Teleos Blog that we may present everyone complete in Christ

Eternal Perspective: Be HolyPosted by Phil on November 8th, 2009

the word holy means to be set apart or pure.  we talked about how many times, Christians are not any different from the rest of the world in the way we act.  so we come to 1 Peter 1:16 and it says, “Be holy as I am holy” and i’m not completely sure what to think.

obviously, we’re not doing a very good job…but is it even possible?  humanly?…no, it’s not. holiness is not something we can attain on our own, but it is a state that God’s grace allows us to enjoy.

read 1 Peter 1:13-2:9

some of the words used here are easy to pass over.  it starts off saying to stay on our toes, be controlled and obedient. but it calls us children.  God says to his children…be holy, just like your father.

you were not bought with gold or silver…you were bought with the blood of God’s only Son.  God gave up his Son because he was crazy about you….don’t forget that….ever.  in 2:9 it uses words like God’s chosen people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation.

we are set apart, we are holy because God is crazy about us.  don’t forget who you are….you are God’s most prized possession.  we live in a world where we allow so many people to tell us who we are or who we should be.  we can be defined by our job, our major, by what we should look like, by how we feel about ourselves.  you are God’s beloved…nothing else matters.  listen to him tell you….”be holy, because I know you can do it.”

An Eternal PerspectivePosted by Phil on November 1st, 2009

how much do you think about heaven?  for me personally, not that much.  i see it as something so far down the road.

if you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. it is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.

Read 1 Peter 1:3-9.  So much of Peter’s passion comes out here.  while under persecution and prison, he loves that he can follow Christ and looks forward to his final reward.

what does believe mean?  what do most americans believe in?
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?  but really, we don’t stand up for any of those things until they are at risk to be taken away.

believe is a tough word in the Bible b/c it means more than to accept something as true.  when you believe, you entrust your entire well being to something.  you jump in.

i like Jesus’ choice of words through the Gospels when he said follow me.  i think we have done people an injustice at times when we say, “all you have to do is believe.”  like that’s an easy task.  all you have to do is give up everything…simple right.

Peter believe.  Peter followed.  Peter jumped in and longed to know God and couldn’t wait for the day that he saw God face to face.  in his greeting in the book, he writes that the letter is to God’s elect…strangers in this world.  Peter lived with an eternal perspective…and i usually don’t feel at all like a stranger.

Lost Parables: Hidden Treasure and the PearlPosted by Phil on June 2nd, 2009

in 3 short verses in Matthew 13, we get 2 parables on the same topic.  first, a man finds a treasure in a field and when he finds it, he buries it again and gives everything he has to buy the field legally.  second, a merchant is looking for pearls, and he sells all his other possessions to buy the pearl that stands out.

not many of us are pirates and probably know very little about burried treasure.  i also don’t dive for oysters and can’t appreciate the value of a pearl.  but i trust that both of these treasures are quite valuable.  and it says that the kingdom of God is valuable just like these.

a little insight on buried treasure.  at the time, banks, vaults, and safety deposit boxes didn’t exist, so it was not uncommon for someone to bury wealth on their land to protect it from theives and hold on to it for when they needed it.  but people might die with their treasure buried and no one knows where it is.  so this man finds a buried treasure and buys the land so he legally owns the treasure.

both people found these treasures, but it took work to get the treasures.  they had to sacrifice.

have you ever received a gift for Christmas or your birthday that you were really excited to get?  that is…until you see the print…”some assembly required.”  there’s work to get the gift that you really wanted.

Christ throughout the Gospels reminded people how much it costs to follow him…everything.  to the disciples…leave your nets and family.  to the rich young ruler…give up everything you own.

is Jesus the greatest treasure in your life?  the easy church answer is yes, but look at how you live.

in Acts, the church said that their relationship with God was more important than anything and they gave up their possessions to share with each other and sold their land to give the money to the poor.  God was most important and they gave up things that would compete with it.

we live in a completely different world today in a society that teaches us to look out for ourselves.  our possessions are a huge treasure to overcome…but not our only treasure.  our pride is right up there, if not more important than our possessions.  its our pride that tells us we “have to have it.”

Paul in Philippians 3 lists off all sorts of “treasures” for most people.  but these are the things that get in the way…they are garbage compared to knowing Christ.  that was his treasure.

are your treasures able to solve your problems?

is Jesus your treasure?  will you defend that treasure with everything you have?

our treasure isn’t cheap…it costs everything we have.

costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. it is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. it is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.

such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. it is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. it is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.  (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship)

Lost Parables: Persistent WidowPosted by Phil on May 20th, 2009

think back to when you were a kid and there was a toy you just had to have.  did you get it?  how did you ask for it?  how many times did you have to ask?  cause you had to ask more than once…my parents said no far more often than they said yes.  but time after time, the more you asked the more you wore them down.

why do you think that is?  i probably asked for hundreds of things…most of which i asked for once and then gave up on.  parents probably say no initially and then find out how much you want it.  but when you really want something, you’ll be persistent.

we come to the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18 and it explains right up front what it’s about.  in short, a widow keeps coming to a judge every day pleading for justice.  she keeps coming back over and over until the judge gives in and grants her wish.  and it says this is how we should pray.

prayer doesn’t seem like it should be a difficult thing…but for me, it is.  too often, i pray for something or someone a few times and then i forget and stop or i just give up.

why don’t we pray more persistently?  sadly it usually comes down to selfishness and a lack of faith.  selfish in that i value my time, at night i want to get to sleep, or i just get caught up in other things. and lack of faith because if i really thought that God would act…wouldn’t i keep praying?

