Friday, March 31, 2017

What arouses our own selfish desires?


This week, we have been asking and answering the questions “What is temptation?” and “Where does temptation come from?” So far this week, we have discovered that temptation, simply put, is an enticement towards evil. Temptation is an enticement to take a God-given desire beyond its God-given design.

The letters that make up the Bible clearly reveal the reality that everything that was created by God is good when engaged in or used in a way that is according to God’s design. However, what temptation does is take something that God has created to be good and engage in God’s creation in a way that is outside of God’s design.  Temptation entices us to say "I know that Bible says, but". Temptation entices us to say "I know what would Jesus do, but I don't want to do what would Jesus do". Temptation entices us to take a God-given desire beyond God-given design in a way that results in us rebelling against God’s design.

We then began to tackle the second question, which is “Where does temptation come from?” We discover the answer to that question in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of James. In James 1:13-17, James explained to followers of Jesus throughout history that instead of claiming “I am being tempted by God” the reality is that “each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust”.

And it is here that we see James reveal for us the reality that temptation comes from our selfish desires.

James then painted a word picture to reveal for us the reality that God has not changed and God does not change. Unlike the shadows that are ever changing on earth as a result of the rotation of the sun, moon, and stars, God is constant and never changing. And because God is constant and never changing, God never has been and never will be the source of temptation.

Instead of blaming God for enticing us to evil, we are to recognize that the temptations that entice us toward evil come from our own selfish desires. However, while the temptations that entice us towards evil come from our own selfish desires, as James has pointed out, there are external circumstances or forces that provoke those internal desires. The temptations, the enticement towards evil that we face internally are the result of circumstances that we can experience externally.

And it is in another letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 John, we see John reveal one external circumstance and force. Let’s look at it together, beginning in 1 John 2:15-16:

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

John begins verse 15 by commanding followers of Jesus to not love the world or the things of the world. Now to understand what John is communicating to us in these verses, we first need to understand what John means when he speaks of the world. When John uses the term the world, he is referring to everything in the world system that is hostile to God and that sets itself up in opposition to God and the kingdom of God. In addition, the word love here literally means to have high esteem for or to have high satisfaction so as to desire to take pleasure in someone or something.

John here is revealing for us the reality that the world competes with God for our total devotion and because of this reality we cannot love both. That is why John states that if we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us. John then goes on to point out three differing worldviews that come from the world system that sets themselves in opposition to God and compete for our devotion.

The first worldview John refers to as the lust of the flesh, which refers to a desire to satisfy our selfish and rebellious nature apart from God through pleasure. The second worldview John refers to is the lust of the eyes. The lust of the eyes is the desire to satisfy our selfish and rebellious nature apart from God through possessions. The third worldview that John refers to is the boastful pride of life. The boastful pride of life is the desire to satisfy our selfish and rebellious nature apart from God through a prideful longing to be the center or the star of the story.

John then points out that all of these worldviews find their origin not from our Heavenly Father, but from the world. And it is the world system that is in opposition to God and the kingdom of God that desires to expose the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life that is already within us. These desires are provoked by the world system that sets itself in opposition to God and His kingdom mission, led by the Devil. As a matter of fact, one of the words that is commonly used to describe the Devil is that of the tempter.

And it is the Devil, or Satan, who will attempt to expose our own selfish desires for pleasure, possessions, or prideful position in a way that results in those selfish desires dragging us toward evil and away from God.  And this morning, the Devil does not discriminate. The Devil will attempt to expose anyone at anytime to the selfish desires that dwell within them. No one is off limits.

Not even Jesus, as we discover in a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded in the New Testament of the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. We see this reality revealed for us beginning in Matthew 4:1:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him,

In the next two weeks, we will examine an encounter that Jesus had with the Devil. We will examine the Devil’s attempts to expose and entice Jesus towards evil and away from God. And it is in this event from history that we will discover the answers to the final two questions in this series, which are “What are the core temptations that we all face?”, and “How do we overcome temptation?”

We will see Jesus respond to temptation in a way that provides us a timeless example to follow when it comes to responding to temptation…

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Where does temptation come from?


This week, we are asking and answering the questions “What is temptation?” and “Where does temptation come from?” Yesterday, we answered the first question, which is “What is temptation?” and discovered that temptation, simply put, is an enticement towards evil. Temptation is an enticement to take a God-given desire beyond its God-given design.

Today, with the definition of temptation in mind, we are ready to tackle the second question, which is “Where does temptation come from?” We discover the answer to that question in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of James. And it is in a section of this letter by James that we discover the timeless answer to the question “Where does temptation come from?” So let’s discover that answer together, beginning in James 1:13:

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God";

James begins this section of his letter to early followers of Jesus by commanding followers of Jesus “Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God". As we have already talked about, when James uses the word tempted here, this word means to entice someone into improper or evil behavior.

