Crazy Hope

"Hope"...this is another word in our culture that has really lost its meaning. In many ways, we have really devalued the word hope. We use the word now when we speak of things that we believe to be beyond our control or our power. For example, we say things like, "I hope I get that promotion"... "I hope I pass that test"... "I hope the falling stock market doesn't completely destroy my retirement." It really breaks my heart to hear people use such a powerful word in such an unpowerful way. For believers, hope is not uncertian at all. On the contrary, hope is certianty. Hope is confident expectation. Hope is the fulfillment of God's promises to his people. Hope is what God gives, and hope is what sustains.

There are two different aspects of Christian hope. For us, our hope is a definite, present reality. And, hope is a confident, future anticipation. Within both aspects there lies a power from God that is very real, yet because of our humanistic worldview, for many of us it is not fully realized. We as followers of Christ need to recapture the extraordinary, remarkable aspect of hope we have in Christ. We must reclaim our "Crazy Hope" so that we may find the strength and courage to persevere within a fallen world.

Read: Ephesians 1:13-2:10

Our crazy hope is rooted in a crazy powerful God! Paul speaking to the Ephesians (and to us), is reminding us that as we believed in the gospel we were marked with a seal. That seal is the promised Holy Spirit which guarantees our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession. The Holy Spirit is our mark of hope. In this hope, Paul prays that we might also come to realize the riches of his glorious inheritance and his incomparably great power. What about this power?

Well, this power is the same mighty strength exerted by God when he raised Christ from the dead...placed him in the heavenly realms at his right hand..."far above" all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given...the same power that put everything under the feet, under the lordship of Christ. The idea here is that no matter what kind of god or celestial being you and I might believe exists, no matter what kind of god or celestial being we might be able to dream up, no matter what kind of god, being, or thing we might believe deserves our worship, none of them could ever have, or will ever have, more power and authority than Christ.

Here is the best part! Notice in vv. 22-23 of chapter 1 where all of that power and authority is being concentrated. It is all given to Christ for the church! The church is us, right!? That same power that raised Christ from the dead, seated him next to God in the heavenly realms, and placed everything under his feet; that same power lies within you and me. That power is ours for we are the fullness of Christ and Christ fills everything in every way. It is Christ that we serve, and it is his church he fills! Because of the incomparably great power, we rejoice in some amazing blessings that are already fully real.

Our crazy hope is a present reality! There are promises of God that have already been fulfilled. There are blessings from God that are already a very real part of our everyday lives. These promises and blessings provide for us a present hope that gives us a confidence and certianty that all of God's future promises will be reavealed. Take a look at the following verses (Eph. 1:3, 5, 7-8, 13-14; 2:5, 6, 10). Pay particulary close attention to verse 6 of chapter 2. Paul writes that we are already raised with Christ, we are already seated with him in the heavenly realms. Paul reassures us that as the church, Christ is in us and he fills us in every way. If Christ is in us and Christ has already been raised and seated with God, then in some sense we too have already been raised and seated with God. Our reservation has been made! Our hope is already secure! Our eternal home is a sure thing! With these blessings and Christ's power, Satan cannot take away what Christ has already shed his blood for! So, just tell Satan to back off in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ! We do have great blessing that are completely and fully real, but we also eagerly anticipate some amazing blessings that are not yet fully realized.

Our crazy hope is in our future glory! With a strength and power that is beyond the world we live in, we are able to overcome each day's struggles as we realize what has already been done for us. We are also able to live powerfully for what lies ahead because of the confident expectation of what we know will also be done for us. As human beings we must deal with the present reality of the world that we live in. As disciples of Christ, we can long for, dream of, and hope in a future glory that far outweighs anything this life has to offer. Look at these verses (Eph. 1:18; 2:7). Beyond this life lies the riches of his glorious inheritance. Beyond this life lies the incomparable riches of his grace. As followers of Christ, we have have grace beyond grace, love beyond love, wealth beyond wealth, and life beyond life. We too should pray daily that God lay on us his Spirit of wisdom and revelation that we might know him better. We too should pray daily that the eyes of our heart are enlightened that we may understand the hope that we have, as well as the hope to which we have been called.

Believers in Christ rejoice in a new life in Christ, but we await eternal life at the feet of Christ. We know that we have been raised with Chrsit, but we eagerly await the final resurrection. We know that we have been saved, but we are awaiting our salvation. We know we have been adopted, but we anticipate the day we are fully revealed as sons and daughters of the King. We know we are transformed, but we are waiting to be fully changed. Each day we experience the glory and power of God, but we anticipate the day when God's full glory and power will be revealed. What a God! What a hope! May prayer is that all believers, every day, will be able to live confidently because they have a "crazy" hope in a "crazy" powerful God.

Blessings.

Crazy Faith

I started a new series this Sunday entitled "Crazy." Over the next three weeks we are going to look at what it means to have Crazy Faith, Crazy Hope, and Crazy Love. I must say, I really loved this Sunday morning. The worship was amazing, I really felt the Spirit moving through me as I shared my thoughts on Crazy Faith. I can't speak for anyone else, but I thoroughly enjoyed this Sunday.

Crazy Faith...why "crazy." The meaning of a word can change, and has changed, with each passing generation. For example, when my parents were kids, the word "bad"meant just what you might think it should mean; not good, spoiled, or rotten. When I was a kid, the word "bad" meant something totally different; awesome or amazing. The word "crazy" has gone through a similar transformation over the years. At one time, the word crazy meant that something or someone was insane, ridiculous, or foolish. Now, crazy has come to mean that something is exceptional, extraordinary, or even remarkable. So, the idea is that as followers of Christ, we must exhibit a crazy faith as we learn to live within a fallen world.

