Understanding the Roots and Legacy of Our Faith

As I have been preparing for an upcoming speaking engagement, I have returned to consideration of a question that has been on my mind for a few years. I knew that my grandparents had been Christians for many years and had raised my mother as a Christian, but I did not know how my grandparents became Christians.

My sister earlier this year found that Grandma’s parents had become members of a Christian church in Indiana in my Grandma’s hometown. Then this week, I discovered that both of my grandparents were baptized in 1924 in the church in which my mother was raised. One of them was a member of that church for 48 years and the other for 52 years. Mom was baptized in the same church in 1932.

Within my family, that is where my faith in Christ develops from, but the roots of your faith and mine goes much deeper than the influence of a family member, friend, or church. Perhaps the best person in the Bible to demonstrate this to us is Abraham, the father of faith. His faith is set out as an example for us at some length twice in the New Testament.

First, in Romans 4, Abraham shows us the roots of our faith. Paul spent the first three chapters of Romans arguing that we have all sinned and are declared righteous only through faith in Christ. Then he sets Abraham out as the great example of faith, stating four times that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.

Our faith, quite simply, has its roots in Jesus — his life, death, burial, and resurrection. Through his son, God has pursued us so that we will put our faith in him.

John Stott, the great English preacher of the last century, described this about his own life: “[My faith is] due to Jesus Christ himself, who pursued me relentlessly even when I was running away from him in order to go my own way. And if it were not for the gracious pursuit of the hound of heaven I would today be on the scrap-heap of wasted and discarded lives. “

Second, in Hebrews 11, Abraham shows us the legacy of our faith. Hebrews 11 gives us three startling facts about Abraham’s faith: (1) when God called him to leave home and go to a place where God would show him, he obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going; (2) he lived the rest of his life in tents as a foreigner, believing God would grant his promise, even though he did not know when he would do so; (3) he accepted God’s promise of a son who would become his heir, even though he did not know how it could possibly happen.

With that type of faith, Abraham built a legacy of faith — an entire nation would come from the son God promised him. In addition, Abraham’s legacy includes all those who put their faith in Christ, from the very first Christian believers up to and including all believers who will be alive when Jesus comes again.

Adoniram Judson went as a missionary to Burma in 1812. By 1834 had translated the Bible into the language of Burma although he would die with few converts. One hundred and fifty years later, all 600,000 Burmese Christians would trace their spiritual heritage to Judson.

We also live by faith in Christ, and he calls us to pass on our faith to others.

“I don’t go to church. I am the church.”

Those who attend Tri-County Church in DuBois, Pennsylvania, wear purple t-shirts for various church activities that have emblazoned across them the phrase: “I don’t go to church. I am the church.” When the people in a church adopt such an attitude, they create ownership.

In their book Move, Greg L. Hawkins and Cally Parkinson comment on the difference between “belonging” to the church and “being” the church: “Too many churches are satisfied to have congregations filled with people who say they ‘belong’ to their church— who attend faithfully and are willing to serve or make a donation now and then. But that belonging bar is not high enough; simply belonging doesn’t get the job done for Jesus. The people who get the job done are those willing to embrace a value— and maybe even wear t-shirts stating I am the church.”

Hawkins and Parkinson say that churches in which people have this sense of “being” the church “are living breathing organisms. They are filled with people who gather together and then disperse into their communities to live out the commitment to Christ that binds them together.”

The early disciples of Jesus learned this sense of “being” the church from Jesus himself and then they lived it out as can be seen in the Book of Acts as they literally changed the world. If we will “be” the church, we too can change the world around us — one person at a time as we bring people in touch with Jesus, our Savior, the Son of God. Can you say, “I am the church”?

Move – Four Stages of Spiritual Growth

In 2004, a team of researchers from the ministry staff of Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago began surveying their congregation to determine whether it is possible to measure spiritual growth. They tested and expanded their initial results by surveying congregations across the county.

