Purpose Without Apology

Guiding Scripture: 1 Peter 3:15 - “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...”

• Can I be real for a minute? As Christians, we can get so enamored with the idea of being Christians that we forget to step back and consider why we believe what we believe. If a nonbeliever came up to us and asked us why we made the decision to accept Christ as Savior, what would we say? Would we even have an answer? Recently, the Lord challenged me to consider this question for myself, and these are the answers that came to mind.
• I believe in Jesus because there is compelling evidence to suggest that He lived.
  • There isn’t much physical evidence of Christ’s existence, but archaeologists have discovered remnants that point to both Nazareth (Jesus’ hometown) and the type of Roman crucifixion that Jesus suffered in the New Testament.
  • Jesus was mentioned in documents written by both Jewish and Roman historians in the decades after His death, and these writings corroborate certain details in the New Testament, such as the mention of Pontius Pilate.
  • Many of these texts were written by people who did not identify themselves as Christians and had no reason to lie.
• I believe in Jesus because the Bible makes sense to me.
  • The Bible answers all of my major questions about life and humanity. It addresses everything from why there is evil in the world to where we go after we die.
  • The Bible is the only book I’ve ever read that affects me differently no matter how many times I read it. I’ve read other sacred texts before, and they’ve never given me that experience.
  • “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12)
• I believe in Jesus because He gives my life hope and purpose.
  • Paul said that if our hope in Christ is only for this world, we should be pitied more than anyone else (1 Corinthians 15:19).
  • My cousin Dana passed away at 20, and my belief in Jesus gives me hope that I’ll see her again.
• I believe in Jesus because He stands apart from other religious figures.
  • When you look at most of the major world religions, they are very similar in the principles they teach. The one area where they differ is in what they believe about Jesus.
  • Jesus is the only religious figure that identifies Himself as the one way to God (John 14:6).
• I believe in Jesus because I’ve encountered Him for myself.
  • Although I grew up in a Christian household, I didn’t really experience the power of Jesus for myself until He freed me from depression.
  • People can discredit the idea of Jesus as Messiah all they want, but they can never take away your personal testimony.

Action Step: Why did you decide to become a Christian? Do you relate to any of the reasons I gave for my belief? Sit down with a Christian friend and engage in a mock debate about the merits of Christianity.

References:

• https://www.history.com/news/was-jesus-real-historical-evidence

Guiding Scripture: Psalm 81:9 - “You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not worship any god other than me.” (NIV)

• Remember, worship is about our heart posture. Whatever has our heart has our worship, so if something has taken the place in your heart where God should be, it’s an idol.
• In other words, idolatry is anything that you love---and are more committed to---than God.
• Anything can be an idol. Here are some of the most common ones:
• Idols can be people.
  • Daniel 6:7,9 - “The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den... So King Darius put the decree in writing.”
  • These days, celebrity culture has become one of the most popular forms of idol worship. Social media has given us intimate knowledge of other peoples’ lives, causing us to worship both them and the platforms that give us access to them.
• Idols can be possessions.
  • Exodus 32:3-4 - “So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
  • In modern times, we worship everything from food to houses to cars, but the most entrenched and widespread idolatry is probably connected to our smartphones. 
• Idols can be politics (ideas).
  • Acts 17:19-21 - “(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)”
  • These days, many people have turned their preferred political party into an idol. No man made party is capable of representing the perfect and righteous kingdom of God. It’s okay to have preferences, but we must always be willing to lay those preferences at the foot of the cross.
• One thing that makes idolatry difficult to overcome is the fact that it’s layered. When we turn away from God, we rarely replace Him with one thing. Instead, we worship multiple gods in an effort to fill the emptiness we feel without Him.
• What to do with the idols in your life:
  • Identify them with the help of the Holy Spirit. “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” (John 14:26, NLT)
  • Tear them down. “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.” (2 Chronicles 14:2-3, NIV)
  • Renew your commitment to God through worship. “At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back. They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul.” (2 Chronicles 15:11-12)

Action Step: Are there any idols in your life that you may have unknowingly erected that you need to tear down? If so, what are they? Begin walking through the steps to tear down the idols in your heart today.

Guiding Scripture: Psalm 95:6 - “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;” (NIV)

• Okay, we know what worship is, but now the question is, why is it important? Why should we make it a priority in our lives? Are there levels of worship, and if so, how do we go deeper in our worship experience with God?
• Worship is what we were created to do.
  • 1 Peter 2:9 - “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
• Worship is spiritual warfare.
  • 2 Chronicles 20:22  - “As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.”
• Worship is key to unlocking the promises of God.
  • Exodus 23:25-26 - “Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.” 
• Most importantly, worship takes glory off of us and gives it to God.
  • Psalm 29:2 - “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.”
  • Psalm 86:9 - “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.”
• Practical ways to deepen your worship life:
  • Find a new worship song to listen to during your quiet time with God.
  • Listen to an old worship song that you haven’t heard in a long time.
  • Read a psalm and meditate on the words while worship music plays.
  • Take a cue from David and write a psalm while worship music plays.
  • Draw or paint a picture of what you see while worship music plays.
  • If weather permits, spend your worship time outside, preferably in nature.

