Month: March 2019

March 10, 2019 Pastor Jesse Moss | Duluth

Your personal identity shapes your life. Shaping your life based on another person’s identity or a false identity is a crime. In 2018 nearly 16 million Americans were victims of identity theft. It is a crime that is becoming more and more common as the years go by. As a result, the authorities are taking cases of identity theft more and more seriously. The penalties that are faced in this country for living out a false identity are high. Including severe fines and decades of imprisonment. The US government is doing all that they can to get people to live life as who they really are.

A Two-Sided Problem

Today the church is facing the same problem. Millions are trying to live their lives contrary to their identity. There are two different ways that this creates serious problems for the church. Many unbelievers, those with an identity that is not in Christ, who are not born again, try to live as though they are. They attempt to prove their identity as in Christ by any means necessary, but that is simply not the case. They hold out seemingly legitimate identification: IDs showing them as church members, letters and emails showing a connection with those who are in Christ, they may have passports stamped full with all the places they have gone for the cause of Christ, they even have bank statements showing their generosity…  But in the end they have not been born again, they do not have an identity as in Christ. They can show all the documentation they desire but it’s not enough because they don’t have a birth certificate. The second way the church sees this problem is with Christians, those who are legitimately born again but don’t live out that identity as they should. They have all the right paperwork declaring the truth of who they are, but none of the right actions.

Who are You?

What is your identity? Are you a child of God? Is your identity in Jesus or is your identity in something else? You should be whoever you are. If you are an unbeliever, don’t pretend to be a follower of Jesus. He isn’t fooled, no matter how much documentation you might provide. Continuing to cling to an identity of Christian when it is not true does no good, in fact, it will only do you harm. But, if you have been saved and now are a Christian, be one. Be one with all your thoughts, words, actions, desires, and pursuits, be a Christian with your character, be a Christian with all of your life. Let all of who you are be shaped by that identity.

Make the Reality Real

Over and over the Bible talks about how our actions are in relation to our standing in Christ. An example of this is found in 1 Corinthians 5:7 where Paul says, “Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed”. In the Bible yeast is a picture of sin. He is saying, “Jesus died as a sacrifice, and if you have put your faith in Him, He has already made you sinless, so now get rid of the sin.” God tells us that if your identity is a Christian there are several truths about who you really are. He tells us things that are already a presently held reality, but then also tells us to fight and strive for what He has already made us.  

As a Christian, we instantly become positionally holy, and yet we are told to kill sin, to strive for righteousness. (1 Cor. 5:7 Col. 3:12, 1 Pet 1:15) When you become a Christian you are the light of the world (Matt.5:14) therefore, “let your light shine” (Matt. 5:16). God has made wonderful truths a reality for us, we are to live in a way that those realities actually become real in our lives.

Christian, Be Yourself

This is by no means a call for you to be true to your heart, yourself, or to trust your gut. It is not a call to excuse yourself from striving or fighting because you are simply letting you be you. But if you are a Christian you are a child of the almighty God. That is your identity and that identity will change your life. Go and be who you are. Be holy and righteous, be bold and courageous, be meek and humble, be ambassadors for God’s kingdom. As God’s children, there is a lot that Jesus calls us to be and to do. Fulfill the destiny that is befitting of your identity.

How can we do this?

Becoming like Christ is not impossible. Growing more and more into the person God has made you to be can be a reality. However, you cannot do it by your own effort and work. If you try you will fail. No amount of study and no amount of time invested will be enough. You can only do this by union with Christ. Your identity comes from Him, your identity is in Him, and you can only live out that identity through Him. Jesus longs for your identity to be found in Him. That is why Paul said on Colossians 1:27 that “Christ in you is the hope of glory.” You cannot hope to accomplish this apart from Him.

There are serious consequences for those who practice identity theft today, but the consequences of spiritual identity theft are even farther reaching and will leave their mark for eternity. Be sure you have all the necessary forms of identification and do not be satisfied with anything less. If you do not have that birth certificate declaring you to be a child of God go to Him, seek Him with all you have. If you do, let nothing get in your way of becoming all of who you are identified to be.

March 7, 2019 JFB Books and Media

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

God’s will is not a bullseye to hit, but a life to live

The gist of the book, Just Do Something, is that too many of us spend too much time trying to divine God’s will and too little time striving to obey the plain commands of Scripture. God’s will is not a corn maze or magic eight ball. His will is our sanctification. God promises to direct our steps all throughout life. He never promises to show us what each step is ahead of time. Too many of us are prone to passivity and indecision. Doing nothing feels more spiritual (and less risky) rather than doing something. We stumble around in chains of subjective impressions and wander here and there, and in and out of our parent’s basement.

Pastor Kevin DeYoung counsels Christians to settle down, make choices, and do the hard work of seeing those choices through. Too often, God’s people tinker around with churches, jobs, and relationships. They worry that they haven’t found God’s perfect will for their lives. Even worse, they do absolutely nothing. Stuck in a frustrated state of paralyzed indecision, waiting… waiting… waiting for clear, direct, unmistakable direction.

God doesn’t need to tell us what to do at each fork in the road of life.

He’s already revealed His plan for our lives:

to love Him with our whole hearts,

to obey His Word,

after that…to do what we like.

