Christ

Why Fear Is Inadequate Motivation For Following Christ

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

Why do you follow Christ? What motivates you to pray, to read scripture, to worship? There are two reasons we might follow Christ, two motivators that lead us toward Him. One is fear and the other is love. Sadly, many Christians follow Christ out of fear. They are afraid of hell. They are afraid of upsetting God. They are afraid of missing God’s will. Their choices are predicated upon fear of failure, fear of judgment, fear of condemnation. But that motivation is inadequate for following Christ and experiencing everything He has for us.

To understand this, we will look briefly at the nature of fear, the impact of fear, the limits of fear, and the product of fear. As we begin, please note we aren’t speaking about the Fear of God. That fear, often commanded in Scripture, is about awe and reverence. We are speaking of fear in the more common use. Continue reading →

3 Lessons on Trust from David and Goliath

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

Trust in the Lord dispels fear.

In 1 Samuel 17 we find the account of David and Goliath. Goliath, an armor clad, giant warrior faces down the army of Israel. He challenges any Israelite brave enough to face him in one-on-one, mortal combat. Kind of the ancient version of the Thunderdome. While the rest of Israel is afraid only the shepherd boy, David, shows courage. The chapter establishes his courage isn’t founded upon his experience (David is just boy), his weapons (David has only a sling), or his armor (David has none). Instead, his courage comes from his trust in the Lord’s deliverance. This kind of trust dispels fear.

I took my boys rock climbing at Garden of the Gods awhile back. The day we went one of our guides was a young lady about half my size. As I climbed one of the 30-40 foot faces she had me on belay. Looking down at her slight build from 30 feet up, I immediately saw myself falling down as my weight pulled her up! It took 3 or 4 minutes before I would put my weight in the harness and rappel back down. Having no trust meant I was afraid. On the other hand, trust dispels fear.

Trust in the Lord Quickens Action

David does not waste time before volunteering to fight Goliath. As soon as he hears the giants taunts David begins enquiring about fighting him. Have you wondered why David was so quick to volunteer when everyone else trembled in fear? Facing such an overwhelming foe would give most folks reason to pause. In fact, it terrified all of Israel—including her King. But David is immediately ready to sally forth. David’s action is quicken because he trusts the Lord. He tells King Saul, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine,” (1 Samuel 17:37, ESV). David trusts the Lord for victory, so he is quick to join the battle.

Likewise, trust in the Lord quickens us to action. Have you ever had a moment that you just knew was a great opportunity to share the gospel with a friend or acquaintance and yet you didn’t do it? I know I have. Sometimes it is from a fear of rejection. Other times it is fear of miss communicating or being misunderstood. Those fears come from trusting myself—whom I know to be weak—to do what only God can do. Thus, trusting God for the victory quickens action.

Trust glorifies God

In all of this battle, David is not interested in his own fame. He isn’t looking to elevate himself in the eyes of the King or the soldiers. He is interested in defeating Goliath that, “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,” 1 Samuel 17:46. In other words, David knows his purpose in facing Goliath is to glorify God. It is his complete trust in the Lord to deliver Him that will glorify God in this victory. Trust in the Lord glorifies God because it reveals that he is the source of my boldness and action.

God doesn’t want me to say, “Look at what I did.” He isn’t interested in everyone else saying, “Wow, Brandon is a great Pastor.” When David defeated Goliath he was certainly congratulated. But I doubt any Israelite thought David did it alone. They all knew the only way this victory happened was by the Lord’s hand. I want to live my life so that if God doesn’t show up then Goliath will win. I don’t want to give in to fear, but trust the Lord to deliver victory over sin, victory over the very gates of hell. I want to live so that others look at my life and say, “There is no way he did that. I had to be God.” Let us trust God so fully that we are free from fear, quick to act, and glorifying God.

What will they say about you?

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

This past week I was officiated the funeral for the father of a dear friend.  Then, later in the week (as has been well covered), John Stott died.  Reading some of the articles eulogizing Dr. Stott, left me wondering, what will they say about me?  Or, perhaps, what do I want to be said?

For me, I want it to be said that I was a faithful follower of Jesus Christ.

Mark Driscoll on Avatar

~ brandon ~ 1 Comment

Mark Driscoll: Avatar “Most Satanic Movie Ive Ever Seen” | Out of Ur | Conversations for Ministry Leaders.

Mark Driscoll takes on Avatar from a theological perspective.  Earlier, I wrote about my secular view of the movie.  As an Airman, I dislike films that depict the military as blood thirsty knuckle draggers.  Therefore, I didn’t want to see the film.

Driscoll’s view is much more significant, if true.  If he’s right than Avatar isn’t merely offensive, it is dangerous.  However, I wonder if Avatar isn’t merely reflecting the squishy spirituality of America, today.  While many have rejected the traditional concept of God, they are still left with a longing for Him.  They just don’t understand the longing.  So, as man has always done, they attempt to construct ways to fill this longing.  It may be pleasures or false religion–they are simply trying to fill the void.

Even if Driscoll is right in his assessment, I think there is hope.  The hope is this:  Avatar recognizes something is wrong with us, it just misdiagnosed the problem.  If the culture around us can agree that something is wrong, then we have a clear opportunity to share Christ.  We share the diagnosis (sin) and the cure (Christ).

Russell Moore on Outrage

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

Misguided Christian Outrage | TheResurgence.

What if, instead, we loved the world the way God does (Jn. 3:16), and not the way the satanic powers ask us to? What if we loved the world through verbal proclamation and self-sacrificial giving, not by seeking product placement for the Trinity? Rather than expecting our politicians and musicians and actors to placate us with platitudes to some generic god, let’s work with them where we can on “doing good to all people” (Gal. 6:10). Let’s proclaim the God of a crucified and resurrected Lord Jesus. And let’s teach our kids and our converts the actual content of the biblical revelation.

In conversations with friends, I’ve mentioned my frustration with much Christian Outrage.  While often there is a kernel of truth to our political, cultural and other-al outrage, it consumes a huge amount of resources.

Think of the time, talent and treasure spent on fighting cultural and political wars.  Sure, we need to stand firm for what we believe, but isn’t there a tipping point where standing firm is really an excuse for fighting back?

I wonder what it might look like if we were as passionate for evangelism as we are for the most recent Outrage against ChristTM.  I wonder what it would look like if we invested ourselves into discipleship with the same fervency we invest in political and cultural battles?