They concluded that measuring spiritual growth is possible, and discovered a spiritual continuum, a framework that can serve as a powerful predictive description of how people grow spiritually. The four segments of the spiritual continuum are:

1. Exploring Christ: These people have a basic belief in God, but they are unsure about Christ and his role in their lives.
2. Growth in Christ: These people have a personal relationship with Christ, but they are just beginning to learn what it means and what it takes to develop a relationship with him.
3. Close to Christ: These depend on Christ every day, and turn to him daily for help and guidance for the issues they face.
4. Christ Centered: These people identify their relationship with Christ as the most important relationship in their entire lives and see their lives as fully surrendered to Jesus.

Now the drivers of this research, Greg Hawkins and Cally Parkinson, have developed a new dimension to their research by exploring how people grow spiritually and move from one segment of the spiritual continuum to another. They have identified essential beliefs, attitudes, and practices that move people from one segment to the next. They explore these results in their book Move.

As our congregation has explored the ministry and teachings of Jesus this year from Luke’s Gospel, we have seen this kind of growth movement take place in the early followers of Jesus — his apostles and other disciples. Jesus called the likes of Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew when they were spiritual novices. As they grew he gave them more responsibility, sending them out two-by-two to minister.

As the Twelve grew in their faith, others — people like Mary Magdalene and Zacchaeus — began to follow Jesus and their faith began to develop. Jesus would then send a group of seventy out to minister around the countryside. When we arrive at the end of the Gospels and the beginning of Acts, Jesus ascends into heaven and places the responsibility for ministry with his followers who minister in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now Jesus has placed that responsibility in our hands. We need to keep on growing in our faith, moving from one segment on the spiritual continuum to the next, without getting stuck in the middle someplace. I have only given you to the briefest of information into Move’s spiritual continuum, but you can pray and meditate over where you are in your spiritual growth. Don’t depend on others for your spiritual growth. Spend daily time in Bible study, devotions, and prayer. Move from exploring Christ to growing in Christ to getting close to Christ to becoming Christ centered.

A CHRISTIAN BAPTISM

On July 22, Jackie was baptized. Her baptism is the story of a single mother in her mid-thirties who has two children and who a year ago had surgery for a brain tumor. The baptism was a combined effort of Jackie, her family, the church, people from the church who have been involved in Jackie’s life, the local YMCA, and the local nursing home where Jackie is currently receiving care.

When Jackie first began discussing baptism, she had been living at home for a few months following her surgery. Due to her physical condition, our church baptistery would not accommodate her needs, but another church had a baptistery that would, and they agreed that we could use it. Then, before we could make the arrangements, Jackie fell, was admitted to the hospital, and then transferred to a nursing home.

Due to the nature of her condition, everyone agreed that we should proceed with the baptism rather than waiting. However, now we would need to find a place to baptize her that would accommodate taking her into the water in a wheel chair. Consultation with the nursing home confirmed that they did not have facilities that would meet the need. Their administrator did, however, assure us that they would assist and provide transportation for her if we could find a place for the baptism.

We knew that the swimming pools for our three local YMCA facilities all had ramps, so we consulted with a contact at one of the YMCA’s. He was willing and able to work out the arrangements for use of the pool at the appropriate YMCA. He did so on a Thursday within a couple hours of our initial conversation, with the baptism planned for Saturday or Sunday.

     

While we had assurances from the nursing home that they would help with arrangements, we then had to work with them to get everything scheduled. A Friday meeting with one of the nurses put those steps in motion, including a call by the nurse to Jackie’s doctor for approval. After consultation with Jackie’s family the time was set for Sunday afternoon and was confirmed with the YMCA.

On Saturday afternoon a group of fifteen to twenty of Jackie’s family and church family gathered at the side of one of the YMCA pools. As we gathered around Jackie, read Romans 6:3, 4, and heard her confession of faith, the lifeguard kept the ramp area clear of those using the pool for an open family swim time. Then, two of us began to back Jackie’s wheel chair down the ramp. When the water was high enough, we lowered the back of the wheel chair into the water, and baptized Jackie.

I was told later, that as we backed Jackie down the ramp, everyone in the pool area became quiet and watched. When we began to lower the chair back to baptize her, two of the children swam over to the railing separating the ramp from the pool, held to the railing, and watched. As we began to wheel the chair out of the water, the people from church sang “Now She Belongs to Jesus.”

We needed some help to reposition Jackie in the wheel chair as we wheeled her up the ramp. Two of the church ladies, waded into the pool to assist, and two of the men swimming with their families came over to assist.