Action Step: Choose one of the suggestions listed in this episode and incorporate it into your worship time for a week. Did you feel closer to God as a result of this change?

Guiding Scripture: John 4:23-24 - “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (NIV)

• Worship is a topic that is demonstrated every week in the Church, but rarely discussed in detail. It is one of the most important concepts that we should understand in our faith, yet so much of what we believe about worship is limited to cultural preferences. What does the Bible actually say about worship, and how can we apply this to our daily lives?
• Worship is acknowledging God for who He is.
  • It is often used interchangeably with praise, which is acknowledging God for what He has done.
  • Worship is not limited by culture; God created us differently so we could have different expressions of worship. All of these expressions are beautiful to Him.
  • Worship has less to do with the style of music and more to do with the posture of our hearts.
• Worship lowers us and lifts God.
  • Psalm 95:6  - “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;” (NIV)
  • Whenever people worshipped God in the Bible, they would physically bow themselves down and lift their hands up to God.
  • This is why worship often feels uncomfortable, especially for new believers. It is meant to remind us that only God is worthy of worship, and we are not.
• Worship requires genuine sacrifice.
  • In the Old Testament, people worshipped using offerings, so the quality of those offerings was very important to God.
  • These sacrifices were not only a form of worship, but they also served as an atonement for sin.
  • The story of Cain and Abel - Genesis 4:3-5
  • After Jesus died for our sins and became the ultimate sacrifice, the focus of worship shifted away from animal sacrifices to us. We have become houses of worship to God, and our physical bodies have become the evidence of that.
  • Romans 12:1 - “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
• If we don’t worship God, we will always worship something else.
  • Exodus 23:33 - “Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.”

Action Step: Based on the definition of worship given in this episode, when was the last time you worshipped God? What do you think it means to become a “living sacrifice” to God today?

Guiding Scripture: Psalm 27:13-14 - “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (NLT)

• God’s timing is always different from ours.
  • Isaiah 55:8-9 - “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”
  • 2 Peter 3:8 - “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”
• The wait is long to build up our faith.
  • James 1:2-3  - “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
• The wait is long to make us mature.
  • James 1:4 - “Let perseverance finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
• The wait is long so our motives can be revealed.
  • Genesis 22:12 - “‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.’”  
• The wait is long so that God can get more glory.
  • Exodus 3:19-20 - “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand forces him. So I will raise my hand and strike the Egyptians, performing all kinds of miracles among them. Then at last he will let you go.”
• What to do while you’re waiting (the ABC’s of waiting):
  • Anticipate what God will do: “Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.” (James 5:7-8)
  • Be still: “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.” (Psalm 37:7)
  • Celebrate what God is doing right now: “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” (Romans 5:3-4)

Action Step: What is one area where you are waiting on God to break through or bring change in your life?

Guiding Scripture: Numbers 14:23 - “They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it.” (NLT)

• We all love to focus on and talk about the excitement of walking in the promises of God---having our prayers answered, our lives changed, and our dreams fulfilled in Him. Many people in the Bible experienced these kinds of extraordinary blessings, which is why we know their stories today. But what about the people who missed the mark? Where did they go wrong? And more importantly, how can we avoid making their mistakes?
• Reason #1: Unforgiveness (Joseph)
  • Psalm 105:17 - “Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character.”
  • Genesis 45:5 - “But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.”
• Reason #2: Doubt/Lack of Faith (Zechariah)
  • Luke 1:20 - “But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”
• Reason #3: Dishonor/Rebellion (Moses)
  • Numbers 20:12 - “But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
• Reason #4: Impatience (Abraham)
  • Genesis 16:3 - “So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.” (NIV)
• Reason #5: Disobedience (Saul)
  • 1 Samuel 13:13-14 - “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”
• The good news is that when we repent after missing God’s promise, He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)
• David did this after he slept with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah killed (Psalm 51). Although he still experienced consequences for his sin, he kept his throne and God mercifully kept His promise.
• Saul, in contrast, never repented to the Lord directly. He asked Samuel to forgive his sin first (1 Samuel 15:24-25), and then wanted Samuel to worship with him so he could save face in front of the elders and all of Israel (1 Samuel 30-31). 

Action Step: Study the lives of Saul and David this week. Compare their moments of sin and how each of them responded when confronted (1 Samuel 15 for Saul, 2 Samuel 12 and Psalm 51 for David). What differences do you notice in their behavior, and what does this say about their ability to see God’s promise---or not?