Springs Church Podcast

Birthday Suit Christians, Gen. 3:6-24

Two things entered our hearts at the fall that affected our ability to trust and obey God:
1 – Sin;

2 – Brokenness (i.e., nakedness, shame)
However, right there at the fall God began to counsel Adam and Eve (and us). He provided a sacrifice which would cover us. What we find is that when we come to the Lord in our nakedness, he does not expose us or humiliate us, he clothes us. The idea of nakedness (vulnerability) has become a traumatic experience for most of us because of the fall. That’s Satan’s manipulation, but God created us to be loved and to be known. We typically settle for receiving God’s love, but we hide from being fully known. This is true with God and it is true with each other. So, we try to control the narrative of how others perceive us – we try to cover ourselves with figs (Gen. 3:7), but the Lord has provided a better covering for us (Gen. 3:21). God says we can put on Christ (Romans 13:14), and he clothes us in righteousness (Psalm 132:9). There is no shame, but freedom in the Lord.
 
Often God answers the questions of our hearts with questions of his own. Once we can be vulnerable enough (naked before God) to answer back to him the things he already knows, it’s a sign that healing is on the way for us.

Let’s pray that our church community is a safe place for us to be “naked” before one another and ultimately before God.

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Shame, Genesis 2:24-3:13

“If you don’t pay me, I will expose you.” Or “If you don’t do exactly what I say, I will post that video of you.” This blackmail tactic is similar to how Satan manipulates us with shame:  “If you try to launch a ministry, I will tell the church who you really are.”  He reminds us of our former sinful selves, taunts us, and makes us prisoners of our shame. We hide and become paralyzed.
Adam and Eve went from pure and genuine communion with God to hiding in the very Garden he created for them. But the promise of the Lord is that, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” (Romans 10:11). Also, we are commanded to put to death the old (shameful) self and put on the new. Paul says, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). So, imagine Jesus taking our shame so that we don’t have to hide FROM him; but we are made new and hidden IN him. Praise the Lord for his goodness!

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Moses Series:  Putting God on Trial, Exodus 17:1–6

Believe or not, there are actual lawsuits on record where people have tried to sue God. The first one I heard about was from Ernie Chambers, a Senator from Nebraska. Just like the others, he cited God as being negligent because of the evil, suffering, and destruction taking place all across the world he created. The judge threw out the case saying God could not be properly notified of the case since he has no home address.
It sounds absurd that anyone would try to take God to trial, but it is a real condition of the (sinful) human heart. We have a tendency to blame and accuse God. That’s exactly what we see with the Israelites. That place of quarreling with Moses and grumbling against him was really them accusing God (17:2-3). Remarkably, God sees this and he does not strike the people, condemn them, or even hide from the legal process. He commands Moses to set up court – gather the elders and take up the staff (i.e., the rod of authority). We find here God’s incredible patience and willingness to suffer long with our wickedness (see 2 Peter 3:9). Moses strikes the rock and water flows forth for the people to drink (17:5-6). Ultimately, we get a heart-wrenching revelation from this in that Jesus is the Rock that was struck for our offenses against God. Woah!
We now have water to drink; that is, a new life to nourish and sustain us in Christ. So, the next time we hear of a foolish court case against God, you can post the sermon link from this weekend and attach these notes for reflection:

God’s long-suffering nature

Instead of God casting off and rejecting sinners, he engages with them and meets their needs.

God’s Patience

The sinful mind loses patience with God (i.e., accuses him). The heavenly perspective causes us to focus on God’s patience with us.

God’s faithfulness; our forgetfulness

Because of sin we often forget about God’s goodness to us, even if it was recent. Similarly, we tend to harp on the hard times in our walk, even if they happened long ago.

Arguing with God, Exodus 4:1-14

God is calling you to something and asking you to take a step of faith, but there is a reluctance and an insecurity in you. The question that stood out to me this week was:
Do I have complete reverence and trust in God in all things? All things? ALL THINGS?!
We reviewed incredible gospel truths from Philippians to include Phil. 1:6 and 2:13 which both point us to the reality that, as Christians, God is powerfully working through us. So, once we can take that incredible news to heart, we can share in Paul’s proclamation that, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13). But why do so many of us miss that? Why do we not rest in it? The key is that we are to abide in him – that is an active (not passive) commitment. We are to continually devote ourselves to pursuing him. Here it is in our final verse from Philippians:  “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection…” (3:10). I can admit that there have been seasons where I was more focused on uncovering his power than his person. First and foremost, we must know Christ.
So, the stories and illustrations of the Old Testament (i.e., Moses) beautifully connect to the principles and lessons of the New Testament (i.e., teaching to the Philippians) to give us a complete understanding; think left brain/right brain. The outcome is a revelation of God’s work within us, and our enduring call to know him and his amazing power. 
Amen. 

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For more information please check out our app, or visit us online at Springs.church.

Have You Pitched Your Tent? 

My first year in college, I learned about a group on campus called the Atheist Agenda. They had set up a table in one of the common areas and were provoking Christians by offering students sexually explicit magazines and DVDs in exchange for Bibles. They called the exchange “Smut for Smut.” I was walking to class with a friend who professed to be a Christian and I remember him saying, “Oh no they didn’t!” There was a righteous anger in him to fight against that sexual perversion and that agenda to bring revival on campus. A couple weeks later, he called me at 11:00 pm to ask for a ride to a girls’ apartment. There was a demand for revival “out there,” but he couldn’t see that his own heart was growing cold.
We heard a message this Sunday that calls each of us to a personal revival with the Lord. We may not struggle in the same way my friend did, but all of us have seasons where we need to be mindful of tending the fire of our hearts. Sometimes our personal sin struggles are the issue. At other times, the lawlessness of the culture causes our love to grow cold (Matt. 24:12). In Exodus 33, Moses was dealing with a rebellious Israel, but the word says, he would “take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp…” (33:7). He became an example for others and for us.  Instead of letting his love cool off under all the oppression, he would steal away and cry out to God saying, “Please show me your glory” (33:18).  
What is a personal revival?

How do you know you’re in personal revival? How do we get personal revival in our lives? (Or how does God bring it about?) Your spiritual life is a burning fire that must be fed continually. Pitch your tent in faith. God may not always change the circumstances, but he will change you.

Be encouraged!

Join us as we check out this week's sermon!
For more information please check out our app, or visit us online at Springs.church.

Prophet, Priest, and King, Isaiah 61:1-4; 1 Peter 2:9
If you get Jesus right, you get everything else right. If you get Jesus wrong… it doesn’t matter what else you get right.
Yesterday we reviewed Isaiah 61:1-4 to capture a snippet of how Jesus’ life and ministry are described. Since we are the body of Christ, he equips us to fulfill his earthly ministry as a representation of him. So, it is useful for us to pause occasionally and consider how God has made us and for what purpose in the body.  The passage in Isaiah can be summarized as three facets of Jesus’ ministry:  Prophet (v. 1), Priest (vv. 2-3), and King (v. 4). Jesus perfectly fulfills all three in one. We each serve as members of His body, and we typically favor one of the three. Like a diamond, we are crafted and chiseled in specific ways that God’s light might reflect from within us.
Why is this important? To know what we carry so we will faithfully bring it to the others and the world. Also to help us appreciate the body of Christ (i.e., empowering each other’s uniqueness).
The Prophet:

The Priest

The King: