I know I’ve said this many times before but vision leaks so I will say it again!  This series is designed to prepare us for a summer of faithfulness in our pursuit of God and our call to live on mission for His purposes.  Here’s a recap of what we have covered.

Week 1 – What threatens our faithfulness?

The biggest threats to our faithfulness (in my opinion) are idleness and idolatry.  We were created for worship and that means we will always worship something or someone.  I challenged us to think about what (or who) it is we are worshiping when we are not being faithful to God.

Week 2 – Remember-Rejoice-Restore

Another threat to faithfulness is forgetfulness.  We’ve heard the gospel so many times and received God’s grace and forgiveness so many times that we can occasionally forget how great He is and how undeserving we are.  This week we all shared moments or experiences that produced in us a deeper love for God.  We also made a short list of things God has done on our behalf.  I wanted us to call to mind the love and favor we have received and to rejoice in response.  From there, the prayer was for God to restore the joy of our salvation, our passion for Him, the vision and purpose He has for each of us, and our hope in His promises.

Week 3 – Draw Near

In every relationship, you periodically have to assess what is needed to keep moving forward.  An honest look at my own relationship with God revealed that I needed to spend some extended time in prayer.  We looked at the Lord’s Prayer together to remind ourselves that God and His renown should be the central focus of our prayer.  Yes, we should submit our requests and even our preferences, but as we mature and grow spiritually, we will start to yield all of those things to whatever God wills.  Our assignment for this week was to have a date with God –  time to fellowship with God in silence, in prayer, in singing, in piano playing, or whatever you desired.

Week 4 – Stirring our Affections

I wanted us to consider the things that stir our affections for God and make us feel that we are working in tandem with (and by the power of) the Holy Spirit.  In the times when you feel you are glorying God and truly loving people well – what are you usually doing?  Serving? Listening? Teaching? Praying?

In what areas of your life does God’s presence and power stir within you?

Every believer has at least one spiritual gift and every gift is of equal value when deployed with the right motives.  We all completed a Spiritual Gifts assessment to help us get an idea of how God may have wired us to serve for His glory and the up-building of our brothers and sisters.

Spiritual gifts are manifestations of the Spirit for the edification of the body (1 Cor. 12:7).  How cool is it that by serving, we get to provide evidence to a watching world that our God truly exists?! Our spiritual gifts are expressions of faith, to encourage and increase the faith of others.

One point I wanted to make clear was that while tests like the one we completed can help, there’s only one way to determine your spiritual gifts for sure: using them!  Most spiritual gifts tests are simply asking about ways you’ve served before. (If you’re only answering the questions hypothetically, your results could be incorrect.)

For the most part, it seemed like we were in agreement with our assessments (with a few exceptions) but I would encourage us all to take the opportunity to serve people in those ways – and some other ways, too. We might find some awesome confirmation of our spiritual gifts, or we might be surprised by ones we didn’t know we had.

Either way, we’ll be discovering more about our identity in Christ and the gifts God has given us.

ASSIGNMENT FOR NEXT WEEK!!!

Without vision the people perish! That’s  ‘Bible Speak’.  Modern language may say it this way, “Make a plan or plan to fail.”

For some of us, the next few months may be filled with change, adventure, travel, and increased ( or decreased) opportunities to use our time however we see fit.  As you begin to think about how your summer will unfold, consider how you would like to be intentional with your time and in your pursuit of and service to God.

If you need some help to get your brain going, here are a few ideas:

• What relationships do you want to invest in?
• How will you live missionally this summer?
• What opportunities to you have to develop and use your spiritual gifts for the up-building of your church?
• How will you make sure God doesn’t get your ‘leftovers’?

Bucket lists are pretty common in the summer and they are usually full of things that only gratify us in this life.  Let’s be intentional about planning for things that will continue to matter in eternity.  Better yet, things that will change where someone else will spend their eternity.

Be prepared to share your ‘list’ with us next week!!

