SundayStats for June 5

Here's a quick, statistical look at how FFC's YouVersion "live" participants responded to the polls from Sunday's interactive message format on June 5, 2011.

When asked how they think the culture around them generally defines the word faith,

• 48% said they think the culture defines faith as belief in a higher being.
• 26% said they think the culture defines faith as positive thinking.
• 17% said they think the culture defines faiths as a blind leap.
• 9% said they think the culture defines faith as optimism.

When asked when their faith was awakened (i.e., when did God save them), 

• 24% said they were saved between the ages of 21-30
• 24% said they were saved between the ages of 31-40
• 19% said they were saved between the ages of 7-10
• 14% said they were saved between the ages of 11-15
• 10% said they were saved between the ages of 3-6
• 10% said they were saved between the ages of 16-20

Bold Belief

Acts 16 paints several pictures of bold belief that can serve as patterns for those committed to living a Gospel-centered life. After all, that’s one of the things the Gospel does in us and for us – it encourages us to believe God boldly.

Kep in mind that bold belief stands in contrast to two extremes: relunctant faith (which is rooted in fear and control) and presumptuous faith (which is rooted in foolishness anmd carelessness). Bold faith, however, is the biblical balance that the Gospel encourages us towards.

(vs. 1-5) We must have faith in/believe God boldly when it comes to people. Paul selected Timothy, an unlikely candidate for a church planting journey. Easily intimidated, probably a little sickly, and no doubt young, Timothy may not have been the first choice of those with only physical eyes. But he was God's man for that time, and Paul exercised the faith to believe God boldly about this young man's potential!

How would this have looked if they were reluctant? Like they were superior. They would have appeared like Pharisees. How would this have looked if they were presumptuous? Like they were being trivial; like it really wasn't that important or valuable. The right response to people? Let your bold faith look for people who are empowered/anointed.

(6-15) We must have faith in/believe God boldly when it comes to opportunities. God was moving the crew northwest, and to do so he had to open -- and close -- some doors. Believing God boldly about both was essential to correctly concluding how God was working and leading.

How would this have looked if they were reluctant? Like they were image-based. Like they were concerned about appearances at all costs. How would this have looked if they were presumptuous? Like they were results-based. Like they were concerned with outcomes at all costs. The right response to opportunities? Let your bold faith keep you Spirit-led, then effort-centered.

(16-40) We must have faith in/believe God boldly when it comes to trials. A severe beating followed by imprisonment is not an ideal ending to a days work. Yet, Paul and his companion, in that exact position, were singing and praying at midnight. What a perspective and testimony! In the end, their trial and testimony was something God used to bring the jailer and his family to saving faith.

How would this have looked if they were reluctant? Like they were victims. They would have simply won the sympathy vote. How would this have looked if they were presumptuous? Like they were idealists. They would have been seen to be giddy about and ignorant of the human reality of suffering. The right response to trials? Let your bold faith help you see you are victorious. As Paul said, "We are more than conquerors" (Rom. 8).

Idolatry 101

Some additional yet basic insight about idols . . .
• Something isn’t an idol because of what it is, but rather because of why we choose it and how we use it. (Rom 14)

• We generally don’t know what our idols are until we evaluate our consistent choices in the face of competition. (Joshua 24)

For instance . . . let's take Harry and Mary, a husband and wife from Anytown, USA. They look forward to Monday nights becasuse its their "date night," the night they catch up and talk, laugh, and enjoy time together. But come the NFL season, Harry says to Mary, "I'd love to see the season opener; can I get a rain check for that night?" She responds, "Sure, no problem." After all, it's just one game, Mary reasons, and Harry really enjoys football. That's a workable compromise.

After week one, Harry says to Mary, "Honey, Bill is coming over for Monday's game." Mary is a tad surprised, but no bigee, she thinks. He and Bill are good friends, it's still early in the season…no harm done.

Then on week three Bill shows up about an hour before the game, and Mary finds out it was actually a standing invitation. So later Mary asks her dear ol' hubby about the news from Bill -- that the game is now a regular event for him and his friends. He responds by saying that there really is no problem, for the season "is only 16 weeks long. And that leaves 36 for you, my dear -- more than twice as many as the football season." Without any conflicts, to boot!

More than likely, Mary would leave that conversation crushed. Why? Because her place in your husband's life was revealed, not by his commitmement to her in the absence of competition, but rather by his consistent choices in the face of competition. Hard as it would be to admit, Mary would be left realizing that, at least in some weird way, her husband loves football at least as much, if not more, than he loves her. Is football in and of itself wrong? No. But the way Harry uses it, and why he consistently chooses it over and above other more important priorities, makes it a "graven image" in his life that is pulling him away from his real love. And it wasn't even revealed until the fire of competition was lit.

You can substitute anything you want in into that illustration/analogy: Music, food, work, money, family, exercise, on and on and on. The hard reality is that we show what we really trust -- worship -- by the consistent choices we make in the face of competition. The question I am left wrestling with is this: Do my consistent choices prove I worship and trust Jesus?

