Grace - It's Really About Trust

Hello All,

God doesn't love you because you're obedient.  If he did, His love for you would fluctuate on a daily basis.  We've been taught by religion to demonstrate to God how much we love Him so that He will love us in return.  Why is this a problem?  Because it takes our eyes off of Him and His permanent, everlasting love and puts them onto us.  Looking at your performance will drive you insane, because you can never earn God's love or even His blessing, nor can you prove your love of Him to Him by your obedience.  John 16:9 says that He loves you before you ever did anything.  Remain in that love.  And since you will naturally trust someone you know loves you, obedience becomes a fruit, not a root.

The person who has an obedience problem simply hasn't seen that God is good and is the perfect provider.  That means that we never really have an obedience problem, but rather a trust problem.  Action point:  wherever you are not trusting God and therefore having obedience problems, simply ask God to help you see His active love for you in that area.

Distrust says one of two things to God:

1.  "I know better", and then we disregard God; or,

2.  "God, tell me what I have to do to be blessed by you and I'll do it."

In both cases, distrust reveals that the person has more faith in themselves than in God.  Many people search for keys, principles, guidelines, and strategies, but they refuse to see God's goodness right in front of them.  It's as if Jesus never came.  The saddest part, however, is that after a time of playing by the rules so they will be blessed by God, the exhausted person will give up completely and default to option #1 above: "I know better than God", and they shut the door to His ways.

All the while, God remains un-offended because of Jesus' sacrifice and He continues to bless the person while they refuse to acknowledge Him.  Such a being deserves our total trust because of His complete love.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - Mark Driscoll

"I have been a pastor for a long time, but have not had a close pastor since college." ~ Mark Driscoll

I haven't listened to a message from Mark Driscoll in a long time because he was becoming a very condemning and legalistic preacher.  However, he's recently written a letter of apology to his church.  His quote above, I think, reveals a big piece as to why he was heading down an unhealthy path.

When church leaders talk about "submitting to leadership", honestly, it's more often about obeying someone else's plans for your life than it is something that brings a healthy relationship into your life.  As Rob Rufus would say, "I believe in liberating leadership."  In Mark's quote, we see that he (and as statistics reveal, most pastors) lack healthy relationships in their ministries.  Traditional Christianity has elevated the pastor/priest to an unhealthy role in which they are expected to do everything and be everything that the flock needs.  The church was never meant to exist in that way.  Christ is our Head, but we serve one another.  The season of "the man of the hour" has come to an end as healthy congregations empower each member to contribute equally to the health of every member and every visitor.

In Mark's quote, I sense a returning to the love and care of a father which we all need; to have someone who is involved, who promotes wisdom and good judgement, and more than anything, has a sacrificial heart which desires that a son would reach his own potential rather than to be a cog in a machine the father figure is building to realize his own dreams and aspirations.  

It's time that pastors stop becoming and remaining a person's mediator with God and instead quickly release them to grow in their own relationship and destiny with their heavenly Father.  A pastor's role should be limited to essentially this:  demonstrate the love of a father and an involved supporter; point the person to Father God has the ultimate reality of that fatherly relationship; share wisdom and experiences when needed; and finally, be an equal to the person and just enjoy life together, loving them as Holy Spirit enables.

Where Mark Driscoll is going with this turn, I can't say.  But I certainly understand how he feels about his years of lack of healthy relationships and support.  Let's hope that this is a turn toward a grace-based ministry.

http://renuemag.com/2014/03/16/an-open-letter-of-apology-from-pastor-mark-driscoll/

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy