Gotta Face Reality

 I don't know why exactly, but I guess I've had games on my mind recently. As a kid I absolutely LOVED fighting games. I'd be playing "House" with my little sister and then 5 minutes in BOOM, a burglar breaks in and kidnaps her, and I have to go fight through hordes of minions to rescue her. I'd make up all kinds of stories where I was the hero, fighting against the forces of evil with my trusty sword. There was just one problem... I didn't have a sword. You want to know what I did have? A STICK! Booyah! I'd go out and find a decently-sized, straight-ish stick and that would become my sword, gun, axe, spear, staff - you name a weapon, that stick could be it - and I would use to to vanquish my enemies!

But what would happen if a real bad guy showed up? That stick wouldn't do me too much good - maybe I'd get a good whack in, if I was lucky, but then the bad guy would beat me to a pulp. As cool as it was to pretend that stick was a powerful sword, when faced with real danger I would have to face the reality that it was just a stick.

I think a lot of times we like to pretend that things are not what they are because it makes them cooler, or easier to deal with. We pretend sticks are swords because that is way cooler, or that a toothache will just go away on its own because that costs a LOT less money than getting it fixed by a dentist. We pretend that speed limits are more like guidelines than actual rules because it lets us get places faster. We pretend cheating on a test isn't really that bad because it saves us time on studying (or if we let someone cheat off of us, it makes us look better in their eyes). We even pretend that not reading the Bible regularly won't affect our faith.

Whatever the case may be, eventually we have to face reality. The stick breaks, the tooth decays, the cops pull us over for going 65 in a 25, we get caught cheating and get suspended from school, and we end up pulling away from God because we aren't paying attention to His Word. Two weeks ago we started answering the question "How do we live the Christian life in a non-Christian world?" Steps one and two were pretty straightforward: 1) be sure you are of the faith (otherwise why even try to live the Christian life?) and 2) acknowledge the authority of God's Word in your life. Last night we looked at step three, which is facing the reality of human nature.

There are a lot of ideas gaining traction in the world today: the idea of relative truth (that what is true for you may not be true for me, but they're both equally true), that the gender you're born with may not be your real gender (or that you get to choose your gender), the idea that who you are is tied to who you are attracted to, and possibly the most problematic idea, that mankind is basically good. The problem with this last one is that it takes away the idea that we are in trouble and in need of a savior. If mankind is basically good, then we don't really need God, or faith, or anything. We're good to go on our own. Unfortunately, this is not reality. Let's look back at the very beginning, when God first made mankind:

Genesis 1:26 - "Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them."

This was at the very beginning, before sin or death had entered the world. Everything was perfect and good, which means at our very beginning, we were perfect and good, made in God's image. This image, which meant that we were created with reflections of God's nature and character in us, set us apart from the rest of creation. God even said that as mankind is made in His image, it would allow them to rule over the rest of the creation. He gave us some of His authority and a responsibility over the earth. In making us in His image, God gave us the ability to make our own decisions (we call this free will) and He gave us souls - a spiritual aspect to our being that lives on after physical death. After finishing His work in creation, God looked at everything He had made and decided that it was all very good. So, at the beginning, the idea that mankind was basically good was correct. We were. Unfortunately, that's not the end of the story.

Romans 5:14, 17-21 - "Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. … For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Human nature started out good, but when Adam and Eve sinned against God human nature became corrupted. That act of rebellion (which you can read about in Genesis 3) brought sin and death and decay into God's good creation, and it brought corruption into all of it. Every person is now born with a corrupted nature, so that we are not basically good anymore. At our core, apart from God, we are sinful and hopeless beings. We still have the image of God implanted in us, but it has become corrupted and twisted, so while we can still sometimes do some good in the world, sin is the prevailing part of our nature. This is why we see so much evil and suffering in the world today, because people give in to their sinful natures and choose to do what is wrong. The ultimate consequence for sin, the consequence that we each deserve and are destined for, is separation from God and death. That is the nature and the fate of humanity.

BUT, you may have noticed in the Romans passage, God did not see fit to leave us like this. Just as through that first sin Adam doomed us to death, so through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross we have access to God and to eternal life! When Jesus died, He took the penalty of death that we deserve, so that we wouldn't have to. He took our punishment so that we could be forgiven and have a restored relationship with God. Without faith in Jesus, we have no hope of redemption. We would be stuck in our sin nature and doomed to eternal death and separation from God. Through Jesus, we can have life, and have it abundantly.

