical Preaching Seminar” at Victory-Ortigas in May 2009, here are his top 10 preaching pitfalls followed by my color commentary:

10. Unclear main theme or big idea - starting point is to have a main idea

9. Unorganized presentation - see comment above before organizing

8. Unfaithfulness to the Bible text or context - way too common

7. Irrelevant message - relevant mssg has nothing to do with having a relevant hairdo or Aldo shoes

6. Inappropriate application - bad application ruins many good sermons

5. Unbalanced time allocation - too much time on certain story

4. Preacher’s tension - no idea what Dr Nomer means by that one

3. The length of the sermon - better to leave them wishing you said more, rather than wishing you said less

2. Insensitivity to the Holy Spirit - sermons without the power of the Holy Spirit are just speeches

1. Peddling the word of God - from the money changers in the Temple to Friar Tetzel selling indulgences to modern TV preachers selling prayer rags & holy water, too many have peddled instead of preached. God forgive us.

Can you add to this list?

Preaching or Peddling God's Word?

I’ve been preaching for more than half my life (30 of my 50 yrs), and I have so much to learn. I pity those who had to endure my first 1000 sermons - I talked too much and said too little. I think I say more today in 30 minutes than I used to say in 60 minutes. 

Today is the 3rd day of a 3-day “Biblical Preaching” seminar by one of my favorite seminary professors, Dr Nomer Bernardino at Victory-Ortigas in Galleria Mall.

“Dr No” is an OT scholar, a skilled preacher and a master teacher. It was a privilege to have him for 3 days of intense training for 200 of our preachers. I think all our Victory preachers will say more and say it more effectively because of the last 3 days. Thx Nomer!

Here are some of my Nomer notes:

- Some preachers lose their devotional time but keep their reputation. Your relationship with God is more important than your reputation and your position.

- Jesus is the perfect example of a biblical preacher – he was a storyteller who used simple language to communicate complex concepts.

- Some preachers make simple things so profound that no one can understand. Our goal is to make things so simple that a child can understand. The NT scribes and Pharisees made people feel stupid. Many modern preachers follow in their footsteps. Jesus specialized in simplicity.

- When the question was “who is my neighbor?” The answer was a story, not a boring lesson about the literal Greek and Hebrew.
 
- Too many leaders know about counseling, church admin, small group strategy, cultural sensitivity… but they don’t know God’s word. It’s our job to know the Bible.

- Do we live what we preach? We teach about worship, but do we worship? We preach about generosity, but do we give?

- Do you preach to change people or to impress people?

- A well-prepared sermon without the power of Holy Spirit accomplishes nothing.

- Respect the order in Scripture - Jesus was filled with grace & truth.

- Are we preaching Christ - or are we preaching ourselves, our vision, our ministry, our goals?

Sermon Prep Tips - Can't Do it w/o My Team

Someone recently asked me how much time I spend preparing my sermons. Good question. Here’s my answer:

It all depends who I’m speaking to, what I'm speaking about and how long I have to speak. Some topics require no prep. Others require forever.

The more important question is not how much time I spend preparing, but simply how do I prepare?

I prep my sermons with a team. We study together, pray together, drink coffee together, laugh together, debate and argue together. In the end we come up with some pretty good sermons together.

I try to include different generations on my prep team. I need to hear from guys in their 20's and 30's to make sure what I’m saying makes sense to them.

I used to do the lock up in a "prayer closet" thing to prep. I would usually come out with a word from God, but often would miss the mark when I tried to communicate it to real people.

Now I can’t imagine preparing a message without input from the team.

The starting point is hearing from God, but that is only the start. The word from God will only benefit the listeners if we learn to communicate clearly. And for me, that requires a team.

***new "i found nemo" pix posted on my facebook***

Sermon Preview - "The Power of the Holy Spirit?"

Got invited to preach the 9 & 11 services at Victory-FortB and agreed to do it before i realized it was the same time as THE FIGHT. I guess i should forgive my friend who 'invited' me to preach - who will probably be watching THE FIGHT while i am preaching - gotta get my heart right before Sunday.

Having done that, here's the preview...