However, to fully understand what James is commanding here, we first need to understand the context in which James gives this command. In the opening section of the book of James, which occurs right before the section that we are looking at this morning, James called followers of Jesus to rejoice when they experience various trials in their lives. However, the word that James uses for trial, in that language that this letter was originally written in, was used to refer to both temptations and trials.

In addition, this word conveys the sense of something happening to someone. James was addressing something that comes upon us that reveals the nature and character of what is within us. You see, character is like toothpaste; you never really know what is inside until it is squeezed. James is referring to the temptations that we face when it comes to responding to the various circumstances we face.

James here is revealing the reality that the temptations that we face internally are the result of circumstances that we can experience externally. The issue that James is addressing here is the issue of our response to the temptation that we face as a result of the circumstances that we face, because while we are not necessarily responsible for the circumstances we face, we are responsible for our response to those circumstances.

And apparently, there were followers of Jesus who were claiming that God enticed followers of Jesus into circumstances where they could act in an improper or evil manner. There were followers of Jesus who were claiming that God tempted people by placing them into situations where they could respond to the temptation in a way that rebelled and went against the message and teachings of Jesus. James responded to that claim by commanding followers of Jesus not to make the claim that they were being enticed by God in a way that could result in them rebelling against God.

Now a natural question or objection that could arise here is “Well Dave how do we know that God does not tempt people? How do we know that God is not the source of temptation? We see James provide the answer to that question in what he has to say next, which is recorded for us in the second half of verse 13. Let’s look at it together:

            for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does
           not tempt anyone.

Here we see James reveal for us the reality that temptation does not come from God. When James states “for God cannot be tempted by evil”, this phrase, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means “God is incapable of being tempted”. James point is that temptation does not come from God because God is incapable of being tempted. God, in His very nature, is impervious to temptation. God, in His very nature, is impervious to being enticed towards evil. There is nothing that can tempt God to do something that is morally or socially reprehensible, because God is beyond temptation. God, in His perfection, makes any enticement towards evil impotent.

But not only is God incapable of being tempted. In addition, James explains that He Himself does not tempt anyone. James point here is that temptation does not come from God because God does not tempt others to rebel against Him. God does not sit up in Heaven and attempt to entice people into doing things that dishonor Him. God does not spend His time thinking of ways that He can place us in circumstances where we will respond in ways that rebel against Him.

Now a natural question that arises here is “Well Dave, if God is not the source of temptation, that what is the source of temptation? If God is not the One who is enticing us to do things that rebel against Him, then who is?” We see James provide the answer to that question in verse 14-15:

But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

Here we see James explain to followers of Jesus throughout history that instead of claiming “I am being tempted by God” the reality is that “each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust”. Now what is so interesting is that the phrase carried away, in the language that this letter was originally written in, is a word picture of someone being dragged away by something after displaying some initial reluctance.

In addition, when James uses the word enticed, this word literally means to arouse someone’s interest in something. James then explains that what drags us away after overcoming one’s initial reluctance; what arouses our interest, is his own lust. Now when James talks about lust here, James is referring to a desire for something that is forbidden.

James point here is that we are enticed into rebelling against God by our own selfish desires for something that goes against God’s desires for our lives. And after some initial resistance, these selfish desires drag us away from following God’s desires for our lives and toward fulfilling our own selfish desires that go against God’s desires for our lives.

And it is here that we see James reveal for us the reality that temptation comes from our selfish desires. It is theses selfish desires that drag us away from God. It is these selfish desires that arouse within us a desire for something that is forbidden by God. And as James explains in verse 15, it is these selfish desires place us on the path of death.

James paints a powerful word picture of pregnancy and birth to reveal the reality that the true source of temptation is not from without but from within. When James uses the phrase “then when lust has conceived", he is revealing for us the reality that when we become pregnant with selfish desires for what has been forbidden by God, eventually we will give birth to something.

James then explains that what those selfish desires for what is forbidden by God give birth to is sin. When James uses the word sin, this word refers to acts of omission or commission that hurt God and others and that flow from our selfishness and rebellion against God and the word of God. James point here is that our selfish desires within us give birth to, or produce, our actions or inactions of rebellion against God. 

James then explains that “when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” But what does that mean? As we have talked about previously, when we see the word death in the Bible, the word death conveys the sense of separation. As a result of sin’s entrance into the world we experience physical death, which is the separation of our soul from our body. But not only do we experience physical death as a result of sin; we also experience spiritual death, which is the separation of us from God. Now if we physically die while being spiritually dead, we experience eternal death, or eternal separation from God. James point here is that as these selfish desires cause sin to come into being in our lives; and as sin runs its course in our lives; as we act on those selfish desires; the result is separation from God.