Our society is pushing a lot of new ideas right now, most (all) of which go against what the Bible tells us about human nature. If we take steps one and two, believing in Jesus and accepting the authority of God's Word in our lives, then we should be prepared to take step three, which is to face the reality of human nature which is described in the Bible. This is a hard step to take in our culture right now, because doing so pits us against the ideas that the world is pushing. The world will yell at us, scream at us, maybe even attack us to get us to accept their ideas. But we must stand up and stand strong for what the Bible says to be true, no matter what kind of push back we get for it.

The world wants to pretend that mankind is not doomed to death. The world wants to pretend that people can be whatever they want to be, and do whatever they want to do. The world pretends all this because it is easier than facing the reality that there is judgment coming for those who rebel against God. Whether you believe and trust in God's Word or not, eventually you gotta face reality.

Friends Tell Friends EVERYTHING... Right?

 Heyo! I know a bunch of you are a little bummed that we brought masks back last night, but on the bright side, at least we still get to meet every week! With the way that schools have to handle covid exposure, we didn't want the Summit to be an unnecessary risk. So, I hope you can understand our reasoning and I hope to see yall next week!

Last night was our Parent's Night, so I know I was a bit scarce throughout the night. Since I was in with some of your parents, we pulled out a video from "The Skit Guys" on YouTube - before you read any further, go look up "Friends Tell Friends Everything by the Skit Guys" on YouTube and watch it. Don't worry, it is hilarious and completely worth your time. Seriously. Stop reading. Go watch. I'll wait.

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Well? What did you think?

To be honest, I've never been one of those people who tells anybody everything. I have always kept certain things to myself and not shared them with anybody, not even my closest friends. And I am sure we all have those things that we keep hidden or secret, either because we're ashamed of them or because we just don't want anyone to know everything about us.

But in the skit, the two guys had grown up together and their friendship mantra was centered on "friends tell friends everything". And yet, right at the end we find out that "Danny" had kept his faith a secret from "Stevie" the whole time. He had never had the courage to open up and talk to his friend about the biggest news of his life. And even at the end, as they are about to graduate high school, he still can't find the courage to do it.

I don't know what kind of relationship you have with your friends, whether its a "friends tell friends everything" kind of friendship or a much more shallow one. But if what we believe is true, that mankind is in need of a Savior and the ONLY way to be made right with God is through faith in Jesus Christ, then what are we really doing when we "chicken out" of sharing our faith with our friends?

Like, "Hey, I know how to live forever but I'm not going to tell you."

It's easy to make excuses (I've made them, too). "They're going to think I am some kind of religious nut." I was called a Bible Thumper by my best friend in elementary school when he found out I went to church. "They won't want to be friends with me anymore." "It would just be such an awkward conversation." "I don't know what to say." "What if they ask something and I don't know the answer?" "What if they laugh at me?"

But let me put this out there: What if they believe you? You have vital information that could forever change their lives for the better. Don't be afraid to share it! 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." Additionally, Romans 8:14-15 says "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'"

Every Christian has the Holy Spirit of God living inside of them. If you are a Christian, then you have the Holy Spirit of God living in you. When we give in to fear, or anxiety, it means we are relying on our own power to do something. But when we rely on the Spirit of God living inside of us, he empowers us to do what needs to be done - not by our own strength, but by his! So as you continue to hang out with your friends, look for ways to talk about what you believe. And don't worry about what to say, or how to say it - let God's Spirit handle that part. Just get the conversation started and see where it goes. Who knows, God may use you to bring your friends to faith in Jesus.

Foreigners in a Hostile World

 Heyo! For anyone who doesn't know already, I have played a LOT of games in my lifetime - from board games, to videogames, to sports games, all the way to mind games (messing with my siblings). You and I may not like the same kinds of games, but I think we can all agree that games are fun. I think part of what makes games fun is that they each have their own set of rules that the players have to abide by - these make the game the way that it is. For example, imagine trying to play dodgeball but no matter what happens no one can get out. It might be fun at first, until you realize that you're just throwing dodgeballs at each other until someone gets bored or whatever. That's not... a game. You know? A game needs to have certain rules so that it is fair, works properly, and allows everyone to have some fun and competition. The world we live in today is a lot like a game in that respect. There need to be rules to live by so that the world runs properly, people can live at peace with each other, and everyone can have opportunity to "pursue happiness", as the American dream would put it. However, when I look around, even at just this country, it seems like everyone is living by different rules. Either they mix and match rules from others or they make up new rules as they go along. No one truly agrees on any rules, so there is no peace, the world definitely doesn't run properly, and most people are too busy struggling to get by to even think about pursuing happiness. The "American Dream" doesn't work.