No need for hocus–pocus. No reason to be directionally challenged.

Just do something.

This book is Available at JFB Central Desk

or at these online stores below

Amazon
Christianbook
March 4, 2019 Believers Church

A Problem with Modern Believers

All too often we’re quick to answer this question “correctly” but live in many ways contrary to it. What I mean is, we have sound theology but faulty practice. Most of the time we feel our heart’s desire is to live according to God’s commands and desires… until we come in conflict with something we don’t like or understand. It’s then that we work within our own authority and not God’s. Matt Chandler takes us through this idea encouraging us to rethink our answer and to know that if something is amiss, it’s on our side of the relationship. When we can see the truth of this in ourselves, we need to learn to repent of it and re-engage God humbly.

“What you believe about God cannot diminish God. Do you hear me? If you want to say, “I don’t believe that about God,” that does not make God any less God. “I just don’t believe God would act like that.” Do you think all of a sudden God goes, “Gosh! Let me shrink a little bit.” What you ultimately believe about God has much for you but does not affect God’s God-ness in any way. That is laughable that you think what you think about God somehow defines God ultimately. God cannot be defined by you. God is God.” -Matt Chandler

Listen To/Download the Audio HERE

March 1, 2019 Pastor Jason Gilbert | Menomonie

As of late, the subject of spiritual growth has come up at various times in conversation around the church.  Visitors have asked how they can take the next step in their spiritual growth through what is available at the church.  Those in discipleship class were surveyed and asked what areas they would be interested in learning more about.  Their answers boiled down to holiness, sanctification, and spiritual growth.  In conversations with my wife, we too have discussed our need for spiritual growth.  I think we all know what a Christian is.  But the rub is in actually being a Christian.  We know who Jesus is.  We just aren’t living, serving, thinking, acting, or loving like Him… at least not as much as we’d like to be.

Addressing the Need

So how do we address this need for Spiritual Growth in our lives?  I see some of us looking for a short cut to our Christian maturity.  We think that if we just understood the right truths or had a certain spiritual experience, we would then be a mature Christian.  That is the formula for becoming a Christian, as we come to know who Christ is, who we are as sinners, surrender of our lives to God, and experience the supernatural comfort of the Holy Spirit.  That is the process of becoming a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).  But it’s the beginning of spiritual maturity, not the end.  The question many of us have is, “Where do we go from here”?

Sanctification and Holiness

The Bible addresses spiritual growth using terms like sanctification and holiness.  Though both terms can be applied to a Christian’s new standing with God immediately upon salvation (Acts 26:18, Heb 10:10), they are also used to describe the life-long progression of each Christian toward spiritual maturity (1 Thes 4:3, Heb 12:14, 1 Peter 1:15-16).  As a child grows into physical maturity, so we as Christians are called to grow in spiritual maturity (Heb 5:12-13, 1 Cor 13:11).  The difference being that our physical maturity peaks at age twenty, whereas our spiritual growth continues to the day of our death (2 Cor 4:16, Phil 3:12-16, 2 Tim 4:7).  Note that according to this metaphor, our spiritual maturity takes longer than our physical maturity.  We should therefore not look for short cuts to sanctification. 

There is no secret knowledge to being holy.  There is no one-time experience that will make us a mature Christian.  Those seeking such will experience at best oscillating spiritual maturity, and at worst discouragement, frustration, and loss of faith.  We cannot become spiritually mature if we only drink spiritual milk… We must move on to the meat.

Progressing in Spiritual Maturity

How do we progress toward spiritual maturity?  I recently got into a couple of conversations on this very subject.  One visitor to our church said he had been reading the bible, listening to solid preaching, but realized he was not growing spiritually.  He then confessed that what was missing was other people, the Christian community, the church.  He had neglected the church and for that reason, had stunted his spiritual growth.  Another person recently returned to church who had been away for some time.  I asked him why he was back.  He said he came back because had only experienced spiritual growth while he was here, and hadn’t grown since he left.  I could relate.  I read my bible for years without being any more than a church attender…  But it wasn’t until I surrendered my life not only to God but to a particular community of believers, that things began to change. 

God Given Tools

God has given us several tools to grow up.  I think everyone would agree that He has given us His word to build us up (Acts 20:32). And that He has given us His Spirit to transform us (2 Cor 3:18).  But where are we practicing obedience to His word?  And where are we exercising the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit?  It certainly doesn’t happen at home in our favorite chair nestled under an afghan.  God has given us other people, the Christian community for the purpose of sharpening our understanding of God’s word.  God has given us the church as a place to employ the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit…

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,  until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,  so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” –Ephesians 4:11-16 (ESV)

Taking Full Advantage

Perhaps you too are seeking spiritual growth.  If it seems like it is taking forever, I want to encourage you.  It is a life-long process.  No one has arrived.  The real question is in how you address your need for spiritual growth…  Do you look for short cuts? Are you seeking some special knowledge?  Do you chase after spiritual experience?  Or will you make use of the tried and true methods of practicing God’s word and exercising God’s Spirit with and through God’s community, the church?  May we take full advantage of all the tools God has given us to grow in spiritual maturity… And not become short sited in our pursuit of the goal… That one day we may be found holy, unblemished, and perfect in His sight.