Tag Archives: strength

Sunday – August 17, 2014 1st John 2:12-14 “Even the Strong Need Strength”

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Sunday – August 17, 2014 – Read the Word on Worship

1st John 2 verses 12 to 14 from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

Word On Worship – Sunday – August 17, 2014 Download / Print

1 John 2:12-13
“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.”

From the time of John’s letters to today there has been a clash between factions in the church about our view of the world. One camp would say there is the world outside of the church is an environment that is intrinsically opposed to God though thoroughly loved by Him. Those who follow Christ need to be aware of the temptations and threats of this world and equip ourselves so we do not fall prey to them. In the other camps are those who want to see the world in the church – whether for the purpose of being inclusive or to make the world comfortable so it may hear and contemplate the message of the gospel.

The further you go into John’s letters the more he emphasizes the boundary that separates the church from the world. John is very aware subtle theological distortions give way to true perversions of doctrine. A world that seems to be only indifferent to God reveals itself to be a world completely opposed to Him. People who appear to be fence sitters in John’s words, worldly Christians we might say, reveal their true colors as provocateurs and teachers of error and thus become lieutenants of the enemy. John argues for a separatist doctrine of the church and paints a portrait of the church as a community under siege. But are such boundaries good? Should the church welcome in the world in an attempt to get its message out? Don’t those who rebel against God need hear the message of God’s love?

The heart of the issue comes down to our worldview. Many evangelicals see the world as benign. So any discussion of boundaries seems inappropriate because they do not see how the world, its policies and social life are opposed to the teaching of Jesus. When Norma McCorvey – the Jane Roe of the famous 1973 Supreme Court decision that made abortions legal – came to faith in Jesus Christ and publicly spoke of the sin that abortion is, she was called emotionally troubled and a pawn of the “Christian right” by the world. The world is seriously hostile to the advance of the kingdom of God.

What is needed in the church is a new worldview. Unless we develop a God-centered worldview based on what the Scriptures teach, the world’s offensiveness, aggressiveness and rejection of the truth will seem irrelevant. Developing a God-centered worldview will cause us to ask difficult questions about how we live. This discussion may begin with these verses in John’s letter but must continue through the entirety of the book. Clearly John’s focus is on managing these boundaries to maintain a strong community of believers in a world of spiritual dangers and pitfalls for those who are unaware of the deceit that abounds in the world.

Sunday – March 9, 2014 Judges 16 “Bringing Down the House”

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Sunday – March 9, 2014 – Read the Word on Worship

Judges 16 “Bringing Down the House” from Sunrise Community Church on Vimeo.

Word On Worship – Sunday – March 9, 2014 Download / Print

Judges 16:20-21 “She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.” Let’s face it, from what we have read in Judges, we might not expect to see Gideon, Samson, or Jephthah in heaven, but the writer to the Hebrews tells us that they will be there. These men are listed among those who are included in the hall of faith, and faith pleases God. I am inclined to read Hebrews 11 in such a way as to conclude that it was Samson who, by faith, “gained strength in weakness.” Never was Samson weaker than he was as he stood between the two supporting columns of that Philistine “temple of doom” in Gaza. Here is the time when Samson really gained strength in his weakness.

I fear that Samson’s power along with divine intervention only caused Samson to feel invincible, so that he became more and more reckless. Samson actually began to believe that no matter where he went or what he did no Philistine could do him any harm. Thus, rather than return to Israelite territory and hide from the Philistines, Samson boldly remained in the land of the Philistines, in plain sight, almost daring them to try to do him harm. Samson’s arrogance was about to get him into deep trouble.

And Samson’s silence about where his strength comes from is a far cry from that of David when he confronted another Philistine (Goliath). Why shouldn’t the Philistines know that they are fighting against the Lord when they oppress God’s people? Why shouldn’t they be given the opportunity to recognize how weak and powerless their god, Dagon, is? Samson’s silence is not golden, it is sinful and self-serving. Because Samson has chosen to remain silent about His relationship to God and the source of his power, Delilah sets out to loosen his lips. Through her persistent efforts, she evokes four different “confessions” from Samson, all in the name of proving his love for her.

What a tragic picture Samson was. The power and the presence of God departed from him, and he didn’t even know it. I fear that Samson was not only a picture of the person who turned away from walking with the Lord, but that his example may also be a prophecy for a church today that relies on the world’s means and mechanisms, rather than upon God’s Spirit. How easy it is for Christians to follow the fads of the secular rather than to rely on the power of God’s Spirit. We are weak in the power of the flesh. That is why He gave us His Spirit, dwelling within us and His church. Do not presume to think the successes God achieves in and through us by means of His Spirit are somehow our works, for which we can take the credit. If we do, there may very well come a time when the Spirit has departed from us, and we don’t even know it.