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Spiritual Development October 2017

Knowing the Will of God

How would you define the phrase, “the will of God”? In the broadest sense, God’s will is  expressed in all the commands and principles of Scripture.  Specifically, the Bible says that God’s will includes that followers of Christ would be saved (1 Tim. 2:4,   2 Peter 3:9), Spirit-filled (Eph. 5:17-18), sanctified (1 Thess. 4:3-8), submissive (1 Peter 2:13-15), and content in suffering (1 Peter 3:17). Pastor Kevin DeYoung offers this definition of God’s will from his book Just Do Something: “God’s will for our lives is much simpler than the conventional approach. The will of God for our lives is that we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. The most important decision we face is the daily decision to live for Christ and die to self.”

Acknowledging God’s will affirms His sovereignty over all aspects of life. We live and    function only because God wills it. Living according to the will of God could be identified as a test of genuine saving faith. True Christians are characterized as “doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6). On the other hand, a constant disregard for or lack of interest in God’s will is a mark of self-centeredness and pride in your life.  Disregarding the will of God is the same as  saying, "I am in charge of my life. I know what is best.” or “Things are working out pretty well for me right now.  I don’t really want to mess it up by changing it.” A follower of Jesus will diligently seek to live according to God’s desires.  “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)
Many of the questions that people have about whether specific events or choices are part of God’s will can be answered by knowing and applying biblical wisdom. Therefore, it is very important that Christians rely on the words that God has given us.  Consider your own spiritual habits.  How much time per week do you spend hearing God’s Word preached/taught? Reading God’s Word? Studying God’s Word? Memorizing God’s Word? Meditating on God’s Word? All of these disciplines are ways that God reveals his will specifically to us.  The good news about this is that God’s will is not hidden from us. It is revealed to us in the Bible. He has already revealed what should be the primary direction of our lives, namely that we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.

Worship August 2017

Church Family,

         I hope you are having a great ending to your summer, as we look forward to a great Fall season together. One of the things that I love about Fall, is that our Church Family is consistently together! During the summer months, we are so busy with vacation, travel, sports, etc... and these are good things to be valued, but I love being together! So as we turn to a new season of weather, life, and ministry, God has been impressing on my heart the importance of Sunday worship. I know that we get tired, I know that we get busy, but on Sundays, we get to do something that doesn't happen any other day of the week. We get to come together as a faith family, we get to fellowship, we get to lift our voices in song, and we get to dive into the word of God together. We get to do this in freedom, and in joy! As I am reminded of so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world that pay a huge price of persecution to worship, people who risk their lives and their families to worship together, we get to come together in freedom to  worship the One who saved us. What a great joy and privilege this is!

As a Church, we aren't perfect. Our lives are messy. One pastor once told me, “If you ever find a perfect church, don’t go there because you will ruin it.” This is true, because there are no perfect churches, and there are no perfect people. We’re all imperfect sinners in need of a perfect savior. Thankfully, God showed His mercy to us by sending Jesus to be our perfect savior. What a joy it is to join in the same room with other imperfect people, other messy people, and other sinners, and lift one voice to a perfect Savior. One of the joys of   being the Worship Pastor here, is that I get to see and hear the sounds of the saints in front of me every Sunday. The voice of the Church is beautiful. No, we all can’t sing well. We all can’t keep melody, rhythm, etc.  But when we are together, the sound of the saints is a glorious sound. It’s one worth sacrificing your time and schedule to be a part of.

So this Sunday, next Sunday, and even the Sunday after that - make it a priority to be at Church with your family. Lean into the joy of God, and join in with the sounds of the Saints. There is nothing like being in the presence of the Church in the presence of God. I love you all. I love worshipping with you.

In Christ,

Jared