You see, so often we live out our day to day lives in a way that attempts to manage our selfish and rebellious desires. So often, we live out our day to day lives as though we can tame those selfish and rebellious desires in the same way we tame a pet.

Instead of trying to manage our sin; instead of trying to tame those selfish desires within our lives, we need to do what had to be done with that lion; we need to kill that sin; we need to take out a gun and kill those selfish desires within us. We need to kill those selfish desires because those selfish desires are the true source of temptation. We need to kill those selfish desires because those selfish desires give birth to acts of selfishness and rebellion against God and others. We need to kill those selfish desires because those selfish desires produce selfishness and rebellion that separate us from God.

After revealing the reality that temptation does not come from God but instead comes from our own selfish desires, we see James hammer his point home in James 1:16-17. Let’s look at it together:

 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

Now to fully understand what James is communicating here, we fist need to understand a few things. First, when James commands followers of Jesus throughout history to “Do not be deceived” this command refers to being mistaken in one’s own judgment so as to deceive oneself. So this command, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: My fellow followers of Jesus whom I love, make no mistake in your thinking so as to deceive yourself.

James then corrects their possible mistake in judgment in verse 17 by explaining that “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above,” In other words, every good thing that we are given that is of a high standard of quality, every gift that we have received that is perfect, has its ultimate source in God. James is revealing for us the reality that God is our perfect provider.

James then paints a powerful word picture about the nature and character of God as our perfect provider: “coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” When James uses the phrase coming down from the Father of lights, this phrase refers to God as “the Father, or Creator, of the Heavenly bodies”. This phrase refers to God as the Creator and Caretaker of all that exists.

And as the Creator and Caretaker of all that exists, James explains that with whom there is no variation of shifting shadow. Now the word variation simply means to change. In addition, the phrase shifting shadow was a phrase that was used in the first century to describe the process of darkening that occurs on the earth as a result of the turning of the sun, moon and stars. James paints this word picture to reveal for us the reality that God has not changed and God does not change. Unlike the shadows that are ever changing on earth as a result of the rotation of the sun, moon, and stars, God is constant and never changing. And because God is constant and never changing, God never has been and never will be the source of temptation. Instead of blaming God for enticing us to evil, we are to recognize that the temptations that entice us toward evil come from our own selfish desires.

However, while the temptations that entice us towards evil come from our own selfish desires, as James has pointed out, there are external circumstances or forces that provoke those internal desires. The temptations, the enticement towards evil that we face internally are the result of circumstances that we can experience externally.

Friday, we will look at those external forces together…

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

What is Temptation?


At the church where I serve, we are nearing the celebration of Easter. In less than three weeks, we will celebrate an event from history that provides all of humanity the opportunity to be rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separates us from God so that we can experience the forgiveness and the relationship with God that we were created for. Easter weekend remembers and reflects on the significance that the death and resurrection of Jesus has for all humanity.

We celebrate Easter because Easter reminds us of who God is, what God has done, and what God has promised to do. Easter reminds us that Jesus is God-in-a-bod, who came to earth to live the life that we were created to live but refused to live, and then allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives, so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. Easter is a reminder of an empty tomb that provides the evidence that Jesus was who He said He was, and that God accepted Jesus willingness to live the life we refused to live and die the death we deserved to die so that we would have the opportunity to live in relationship with God as followers of Jesus.

And Easter is a reminder to followers of Jesus of the example that Jesus gives us. You see, Jesus shows us what it means to be truly human. Jesus provides an example of what a life lived in relationship with God and in relationships with others is to look like. Jesus provides humanity the example of what it means to be truly human and sets the standard for us to follow as His followers.

And part of that example involves how we are to respond to temptation. Because this morning, the timeless reality is that we all face temptation.  The timeless reality is that, as followers of Jesus, we are called to say no to temptation and say yes to Jesus. But that is easier said than done, isn’t it. I mean, if we are brutally honest, we all struggle against temptation. I know I struggle against temptation. And I am betting that we all struggle with temptation.

And in the midst of those struggles against temptation, wouldn’t it be great if we could consistently respond to temptation like Jesus responded to temptation? After all, Jesus never gave in to temptation. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to do the same thing?

Now you might be thinking to yourself “Well Dave that sounds great, but you are not Jesus and I am not Jesus, so how could we possibly get to the place where we would not give in to temptation? How could we possibly get to the place where we consistently responded to temptation like Jesus responded to temptation?