As Christians, we believe that God created the world (as outlined in the beginning of the book of Genesis) and He established the world order, set it in motion, and provided the rules for the "game" of life. He revealed all of this in the Bible so that we would know how we are supposed to live in this world He created. Unfortunately, if you read through the book of Genesis in the Bible, you'll quickly find out that it didn't take very long for mankind to break the rules and do their own thing. Ever since then, humanity has struggled with the consequences of rebelling against God's way of doing things, and that's what we see in our world today. Our society doesn't want to do things God's way, and they become very hostile toward those who do. So, the question is, how do we live the Christian life in a non-Christian world? How do we survive as foreigners in a hostile world?

In total, there are four parts to the answer to that question, and today we are going to look at the first two.

Step 1, the very first thing you need to do to even attempt to live the Christian life in a non-Christian world, is to be sure you are of the faith. Romans 10:9-10 says this: "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." There is NO POINT in trying to live the Christian life if you're not even a Christian. It won't do you any good and you'll fail over and over and over again. The good news is, becoming a Christian is not as complicated as some of you might believe. Just like Paul said in Romans 10, out your faith in Jesus and what He did for you on the cross. Let me give you a quick overview of what we're talking about here - according to the Bible, Jesus is the Son of God who came to the earth as a man about 2,000 years ago, lived a sinless, perfect life and then died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, taking all the punishment that we deserve so that we don't have to, and then was raised from the dead 3 days later. If you believe that and trust that your sins are forgiven through Jesus, you are a Christian.

Here's the thing though, according to Paul we must declare with our mouths "Jesus is Lord". A "lord" is someone with authority, a master or ruler. So when we declare "Jesus is Lord," we are declaring that Jesus is our master, our ruler, the main authority figure in our lives. If Jesus is our Lord, that means we submit to His authority, we follow and obey Him.

Step 2 naturally follows from this. Step 2 to living the Christian life in a non-Christian world is to acknowledge the authority of God's Word (the Bible) in your life. When you think of the Bible as God's letter to us, which comes with instructions for living and information about who He is and what He is doing, then it would make total sense for us to acknowledge the Bible as an authority in our lives. It would be just like receiving a letter from our lord. Where we get tripped up, however, is that a lot of the time we treat the Bible like the instructions for a game. Take UNO as an example. UNO has specific rules for each card and how to play the game. But depending on where you go, different people play the game differently. There are variations of the rules (stacking versus no stacking, drawing one card when you can't play anything or drawing until you can play, etc.). I think we tend to treat the Bible like the rules in UNO - the Bible gives us a baseline, but we can pick and choose which rules we actually want to follow. And this is why step 2 is so important to living the Christian life in a non-Christian world. The world tells us its okay to pick and choose, but the Bible is clear - its all or nothing. We either submit completely to God's way, or we are in rebellion against God. There is no in-between.

So then, to really acknowledge the Word of God as an authority in our lives, we have to surrender our authority of self. What do I mean by that? Well, before becoming a Christian, we all have different authorities over us - our parents, teachers, the government, etc. But over all of those we have the authority of self. This is our ability to choose who we are going to listen, if we listen to anyone at all. Like, yeah, I might get in trouble if I don't listen to my parents, but ultimately it is my decision whether to obey them or not. The authority of self boils down to this: "I do what I want." As a Christian, we surrender this authority of self over to God. In making Jesus our Lord, we say, "God, I am no longer in charge of my own life, You are. You make the decisions, You say what is right, and I will follow Your lead." It boils down to: "I do what God wants." If we try to live the Christian life, but don't surrender the authority of self, we are in for a lifetime of trouble.

Isaiah 45:9 says this: "Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'The potter has no hands'?" If the Bible is true, that means God made the world. He is the Maker, He is the "potter", and we are what He has created. If He is the Maker, what right do we have to challenge His design? What right do we have to disagree with He has said? When we acknowledge the authority of the Bible in our lives, we are saying that we trust that God knows what He is talking about. That means we don't get to decide what is right or wrong, we go by what He says is right or wrong.

If you are sitting there and you want to live the way God says is right and good, then the first things you need to do is ask yourself these two questions: Have you put your faith in Jesus? Have you surrendered yourself to the authority of God's Word? These two things set the foundation for everything else we believe in, and they give us solid ground upon which to stand for our faith. The world we live in despises God's way, and they will try to push down and destroy anyone who tries to live His way. Don't let them push you down.