northpoint notes

The major focus of Sunday’s message was becoming holy people of God. There was some emphasis on the fact that the trials and difficulties we experience serve to refine us – to make us holy. There was also a point made about obedience – Scriptures tell us that Jesus “learned obedience through what He suffered.” We know that Jesus was never disobedient. He learned obedience by being obedient. It’s a bit like other disciplines. I learn to play a piano by playing a piano. I learn obedience by being obedient. The lessons of obedience I learn early in my journey prepare me for the greater challenges I face.

I intended to allow people to respond publicly to the message – inviting them to come to the front of the church for prayer as a witness to their desire to be holy men and women of God and to seek God to be filled with His Spirit. After the message we sang the song “Refiner’s Fire.” A couple of men responded – expressing to me a desire for prayer to truly be holy men of God.

Then a 20 something young lady came to the front. I asked how I could pray for her. She told me she wanted God in her life. I asked if she had ever asked Jesus to be her Savior. Her response: “No, but I want Him.” It is amazing what flashes through your mind in a matter of seconds. My first thought was that she hadn’t paid attention to the message. The message was not about beginning a relationship with Jesus. It was about deepening a relationship with Jesus. She actually caught me off guard. It was only a matter of seconds before I was able to lead her to pray to receive Jesus as her Savior.

It was a great reminder to me that what happens on Sunday is less and less about my preaching and more and more about what God is doing in the lives of people. When someone expresses appreciation for a message, I am likely to ask them what about the message ministered to them. The responses often amuse me. I sometimes wonder if they were listening to me or another message on their I-pod. Sometimes what blessed them seems totally disconnected from what I have said and I am reminded that God will take a word – a phrase – a thought and speak to the hearts of people in ways I could not have known. He can take a message spoken to a crowd and make it incredibly personal so that what I am expecting is different than what He does.

And of course, what He does is always greater than I could imagine.

Our worship team decided to put on a production on Good Friday depicting the passion of Christ using the Gospel of Matthew account as a script. We have had several rehearsals and more to come. One of those rehearsals was scheduled for Sunday. The plan – everyone involved was to grab a quick lunch on their own and return to the church by 1:00 PM.

Since the one of the local Subway’s is just across the street from the church, several of us decided that would be the most convenient place for lunch. It took a few minutes for our group to get through the line – in large part because we were talking and not paying attention to the servers. One by one we placed our orders and found places to sit. Five tables of people from Northpoint.

Through all of the bantering as we went through the line, the servers learned that we were all from one church. As the last of our group went through the line and received his food and receipt, he noticed something written on the back. When he sat down at his table he read his receipt. The back had the names of the three servers and a list of prayer requests for each one – physical needs, spiritual needs, and emotional needs. They wanted our church to pray for them and we did.

There is yet another piece to the story. During the Sunday morning sermon I had stressed the importance of market-place ministry – of being aware of opportunities to represent the Lord where we work and where we do business. Here was a case where our people didn’t have to look for ministry opportunities, the Lord simply thrust the opportunity on us. It was great to see the Lord at work.

I’m sure several of our people will frequent the local Subway for more opportunities for ministry.

It’s Sunday morning and in a about an hour and a half our morning worship will begin. The worship team is practicing and I have been reviewing the message from Hebrews 5. I have also been reflecting on the day yesterday. We began with a men’s prayer breakfast. I think there were 16-17 men. Some have been believers for many years. One has been a believer for about a month. Two others for little more than a year. It was great to see the interaction between new believers and seasoned believers.

We have a food distribution ministry once per month. Yesterday was distribution day. This has not only been a good ministry to the community, it has been a good ministry for our church family. One young man has given leadership to launching, organizing and recruiting people to help run it. It has been a great place for people to begin serving.

I have watched our new believers latch on to this ministry. Over a period of months it is interesting to see them taking on more and more responsibility. They are benefiting more than those who come to pick up food. I see these men growing in their faith and in their confidence in their ability to serve and be used of God to touch the lives of others.

When they first begin, it is a task – give out food. The longer they serve, they begin to interact with people and offer words of encouragement. Perhaps the greatest blessing is watching people who have a desire to learn and grow and serve. The Lord is growing a group of men through these ministry beginnings. There will come a time when these men will lead ministries. They are already touching lives in their spheres of influence.

I regularly read the “MondayMorningMemo,” a weekly e-publication of the Wizard of Ads (www.wizardofads.com.) It is a more than a marketing web-site. It is full of wisdom and humor and insights into today’s world.

The latest “Memo” was titled, “Ten Things Never to Do in Your Advertising.” They were all quite good but I have spent more time reflecting on the first one. “Never promise everything you plan to deliver. Leave something to become the delight factor.” It seems so contrary to experience.

• Politicians (on both sides of the political aisle) promise far more than they can possibly achieve
• I have read enough resumes and interviewed enough people to know that resumes are embellished and promises of job performance are overstated.
• We are taught most places to do what we can to make ourselves look good – even better than we really are in order to get a job, position, recognition.