If those questions are running through your mind, I am so glad that you are reading this, because here is the thing: What if I told you that, as followers of Jesus, that Jesus has given us all that we need to overcome temptation? What is I told you that Jesus demonstrated how to respond to the temptations that we can face in a way that says no to that temptation and yes to a life that reveals and reflects the obedience of Jesus in the face of temptation? What if I told you that the reason why we give into temptation is not because we do not have what we need to overcome temptation, but that we do not access what we have already been given to overcome temptation?

So, for these weeks leading up to Easter, we are going to spend our time together asking and answering four questions when it comes to temptation. We are going to ask and answer the questions “What is temptation?”, “Where does temptation come from?”, “What are the core temptations that we all face?”, and “How do we overcome temptation?”

And my hope and my prayer is that God would move in our heads, our hearts, and our hands as we answer these questions in a way that results in us living a life that consistently says no to temptation and yes to a life that reveals and reflects the obedience of Jesus in the face of temptation.

Today I would like for us to ask and answer the first question, which is “What is temptation?” Temptation, simply put, is an enticement towards evil. Temptation is an enticement to take a God-given desire beyond its God-given design. You see, the letters that make up the Bible clearly reveal the reality that everything that was created by God is good when engaged in or used in a way that is according to God’s design. However, what temptation does is take something that God has created to be good and engage in God’s creation in a way that is outside of God’s design.

The most obvious example in our culture today involves the issue of sexuality. God created sex and clearly communicated through the letters that make up the Bible that sex is a gift from God when it is exercised in the right context, which is a covenant relationship involving one man and one woman for one lifetime. What temptation does, however, is to entice us to exercise our desire to engage in God’s gift of sexuality outside of God’s design for sexuality.

Temptation entices us to say "I know that Bible says, but". Temptation entices us to say "I know what would Jesus do, but I don't want to do what would Jesus do". Temptation entices us to take a God-given desire beyond God-given design in a way that results in us rebelling against God’s design.

Now, with the definition of temptation in mind, we are ready to tackle the second question, which is “Where does temptation come from?” Tomorrow we will begin to tackle that question…

Friday, March 24, 2017

Our 2020 Vision for a New Family Life Center...


This week, we have been talking about a specific aspect of giving that we have recently entered into at the church where I serve, which involves a Capital Campaign that began this past January to raise two million dollars to build a New Family Life Center. So far this week, we have addressed the potential responses of skepticism, questioning and resistance to the idea of a Capital Campaign by looking at a section of another letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible, called the book of Exodus.

In Exodus 35:4-19, we looked on as the Lord command Moses to take an offering of worship to the Lord that would be used to build what would become known as the tabernacle. In other words, the Lord here was commanded Moses to lead a Capital Campaign to raise the resources necessary to build the tabernacle. We looked on as the Lord  basically said to the Jewish people “whoever is inclined to be generous, let them demonstrate their generosity towards Me by bring an offering of worship that will be used to build a space where people can encounter Me”.

We talked about the reality that the Capital Campaign was not driven by guilt or duty. The Jewish people were not commanded to give to the Capital Campaign. Moses was commanded to lead the Capital Campaign and to cast the vision for the Capital Campaign, but the Jewish people were to give to the Capital Campaign out of an open-handed generosity that was driven by their inclination to respond to the Lord’s generosity by reflecting His generosity.

We also discovered that the Lord was not directing the Jewish people to go somewhere to get the materials to give to the Capital Campaign. Instead, the materials, the resources for the Capital Campaign were already with the Jewish people. The Lord had already provided what was necessary to fully fund the Capital Campaign. The people had what they needed to build the tabernacle.

The Lord called the people who were inclined to be generous with what the Lord had given them to respond to the vision that Moses had cast to create a space where people could encounter the Lord. The question was “how would the Jewish people respond? How many people would be inclined to be generous?” Let’s discover the answer together, beginning in Exodus 35:20:

 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel departed from Moses' presence. 21 Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the LORD'S contribution for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments. 22 Then all whose hearts moved them, both men and women, came and brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and bracelets, all articles of gold; so did every man who presented an offering of gold to the LORD. 23 Every man, who had in his possession blue and purple and scarlet material and fine linen and goats' hair and rams' skins dyed red and porpoise skins, brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a contribution of silver and bronze brought the LORD'S contribution; and every man who had in his possession acacia wood for any work of the service brought it. 25 All the skilled women spun with their hands, and brought what they had spun, in blue and purple and scarlet material and in fine linen. 26 All the women whose heart stirred with a skill spun the goats' hair. 27 The rulers brought the onyx stones and the stones for setting for the ephod and for the breastpiece; 28 and the spice and the oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. 29 The Israelites, all the men and women, whose heart moved them to bring material for all the work, which the LORD had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a freewill offering to the LORD.

