The Question Nobody Wanted Asked

This past week was a powerful message about God's restoration that I don't believe we often times consider.  We like the idea of God restoring us.  We like the idea of God creating us new.  Do we understand however that often times when we go to Jesus we don't only receive more than we bargained for, but we often times have to give more than we bargained for.  

We are reminded of this in the story of Jairus the synagogue ruler and the woman disease stricken with constant bleeding in Mark chapter 5.  Jairus goes to Jesus to ask for Jesus to come immediately to heal his daughter who is dying.  Jesus begins to follow as a crowd presses in who is determined to see another shock and awe event.  A diseased woman in the crowd seeking healing herself sneaks in and touches Jesus' cloak.  It says instantaneously power like dynamite left Jesus and the woman was healed.  Jesus then becomes the prosecutor asking the question that nobody wanted asked: "Who touched me"?  The woman didn't want asked; she simply wanted to sneak in and sneak out for physical healing.  The disciples didn't want the question asked as they are figuring Jesus helping a prominent religious figure may help get Jesus back on track with a group who is finding him more and more unfavorable.  Then there is Jairus, the man whose daughter is dying, who is thinking and begging can we just hurry.  

The question that nobody wanted asked.  Nobody!  The woman just wanted physical healing, Jairus just wanted his daughter to live, the disciples just wanted Jesus not to upset anymore people.  But Jesus asked the question that nobody wanted asked.  I don't believe this is too far removed for us.  I think Jesus is constantly asking us questions that we don't want asked.  I believe they are questions of unmaking, questions that tear down false believes that we've built about us, about God, and about the world we live in.  I believe they are questions of convictions and redirections and challenging insights to where our hearts really are at times.  Again questions none of us are comfortable with.

So what is restoration?  In order to find restoration does there first need to be an unmaking; an unmaking of belief's, an unmaking of selfishness, an unmaking of the things that draw us away from the things of God.  You see the diseased woman just wanted to find physical healing, but through the questions Jesus wanted to bring emotional and social healing to someone who was a societal outcast. Jairus just wanted his daughter to find physical healing, but Jesus wanted to help Jairus find healing at a deeper level of trusting God with that which is most cherished, family.  Then the disciples are learning Jesus is about more than they originally thought.

What is the deeper healing or restoration God is wanting to do in our own lives?  We must often times lose ourselves to really be found.  Here lies the unmaking.

(below is the song we challenged our people with this past Sunday)

(here is the entire message from this past Sunday about the restoration process God is up to)

Do People Suck The Life Out Of You?

Do you have people that just Suck The Life Out of You?  If you are like most people the answer is an astounding YES!  Last spring at Awaken we spent time looking at how we love those life sucking vampires in our lives?  Below are some simple things that we looked at in hopes of dealing with these life sucking vampires.

Ever have to deal with these kinds of people?

• People who approach life with a high sense of entitlement and low sense of gratitude.
• People who always forget their wallets.
• People who never follow through with their responsibilities or commitments.
• People who think their issues or crisis are the most important thing on the planet.
• People who talk too much and listen too little.
• People who point out everybody else’s issues in spite of their own.
• People who act as if I guess that will be good enough for me.
• People who put in minimal efforts but want max results.
• People freak out about the slightest inconvenience.
• People who are constantly complaining about their situation.
• People who say they will do something for you and you know they never intend to do it because they always make blanket promises.

I don't know about you, but as I read these I can't help but see some of me in them.  In week one we discussed that maybe I am a life sucking Vampire too.  To love the people who suck the life out of us we have to realize that we suck too! 

Forgiveness can also be one of those life sucking vampires in our lives.  There is a continuum between forgiveness and bitterness.  Meaning that if we are not forgiving we are becoming embittered.  But the real question is how do we forgive some of those atrocities that have been done to me or those that I love?  We looked at a nugget of truth that can make this easier.  Grace Received Can Transform Pain Perceived.  Basically the more I understand how much grace I've needed the more I understand how I need to forgive others. 

Knowing that I suck too, doesn't eliminate some others from sucking the life out of me.  Therefore  healthy boundaries can really become the "Garlic and Stakes" for fighting off those vampires.  We have to be able to understand which relationships are going to encourage me and build me up and which ones are going to challenge me and take some extra energy.  Paul knew this and labeled his relationships appropriately in 2 Timothy 4:9-15.  When you label a relationship correctly you are able to engage it appropriately.  Also unconditional love doesn't mean granting equal access.  Jesus showed this in his ministry. 