Paul was probably the greatest example of one who lived a life of crazy faith despite his circumstances. Read: 2 Corinthians 4. Twice in this passage (v. 1 and v. 16) Paul says that believers should not lose heart. We should not lose heart even when what is seen leads others to believe that our faith is "crazy." Paul did not lose heart when his message and his ministry were rejected. Many thought Paul was crazy, or foolish, for preaching Christ. For, the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. Paul did not lose heart when he faced pressures, set-backs, persecution, and even death. If anyone had reason to lose heart, it would have been Paul. Notice all that he went through for the sake of the gospel and those he preahced the gospel to...read: 2 Corinthians 11:23-28. All of these we may very well face in life and ministry. If we cannot focus on anything else but the bad economy, unemployment ratings, falling stock market, nuclear threats, and excessive government spending, then it would be easy to see why so many preach a message of gloom and doom. It is easy to see why so many are discouraged and hopeless. In fact, by worldly standards, if we focus on only what we can see, we have been pretty unsuccessful as of late.

But Paul says, "we do not lose heart" because it is what is unseen that convinces us we must have a "crazy" faith. Paul recognized what he had in the gospel of Christ. He considered the gospel to be his treasure. It was that threasure that got him through all of the struggles, set-backs, and persecutions in his life and ministry (ref. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12). Paul was remarkably confident in the future that existed for him beyond this life. We, like Paul, must not allow our present circumstances to overshadow our future glory. Paul calls himself, and us, jars of clay. Clay jars were probably the most common household item of the day. There was nothing special or spectacular about the jar itself. No, what made it special was the contents within it. We, too, need to realize the treasure that lies within us. We must find our strength in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have been redeemed by the blood of a crucified Savior! Our future has been secured by the life of a resurrected Lord! Because of that, we can live a life of confidence, certainty, and sureness, just like Paul...using words like "I know..." and "I believe..."

As followers of Christ, "we do not lose heart" because our "crazy" faith is the result of a "crazy" faithful God! Paul lived unashamedly for Christ. His testimony to the world is that he didn't measure his success by the same standards with which the world measures success. He says, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Paul lived a crazy faith because he understood he had a crazy faithful God. Notice what Paul says about God in 2 Corinthians 1:18-22. No matter what promises God has made, they are all "Yes" in Christ Jesus. That is why we too can live a life of Crazy Faith. We press on for the inward strength, joy, and peace that he has promised us if we stay connected to him. We press on because of the certain future destiny we have in Jesus. We live out a crazy faith as shining examples of patient endurance, sharing the treasure that lies within us, because we serve a crazy faithful God!

Ever Been There?

Wow! It has been forever since I have used this blogsite. In many ways I have even forgotten that I had it. I could probably come up with a million excuses for why I haven't been on here in a while (and I have some good ones). Honestly, however, that is all that they are...excuses.

I thought I would just throw out some randon thoughts today. I am about to explode, so I had to find a place to expel what's on my mind. This seems like the place for me to do that...although I might come to regret it later.

I recently have taken on a new role in my job. I am no longer just a youth minister (haven't been for quite some time). I am no longer an Associate Minister. I am now the Preaching Minister at my church. I truly feel called to be where I am...but I in no way was truly prepared for the task that still lays before me. I can't even begin to express how frustrated I am with the work that I have taken on. I am sure any other preachers out there will understand where I am coming from. I took over this position within a church that has seen its fair share of struggles. I was, and still am, convinced that the Lord called me to this position. However, I am still trying to figure out how in the world that God is going to, or possibly could, use me to make a difference.

Our church has experienced a split, a church plant, and an earth-shattering change in leadership...all within the last four to five years. I must say that no church should ever be asked to endure so much in such a short amount of time. As a result, we have lost somewhere in the neighborhood of 100-150 members. Not all of those left in the initial phases of each experience, but if you have ever done any work within the church, you will understand how the after-shock of each event still seems to claim its victims. No matter how hard I have tried, there still seems to be a lingering since of frustration and resentment with some. There are times that I still wonder if I am even making a difference. Ever been there?

I have kept quiet about this as long as I possibly can. I have tried to keep it to myself, but I can no longer do that. I am hurting...I am stressed...I am frustrated...I am constantly seeking God's guidance and direction because I know, and have always known, that the task of rebuilding this church is far beyond any skills, ablilites, and talents that I might possess. In many ways we are working from the ground up...rebuilding, redirecting, renovating. It has become a much bigger task than I have ever imagined. I am still up for the challenge, but something continues to haunt me. Over the last year, I have watched various leaders cut their ties with our church and move in different directions. All of them have their share of frustrations with the way things have seemed to go over the last few years. All of them wishing that things never happened, believing that things could have been avoided, wanting things to be different. I have always wanted to ask, but never wanted to hurt anyone's feelings... Why not stay and lead, helping us to improve the things that need improving? Many of these people are my friends and have no desire to hurt them; and that is why I never asked the question. Ever been there?

I have been in ministry for almost 12 years now. All of that time I have only worked within four churches...in this particular church for 8 years this summer. I know that four churches is not that much in the big scheme of things. However, I can honestly say, even through all that this church has been through, there is not a more loving, generous, and caring group of people in the world (understanding that this is solely my opinion). I know that we have been through a lot. I know that I am tired, frustrated, stressed, and at other times depressed; but I know what this church is made of. I know what it was, and am confident of what it can be again. In the midst of all my frustrations, I can't help but love these people. All I want is to inspire them beyond our present pain. All I want is to motivate them to accept the ministry with which they have been entrusted. All I want is to see them make a difference in the lives of others. I want them to discover again the joys of mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Ever been there?