Here we see Moses reveal for us how the Jewish people responded to the Capital Campaign to build the tabernacle. Moses explained that everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the Lord’s contribution. What is so interesting is that the phrase “whose heart stirred” here literally means whose heart was lifted up. In addition, the phrase “whose spirit moved” literally means whose spirit made him willing. Also, did you notice that the Capital Campaign was the Lord’s contribution?

You see, the Jewish people’s hearts were lifted toward the Lord when they heard the vision of creating a space where they could encounter the Lord. The spirits of the Jewish people were incited by the concept of a space where they could worship the Lord. As a result, the Jewish people did not simply view the Capital Campaign as a building fund. Instead the Jewish people viewed the Capital Campaign as an act of worship to the Lord that was designed to make much of the Lord.

The Jewish people saw this as a freewill offering. In other words, this was an offering of worship that was voluntarily given over and above their regular worship of the Lord. And as the Jewish people embraced and engaged in the Capital Campaign to build the tabernacle as an act of worship to the Lord, we see the Lord provide the people who would be necessary to build the tabernacle. So let’s meet these people together, beginning in Exodus 35:30:

 Then Moses said to the sons of Israel, "See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31 "And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge and in all craftsmanship; 32 to make designs for working in gold and in silver and in bronze, 33 and in the cutting of stones for settings and in the carving of wood, so as to perform in every inventive work. 34 "He also has put in his heart to teach, both he and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 "He has filled them with skill to perform every work of an engraver and of a designer and of an embroiderer, in blue and in purple and in scarlet material, and in fine linen, and of a weaver, as performers of every work and makers of designs. 36:1 "Now Bezalel and Oholiab, and every skillful person in whom the LORD has put skill and understanding to know how to perform all the work in the construction of the sanctuary, shall perform in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded." 2 ¶ Then Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every skillful person in whom the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him, to come to the work to perform it. 3 They received from Moses all the contributions which the sons of Israel had brought to perform the work in the construction of the sanctuary. And they still continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. 4 And all the skillful men who were performing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work which he was performing,

However, as the tabernacle began to take shape the project encountered a major problem. A problem that Moses reveals for us in Exodus 36:5:

 and they said to Moses, "The people are bringing much more than enough for the construction work which the LORD commanded us to perform." 6 So Moses issued a command, and a proclamation was circulated throughout the camp, saying, "Let no man or woman any longer perform work for the contributions of the sanctuary." Thus the people were restrained from bringing any more. 7 For the material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it.

Now wouldn’t that be a great problem to have? “Hey Moses, I really need to you to have a conversation with all the people to stop giving to the Capital Campaign. I mean, Moses, it’s great that the people’s hearts are lifted toward the Lord; it’s great that the people are have been incited to be so generous, but their generosity is getting in the way of us getting our work done. There are too many piles of materials that we will not need to complete the project. So please tell them to stop giving.” 

Moses responded to the situation by commanding the people to stop being generous. Thus, Moses tells us that the people were restrained from bringing any more. Can you imagine what that must have looked like? “But Moses, I want to be generous. What do you mean I can’t give to the project? I want to be a part of creating space where we can encounter the Lord”.  Wouldn’t that be a great problem to have?

Now you might find the whole idea of building a new Family Life Center at the cost of two million dollars as overwhelming. And if I was able to have a conversation in the courtyard coffeehouse with those of you whose immediate reaction to the concept of a capital campaign was one of being overwhelmed, here would be my response:

“Yes two million dollars is a lot of money. Two million dollars is a large number to wrap our minds around. So let me try to help us do that. Did you know that if 200 hundred people gave 300 dollars a month for three years, we would end up with $2,160,000.00? Or did you know that our annual budget is $460,000? Let’s just say for the sake of this conversation that we are average, which I do not think we are, by the way. The average American Christian gives 2.5% of their income. What would happen if we stopped being average for three years and gave 10%? In that scenario, in three years, we would raise $1,800.00 over and above our regular giving.

You see, I believe that it is in this section of this letter that we see several timeless principles when it comes to our participation in the Capital Campaign to build a new Family Life Center. Because, when it comes to treasure, we believe the Lord is leading us as a church to invest our treasure over and above our regular giving to create space for the city to encounter Jesus through a new Family Life Center.

As a community of faith, City Bible Church has always been a ‘city within a city’ striving to reveal and reflect Christ as we love and serve the city. As a community of faith, we have always strived to create irresistible and engaging environments where people can explore faith, grow in their faith, and experience genuine and authentic community. And as a community of faith, we believe that for us to continue to advance the Kingdom mission that we have been given, the Lord is leading us to lean into this Capital Campaign to raise the resources necessary to build a new Family Life Center.

