Three Ways to Change Your World and the World Around You

Mike Hosey, An Elder

In every domain of life, every Christian should strive to be more like Christ (Ephesians 4:15-16). When we strive to be like Christ, we will grow in wisdom, maturity, power, and influence.  In fact, the more we grow in Christ, the more things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control will naturally flow out of every life domain (Galatians 5:22-23). And those things have the power and influence not only to change our immediate lives, but all the world around us as well.  It is impossible to try and shape every domain of one's life at one time. Thankfully, when we start in the big areas, we have bleed-over into the smaller areas. So the more we attend to those major domains, the more effect we have on all of them. One domain of our Christian life that can have profound effects is the domain of missions.  Consider three ways that missions can effect us, and our world:

GIVING - When we give to missions, we are creating profit for ourselves.  Paul said that he was thankful for those Christians who had given to his work, not because he desired a gift from them, but because he desired that they be rewarded for their giving (Philippians 4:16-17). Paul understood very well that his Christian friends were storing up treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:20).

GOING - When we go to the mission field personally, we get to personally impact the lives of real persons. This is the work of every church member.  When Jesus spoke the command to go into the world and baptize the nations in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and to teach them to keep His commands (Matthew 28:19-20), He wasn't speaking to churches. Instead, He was speaking to 11 individual  disciples. If you are a Christian, you are an individual disciple, and it is as much your duty to go in to the world and do mission work --  regardless of whether it is in your  own neighborhood, or a country far, far away -- as it is your corporate Church's duty.

GROWING - When  you give, and when you go, you can't help but to grow. Both giving and going require faith.  They require that you trust God.  They require that you trust that He will take care of you, and that His mission is right, and that your obedience will be rewarded. In fact, God places a very high premium on faith.  Without it you cannot please Him (Hebrews 11:6). It stands to reason that those things we exercise, we grow. Therefore, exercising our faith by giving and going grows it, and consequently grows our ability to please God!

Delays Delays Delays

Mike Hosey, An Elder

The other day Joshua and I were in the mall perusing a local video game store.  He had brought with him an old game cartridge that he had mastered, and so no longer wanted.  He had learned some time ago from his older brother that the game store offered cash for such items, and so he was there on that day to trade it in.  They gave him a few bucks for the old game, and when he began to examine the shelves, he realized that he wouldn't have enough money to buy a new one. Instead of saving the cash, his first impulse was to spend it on something else.  He chose a pack of popular baseball style cards that depicted characters from a video game series and t.v. show. As his father, I took the time to point out to him the lack of value in those cards relative to the store's price for them, as well as relative to how much he'd have left over after the purchase. It was his money, so I didn't want to heavy handedly place a spending restriction on it.  I suggested to him that he could save the money and get something of much greater value down the road.  Thankfully, he accepted that advice (that day).

Unfortunately we humans don't always accept that advice. Rather, we tend to pursue immediate pleasure over discipline, wisdom, and self sacrifice.  It's almost as if we are programmed to subconsciously (and unwisely) apply the maxim that a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush to every situation.

The end result can sometimes be quite extreme.  Consider the story of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:29-34).  Esau, being very hungry sells his birthright for a bowl of soup! The bible says that because of this he despised his birthright.  Because he wanted something in the moment, he gave up all of those things that were due him as a firstborn male. He had no discipline for delayed gratification.

The bible frequently encourages delayed gratification. In fact, a predominant theme in the bible is suffer a little now, and gain very great reward later. In a world that tells us to "just do it," and to "obey our thirst," and to buy now and pay later, it is imperative that we teach our children (as well as the people we influence) the rewards of delayed gratification,  and not to despise  those things that are of greater value.  And above all, we should teach them that momentary pleasures are momentary, but our relationship with Jesus is eternal joy.

What It Means To Be Adopted

Mike Hosey, An Elder

God must have a very high view of adoption. He saved the Jewish people from captivity by leading them out of Egypt with Moses - who was an adopted child. He built the kingdom of Israel through one of his greatest prophets, Samuel, who was also an adopted child. And he saved the world through his son Jesus Christ, who was birthed by Mary, but adopted by Joseph!

Of course, those of us who have submitted our lives to Jesus, have been adopted by God. We are taught in John 1:12 that we have the right to be called children of God. Contrary to popular belief, those that do not know Jesus as savior, do not have that right. Instead, they are only creatures of God. Galatians 4:5-7 proclaims that we are no longer slaves, but instead are God's adopted sons (and daughters). Paul teaches us in Romans 8:15-17 that we have received a spirit of adoption as sons, and that we can call God “Abba! Father,” which is the Aramaic equivalent of “Dad.” Not only can we address God with an intimate title like “Dad”, but we are also heirs of God. We have a right to an unimaginable inheritance.