So there is no way that we can leave a world where people drain other people.  But maybe realizing some of these truths will help us to be able to grow and learn and challenge one another on How To Hug A Vampire. To access the messages in this series: http://awakenvirginiabeach.com/media/sermons/hug-a-vampire-series.html

Cloud by Day, Fire by Night

Never question in the dark what you have seen in the light!  

This past Sunday I took Awaken through Matthew 11:1-12 where Jesus is shown doing miracles and John the Baptist is sitting in a prison cell awaiting his execution.  The main part of this passage is where John (or as I described to our people crazy uncle Jonny) asked Jesus a question: "Are you the one to come or should we expect someone else?"  I explained that this was interesting because John was for certain that Jesus was God (John 1:29-34).  What though is even more interesting is Jesus response back, "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me".

Interesting use of words from Jesus.  He basically was saying "John don't stop pursuing me because of me".  How can Jesus cause us to stop following him?  Well God is not always going to do what we think he ought to do.  Meaning that when things get tough don't question in those dark times what God has shown us to be true in those times of blessing.

We are to follow God like the Israelites did during the Exodus.  They followed a Cloud by Day and a Fire by Night (Exodus 40:34-38).  They were willing to follow God wherever and whenever He lead.

We as a church have had to do just these things over the past month.  We had to remember what God showed us to do in the light; we had to follow God's leading not always knowing the next step.

Over the past month many of you know that Awaken was approaching the end of our contract in our current facility at the end of September.  We had been working diligently towards a new home and thought we had several things lined up until each were stripped away one right after another.  We were left in a place where all we could do was trust God would provide.  With 3 days until we would be homeless as a church God decided to reveal to us the space He knew all along would be our new place of worship.

Starting this coming Sunday Awaken will enter into a new season when we begin meeting in a Cinema Cafe (movie theater that serves food on independence blvd) right up the street from where we were at.  We are excited as God leads us into a new season of ministry and new people we will be able to reach with the Gospel. 

Please praise Him with us in His Provision!  Thanks for your prayers as we continue to follow Jesus as a Cloud by Day and a Fire by Night.

Christians Gone Wild

We currently as a Church are going through a series in 1 Corinthians called Christians Gone Wild.  We chose the book of Corinthians because it is a book about bringing maturity to those that claim to know Jesus.  Just this past Sunday we were covering Chapter 10:1-14 talking about idolatry. 

I told our people the problems in our lives are not so much the obvious things we know we shouldn't be doing, but instead the good things in our lives that we raise up to be "god" things; or as I refer to them our "Functional Saviors".

We can identify these "Functional Saviors" by first answering the question, what is my "Little Hell".  For example maybe your "Little Hell" is being single the rest of your life.  If that is the case then your "Functional Savior" is getting married.  Is marriage bad?  Not at all, it has the potential of being a great blessing in your life.  But if we raise it to "god" status it has the potential to be very destructive.  Because then it becomes an idol (functional savior) taking the place of Jesus in our lives. 

Below are a list of questions I gave our people to identify their "Functional Saviors":

• ·      What are you most afraid of?
• ·      What is your greatest fear?  Something scared of not having, not being, not doing.
• ·      What are you scare of?
• ·      What do you long for most passionately?
• ·      What do you care about?
• ·      What do you think about?
• ·      What are you motivated by?
• ·      What do you give yourself to?
• ·      What drives you, compels you, motivates you?
• ·      Where do you run for comfort?
• ·      What is frustrating in your life that you complain the most about?
• ·      What angers you?
• ·      What makes you happiest?
• ·      What has made you angry with God?  What are you mad about?  Are you saying has wronged you, He sinned against you because He didn’t do what you wanted Him to do.
• ·      What do you brag about? 
• ·      What do you want to have more than anything else?
• ·      If I could change one thing in my life it would be blank?
• ·      Who’s approval are you seeking?
• ·      What do you want to control or master?
• ·      What comfort do you treasure the most?

You can follow the link below to listen to the message from this past Sunday.  Hope you are challenged with this message as I was.

http://www.awakenvirginiabeach.com/media/index.php?sermonID=89

 

Men Vs. Women

I was personally reminded of the differences of men and women while playing with my kids. My 6 year old daughter asks why do adult teeth not hurt like baby teeth when they come in? Very good question, but while she asks this my son is rolling on the floor making growling noises! I couldn't help but think of how different Men and Women are. One is thinking and asking very intelligent questions, the other is grunting on the floor! HA!!

On one of our Sundays through our Love, Marriage, Baby Carriage Series we talked about the differences between Men and Women.

Top Five Needs of a Man:

1. Sexual Fulfillment: Husband feels close to their wives through sex and each should talk about this aspect of their relationship.

