How much of what church is today that’s non-essential? This week we look at the early church in Acts 2:42-43 to challenge our ideas of church. We want to strip away unhealthy concepts we hold on to that hinder us from being the change agents God has called us to be.
One of the greatest deceptions in our faith journey is the perils that come with having abundance. Both the Old and New Testaments are full of passages warning us of the pitfalls of self-sufficiency.Proverbs 30 provides us with a good summary of what the Bible teaches us about money and possessions.
Proverbs 30:8-9 (NIV) keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
In this passage, the wisdom writer makes two requests – to be protected from deception and to be provided only what is sufficient for his daily needs. The connection the writer makes between deception and self-sufficiency is quite significant. In his prayer for contentment in what has been allotted to him, the writer identifies two possible deceptions that are faced when one is either in poverty or in wealth.
“I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”
Poverty deceives a person into thinking that they have no other options apart from taking measures into their own hands and acquiring their needs through illegal activity. Poverty deceives us into believing that our needs justify the means of obtaining it, even if they contradict Biblical principals.
Poverty says, “God won’t help me; I must help myself.”
“I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?”
Being in the position of wealth carries with it the danger of another form of deception. Along with wealth comes an abundance of options. Being in a position where one is presented with numerous options and possibilities, God can become an unnecessary restriction to someone spoilt for choice. It becomes burdensome to seek God’s best when I have all I need to pursue what’s best for me.
Wealth says, “God does not need to help me; I can help myself.”
Proverbs 30:8-9 is a prayer to remove all the earthly facades that the world says we need. When we pray this prayer, we are seeking to rid ourselves of the deception of poverty with it’s enticement to be free from Divine rule, and the deception of wealth with it’s enticement to be free from Divine accountability.
When we pray this prayer, what we are really praying for is our “daily bread”. We are praying to be content with being sufficient for today. It us a prayer that keeps us in this narrow path of truth – free from the deception that comes when in want or in abundance.
In a world where wealth has been equated to prosperity and happiness, it is so important for us as believers to embrace the Christian life promoted and lived by the great apostle Paul.
Philippians 4:11-13 (NKJV) Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Forgiveness is a very sensitive subject for many. When such a topic is brought up in a crowd, inevitably we end up seeing the group polarised. There will be a group who end up feeling guilty or condemned because they are struggling to forgive those who have done great harm to them. Then there will be a group who become defensive and feel they are justified in their actions because of the injustice that will occur should they forgive someone unconditionally.
The second of the three petitions in the Model Prayer Jesus taught his disciples is around forgiveness. Asking our Father to forgive us our sins isn’t the challenge. It is the connection Jesus made between God’s forgiveness and our forgiving others that makes the prayer a little more arduous. At the end of the prayer in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus further emphasises this connection between God’s forgiveness and our forgiving.
Matthew 6:14-15
“for if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespasses.”
At first glance it would seem like Jesus is suggesting a trade off. “If you want forgiveness from God, you better forgive others.” Some may even read it with a legalistic tone – “forgive others or else…”. I’m not convinced Jesus was teaching that the Father’s forgiveness had a quid pro quo element to it. I believe Jesus was showing us the close connection God’s forgiveness has with our ability to forgive others. The Message translation seems to elude to this.
Matthew 6:12 (MSG)
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us forgiven, keep us forgiving
To be forgiven and to be forgiving are two sides of the same coin. We cannot experience forgiveness if we aren’t experiencing forgiving. The act of receiving forgiveness is inseparable from the act of giving forgiveness. The two are intrinsically linked together. Once we see the link between the experience of receiving love and the experience of giving love, the explanation Jesus gives in Matthew 6:14-15 begins to make sense.
Matthew 6:14-15
“for if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
This is how I read the text in light of the connection between experiencing forgiveness from the Father and our ability to release forgiveness to others. If you want to experience true forgiveness, draw from your experience of receiving Divine forgiveness.
As you experience forgiveness from the Father, let it overflow through you by experiencing the act of forgiving another. The more we allow ourselves to experience forgiveness from the Father, the greater our ability to release forgiveness to others. In the same vein, when one chooses not to release forgiveness to another, that person restricts himself or herself from experiencing the forgiveness from the Father.
Excerpt from “The Model Prayer”, Andrew Kulasingham
Are you a Consumer Christian or Passionate Disciple? The greatest hindrance to the concept “church in the community” is consumerism. We are not consumers, we are disciples. This message calls us back “to be about our Father’s business” – to seek and save the lost.
How do we transitioning from a mindset that “Church is on Sunday” to the concept “Church is everyday”? This week’s message looks at the birth of the early church in Acts 1:1-11 and how our mandate is to re-present Christ not as a church on Sunday but as a church in the community.