Jesus tells this parable and says, if this calloused judge will answer the widows request, how much more will a loving Father respond when we constantly call on him?

have you thought that maybe God wants to you keep coming?  to keep asking?  to wrestle with him?  the process of coming back to God over and over and over again will build faith.

sometimes you might feel like the widow when you pray.  that your prayer falls on deaf ears.  but Hebrews 14 tells us that we have an advocate that pleads on our behalf.  so approach the throne with confidence.  you can show your motives in prayer through your persistence.  it shows a genuince call for change.

if we were a community of persistent prayer, what do you think would change?  what would happen?

verse 7-8 says that if we cry out to him day and night, will God put us off?  no, we will receive justice…and quickly.  this parable ends with this….”when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”  when Jesus returns, will he find people of faith who persistently cry out to God believing that He will respond if we keep calling.

pick 1 area where you want God to work…and for 2 weeks…daily take it to God….more than once a day.  beg God to act.

Lost Parables: Shrewd ManagerPosted by Phil on May 19th, 2009

typically we take the word shrewd to be somewhat on the negative side…yet Jesus tells a parable about how we should be like the shrewd manager.  webster defines shrewd as….clever discerning awareness.

this is a parable seems like it would have been written today, not 2000 years ago.  but at the time, Jewish people were not to charge interest on loans they give to people.  however, they would at times fudge their books a bit and record more than they gave out to make up for this.

so in Luke 16, we have the property manager of a rich landowner who is being called into questioning. we’re told he is going to lose his job and is asked to give an account of the books.  so the manager calls all the owners debtors and cuts them a deal.  “you owe how much?….how ’bout we knock 30% off that and call it good?”  he’s trying to make a good name for himself to make him worth hiring once he loses his job.

we hit verses 8-9 and it doesn’t fit into our normal understanding of the Christian life.  its one point where people of this world are given credit over people of light.  they’ll sacrifice the way things should be done in order to make friends.

really…we have so much.  we have been blessed beyond what we can imagine.  feeling guilty about it doesn’t do any good.  but money is a tool and if not watched closely can consume you and become a god.

as believers, do we use our talents, abilities, and/or finances to cleverly reach people.  you see, there are times when people aren’t ready for Christ.  a relationship w/ God is a huge need in their life, but it’s not a felt need.  your compassion towards others to meet their felt needs might open the door later on to point them to the greatest need they didn’t even know existed.

Lost Parables: The Growing SeedPosted by Phil on May 3rd, 2009

if you grew up in church at all, you probably know that Jesus often taught in parables.  in fact, many could probably list off a half dozen without too much thought.  but why did Jesus teach in parables?

first of all….people love stories.  people enjoyed a good story then just as much as we do now.  but today, we get stories through books, tv, and movies.  the only option then was really spoken stories.  storytelling was a great form of entertainment.  good storytellers could make a living as street performers.  tell a good story and people will pay them for it.

but parables were also a way to teach those who cared and would just be a story for those who didn’t.  did you catch that?  Jesus wasn’t trying to teach everyone?  he taught in parables for those that cared?

if you look at the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, Mark 4, or Luke 8.  Jesus tells the story about a farmer who throws seed on 4 different soils that range from bad to good.  and in the end he says, “he who has ears to hear, let him hear”…..or….if you get it, you get it.  at this point, his disciples kindly pulled him aside and asked…”what was that?  what’s it even mean?  do you realize how confusing you just were?”

and Jesus says, “yeah…and that’s ok.”  he got what he wanted.  he wanted those who were hungry to stop and ask questions.  he wanted them to not be satisfied and demand a deeper understanding.  so parables were stories for some and then opened new doors, asked new questions, and changed the lives of others.

with that in mind and with the parable of the sower in mind, we come to the parable of the growing seed in Mark 4.  summed up…a farmer plants seed and waits.  day and night, he doesn’t ever see it grow before his eyes, but the seed transforms and grows w/out his knowledge and without his effort until it was fully mature.

now, it doesn’t say that the farmer did anything other than plant the seed.  says nothing about watering or caring for the soil.  however, coming out of the parable of the sower, a seed only grew to full maturity in good soil.  in other soils it was eaten up, burned by the sun, or choked by thorns.  this seed grows.

Philippians 1:6 says, “that he who begane a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

the seed planted in good soil takes off.  it grows.  you don’t necessarily see the growth while its happening, but looking back, you see how much change has taken place.

for me sometimes, i feel like i’m standing still.  i feel like i’m not growing at all…but if i step back and look at my life, i can see how far God has brought me.  sometimes, i don’t notice how much i’ve grown until i take a look over time.  sometimes i need a good friend to point out how God has changed me when i don’t notice it.

but a seed planted in good soil takes off….it just grows.

so are you a seed planted in good soil?  Francis Chan says that too often American Christians assume they are good soil, when so many times we allow ourselves to be choked out by activities, sports, sin, or money.  Jesus wants us to want him.  so are you hearing?  are you asking questions?  and are you desperately seeking answers to those questions b/c your not satisfied with what you know now?

Jesus tells parables for people who are not satisfied with who they are now, but want so much more.  can you look back and see how God has helped you grow over time?  do you have friends who will help you with that as well?  are you a growing seed?