In preparation for this past Tuesday, I took some time to think about what would benefit our group.  Our church, and by extension, our Point Groups strive to be fun, authentic and relational.  I really believe we cover all three of those but I wanted to be sure I put equal emphasis on each.  Que the makeshift game night!!

In addition to providing time for us to laugh, I wanted to illustrate a point.  There are times in every relationship when we have to step back and evaluate the current state of things to see where we might need to focus more time and energy.  The same is true in our relationship with God.

For me, I realized my prayer life could use some attention.

We looked at the Lord’s Prayer from the Book of Luke.  My overall mission was to remind myself (and anyone else who may have needed it) that prayer should be God-centered, not me-centered or circumstance-centered.  When I am self-focused or circumstance-focused in my prayers, I am praying for MY will to be done.  Not Gods. 

Prayer should also be informed by scripture and rooted in faith.  Through prayer, we call upon the Lord to show Himself as mighty and sovereign in our lives and circumstances so that His name will be exalted and His will is done here on Earth, as it is in Heaven.

We are encouraged to pray for whatever concerns us.  We can ask God for anything (!!) as long as we follow up our request by asking God to align our wants with His and to change our hearts so we desire the things and outcomes He desires. 

Before Next Tuesday

Find some time to meet with the Lord.  Sit still and empty, completely hollowed out, meditating on the words and character of God.

Going forward through this summer, be sure you take periodic retreats and saturate yourself with the Bible until you feel that you are lifted into the presence of the Lord in a remarkable way so that your prayers are uncluttered by worldly thinking.

I spend a lot of time praying, studying, thinking, researching, writing, and listening when preparing for Tuesday nights.  When we finished Romans, I sat before the Lord and asked Him to give me something that would be beneficial to all of us.  I looked at the things God was revealing about my own life and asked Him to show me how to make that relevant for all of us.

As I mentioned before, I have heard many people, from many walks of life, say that they feel like they are dragging to the finish line.  If I can just make it through testing.  If I can just make it through this semester.  If I can just make it through this quarter at the office.  If I can just make it through this season.  I don’t know what’s on the other side of that ‘if‘ for everyone else, but for me, it’s usually something like ‘THEN I will be able to kick my heels up and have some ME time’.

Rest is good. I need rest.  We all need rest.  We need breaks in our schedule.  But those times of rest should include things that stir our affections for God.

As June approaches, I want to avoid the lie that says summer means a break from ministry, a break from community, a break from diligently seeking God in prayer and scripture, and a break from being a fully-engaged, active missionary in a lost and broken world.

This summer I want to be faithful in seeking the face of God and dwelling in His presence!

Here’s some of the wisest life advice I’ve ever heard – Make a plan or plan to fail.

We will use the month of May to plan and prepare for a Faithful Summer.  Here’s an overview for this ‘series‘.

Week 1 – Idleness and Idolatry

Our faithfulness to God and His mission and purpose for our lives is threatened by many external things in this world.  But I think the most dangerous threats to our faithfulness lie within us.  Our own tendency to grow weary and complacent and our search for something (beyond God) that would satisfy drive a wedge between us and our First Love.  This week we will take a close and honest look at what’s going on deep within our hearts that might threaten our intimacy with God.

Week 2 – Remember:Rejoice:Restore

When I survey the works and wonders the hands of God have performed in my life, I respond to Him in grateful worship.  When I remind myself of God’s glory and perfection and the price that Jesus paid to bring me into His presence, I am overcome with joy.  A renewed assurance of who God is and what He is doing in, around and through me restores my hope in all that He has planned for my life.  This week we will all have a chance to tell of what God has done for us and how He has drawn us to love Him.

Week 3 – Draw Near

How do you draw near to God?  How does your time in His word look? How healthy is your prayer life?  This week we will talk about the discipline of drawing near to God and carve out a time to intentionally meet with Him.

Week 4 – Vision Casting!

We are all uniquely designed and gifted by God.  The reason that we are living right now is because God determined that we are  necessary for His kingdom-building purposes for today.  He has you here on purpose, for a purpose.