Part 3 of our "Ignite" series, about what the Holy Spirit ignites in our lives. If you missed week 1, the pastor who will be watching the fight had a BMW on stage along with a bicycle. There is little difference between the BMW motorcycle and the bicycle if the BMW ignition is not working. After pressing the ignition and starting the motor, everyone in the congregation experienced the power and smelled the fumes. Point: the Holy Spirit IGNITES passion and power in our lives.

That brings us to this weekend and Acts 1:8, but first the context...

v 6 - Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?
Disciples - the same yesterday, today and forever - they ask a political question with eschatogical implications. Why are Christians so obsessed with politics and end times?

v 7 - it is not for you to know the times and dates the Father has set...
Jesus told them not to worry about politics and eschatology. He probably has the same message for us today.

v 8 - you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
If we are not to focus on politics and end times, what should church people focus on? What should we talk about? What should we do? What does Jesus want his people to be obsessed with? How about the power of the Holy Spirit and the people we are supposed to witness to?

Hope to see some of you Sunday morning at Victory-Fort, but i will probably preach to women, foreigners and empty chairs. All the Filipino men will be in a theater watching THE FIGHT. Of course the Sat 4 & 6 and the Sun 5 & 7 will be packed with men who usually worship Sun AM. Another advantage of multiple services. This happens every time Manny has a Sat night fight in Las Vegas.

Go Manny!

Sermon Preview - "Japanese Baseball & the Cross"

Japanese professional baseball – there’s nothing like it. And there are no fans like the Japanese fans, complete with mascots, team cheers and stadium sing-a-longs. No passively cool fans here. Japanese fans are enthusiasm on caffeine - to the tenth power. Yea, I think the Japanese love their baseball teams.

While we were in strategic church-plant planning meetings last night, my son and his Japanese friends went to the Yokohama Bay Stars vs. the Yomiuri Giants baseball game. (FYI - the Giants are the Yankees of Japanese baseball - the most loved and the most hated team with the most wins in history) I hated to miss it, but we were kinda busy changing the world - one church-plant at a time.

Anyway, the game was tied, 1-1, until the 5th inning. Then it was over – not quite finished, but over - even though it still had 4 innings to go. Many Bay Star fans left before the last inning because they could predict the outcome.

Game over. Finished. Final score: 10-1. Bay Stars lost - again. 

The visiting Giants fans left the Yokohama Stadium with fist-pumping confidence, smack-talking smiles and a bounce in their step.

The Bay Star fans just left. Early. As soon as they sensed it was finished. No enthusiasm. No shouts of joy. No smack. No smiles.

What does this have to do with Easter?

John 19:28 - Knowing that everything had now been finished… 
                                      
John 19:30 - Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that He bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

IT IS FINISHED!

Game over. We win. How should we act now?

I am preaching at Yokohama Grace Bible Church Easter Sunday about what Jesus finished for us on the cross 2000 years ago and how that should effect our lives Monday through Saturday, not just on Sunday.

Same old message - The Cross.
Nothing new.
Nothing more important.
Nothing more powerful.

It is finished, but I’m not (finished preparing…)

Sermon Preview - The Importance of Spiritual Foundations

It took 177 years to build the 190 foot bell tower next to Pisa's cathedral. It was supposed to be a vertical tower, but one year into the construction, in 1178, it was obvious something was wrong. That's when the Tower of Pisa, started becoming the Leaning Tower of Pisa. 

Why? Hastily built shallow (3 meter) foundations on weak unstable soil.

By 1988 the tower was leaning so much that it was closed to tourists for fear that it would topple. It was reopened 10 years and 27 million dollars later. Now permanently anchored with a 13.5 foot lean, the tourists are back. 

Too many Christians are like that tower. Because of shallow and weak foundations, they start leaning towards collapse as soon as they emerge from the baptism tank. Some are leaning so far that the smallest temptation will send them crashing to the ground.

It should not be like this.

Here's what Jesus said about the importance of spiritual foundations:

Everyone who hears these words on mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.      (MATT 7:24,25)

I'm preaching part 4 of Bethel's "Make One" discipleship series, this Sunday @ Bethel Spanish 7th anniversary in Nash. 

Bethel's "Make One" Series:
Week 1 - Pray & Ask
Week 2 - Go & Look
Week 3 - Show & Tell
Week 4 - Establish Foundations