This was the whole point of Satan's accusation against Job -- "give him some competition and he won’t worship you anymore!" Would Job remain faithful even when tempted with apparently better roads than the one labeled "trust God?" Hallelujah, he did!

This was the primary backdrop of Moses' decision in Hebrews 11. Would he worship and follow God in suffering even when faced with the lure of Egyptian riches and security? Hallelujah, he did!

This was the billboard that blazed behind Joshua's charge to the Israelites in Joshua 24 when he ever so boldly brought them to the crossroads of decision, forcing them to "choose this day whom you are going to serve." Would they follow Yahweh to the Promised Land even amid the competition of the gods (i.e., idols) on the other side of the river? Hallelujah, they did (albeit not without incident!)

Without a doubt, our decisions that seem to be about so many whats -- budgets, schedules, projects, ideas, commitments, work, hobbies, etc -- eventually reveal who we really trust and worship. Indeed, at a certain point it no longer becomes about the whats at all, but rather about who you're going to trust -- Jesus or an idol?

Unbelief and Idolatry

All unbelief is idolatry. Frankly, when we refuse to believe God, we are saying we believe/have faith in something other than God. Indeed, that is idolatry! In no uncertain terms we are replacing him with our own functional savior, someone or something we think can "take care of us", "handle things" better than Jesus, or "meet our needs."

This is why Paul says in Romans, "Whatever is not of faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23). In this verse, faith doesn’t refer to our body of beliefs, but rather to our bold belief. It is referencing our actions and what makes them glorifying to God. In the words of the ESV Bible commentary on this very verse, "anything believers do apart from faith is sin, for faith glorifies God by trusting him and lack of faith dishonors him." And why is that? Because we reveal we don’t trust him or worship him after all as the only God. And what is that? Essentially, idolatry.

Earlier in Romans, specifically 11:36-12:1, Paul painted a similar picture by highlighting three words and linking them together: Glory (11:36), sacrifice (12:1), and worship (12:1). While no doubt a host of sermons can be preached from these verses, at least one message rings out clearly: What we sacrifice for is what we worship. And what we worship is what gets glory from our life. If that isn't God, it's an idol; and that, plain and simple, is idolatry.

Unfortunately, the glory that results from idolatrous actions doesn't ultimately become an attraction to God or a reflection of God, which is really what God desires from our life (Matthew 5:16; 1 Cor. 10:31). It is, instead, a distraction from God. Indeed, that's what idols do -- distract attention from God. So I hesitate calling this type of attention from idolatry glory, simply because it is anything but glorious. It is actually gross, a glaring type of self-centeredness that replaces the Creator with created things, including us at times (Rom. 1).

So who do you ultimately trust to meet your needs? Handle your problems? Answer your questions? As you answer those kinds of diagnostic questions, a word of warning: Whenever we push God off the throne and repeatedly trust other things, we become idloaters. At that point we aren't living a lifestyle of bold belief in the only true God, but one of fleshly unbelief in our own version of another god, and its nothing short of practical atheism.

More Than Birds!

Lately I’ve been thinking and looking at what it means to make sure I spiritually trust before -- and more! -- than I physically try. Well, perhaps this vivid illustration from the fence right outside our back patio will get us pondering even more about those two words. Combined with these words from Matthew, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (6:25-26), these pics preach a sermon! I am praying God will use it in my own life to teach me more about who he is, how he works, and why I can radically trust him at all times. Which, in turn, removes any fear I have of “putting my best foot forward in faith.”

As a family, Julie, I and the kids are enjoying watching this whole thing develop right in front of our eyes; maybe I’ll keep you posted and even have more pics when the little eggs hatch!

Q & A

As some of you know, we often engage our church in Q & A during the service. Not every week, but periodically. I like that kind of environment and I think it gives people an opportunity to participate (which I believe is biblical value for the weekly gathering). Granted -- we don’t get a boatload of questions. But often just the opportunity is all that is needed to spark some thoughts that get expressed later. Such was the case last week. So I’d thought I’d post this question I received from one of my spiritual siblings.

“As I pondered your message from this past weekend (click here to hear it), I'm burdened with the desire to understand the balance between trusting and trying. When making a major life decision (or even a small one for that matter), how does someone recognize and/or realize if they are handling both correctly? Thank you for your bold and honest Bible teaching.  I'm honored to be involved in a church with leaders like you and our elders.”

A: I’ll make this sweet and simple. When we have to have all the answers before taking even one step, we are trying before trusting. Remember -- excessive analysis leads to faith paralysis. When we disguise our fear (i.e., lack of faith) by pretending we are still “researching” all our options, it’s outright disobedience and nothing short of masked rebellion in the face of our Creator.

If you want to see what balancing these two looks like in “real time,” I encourage you to read the book of Acts in one or two sittings. It’ll prove to be a valuable “picture” of how the early believers trusted and tried, and in that order.