Paul's teaching here may seem odd to the 21^st century American mind. In our modern minds, being an heir does not occur until after the death of the family's father. But God cannot die, and yet we are still heirs. In fact, we are co-heirs with Christ. Paul was teaching from a first century Roman perspective. From that perspective, the children of the father, under the laws governing paterfamilias, shared in property rights, responsibilities and obligations at birth. Interestingly, in that society if someone from the ruling class adopted a child from the plebeian or commoner class, then the adopted child assumed all the rights and privileges of the ruling class, as well as the name of the adopter. His birth into the family changed his status and identity.

When you are born into the family of God, you assume royalty. You become a co-heir with Christ. This means you share in the inheritance of Christ. It also means that you wield great power for good. You have victory over sin and darkness (Romans 6:14, Galatians 5:16-25). You become part of a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). And you have great responsibilities. How will you let God use your adoption?

The Greatest Inheritance

Mike Hosey, an Elder

The 17^th century French moralist and writer, François de La Rochefoucauld, once noted that everyone despises wealth, but few know how to give it away. Of course, his tongue was firmly in his cheek. What Frank really noticed was that everyone really loves wealth so much that they cannot bear to give it away. The reason that people love it so much that they want to horde it is that it brings power, ability, pleasure, ease and a host of nice things. It helps people thrive. We put a lot of stock in material wealth. America, for the most part, idolizes wealth. Wealth is a considerable part of the “American Dream.” And while wealth is not in and of itself evil, we should never value it more than those things that have, well, greater value.

The Bible teaches us that a good man leaves an inheritance for his grandchildren (Proverbs 13:22a). In other words, a good man builds up enough wealth that even the children of his children benefit from it. And while the bible is, indeed, talking about material wealth in that verse, it would be silly to think it means just material wealth. After all, a few chapters earlier (Proverbs 11:28), we are taught that those who trust in material wealth will be disappointed, but that those who are righteous will thrive.

The point is that wealth causes things to thrive, and that greater wealth is superior to lesser wealth. So what is the best inheritance a father can leave to his children's children? True righteousness is (Proverbs 11:28)! It is far greater than material wealth. Where does it come from? It comes from the transformative word of God! The bible tells us that those who obey that word are blessed (Luke 11:28), and that in our dark world it is a lamp unto one's feet (Psalm 119:105). But if material wealth is power, then so is spiritual wealth. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that the word of God is profitable for training in righteousness. Hebrews 14:22 describes it as a kind of wisdom sword that is sharper than any earthly sword. And Jeremiah the prophet (Jeremiah 15:16) found that when he internalized the words of God, he experienced joy. Spiritual wealth brings us so much more than material wealth. Interestingly, if we have real spiritual wealth, we're likely to get some material things as well (Matthew 6:25-33).

But unlike material wealth, no one who has experienced true spiritual wealth ever hordes it. They give it away in shiploads. Because they know the more they give away, the more they get. And to see their children's children impacting the world with such great power is truly great wealth.  

Keep it Burning

Mike Hosey, An Elder

In Exodus 27:20-21, God commands his people to always keep a light burning in the Tent of Meeting area of the tabernacle. This light was to be kept burning all through the night. In other words, this area was to be lit whenever the sun - the light of the earth - was not in the sky.

It is important to note that this area of the tabernacle was the Old Testament place where God met with his people. Before the permanent temple was built, this tent moved where ever the people moved. It was central to their culture. So what was God trying to say using light and this temporary structure? Perhaps He was showing us what we are to be. Let's examine that idea.

After Jesus came, the bible teaches us that people themselves became the temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). In fact, the original temple never really was a dwelling place for God at all (Acts 17:24). He doesn't live in temples made by human hands, after all.

So if we are the temple, and if our gathering as a community is really the tent of meeting, and if Jesus, our light of the world (John 8:12 ) is no longer on earth in bodily form, then we must also be the priests and the lights who keep his temple lit.

The concept is powerful, and should fill you with awe. Until Jesus returns, we are to shine as lights in the world (Philippians 2:15), and to give glory to God through that light (Matthew 5:16).

So how do we do that? Well consider that oil is frequently a symbol associated with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, 1 John 2:20). When God annointed Jesus (annointing is a word used to describe how oil is applied) with the Holy Spirit, He did mighty things, and his lamp shined before men and pointed them to God.
Notice how in the original temple, the people were to keep the lamps lit with pure olive oil. If you are to shine your light before men and illuminate the way to the tent of meeting for them, then you need to keep your lamp full of oil. You have a responsibility to keep the fire burning, and to be submissive to the presence of the Holy Spirit - just like the priests of the early tabernacle.

And we need also to ask ourselves, is our Tent of Meeting central to our culture, and do its lights go wherever we go?