As Jackie’s van driver wheeled her chair from the side of the pool, I saw one of the most powerful scenes that I have witnessed at any baptism. Jackie’s family and the people from church formed a line, and her chair had to stop at each person as each one gave her a hug. In my sermon that morning, I had discussed Luke 16:9 – “Make friends for yourselves [who will] welcome you into eternal dwellings” – and encouraged people to make friends and influence people who will one day welcome them into heaven or who they will welcome into heaven. The line of people on this Sunday afternoon welcomed Jackie with that spirit into God’s family.

This baptism was a cooperative effort that included two community service organizations. This baptism was a witness to Jackie’s family and the families swimming together at the YMCA. May the people of the church and the ministry of the church always reflect such a witness in our communities.

Jesus Cares About People

In 2002, Time magazine ran a story describing a trip former President George Herbert Walker Bush took back to the South Pacific. Bush served there as a bomber pilot in World War II and was shot down by Japanese antiaircraft fire. The article detailed Bush's return to the very spot where he was rescued from his downed aircraft.

During that visit, Bush met with a Japanese man who said he had witnessed Bush’s rescue in 1944. The man told about watching the rescue and hearing one of his friends remark, "Surely America will win the war if they care so much for the life of one pilot."

We see such caring demonstrated repeatedly by Jesus in Luke’s Gospel:

• He healed Simon’s mother-in-law and laid his hands on numerous people with various diseases and healed them— Luke 4.
• He touched an untouchable leper and healed him, and then forgave the sins of a paralyzed man brought to Jesus by the main’s friends and healed him— Luke 5.
• He healed the servant of a centurion who sent others to Jesus to ask for his help and raised the son of a widow back to life— Luke 7.

Other examples could be given, but much of Jesus’ caring is demonstrated in two of Jesus’ most well-known parables — the parable of the Good Samaritan and the parable of the Prodigal (or Lost) Son. Consider the latter one in this regard.

Rembrandt portrayed it in his painting Return of the Prodigal Son which Christian writer Henri Nouwen discussed in his classic book by the same title. Peter Scazzero describes the painting like this: “The younger son is kneeling, resting his head on the father’s bosom. He is bald, seemingly exhausted and emaciated, without his cloak, wearing only one tattered shoe, and disheveled.” In contrast the older son “is well-clothed in a gold-embroidered garment like his father, judging, annoyed, looking down at the father’s lavish reception of his youngest son who has so disgraced the family and squandered the family fortune.”

The older son could not see his own lost condition, so when he asks his father how he could accept his younger son back, the father replies: “We had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” This is how Jesus sees lost people, and it is how we should see them— through his eyes.

There are people all around us who are lost. Some of them are angry and lash out at family and friends. Some are so mixed up that they return to drugs and alcohol. Others find their “god” in any of a variety of religious practices. Just as we do, they all need the compassion of a Father, the heavenly Father and his Son. Our challenge is to not take on the critical spirit of the older son, but to love them as the father in the parable and as the Heavenly Father loves us.

God Answers Prayer

A couple of weeks ago, I preached on Jesus’ teaching about prayer from Luke 11. I subsequently read about an answer to prayer that was experienced by a staff member from Gospel for Asia. If you ever wonder about your prayers being answered, you will be encouraged by this amazing answer to prayer:

Fred’s Answered Prayer

In 1996, Fred, along with the rest of the Gospel for Asia staff, put together a notebook with information about 100 unreached people groups in South Asia. They used this notebook to pray one by one for each of those groups during their Tuesday night prayer meetings, their morning prayer meetings, and even at home on their own.

He Saw His Prayers Answered

Fred had heard bits and pieces what God was doing among one of these unreached peoples: a remote animist group living in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. So when he had the opportunity to see firsthand the evidence of God's answer, Fred was moved to tears with joy and amazement. He was amazed God had done so much among them.

Something to Remind Him

In 2010, Fred had the chance to attend a worship conference in Asia. As he and a few other GFA staff members were leaving, a lady approached them and asked if she could take a picture with them. Shortly after, about a dozen more people came and stood near them. Fred looked down at the name tags on their shirts and noticed they belonged to the same group he had been praying for. For the first time, he realized the Lord answered his prayers for these people, as these brothers and sisters represented 120,000 more believers in their home region who couldn't attend.