And just like this event from history from the Jewish people, this Capital Campaign is not a campaign that is going to be driven by duty or guilt. You see, just as it was for the Jewish people, as a church, we recognize that we are totally dependent upon the Lord to provide the resources to build a new Family Life Center. We believe that apart from the Lord’s provision, this Capital Campaign will not be successful.

We believe that the Lord owns all the resources necessary and that the Lord had already provided the resources that are necessary to fully fund the Capital Campaign. We believe that the Lord will call the people who are inclined to be generous with what the Lord had given them to respond to the vision that He has given us to create a space for the city to encounter Jesus through a new Family Life Center.

And because of that reality, as a church, we are simply inviting people to pray about how the Lord would have them participate in the Capital Campaign.  We are simply asking people to pray to the Lord and ask how the Lord would have them respond to the vision and mission that He has given us to build a new Family Life Center. Then, after seeking the Lord’s guidance and direction in prayer, we would simply ask people to fill out a confidential commitment card.

On the card you will clearly see that this commitment is for planning purposes and is not binding in the event that your financial situation changes. This is a commitment that is used for planning purposes. We are committed to complete this project without taking on existing debt, which is why we will build the Family Life Center based on the money that is given to the Campaign Fund, not on what is committed to be given.

So would you pray about what God would have you do??

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Is a Capital Campaign even Biblical?


This week, we are talking about a specific aspect of giving that the church I serve at recently entered into, which is a Capital Campaign that began this past January to raise two million dollars to build a New Family Life Center. Yesterday, we addressed the potential responses of skepticism and questioning when it came to the idea of a church engaging in a Capital Campaign to raise money to build a building. Today, I would like to address the person whose response to the idea of a church engaging in a Capital Campaign to raise money to build a building.

If I was able to have a conversation in our courtyard coffeehouse with those of you whose immediate reaction to the concept of a capital campaign was one of resistance: if I was able to have a conversation in our courtyard coffeehouse with those of you whose immediate response to the concept of a capital campaign would be to say “The church is not supposed to spend its time and resources raising money to build buildings. The church is supposed to spend its time and resources building people into the image of Jesus. Jesus didn’t spending His time and resources building buildings. I just wonder if this whole capital Campaign idea is even Biblical.” Here would be my response to that resistance:

Throughout the pages of the letters that make up the Bible, we see several examples of God’s people raising resources for a space for people to encounter God. For example, in 1 Chronicles 29, we see King David lead the Jewish people in a Capital Campaign to raise resources to build the Temple in Jerusalem. The Jewish nation had become one of the most powerful and prosperous nations on that planet during King David’s rule, and King David wanted to honor God for blessing the Jewish people by building a space where God would dwell among the Jewish people. 

In addition, in three different letters that are recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Haggai, we see God’s people come together as a result of God’s leading through godly leadership to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem after it was destroyed by the invading Babylonian Empire in 586 B.C. However, it is in a section of another letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible, called the book of Exodus, that I would like for us to spend our time together looking at.

And it is in this section of this letter that provides for us some timeless and timely principles that serve as a response to the potential resistance and the potential overwhelming feeling that comes with the concept of a two million dollar Capital Campaign. So let’s look at this section of this letter together, beginning in Exodus 35:4-19:

Moses spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, "This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, saying, 5 'Take from among you a contribution to the LORD; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as the LORD'S contribution: gold, silver, and bronze, 6 and blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goats' hair, 7 and rams' skins dyed red, and porpoise skins, and acacia wood, 8 and oil for lighting, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, 9 and onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece. 10'Let every skillful man among you come, and make all that the LORD has commanded: 11 the tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 12 the ark and its poles, the mercy seat, and the curtain of the screen; 13 the table and its poles, and all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand also for the light and its utensils and its lamps and the oil for the light; 15 and the altar of incense and its poles, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the doorway at the entrance of the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin and its stand; 17 the hangings of the court, its pillars and its sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court and their cords; 19 the woven garments for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.'"

Now to fully understand what is happening in this event from history, we first need to understand the context in which this event from history took place. At the time of this event from history, the Jewish people were in the process of traveling from the nation of Egypt to the land that the Lord had promised them. You see, after spending over 400 years in slavery at the hands of the nation of Egypt, the Lord used a man named Moses to deliver the Jewish people from slavery through as series of miraculous signs that demonstrated to the Egyptian people that the Lord, and not Pharaoh, was the One True God.

After being released from slavery; after packing up all of their belongings; after receiving money and supplies from the Egyptian people, the Jewish people began their journey from Egypt, across a desert wilderness to the land that the Lord had promised them. And it is in this context that we see the Lord command Moses to take an offering of worship to the Lord that would be used to build what would become known as the tabernacle. In other words, the Lord here was commanded Moses to lead a Capital Campaign to raise the resources necessary to build the tabernacle.

