Much like tv life, that is not realistic or true.

Our youth group, momentum, watched the movie, Imposter last night.  In the movie Kevin Max from DC Talk plays a Christian rock singer whose life spins out of control because of his addiction to himself.  The movie takes a very untypical approach in his return to his family, friends, and Christ.

There is no climactic, come-down-the-aisle scene.  There is no great reunion between him and his wife.  There is no weeping moment of reconciliation with his friends.  Instead there is a process of brokenness, a path of rebuilding trust, and a deeper change in a broken man’s life.  In the words of the dialog from the movie…

“God is more concerned that our hero go through a process than zapping him with spiritual morphine.”

How refreshing to see a real life approach to a man’s walk with God.  How genuine to see family and friends be slow to restore trust.  How honest to see a man wrestle with himself and humility.

For 70s and 80s music fans you’ll also enjoy seeing Kerry Livgren from Kansas.  For 90s and 2000s Christian music fans, you’ll enjoy seeing Jeff Deyo from Sonic Flood!

Where is the place that people go when they need forgiveness when they’ve failed. Where do people go when they need a dose of hope in their life?  Where do people experience the greatest level of acceptance, love, and favor?  Where do people go to be honest, vulnerable, and open?

I know the church answer to these questions is Jesus.  The Bible says that His Body is present on earth today in the form of His people.   Therefore, since His Body is present here on this earth, shouldn’t there be a place on this earth where people can experience the reality of who Jesus Christ?

When I ask people this question, church or un-churched, few have confident answers.

Now for a different set of questions.  Where is the place you experience the least free to be honest, open, and vulnerable?  Where is the place that you least think of as offering hope, forgiveness, acceptance, and favor?  Where do you go when you have failed?

Now the answers become quite confident.  The last place on earth?  The church.

Something is wrong.  These things ought not be.  What kind of places have we created?  What are we doing?  What will it take for things to change?

There are some obvious indicators that God is at work in a person’s life.  Its something beyond the excitement and emotion.  It moves much deeper to the level of soul and heart change.  The indicators of God show up in…

• humility - arrogance, pride, and self-focus come to an end.   a person recognizes themselves in perspective to the greatness of God.  they also find themselves brought low to the people in their life.  they no longer demand their way, tower over others in comparison, or think themselves deserving.  their words, attitude, and actions change and are all clothed with genuine humility.

• honesty - the mask comes off.   pretending, hiding, and covering come to an end.  there is vulnerability about life, struggles, fears, and needs.  there is recognition of failures and seeking of forgiveness.  the fear of what others will think disappears.  with this kind of open-hearted honesty comes great grace and favor from God.

• sacrifice - selfishness leaves and is replaced with a passion to do whatever it takes to make things right with God and others.  they are willing to go the second mile and do the hard thing.  there is greater love for God and others than a love for self.  there is willingness to stay up late, give what is needed, endure what is happening and not be consumed with complaint.

• gratefulness - there is an overflow of  gratefulness for the love, acceptance, forgiveness, and freedom that has come from Jesus Christ.  there is an overwhelming awareness of what has been received instead of complaint for what they have not received.  there is a new perspective on life and as a result there is freedom to express thanks to others and to God.

• desire for more of God – hunger is the evidence of every healthy person.  a hungering desire for more of God is the evidence of a person who is healthy in their soul.  they have had the infectious diseases of resentment, greed, and selfishness exposed and removed from their soul.  they hunger for more of God’s truth, His presence in their life, and to follow Him with their whole heart.

When I see these at occurring in my life or in the lives of others I can be assured that God is bringing about real change.  I can also be certain that there is more He is about to do.

I saw these very things at work in the lives of students at our week at camp.  These qualities go far beyond being hyped up, emotionally impacted, or stirred to action because of a speaker’s pressure.

May these forever be the real evidences that drive us daily and motivate us in our quest to take our faith and walk it out.

The momentum students will experience 4 days of a unique camp experience.  Along with camp team-building activities, games, worship settings, and Bible study, they will also meet each day with children who are refugees from the countries of Bhutan and Burma.

These children and their families have been relocated by the United Nations in cities throughout the nation – one of which is Dallas.  Sabine Creek Ranch provides a 4 day day-camp setting for the children complete with games, ropes-course activities, water games, crafts, and worship services.  The students of momentum will team up to help each day the children.  They will experience a round-the-world mission opportunity without ever leaving the state.

In praying for the students and leaders, here is a helpful list of things to remember. Pray for…

• students to have hearts that are open to hear from God
• the grace and reality of Christ to been seen in the students lives as they relate to the children
• each student to realize the value of a personal relationship with Christ
• students to have the heart of a servant
• students to find the courage to live out their faith as they return home
• adult leaders as they relate to the students
• protection and peace
• the Spirit of God to overwhelm hearts in our worship times

Much has gone into the planning and preparation of this week.  Many have given, supported, helped, and will be transporting students.   Your prayers for the students and leaders increases the team of people that are focused on making this week a success.

Thanks for joining us!  We look forward to the stories of God at work to follow!

Even the ones who heard Jesus speak and saw His face missed it. They somehow thought it was about governmental overthrow and political power.  They thought this “kingdom” Jesus spoke of was about position, rank, and power.   They had it all wrong.  Jesus interrupted their thoughts and told them that He did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.  He came to buy back hearts that had been lost.  He came to start a revolution and it would happen through humility and serving.

