Think Highly

Romans 12:3 says, "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned."

Let me ask you a question.  Think about it for a moment before you answer.  According to the verse above, are you to think highly of yourself?

The answer is yes!  Why yes?  I only need one reason to think highly of myself and that is because Jesus Christ thought so highly of me that He died for me.  If I am that valuable in his sight (so valuable that God himself would die for me), then I should be that valuable in my sight.

But!  There is a but here and it is critical, Paul says, don't think higher of yourself than you ought.  Paul's own words say to think highly of yourself, but not higher than you ought.

There is a fine line between pride and humbly seeing your abilities with sober judgment.  The Lord has gifted each of us with a measure of grace and a measure of faith.  (Romans 1:5, Romans 12:3, Ephesians 4:7)  The grace of God enables us to faithfully be obedient to Him and to use our abilities for good.  Therefore, when I take the glory for accomplishing anything in this life (When I say [maybe not verbally but mentally] look at me instead of look at God) I have crossed the line of thinking to highly of myself.

Let me give you an example of what it means to think higher of yourself than you ought.

Recently, at Midtown Church, I had a few volunteers build a wall in a room to make a closet.  These guys worked for 14 hours in one day to get it done! If I came in with a paint brush and painted the wall, then preached about the wall I built and all the time I spent on it and how you should be follow my servanthood example, I am speaking of myself higher than I ought.  Instead, all I did was finish the wall while the brunt of the work was done beforehand by someone else.  (FYI, I didn't do anything on the wall, so don't follow my example)  This same principle applies to us when we take the glory for accomplishing any good work in our life.  Rather, that glory belongs to God because GOd has prepaed us beforehand to do these good works (Ephesians 2:10).

I am not saying that we utter the phrase, "Praise be to God" after every little compliment we get, rather in our hearts and in our minds we recognize that the sovereign Lord has gifted us and therefore I can boldly say thank you when someone has a genuine compliment, and in my heart praise the Lord for His work in me (although these compliments do create awesome opportunities to spread the gospel).

Last thing, Paul says don't THINK highly of yourself.  He doesn't say, don't SPEAK highly of yourself.  If we have right thinking we will have right speaking.  So it is not just a matter of what you say about yourself but what you think about yourself.

So think highly of yourself!  But, keep it in perspective with the fact that God has enabled you to do some pretty awesome things!

Learn more here:

http://www.midtownchurchfl.org/ego-mtc147/


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It's all His

The check engine light came on in my truck about a week ago.  This is the fourth time in 6 weeks it has come on, and I would be lying to you if I told you I handled it well.  I was so frustrated that my truck was costing me so much of my time and money lately, that I started thinking that maybe it was time to buy a new truck.  I quickly remembered the lesson I learned in college when I traded in my nice truck (that had a brand new engine in it) because the check engine light came on and I didn't want to deal with it, for a car whose engine blew up three days later (talk about embarrassing).  My problem, I was holding on to tight to my stuff, ultimately making decisions that would continue to cause my situation to get worse, instead of releasing the decision and the truck to God.  

My, my, my.  The problem is, the more I claim ownership of stuff, the more I am tied to this world and spend unnecessary stress to maintain what isn't mine to begin with.  God has made me a manager over the "stuff" he has given me in my life.  My family, my health, and my possessions are under my care to manage but belong to God.  It is so much less stressful being a manager than an owner.  When I manage something and it falls apart, I turn to the owner and let him know that it is beyond my control and release it back to him.  When I give control back to God over the areas of my life that have fallen apart (and the areas of life that haven't), I become a better manager.

When I had my business, I would tell my employees all the time that, “The sooner you let me know you broke something, the sooner you are freed from the obligation of worrying about it."  Why?  Because it was my business (ok you caught me, it was God's but mine to manage) , I hired guys to do the best they can, and when they couldn't do any better, I gave them the freedom to give it back to me and continue on working (I also knew that they are better employees when they are not worried about stuff and are focused on their work). 

I love Job's words as he looks at his life crumbling around him, "naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return".  That's how he handled his stress; he formed a realistic worldview on his stuff.  The stuff never belonged to him to begin with, for if it did, he would have been born with it and would be able to take it with him when he dies. 

What area of your life needs to be given back to the original owner?  What area of life have you lost full control of?  He has given you the freedom to hand it back to Him, all messed up and broken, so that you can go back to managing the other things he has given you.

Psalm 24:1 says, The earth is the LORD'S and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.

Christ Seen in the Plagues

I love reading the Old Testament and seeing Christ foreshadowed in the stories.  This morning as I was reading about the ten plagues in Exodus, I got to see an amazing picture of Christ's death and how it relates to the Church today.

Let me outline the sequence of events for you.

Old Testament

9th Plague - Darkness covered Egypt for 3 days.  (Exodus 10:22)
10th Plague - The 1st born children of Egypt are killed by the hand of God. (Exodus 12:29)

New Testament

Christ is called the first born of all creation (Colossians 1:15)
Christ is called God's only begotten Son (John 3:16)

Darkness fell on the earth for 3 hours (Luke 23:44)
Following the 3 hours of darkness, the death of Jesus Christ, the firstborn and only Son of God takes place. (Luke 23:46)

The connection doesn't stop there. In Exodus 9:16, God says that he has raised Pharaoh up for this purpose, that His name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

God's promise to Pharaoh to proclaim His name in all the earth has proven true.  The result of the tenth plague was that the chosen nation of Israel was set free from slavery and bondage and to live in a land flowing with milk and honey.  The result of Christ's death and resurrection was to free His chosen people, those who call on His name, from the slavery and bondage of their sins so that one day they would walk on streets of gold in the presence of their Savior.  There is one massively large difference between the Old Testament deaths of the firstborns of Egypt and of Christ's death. Christ was not defeated by death.  He conquered death and is sitting at the right hand of His Father waiting to bring his children home.

