Letters to the Church
Page 15
Most people believe it is unloving to ever remove someone from the church. In the name of compassion, they refuse to ever obey Scripture (Matt. 18:15–20, 1 Cor. 5; Titus 3:10–11). Please don’t be fooled. This is not compassion; it is rebellion. We are not treating God’s Church as sacred when we allow certain people to stay. We are permitting a human being to divide God’s Holy Church while we do nothing about it. God hates this.
Earlier in the book I wrote about how David honored Saul because of his position, but have you ever noticed the actions of David’s son, Absalom? Read 2 Samuel 15 some time. Absalom’s spirit and actions are so prevalent in the Church today.
“And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, ‘From what city are you?’ And when he said, ‘Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel,’ Absalom would say to him, ‘See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you.’ Then Absalom would say, ‘Oh that I were judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice.’ And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
2 Samuel 15:2–6
Do you notice what Absalom said? He spoke negatively about David’s leadership, but he did it in such a clever and careful way. He calmly spoke of how he wished things were different, and how he would do things differently if he was in charge. In so doing, he “stole the hearts of the men of Israel” (v. 6). There are Absaloms in every church, seeking to gain a following through clever speech. They convince you to question the existing leadership and talk about how they would do things differently. Like Absalom, it’s spoken in a caring tone to mask the evil. Don’t fall for it. There are already too many misguided people who boast of being a “safe place” because they are willing to listen to people’s complaints and hurts without passing judgment on them. If you are one of those people, understand that this is not a gift; it’s a weakness. It’s people like you, who passively listen to gossip rather than confront it, that enable the Absaloms of the world to divide churches. You need to develop some courage. Don’t allow anyone to divide God’s Holy Church or slander His anointed leaders. If you hear anyone speak negatively about another believer, bring them directly to the person they are attacking. Be courageous enough to lead reconciliation. “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matt. 5:9).
DON’T FALL FOR EVERY TEAR
Let me say that I am not trying to belittle those who have been hurt by a church or church leader. I wrote this book to point out areas where the Church is lacking. I’m not trying to brush off those who have faced abuse at the hands of others. I am asking you to be aware that there are people in the Church who have become incredibly proficient at making themselves the victim of every story. They are professional victims, and this is usually rooted in pride. They learn that tears almost always ensure victory. If at first you don’t succeed, cry and cry again. Once you cry, you make yourself the victim which means the person who made you sad must be the bad guy. Sobbing can be a powerful weapon.
I still remember the first time I dealt with this. Twenty years ago, I was speaking at a singles’ conference. After the message, a group of people lined up to talk. Some came for counsel; others came with encouragement. One girl was casually telling me about sin in her life. As I explained the seriousness of the sin and encouraged her repentance, she fell to the ground. She curled into a ball, started crying loudly, was shaking, and said, “You’re scaring me! I don’t feel safe!” Instant victory. Now she had everyone looking at me like I was the bad guy. It was now my duty to put my hand on her shoulder and apologize for hurting her. The attention was off her sin and onto her hurt. Suddenly, I was the sinner and she was the victim. Checkmate! Now I looked uncaring if I just stared at her rather than apologizing and coddling. Not only that, but she could then cry to others about how much I hurt her.
Obviously, many tears are genuine and warrant our comfort. We definitely don’t want to grow calloused toward the hurts of others. Like parents, we must learn to distinguish between real cries, manipulative cries, and cries for attention. The compassionate side of you will be tempted to comfort everyone who weeps, but that isn’t always the most loving thing to do for them. The apostle Paul didn’t regret causing tears. In fact, he explained that grief can be a good thing. Out of love for the Corinthians, Paul grieved them in the hope of repentance.
“For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
2 Corinthians 7:8–10
Let’s love people enough to help them leave their own pity parties so they can spend their lives drawing attention to God rather than themselves.
DON’T DWELL
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Philippians 4:8
One of the biggest mistakes we make is to allow proud people to consume our thoughts. We allow our minds to replay the instances when others have offended us. This robs us of our joy and robs God of the worship He deserves.
Ephesians 5 explains that the Spirit-filled person continually worships and gives thanks. Satan hates the sound of our praise and thanksgiving, so he makes it his mission to disrupt worship. He loves when our minds are filled with frustration and discouragement rather than praise. Don’t give him the victory. Control your thoughts.
