REALLIFE Spokane

Jesus’ church has endured as people sought to obey what Scripture teaches. Even when people have taken extreme stances that have led to problems, when people have a heart to hear the Word and do it, they are changed. People become stronger which leads to a strong church.

The danger of our time is to hole up and insulate ourselves - meeting our own needs and taking care of only ourselves. The church of the 4th, 5th and 6th century was struggling the same way. 536 AD was the most difficult year in recorded history. The dark age - tribal invasions and drop in Roman population- plagues 536- volcanoes in the north - meteor strikes Australia- worst year in world history 536. Half the earth was literally covered by smoke and ash and the sky was dark for over 6 months. 2020 was not the worst year in history. 536 wins still. 

If we get stuck retreating into insulation we will not be a strong and enduring people. This will kill the church. Kill your faith. Kill the chance for us to become an enduring people. 

The 4th Century popularity of Christianity because of Constantine’s normalization of Christianity - gave way to a massive dilution of the way of Jesus. The reaction was the monastic movement. The isolation and separation eventually gave way to a desire to help others re-discover or discover true devotion to Jesus in such a polluted world. This transition deeply impacted the church and created a strength of Jesus’ people and Jesus’ church that has carried us to today.

There has always been a process for followers of Jesus to grow. No matter what discipline we are talking about, there can always be a temptation to get comfortable and for maturity to become a program. Being a disciple who is being discipled has always been an important piece to maintaining the integrity of Jesus’ church.

Jesus commissioned His disciples to continue His work of making disciples before He ascended into heaven. These disciples became the first leaders of the church. However, according to church tradition all but one of these disciples had his life cut short. Peter, the first overall leaders of the church, was crucified upside down in Rome by the Emperor Nero. Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, was also killed by Nero. Thomas was speared through in India. Matthew was stabbed in Ethiopia. James the son of Alphaeus was clubbed to death. Every one of Jesus’ disciples except for John was killed for the sake of Jesus. This presents a problem, though: Who would lead the church if all of Jesus’ original followers were gone? Who would pass on the teachings of Jesus to the next generation of Christians?

Obedience and adherence to the Scripture has sustained Jesus’ church.

A strong church comes from strong people who are anchored in unity under the authority of scripture.

Who is this Jesus? The uniqueness of Jesus. 

A certainty of who Jesus has held the church fast in a culture that is swirling.

Identity is everything.  Doubts and discouragement and depression are just a few moments away constantly. It seems like everything can be fine…then all of a sudden - I hate everything. I wanna quit. I wanna do something different. I wanna start over. This is part of our new reality. When all hell breaks loose am I strong in my identity? Do I know who I am because of Jesus?  Can you and I break these kinds of cycles in our hearts and minds? Can we re-center our hearts and minds?

Our hope is in Jesus. In the unstoppable nature of his church. His church has endured so many difficulties. His people have stayed steadfast through so much.

Obey God’s design in tithing - FREEDOM requires FAITH

It is for Freedom that we have been set free - how to walk in that freedom is something we need to talk about. This is our last week in this conversation - I really believe God wants us to be free from the love of money. Last week we talked about contentment - today I want to talk about the tithe. Tithing is the weapon we wield in combat of the love of money.