If you haven't been set free from the bondage of your sins, call on the name of Christ today!  If you have, spread the message of the gospel, as Christ commands, to all the earth.

The Word of God Pierces the Soul

I was stopped in my thoughts yesterday as a well respected friend uttered a phrase that I have heard a dozen times in the past 4 months, "Greg, I just don't know about the church, I feel like we have become more like an institution instead of what God designed us to be, a body of Christ that makes disciples first and foremost."  I still can't shake his words.  They pierced my heart. I was broken this morning as I reflected on his words because I am the pastor of a church who DOES NOT want to see the local church fight to maintain its four walls, but to fight for the souls who are perishing day after day.

Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

Bounce back to Acts and read Acts 2:37  Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”...Peter told them to repent, and they did.

Preceding Acts 2:37 is the first sermon found in Acts and it is delivered by Peter.  In this sermon, Peter (just a fisherman and a sailor turned disciple) delivers a sermon that is 1/3 Scripture, 2/3 exposition.  The result of his sermon: the people's hearts break over their sin and turn to God.

Do you believe in the power of the Bible that is lying on your night stand or in your book case?  If not, can I challenge you to pick it up and ask God to reveal to you the piercing power of His Word.  Then be ready to be broken!  If my friend's words that were spoken yesterday had enough impact to stop me and begin to break my heart, how much more can God's Word pierce my soul.

Feeling Defeated Before the Sun Comes up

Have you ever woken up in the morning and guilt has over taken you?  Sometimes it is due to sin the previous day that was not dealt with, sometimes due to complete exhaustion breaking down that hard spiritual coating we wear on the outside, or that guilt can be related to some dreams you had during the night.

Those feelings of guilt can defeat us before the day even begins, that is, if we give them control over us.  For me, if I wake up in guilt and don’t deal with it immediately, I am prone to drift down that guilty path and commit the very sin my conscience already condemns me for.

Lamentations 3:22-24 says, The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

Guilt can rid you of all hope if not dealt with according to the mercies of God.  The truth is, you may feel guilty, but the Lord’s steadfast love never ends, and his mercies (his forgiveness) are new every morning.  Now all you need to do is hope in Him.  Focus on his mercies, not your guilt.  Let him know what you are struggling with and then choose to embrace his promise to forgive you.

A Functioning Dysfunctional Family

No family is beyond the functioning power of God.

How would you label your family, functional or dysfunctional?  A dysfunctional family can take on many different forms.  Maybe your family is labeled dysfunctional because of the yelling that takes place, the drug abuse that happens, the perpetual lying, the many half brothers or sisters you have, you fill in the blank.

We see a dysfunctional family in the beginning of Scriptures.  It is the family of Abraham.  Let me list to you some of the issues found in this family

- Abraham lies twice about Sarah being his wife.

- Abraham and Sarah both laugh at God.

- Sarah tells Abraham to sleep with the maid.  Abraham does, and Sarah gets mad and treats the maid with anger.

- Isaac, Abraham’s son, also lies about his wife Rebekah, being his wife.

- Isaac favors Essau and Rebekah favors Jacob, causing division between the boys.

- Jacob steals Essau’s birthright, and later his blessing as the firstborn.

This is the classic dysfunctional family.  Although the family was dysfunctional, the Lord had a huge function for them to play in the redemption of his people, Jesus, the King of Kings, would be born from this family tree.

No family, including yours, is beyond the power of God to be used in a functioning way.  Don’t lose hope if your family appears to be too dysfunctional. 

God's Will and a Cup of Coffee

It’s 6 a.m. and you alarm is blaring!  You roll out of bed, splash some water on your face and go to your coffee maker to brew a cup of coffee.  For a split second, the thought crosses your mind, “I really need to cut back on caffeine”. 

You are now left with a decision.  Do I brew a cup of coffee or drink something else?  What would God want me to do in this situation?  What is God’s will for me in this, seemingly, petty circumstance?

God commands us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice.  This really means that everything we do, from drinking a cup of joe to buying a car can be an act of worship to God.  1 problem, is the decision we are faced with a decision to conform to this world?  If so, then we are not living in worship and our minds need to be renewed into the likeness of Christ regarding this situation.

If you are like me, you don’t think twice about most of your decisions, you just work off of feeling and instinct.  Christian, let’s begin to search for God’s will in all areas of life, the big areas and the small areas.  If we put the work into knowing God’s will today, it will begin to become second nature tomorrow.

Last thing, sounds like a lot of work huh?  That is, asking, “What is the will of God in every area?”  Well it is, but when we are fueled by the mercies of God (as Romans 12:1 speaks about) then it is possible to begin to decipher God’s will.  Paul gives us three checkpoints to know if something is of God or of this world; is it: good, acceptable, and (not or) perfect.  If it doesn’t fit all three, you may need to pass it up as a child of God. 

So, are you going to make the cup of coffee or not?

Listen to the sermon here:

http://www.midtownchurchfl.org/transformed-mtc146/