Now the word tabernacle literally means “tent,” “place of dwelling” or “sanctuary.” The tabernacle was designed to be a space where God would chose to meet the Jewish people, during the 40 years they traveled through the desert under Moses’ leadership. The tabernacle was the place where the Jewish people would gather together to worship the Lord and where the Lord would reveal His presence to the Jewish people.

You see, the Lord knew that the Jewish people needed visual evidence of His presence, because earlier in the book of Exodus we read of an event from history where Moses went up to Mount Sinai for 40 days to receive what we know today as the ten commandments. However, while Moses was with the Lord, the Jewish people grew impatient and gathered their gold to form a golden calf that they worshipped in place of the Lord.

This act of selfishness and rebellion demonstrated the need for a tangible space where they would follow and worship the Lord. Thus, the tabernacle not only allowed the people to sense His presence, but also to see Moses go meet with the Lord in a concrete place and not distance himself from the people.

But did you notice something about what the Lord had commanded the Jewish people to do when it came to their involvement in the capital Campaign to build the tabernacle? Notice what the Lord states in verse 5: 'Take from among you a contribution to the LORD; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as the LORD'S contribution”.

What is so interesting is that the phrase “whoever is of a willing heart”, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to be inclined to do something. So the Lord here is basically saying “whoever is inclined to be generous, let them demonstrate their generosity towards Me by bring an offering of worship that will be used to build a space where people can encounter Me”.

You see, the Capital Campaign was not driven by guilt or duty. The Jewish people were not commanded to give to the Capital Campaign. Moses was commanded to lead the Capital Campaign and to cast the vision for the Capital Campaign, but the Jewish people were to give to the Capital Campaign out of an open-handed generosity that was driven by their inclination to respond to the Lord’s generosity by reflecting His generosity.

Now here is something to consider: Where are the Jewish people when the Lord gave Moses the command to launch the Capital Campaign? They are in the desert wilderness on a journey to the land that the Lord had promised them. So do they have jobs? Do they have retirement funds? Do they have any potential entrepreneurial opportunities where they can make some money by starting a new business?  The answer to all of those questions is a resounding “no”.

You see, at this point in history, the Jewish people were totally dependent on the Lord. The Jewish people were totally dependent on the Lord to provide their daily food in the form of manna and quail. All the Jewish people had was what they had brought with them from Egypt. Now a natural question that could arise here is “Well Dave, where were they supposed to go to get the resources to build the tabernacle? I mean they are in the middle of nowhere in the desert.”

Notice that the Lord was not directing them to go somewhere to get the materials to give to the Capital Campaign. Instead, the materials, the resources for the Capital Campaign were already with the Jewish people. The Lord had already provided what was necessary to fully fund the Capital Campaign. The people had what they needed to build the tabernacle.

The Lord called the people who were inclined to be generous with what the Lord had given them to respond to the vision that Moses had cast to create a space where people could encounter the Lord. The question was “how would the Jewish people respond? How many people would be inclined to be generous?”

Friday, we will discover the answer together…

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

The many types of responses to the idea of a Capital Campaign at a church...


At the church where I serve, we are coming to the conclusion of a sermon series entitled treasure. During this series, we have been spending our time together looking at what the Bible has to say about the subject of money and finances. We discovered that the Bible teaches that how we handle our money and finances is a big deal. We have discovered that Jesus talked so much about treasure because how we handle our treasure reveals what we treasure. We have discovered that when it comes to treasure, God is the owner and we are the manager.

We have discovered that when it comes to treasure, the measure for how we manage God’s treasure is faithfulness. We have discovered that when it comes to treasure, debt reveals an arrogance that enslaves us. We have discovered that when it comes to treasure, those who fail to plan for the future financially plan to fail financially in the future. Last week, we addressed the issue of giving and discovered that when it comes to treasure, we are to give generously because Jesus is generous.

Now this week, I would like for us to spend our time together talking about a specific aspect of giving that we have recently entered into at the church where I serve. And that specific aspect of giving involves a Capital Campaign that began this past January to raise two million dollars to build a New Family Life Center.

Now for some of you, as soon as I mentioned the subject of this morning’s sermon, an immediate response was provoked within you. For some of you, that immediate response was one of skepticism. And if we were to have a conversation out at the Courtyard Coffeehouse, the conversation would sound something like this:  “See Dave, I knew it! I knew the only reason why you were doing this sermon series was so that you would get me to give money to the building campaign.”