2. Recreational Companionship: Most men struggle to sit and talk, however they love doing things together. A husband and wife should find things they both enjoy doing together.

3. Attractive Spouse: A husband wants his wife to occasionally dress up and go on dates with him and take care of herself.

4. Domestic Support: Men have a need for a peaceful home. He wants to know that as he is leading and loving his family things are being taken care of on the home front.

5. Admiration: A guy wants a wife who believes in him and tells him that. Ladies tell your husband you are proud of him. Encourage him.

Top Five Needs of a Woman:

1. Affection: Guys your wives just want you to hold her and love her. It doesn't always have to be about sex!

2. Conversation: Men learn to talk to your wife. She needs you to talk to her. Set time aside to talk each week. This becomes harder with kids, but is desperately needed.

3. Total Trust: A wife needs to know she can be open and honest with her husband. Trust is a valuable and fragile thing that must be continually worked on.

4. Provided For: Guys get a job! Provide for your family. She doesn't need to be rich or have everything she wants, but she must feel she is provided for and stable.

5. Family Commitment: Though a guy needs a peaceful home that doesn't mean that a husband is not a husband or a father. A woman needs to know he is committed to his family no matter what.

Material taken from popular book "His Needs, Her Needs" by Willard Harley

For more on this topic listen to the following sermon: http://vault.awakenvirginiabeach.com/audio/2012-02-26-hq-sermon.mp3

Vintage Jesus

This past Sunday we just began our new Fall Series entitled Vintage Jesus. Through this series we are going to be helping to answer all kinds of questions that people have about Jesus. This past Sunday we looked at the question, was Jesus both Fully God and Fully Human? This coming Sunday we will talk about why something as cruel and violent as the cross is so instrumental to our faith.

Through this series we are also challenging our people to be bringing in old shoes to help an organization called Soles 4 Souls collect and send them to third world countries where children and people don't have the privilege of having shoes. Our goal is to raise up 1000 pairs of shoes. If you are interested in helping with this goal please notify myself. We don't want to just challenge our people to learn what the Bible says about Jesus, but to live out their faith in a real practical way. As the Bible says "faith without deeds is dead". We don't want to teach our people a dead faith.

In fact this Sunday I will be sharing a story with our people about a meeting I had with a young man from the community last week. Believe it or not I scheduled a meeting with this guy by simply telling him I liked his Tattoos. When we met at the local Panera he proceeded to tell me for the next two hours about how in the last three years he lost his mom, grandma, brother, and his dad committed suicide. They lived in Mexico and he was not even able to be at their funeral. As he spoke of their death, he told me of the pain he felt deep inside. I told him that I believed in God's providence and that I believe God arranged our meeting so I could share with him the healing that Jesus can bring. Please pray for Manuel as I will continue to try and meet with him.

Let us remember that Jesus is never Vintage and he is still doing today the same thing he has always done; pursuing His people. God please continue to challenge us to not a dead faith, but a faith that is sharing our material wealth through things like shoes and sharing with our mouths the healing that Jesus can bring.

Are You Being Moved?

I told our people this past Sunday that Extreme Transformation comes from Extreme Commitment. I explained that for us to see an extreme change in our hearts, our lives, in who we are as a sum total there needs to be an extreme dedication to pursuing Jesus this new year. During this challenge I encouraged them to examine their lives and ask what is it that I am holding onto that Jesus is asking me to let go of.

We carry all kinds of hurt, uncertainty, betrayal, aloneness, whether it is from maybe a parents divorce, a spouse leaving, a friend hurting us, a job that doesn't work out, etc... Jesus wants to carry us through all of these "messes" and use them in His story of transformation in us. A story of His working in our lives to never leave us the same.

I was listening to a song the other day by a popular band called Lifehouse. Part of the lyrics in one of their songs struck me. It said, "How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you."

I simply want to ask, are you being moved?

I Hate My Marriage

I Hate My Marriage... no not really. I actually love my marriage, but I do know a lot of people are at this place in their lives. They look at their marriages and for whatever reason, mostly they have no answers for, their marraiges are not what they imagined them to become.

I know the title is shocking, but so is the fact that so many marriages are hurting as the church stands around and watches. This fall we are launching a marriage series that will focus on all areas of marriage from expectations in marriage to friends, fears, and foxes that steal our marriages, even to what happens in between the sheets. Shhhh! I think it is called sex... Why you ask, because the Bible talks about all these areas and therefore we should as well.

So whether you Hate Your Marriage or you are experiencing a ripe and fruitful marriage (that can easily sour) or maybe you are not even married (either way it is still fun to talk about sex)... don't miss what God says about the topic we all care to know more about! We will be launching this series through the month of October... don't miss out!