PRAISE JESUS
This has helped me tremendously. Whenever I feel like I’m being mistreated, I start worshipping Jesus. I tell Him I am amazed by what He pulled off. Any mistreatment I have faced is an absolute joke compared to the horrors Christ endured. How on earth does an almighty Creator allow His creation to torture Him? Even as I write this, I am marveling again at His humility. Instead of beating myself up for my lack of humility, I praise Jesus for His.
I have found that the more I stare at His humility, the more I praise Him and want to be like Him. Take some time now to praise Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2).
WIN AT ALL COSTS
I’m too competitive. At times I get consumed with winning an argument. Love goes out the window, and I get obsessed with proving I’m right. I hate that about myself. When I am obsessed with winning, it means I am not obsessed with Jesus. So I have tried to change my thinking.
Maybe there’s a way for those of us who have been dealt a hyper-competitive nature to use this to our advantage. After all, there is a verse that tells us to compete: “Outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom. 12:10). Our competitions just look different, and our greatest victory is when we win the favor of God. Obviously, I’m not talking about some kind of works salvation. I am saying there are many verses that speak about God blessing the humble. While humility is a gift, it does not just passively appear. He commands us to humble ourselves. While it’s something we pray for, it’s also something we strive for. There’s a verse that encourages me in my pursuit of humility. It’s one of my favorites:
“For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of th
e contrite.’”
Isaiah 57:15
This is the end of the book, so you have time to read this verse over and over. I couldn’t think of a better verse to end this section. Memorize it. Write it out. Paint it on your wall. Text it to your friends. Meditate on every word. If this doesn’t motivate you to fight for humility, nothing will. Our Holy God offers to dwell with you if you have a lowly and contrite spirit.
NOTES
CHAPTER 2
1. Tim Sharp, “How Far Is Earth from the Sun?,” Space.com, October 18, 2017, www.space.com/17081-how-far-is-earth-from-the-sun.html.
CHAPTER 3
1. “Religious Service Attendance (Over Time),” Association of Religion Data Archives, accessed May 23, 2018, www.thearda.com/quickstats/qs_105_t.asp.
2. Søren Kierkegaard, Provocations: Spiritual Writings (Walden, NY: Plough, 2002), 168.
3. Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating Apostolic Movements (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2016), 34–35.
4. Mike Breen, Building a Discipling Culture: How to Release a Missional Movement by Discipling People Like Jesus Did, 3rd ed. (Greenville, SC: 3DM Publishing, 2017), n.p.
5. David Platt, Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God (Colorado Springs: Multnomah, 2011), 59–60.
CHAPTER 5
1. Mike Breen, Building a Discipling Culture: How to Release a Missional Movement by Discipling People Like Jesus Did, 3rd ed. (Greenville, SC: 3DM Publishing, 2011), 11.
2. A. W. Tozer, Tozer for the Christian Leader: A 365-Day Devotional (Chicago: Moody, 2001), September 2.
CHAPTER 6
1. Hugh Halter, Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation Down to Earth (Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2014), 119.
CHAPTER 7
1. John Collins, “Anything Is Possible,” Ironman, accessed May 24, 2018, www.ironman.com/#axzz5GSFlau30.
2. “Evangelical Growth,” Operation World, accessed May 24, 2018, www.operationworld.org/hidden/evangelical-growth.
CHAPTER 8
1. Madagascar, directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath (Glendale, CA: DreamWorks Animation, 2005).
2. Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating Apostolic Movements (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2016), 176.
3. David Garrison, “Church Planting Movements: The Next Wave?,” International Journal of Frontier Missions 21, no. 3 (Fall 2004): 120–21.
CHAPTER 9
1. Tim Chester and Steve Timmis, Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), 18.
2. Read Scripture, v.7.0.0 (Crazy Love Ministries, 2018), readscripture.org.
3. Reach Beyond, Great Commission Action Guide, accessed May 25, 2018, https://reachbeyond.org/Advocate/RBActionGuide.pdf.
4. “25 Best Global Companies to Work For,” Fortune, accessed May 25, 2018, http://fortune.com/global-best-companies/hyatt-19/.
5. “How Many Employees Does Airbnb Have?,” Quora, November 14, 2015, www.quora.com/How-many-employees-does-Airbnb-have-1.
6. Avery Hartmans, “Airbnb Now Has More Listings Worldwide Than the Top Five Hotel Brands Combined,” Business Insider, August 10, 2017, www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-total-worldwide-listings-2017-8.
7. “New York City, New York Population 2018,” World Population Review, accessed May 25, 2018, http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/new-york-city-population/.
8. Lyle E. Schaller, The Interventionist (Nashville: Abingdon, 1997), 70.