I have been reading and studying (with a couple other men) the life and ministry of Jesus. He didn’t tell us the whole story. He promised that if we believe in Him we would have eternal life; that if we abide in Him and He in us we would bear much fruit; and that those who hated Him would hate us.

He didn’t tell us about the depth of relationship we could have with Him (perhaps the promise is there but we can’t see it at first). The promise of His presence is there but the reality is greater than the promise. In fact, almost everything He promised is greater in the fulfillment than in the imagining of it.

I wonder…when people meet us, does our initial encounter promise more than we have to offer? Do we try to sell ourselves as loving, gracious, even holy people but when people get to know us they find something less. I think I’d rather surprise people positively over the lang haul than leave them disappointed. I know I can never meet everyone’s expectations and that is not what I am suggesting. I like people to be surprised at how much I am growing in my resemblance to Christ and reflecting His character. The only way that will happen is if I am actually growing in my resemblance to Christ.

As a Christ-follower I want people to see more of Him in me than they expected.

When I backed my car out of the garage this morning, it was pouring rain – the kind that requires the steady, rhythmic motion of the wiper blades rather than the intermittent action. The rain was accompanied by fairly strong gusts of wind that forced it to go nearly horizontal at times.

As I drove through the sub-division I saw children standing on street corners waiting for school buses. I chuckled at two little girls. They were standing with their umbrellas resting on their shoulders. They may have been keeping their hair dry but there was no attempt to cover any other part of their bodies. Shoes, jeans and shirts were all getting wet and they appeared to have no cares in the world. They were busy talking with each other.

A little further down the street was a lone boy – I assume about 10 years old – no umbrella, no hat, no attempt to keep dry. He could have stood under an eave or even in his garage but instead stood in the middle of the driveway in the pouring rain. Water was dripping from his hair and running down his face.

My first thought was that they should know better. I wondered where their parents were. Why wasn’t someone watching out for them? Then I thought, “O to be a kid again.” I remember days of playing in the rain – running through mud-puddles.

I continued my morning drive thinking about those children standing in the rain. My thoughts went back and forth between wanting to scold them for using such poor judgment and celebrating their youth and their lack of concern for wet clothes, a little discomfort, and what others might think.

In the middle of all these random thoughts I was reminded that at 6:30 this morning I went for a five-mile run – IN THE RAIN! I ran with clothes soaked, shoes sloshing, wind blowing rain in my face and water dripping from my cap – and it was great. I remember watching drivers stare at me – some seemed disapproving while others appeared to think I was a bit loony – probably the way I looked at the kids in the neighborhood.

Perhaps one of the reasons I run is that it is most like being a kid again. For those minutes, the cares of the day seem small. I can reflect, daydream, pray, wonder what drivers are thinking and rehearse the words to recent songs I have heard.

As I think back over the kids and me, I am reminded of how easy it is to look at others and criticize without even thinking about our own actions. Jesus reminds us to be careful about our judgment of others – we are to make certain the beam is out of our own eye before we try to remove a speck from another. It is so easy to be critical.

I think (as I sit in a dry library) that rather than being critical of those kids standing in the rain, I’d rather go stand with them.

I have become convinced that many of the drivers in our area are NASCAR “wannabe’s.” They treat the interstate highway as though it was a NASCAR track – weaving in and out of traffic – exceeding the speed limit – following as though they were being towed by the car in front of them. Each driver is certain they can handle the situation – they are certain they can stop if the car in front stops and that they can easily navigate from lane to lane with very little margin and never cause a crash. Some are proven wrong – thus the need for body shops. I wonder if they are envisioning a race track as they drive.

I suppose we are all wannabe’s in some area or another. I would be considered a wannabe runner by some. While I consider myself a runner simply because I run and because I have entered and completed numerous races through the years. I am not an elite runner and I haven’t really studied the science of running. I read articles and work on routines to improve but I will never win a marathon or even a 5k unless the field of runners is really limited. When I run, I envision myself with a smooth stride and quick pace. I suppose envisioning myself as a runner has actually made me a better runner. (I am not yet convinced that envisioning oneself as a NASCAR driver makes one a better driver – unless you are actually on a track instead of the interstate.)

I read an article about a man who learned to play golf very well without ever touching a club. He simply spent months envisioning every part of the shot until he finally had a club in his hands.

So what do we “wannabe?” A young boy on the streets of a major city might envision himself as a tough gang member and begins to practice gang behavior until one day he is part of a gang.

Jesus called us to “wannabe” like Him. While becoming like Him requires more than effort – it requires a new birth – the scriptures seem to indicate that if we envision ourselves like Him – believe what He says about us – we can actually become more and more like Him.

Some aspire to be great athletes and some aspire to be successful business people and others simply desire to do whatever it takes to be rich. In large measure, what we wannabe impacts what we become.

Why not start with the best and “wannabe” like Jesus?