As we break bread together over a potluck meal, we will have some time to talk about our spiritual gifts, our passions and talents, and the things that stir our heart for God and His people.  We will also each ask and answer questions like this: What is your mission?  Has God given you vision for your life?  What are you called to be faithful to do?

Week 5 – Accountability

The best way to prevent unfaithfulness is to guard against it.  This week, we will all present some plans and goals that we have to be faithful to God and the things of God over the summer.  What are we going to contribute to the vision and mission God has given us?  Then we will identify strategies to keep ourselves and each other accountable.

These are MY plans but they are subject to God’s authority.  My goal is not to write a curriculum.  My goal is to be sensitive to promptings of the Holy Spirit.  I pray each week that God would give me words and ideas that would bless the heart of His people.  I am always dependent on and open to His input (and to yours as well!).

I look forward to spending more time with each of you in the presence of God, our Father!

Thanks for sharing your “love stories” about God this week!  I love hearing other people talk about His goodness.  

Week One we addressed things that threaten our faithfulness to God.  I had us narrow down that list of things and focused on idleness and idolatry.

For Week Two, I wanted us to spend some time reflecting on the goodness and presence of God throughout our lives.  Too often I start to think that God has been missing in action and I start looking for Him in burning bushes and messages written in the sky.  I forget that every minute of every day God is constantly working ALL things for my good and His glory.

In order to pull myself out of those moments of forgetfulness, I take some time to reflect on what I know to be true of God and the evidence of those truths in my life.  I look back at the times when God provided for me and I remember that He is God, my Provider.  I look back at the times when God delivered me and I remember that He is God, my Deliverer.  I look back at all He has done on my behalf and that allows me to look ahead with a full expectation that He will do it all again.  He will never forsake me. He will never forget about me.

He won’t run out of favor for me.  He still has plans and purpose for me.  He is still wildly in love with me.  God never tires of pursuing me with His love, mercy, kindness and provision.

Remembering those things about God leads my heart to rejoice and worship.

I hate that I forget! So, how do I live with a constant awareness of the nearness of God? I remember!

I remember what His word says about Him.

^“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.” – Deuteronomy 7:9

I remember and then I rejoice.

1. Remember and rejoice that God saved you by the Holy Spirit.  He opened your heart to the reality of Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 2:13, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
2. Remember and rejoice that God is sovereign over all things.  There is nothing in this world that is not subject to God’s control and authority.  The restoration of this world, our lives, our situations and our families is not on our shoulders.  It all rests on His shoulders and it all responds to His command.  Psalm 135:6, “The Lord does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.” Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.“
3. Remember and rejoice that God finishes EVERYTHING He begins.
   Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” The calling He has on you and your life, He hasn’t forgotten about that!  He is not done sanctifying you. He has not abandoned the work He started in you or your family members. We have not been abandoned to wrestle with sin by ourselves, we have not been abandoned to deal with dark days and we have not been abandoned to walk through hard things on our own. Nothing separates us from God’s plans for our completion.

A strong assurance of these things produces an unshakeable hope within us! That hope inspires us to rejoice!

We remember, we rejoice and we ask God to restore.

We ask Him to restore the joy of our salvation.  We ask Him to restore our hunger and thirst for more of Him.  We ask Him to restore the vision He planted in us.  We ask Him to restore our faith in His promises.  We ask Him to restore our purpose.

And then we charge full speed into this summer (and into all that God has for us)!

Spend some time meditating on the goodness of our God this week!

I realize that I changed the flow this past Tuesday and that I flooded you guys with information.  I knew going in that would be the case.  Thanks for hanging in there and bearing with me as I attempted to cast a bit of vision for us going forward.

Summer is usually a time where we tend to slack off in many areas.  For me, that includes my pursuit of Godly wisdom and knowledge.  And community!  The goal for the coming weeks, how ever many that may be, is to prepare to have a faithful summer.  To train and discipline ourselves so that we avoid the pattern of the world that would cause us to lose the ground we have taken in our faith, our pursuit of righteousness and in our relationships.