God is Still Moving

When Fred returned home, he brought with him a handwoven mat given to him by this remote group and a tie from another group with whom they used to be at war. He keeps them as a reminder of what God has done and is continuing to do between them. They are no longer killing each other, but call each other brothers and sisters in Christ.

Join with Fred and Pray

When Fred first saw this amazing answer to prayer he said, "God answers prayer; there's just no doubt about it. By faith you believe God is going to do something, and God's going to do it. We had nothing to go on, just trusting Him that somehow we could reach those people. We knew the need was great, but how are you going to reach 2.5 million in such a short time? But God's doing it."

A Congregational Prayer

Last Sunday, June 3, I preached from Luke 11:1-13 on Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer and the following discussion of prayer. At the close of the sermon, I led the congregation in praying a responsive prayer based on the Lord’s Prayer. The recording of the sermon can be found on this page of our church website.

Here is the prayer:

Leader: Heavenly Father, we come before you today as the Creator of our world and as our Creator. You created Adam and Eve, the first man and first woman, and have created each of us as your own special child.

Congregation: We praise you as our Creator.

Leader: We also come before you as our Father. A loving father will provide for his child and will give good gifts to his child. You are the best of fathers and always provide us with the best of what we need.

Congregation: We praise you as our Father.

Leader: We come before as the Holy One. You are holy. Your Son and our Savior, Jesus, is holy and without sin. Your holiness is far beyond anything that we can even imagine.

Congregation: We praise you as the Holy One.

Leader: You sent your Kingdom to earth through the ministry of your Son and desire to rule in every area of our lives.

Congregation: May your Kingdom come in our lives.

Leader: The work of your Kingdom is being carried on through the work of your church. We want our congregation to be a demonstration of the work of your Kingdom, a part of the work of your Kingdom, a fellowship that leads people to your Kingdom, a people who live for your Kingdom.

Congregation: May your Kingdom come in our church.

Leader: Your Kingdom will come in all of its power and glory when your Son returns. We long for his return. We long for that day when you will restore the heavens and earth to perfection and will take us home to be with you forever. We ask you to hasten his return.

Congregation: May your Kingdom come in the return of your Son.

Leader: In our land of plenty, you provide so abundantly for us, yet we seem to never be satisfied. May we learn to be satisfied with your provision. May we always trust you to provide for us exactly what we need.

Congregation: Give us each day our daily bread.

Leader: We acknowledge our sin before you. Because of our sin, we confess to you that we are not worthy of your love. Yet, you have offered your own Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

Congregation: Forgive us our sins.

Leader: Even though we gladly accept your forgiveness for our sins, we find it difficult to forgive those who need our forgiveness. However, if we accept your forgiveness, we should also forgive those who act unkindly and unfairly toward us. We need your help in forgiving family members and friends and even those we do not know.

Congregation: Help us to forgive those who need our forgiveness.

Leader: There are so many temptations around us everyday. It has especially become difficult to live holy lives with all the images our TV’s and computers and smart phones and devices flash at us and with all the music and language we hear around us. We also need your help with all of the temptations around us.

Congregation: Keep us from being led into temptation and from falling to temptation.

Leader: Lord, there are people around us for whom we need to pray today. So we ask for you to continue to be with Jackie Wickless as she battles her brain tumor. We ask you to heal her and we ask you to be with her during this battle.

Congregation: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: We also continue to offer our prayers for Loretta and her sister Denise as they both continue their individual battles against breast cancer.

Congregation: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: We pray for Barb, Terry’s wife, who has been diagnosed with stage 2 cancer.

Congregation: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: We pray for Nancy, Christine’s mother, who is facing a number of age-related health issues.

Congregation: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: There are others who need our prayers as well, Lord. Some of them are family members and friends of various people here today. We offer them all up to you.

Congregation: Lord, hear our prayer.

Leader: Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful gift of prayer. As we have learned about prayer again today, may we each make prayer a regular part of our lives. May we each be more committed to prayer. Thank you for always hearing us when we pray.

Congregation: We offer these prayers to you in the name of your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.