For others of you, that immediate response was one of questioning. And if we were to have a conversation out at the Courtyard Coffeehouse, the conversation would sound something like this:  “Dave do we really need a new Family Life Center? I mean couldn’t that money be used in a much better way than just building a building?”

For others of you, that immediate response was one of resistance. And if we were to have a conversation out at the Courtyard Coffeehouse, the conversation would sound something like this:  “Dave I totally disagree with the idea of a Capital Campaign. The church is not supposed to spend its time and resources raising money to build buildings. The church is supposed to spend its time and resources building people into the image of Jesus. The church is supposed to spend its time and resources spreading the gospel. I mean, you didn’t see Jesus spending His time and resources building buildings, did you. I just wonder if this whole capital Campaign idea is even Biblical.”

And for some of you, that immediate response was one of being overwhelmed. And if we were to have a conversation out at the Courtyard Coffeehouse, the conversation would sound something like this:  “Dave, did I just hear you right? Did you say two million dollars? I mean why don’t you just ask for two trillion dollars! How do you possibly think that we are going to raise two million dollars? I mean, that’s a lot of money.”

Now if I have just described the response that this subject provoked within you, I just want to let you know that those responses are legitimate responses. And because of that reality, my goal is to address each of those responses in a way that expresses why we as a church believe so strongly in the concept of this capital campaign.

Now if, I was able to have a conversation in the courtyard coffeehouse with those of you whose immediate reaction to the concept of a capital campaign was one of skepticism, here would be my response to that skepticism: “As I have stated repeatedly, we are not doing this so that you would give money to the building campaign. We are not doing this with the sole goal that we would get more of your money.

Instead, our hope and our prayer is that God would move in our heads and our hearts in a way that results in us embracing some timeless truths and principles when it comes to money that will enable us to live our day to day lives in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus head, heart, and hands when it came to the issue of money and finances. We are doing this, because as we discovered in the first week of this series, how we handle our treasure reveals what we truly treasure. And our hope and prayer is that we would handle our treasure in a way that demonstrates our trust in Jesus as our supreme treasure.”

In addition, if I was able to have a conversation in the courtyard coffeehouse with those of you whose immediate reaction to the concept of a capital campaign was one of questioning, here would be my response to that questioning: “The reason why we really need a new Family Life Center is due to the fact that our current Family Life Center is too small, too old, and too outdated to continue handle the current amount of usage that it handles.

To give you a little bit of perspective, every Sunday morning, there are approximately 60 children and 20 volunteer staff using the Family Life Center for Kids Konnection. That number does not include, the 16 children and 5 staff in the nursery building.  During Wednesday evenings, there are approximately 75 children and 30 adults using the Family Life Center during AWANA. At the same time, there are between 15-20 Jr. High students and 5 staff using the Family Life Center for Fusion Jr. High.

There is literally not a single room on this campus that is not used on Wednesday nights and most of those rooms ore overcrowded. In addition, there are only 11 spaces on the entire campus for someone to use the bathroom during that time. The Family Life Center, which was built in 1971, is outdated and can only be completely, not partially renovated. In other words, you cannot just add on to the current structure without updating the entire structure. So we are at a place where we are limiting our ability for our amazing volunteers to love and serve children, students, and their families as a result of a facility that is too small, too old, and too outdated to continue handle the current amount of usage that it handles.

If I was able to have a conversation in the courtyard coffeehouse with those of you whose immediate reaction to the concept of a capital campaign was one of resistance: if I was able to have a conversation in the courtyard coffeehouse with those of you whose immediate response to the concept of a capital campaign would be to say “The church is not supposed to spend its time and resources raising money to build buildings. The church is supposed to spend its time and resources building people into the image of Jesus. Jesus didn’t spending His time and resources building buildings. I just wonder if this whole capital Campaign idea is even Biblical.”

Here would be my response to that resistance: Throughout the pages of the letters that make up the Bible, we see several examples of God’s people raising resources for a space for people to encounter God. For example, in 1 Chronicles 29, we see King David lead the Jewish people in a Capital Campaign to raise resources to build the Temple in Jerusalem. The Jewish nation had become one of the most powerful and prosperous nations on that planet during King David’s rule, and King David wanted to honor God for blessing the Jewish people by building a space where God would dwell among the Jewish people. 

In addition, in three different letters that are recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Haggai, we see God’s people come together as a result of God’s leading through godly leadership to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem after it was destroyed by the invading Babylonian Empire in 586 b.c. However, it is in a section of another letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible, called the book of Exodus, that I would like for us to spend our time together looking at.

And it is in this section of this letter that provides for us some timeless and timely principles that serve as a response to the potential resistance and the potential overwhelming feeling that comes with the concept of a two million dollar Capital Campaign.

Tomorrow, we will begin to look at this section of this letter…