In this series, we explore the revolution that can happen in a life, a marriage, a family, a church, and a nation when humility and serving become what life is all about.

download the slides here:  revolution thru serving

There is nothing comfortable about real humility. It removes the mask, revealing the real intents of the heart.  It strips away pride, exposing the most vulnerable parts of the heart.  It is honest about where it has caused pain and asks forgiveness.  It crushes stubbornness, revealing a willingness to do whatever it takes to make things right.  It stops complaining, accepting its lot,  and finds  joy in the simple.  In its brokenness, it welcomes the vulnerability and humility of others.  It becomes a safe spaces of grace for others.

This is the heart that God runs to.
This is the heart that God showers with even greater favor.
This is the heart that God fills with hope and real life.

Sadly, this is a rare find in our world today.  It is covered with plastic masks of pretense.  It is hidden behind church attendance and Christian ministry, hoping to salve its guilt and misery.  Most avoid it for its brutal exposure.  Many fear how others would respond.

Yet some find comfort in it.

Those who run to it, embrace it, and no longer fear it,  find great favor and freedom. They enjoy forgiveness and release.  They no longer fear humiliation.  They welcome brokenness.  They see God.  Turned inside out, they seek to help others to be set free.

They find delight in the uncomfortable place of humility.

from the morning Men’s Chick-Fil-A study – many Christian men are familiar with the passage written to wives from Ephesians 5:22-24.  Few however catch the deeper meaning addressed toward husbands.  While many men focus on the what the responsibilities of the wife, the passage reveals much more about what  a husband is to be first.

Wives, submit to your husbands as the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body , of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. ephesians 5:22-24

Before a husband can realize the benefits of being like Christ, he must assume the responsibility of being like Christ.  It is then that a wife will find her greatest joy in trusting, supporting, admiring, praising, and submitting to her husband.

Husbands are called to:

1.       humbly serve like the Lord

“as to the Lord” – Jesus Christ earned the title of Lord after He laid down His life for His bride.  Philippians 2 says that He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on the cross.  As a result, it goes on to say, God gave Him the name that is above every name = Lord.  As husbands are humble, obedient to God, and willing to lay down their life for the wife, they provide an environment where a wife can lovingly respond with trust.

2.      patiently love like Jesus

“as Christ is the head of the church” - as head of the church today, Jesus is faithful, loving, patient, caring, providing, and full of grace.  He does so regardless of what His bride does.  It flows from His heart.  Husbands are called to be men who love patiently, tenderly, faithfully.  As they do, they provide a place for a wife to respond with admiration.

3.     sacrifice like a savior

“his body of which he is the Savior”  - one of the most common terms for Christ is Savior.  It is more than something He did on one occasion.  It is something He does continually for the ones He loves.  He rescues, heals, and delivers.  Husbands that rescue, heal, and deliver their wives from their greatest fears, hurts, longings, heartaches become saviors.  They open the door for a wife to lovingly release their heart.

4.     assume the responsibilities of being like Christ

“as the church submits to Christ” – the term Christ means anointed one; someone obviously chosen by God.  Husbands that live in continuous connection and dependence on God are admired by their wives.  They reflect the beauty, hope, and love of God in their convictions, compassion, and heart for their wife.  When they do, a wife is filled with the peace and contentment of knowing they are safe in the heart and arms of their husband.

Much more wisdom awaits husbands in the verses that follow in chapter 5 of Ephesians.  These framed the discussion for the men at Chick-Fil-A this morning.

the men’s group meets at the Chick-Fil-A in Waxahachie at 6:30 am on Wednesday mornings.

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  2 Chronicles 7:14

These are familiar words in churches around discussions of the nation, change, and personal introspection.   Why would this be the call to a nation that has drifted?  If they are having to be called to humility, to pray, to seek the face of God, and to turn from their wicked ways, then they must have left those same things at some point.

In their place is arrogance, self-dependence, lack of desire for God, and turning away from His ways.  These will destroy any social structure = a marriage, a family, a church, a community, a nation.

Check out the slides from Sunday’s message on the subject: what this nation needs.

Watching the movements of Jesus in the Bible you discover something. He was often drawn more to the outcast, sinner, the failing,  the ones rejected by the religious centers of the day.  And in a bit of surprise, He was often frustrated and angered at the crowd that was deeply religious.

What would cause Him to have such tension with those who most knew the Law, were deeply religious, and regularly visited the temple?  What would cause Him to find such in delight in those who struggled with life, lived on the fringe of society, and knew so little of the Law?

One thing separated the two groups – honesty about who they were.

The religious crowd of Pharisees practiced their religion, but did so as a cover over a life of dishonesty, greed, lust, and a thirst for power.  They never admitted the reality of their life – that they were broken inside. Instead, religion became a way of masking, pretending, and looking good outwardly.  Jesus was greatly frustrated with their hollowness, insincerity, and show.

Jesus saw something different in the crowd of sinners.  Though they lacked training, had little knowledge of the Laws of God, and rarely frequented the Temple, they had a heart that He loved.  It was honest, sincere, and unmasked.  They were hungry for acceptance, love, and hope.  They didn’t have it all figured out.  They didn’t claim to know everything.  And Jesus loved that.

Had Jesus judged the two groups by their outward appearance or actions, He might have come to a different conclusion.  Instead, He knew something deeper about their heart.

When He looks today at the lives of men and women in our generation, I’m not so sure He’s impressed by what we know, where we go, or what we stand for. Instead He looks deeper for qualities of the heart that determine the real essence of a life.

• Are you honest about the weaknesses of your life?
• Are you able to be vulnerable?
• Do you avoid a heart of judgment, criticism, and condemnation?
• Is your humility greater than you knowledge of God?
• Is your wonder at the mysteries of God greater than your claims at knowing the Scripture?