Our goal for the coming weeks is to grow in the disciplines that bring about faithfulness.  I thought the best place to start would be to discuss two things that threaten our faithfulness:  Idleness and Idolatry.

Idleness – (my definition) A lack of discipline in abiding with the Lord through prayer, reading our Bibles and fellowship with other believers.  This leads to apathy about our sin.  In our idleness we often close our eyes, ears and hearts to the things of God.  From there our reverence for God starts to wane.  It is in our nature to worship.  When our affections are no longer for the Lord, that means we are already worshiping something or someone else.  We call those things idols.

Idols – I dealt with two types of idols (Branches and Roots or Surface and Source)

Branch/Surface Idols – I listed about 12 of these but this is a list that could could on and on.  These idols are the ones easily identified (materialism, body image, status, etc). Merely chopping down things on the surface does little to eradicate the things underneath that are actually responsible for growing the branches.

Root/Source Idols – I gave four of these (These come from the Sermon on the Mount).  The way to track a branch to its root is to figure out what you are hoping to gain through your surface idol. For example, it could be that I idolize work (branch/surface) because I think it the harder I work, the more money I make, the more CONTROL (root/source) I have over my future.

1. Control
2. Power
3. Approval
4. Comfort

Control Worshipers

• Seek self-discipline, certainty, standards
• Choose loneliness and forsake spontaneity to maintain control
• Fear uncertainty
• Can be condemning towards others
• Often marked by deep-seated anxiety and worry
• Attempt to micromanage every area of their life

Power Worshipers

• Seek success, victory, influence
• Fear humiliation and will do anything to avoid it
• Desire to dominate others
• Tend to use the people around them for selfish gain
• Angry (at times volatile)
• Prone to gambling and addictions
• Gain identity through competition

Approval Worshipers

• Constant need for relationships and approval
• Seek affirmation almost constantly
• Willing to forsake independence
• Prone to cowardice
• Struggle with insecurities about their decisions and opinions because they fear it may cost them someone’s approval
• Consumed by others’ opinions of them
• Seek love and affirmation from those they deem important (INSTEAD OF God)
• Often over-commit, over-promise, and overstate in order to gain affirmation
• Fear the rejection of people
• Their neediness often smothers those close to them

Comfort Worships

• Seek privacy, lack of stress and freedom
• Strive to avoid stress and demands
• Can view other people as obstacles to their comfort/freedom
• Struggle to make and maintain authentic relationships (because they do not like to put in the work required to do so)
• Try to avoid vulnerability (seems too costly)

These are the negative traits of people who worship these idols.  I want to stress again, there is something redeemable in all of these areas.  For example, I think a person with control tendencies could also have some positive traits.  There is nothing positive about following a sinful desire to control things, but being wise, cautious and disciplined are all good qualities.  It’s like Connie said, (I think I’m paraphrasing) “A flaw is a gift gone awry”.  When I start to believe that I am a better captain of my ship and I can steer better than God, that’s when my gifts go awry.

My hope in presenting these idols is that we might be able to discern if we are currently (or have a tendency to) worshiping at an altar that is not God’s.  If we are worshiping one of these source idols, then we are suppressing the truth of God and we are calling God’s character into question.  All of our idol worship is an accusation against God.

When it comes to idols, God would simply have us repent.

First we name our idol. After we name it, we unmask it – discover how it lies to us.  Then we consider the price Jesus paid for us to be set free and made whole.  From this place of brokenness and godly-sorrow, we repent, ask for forgiveness and then rejoice because God has looked on Him who was slain and pardoned us.

The only way to remove these idols from your heart is to allow Jesus to reign and rule in your life in such a way that He displaces them.  When you see that He is the only one worthy of your worship and the only one who faithfully gives the things He promises, you will turn from all other idols.

If, like me, you have strayed from God’s altar, know that a loving, merciful, and forgiving God beckons you to come back to His open arms.