6B HEROES

Let’s review last week a little. We are talking about Heroes of the faith.

1. A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life

What facts or points of discussion come to mind from last week?

Which of the 5 M’s are a strength or a challenge to you… to this church?

Here’s a second word to write in your Bible- ‘TABLET.’ I’m not talking about a stone slab. I’m using an acronym, T.A.B.L.E.T. It’s only by doing these things that we breathe life into our purpose:

T. Transformation of the mind

2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. …

Our purpose in Christ is a journey of discovery. It is a process of revelation by God. And it all starts in the way we think. What we value, the order of our steps all start in our minds. A transformed life must start with a transformed mind.

Isn’t it interesting, from John the Baptist, to the Spirit-filled Peter- the first instruction for those seeking God is always to repent.

Text: lit., "to perceive afterwards" (meta, "after," implying "change," noeo, "to perceive"; nous, "the mind, the seat of moral reflection" -Repentance is changing the direction of the mind-

To experience real significance, we must have clarity of purpose. To have clarity of purpose, we must clearly understand the purpose. We must know why, what, and how. It all starts in a mind transformed by God’s Spirit.

A. Application

¨ The second is; to ‘do.’ Once we understand, we have an obligation to apply that understanding.

But application is as varied as God’s own creativity. Do you know a great illustration for the uniqueness of Christian purpose? -Our missionaries. If you get a moment, look at the bulletin board in the Narthex. In one case, we have the DeLorenzo’s. The purposes of God are applied through an airplane ministry in Africa. Mike flies and Renee ministers to in-coming missionaries.

A quarter world away, we have the Thars in Hong Kong. Their application revolves around teaching. God has given both families the same Biblical purposes. But their impact comes through very different, personal applications. Now if you asked them what lead to their ‘personal application’ you’d find that they wrestled with God- in a personal way. Personal application only comes through a personal relationship with God.

B. Balance

Do you know what would be an interesting statistic? -If we tallied together all the miles traveled on bicycles by everyone here. I wonder how many thousands of miles we might have pedaled! Another interesting statistic might be- how much blood we lost collectively from falling down and scraping knees and elbows. Those miles would teach us a simple concept: When you are in balance, you go places. When you are not in balance, it can be very painful.

That concept is just as true spiritually as it is physically. We must learn to balance our spiritual ride. And we do that by balancing our purposes- magnification must balance with missions; and maturity balance with ministry. Good churches and personal lives become cold, or unstable, or ingrown for the same reason- they fall out of balance.

How would you describe a spiritually transformed life?

What part does repentance play in transformation?

Recall some of the ministries that were mentioned last week. A ministry is a calling to a certain purpose- an application is how that purpose is carried out. How can we apply the ministries we’ve mentioned? (Give examples)

Give some examples of how people and churches get spiritually out of balance?

Can you give particular examples of your life or church?

How do we stay in balance?

What things in our spiritual lives, do we need to keep in balance?

L. Love

2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

Our God is a God of the inner-most core to the outermost action. So do you know what difference the nature of our motivation makes? -All the difference in the world. Humanly speaking, when we are inspired to a purpose- we tend to push it forward no matter what. Even dedicated followers get caught in traps like this:

Someone is given a vision that we should donate ‘widgets’ to the needy. It is a great idea and a great ministry. But for some reason, the rest of the church isn’t on board yet. So this person becomes frustrated. They push aggressively. They step on toes in the name of the Lord’s work. “I’m going to minister in widgets and everyone else be damned!” They are in love with a wonderful cause, but guess what! They are not loving God’s family. Love is lost to the very people we are called to love the most.

… if I have a faith that can move mountains, [and I have a thriving ministry in widgets, or cooking, or missions, or youth evangelism] but have not love [for God’s family, His leadership- His bonds of unity], I am nothing. [I gain nothing.]

E. Expectation

18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

When we build a deep relationship with God, He reveals purpose, and unique application. So, what’s next? Heroes in the faith ‘expect.’ They expect to see ‘incomparable power’ in action. They expect to see it in this ‘present age.’ They expect to see results beyond this dominion and into the age ‘to come.’ Heroes in the faith expect to see God move in God-sized ways.

T. Time

A few weeks ago, we looked in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. We looked at the 7 churches as unique situations. But we also need to realize this: Those churches are relevant to all churches for all time. We can see ourselves in different aspects of each church and we can see how God feels about those aspects- good and bad, in very clear language.

As we looked at the churches- Did you notice how often the concept of endurance came up? The idea of just- hanging in there for the long haul –It was communicated to 6 out of the 7 churches. Now, if I did my math right, that means; God admonishes us to ‘endure,’ 86% of the time He speaks. So let me ask you: How important do you think long-term commitment is to God?

You know, it’s inspiring to see someone give their heart to the Lord. It’s inspiring to see people be obedient in baptism. It’s inspiring to see people get fired up to do things in His Name. It’s inspiring- but it doesn’t really prove anything- not yet. No Christian walk, is proven outside the test of time.

You want to do things through Christ- that’s great! You want to be a faithful servant in His church… that’s wonderful! But hang around any church long enough and you’ll hear some very convincing testimonies from people who want to get right with God. You’ll see church members, just like yourselves, get all fired up for a season. But let’s see how they’re doing in a month from now, in a year, in ten years… or by the end of their lives. Let’s see how they do in the long haul. From what God has said in His Word, that’s 86% of the walk.

What is God’s definition of love?

What are some subtle ways we don’t love in church?

What do you expect God to do over the next week?

What part does expectation really play in your life… in your church?

What should we expect from God; what should we not expect?

When we consider people following God FOR THE LONG-HAUL; what people come to your mind? Why?

Without giving names; can you think of some examples where people looked promising, but proved not to be in it for the long-haul?

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, … their lot shall be … the second death."

The word for coward here is ‘deilia [di-lee'-ah].’ It means ‘fearfulness’. It means a character of ‘timidity’. It means, “I have an idea of what God wants, but I am too fearful to do it. I sense God’s offer for spiritual life, but I’m afraid He’ll ask too much, so I refuse. I have a vision of God’s purpose, but my habit is to shut my eyes because I’m too timid to proceed.’ -That is ‘deilia.’

Let’s talk real life for a moment. We all freeze in our tracks from time to time. We all mess up. We all have times we’d just as soon have no one sees. But for all of that- if we are alive in Christ, we are still part of God’s family. Why? Because failure is temporary, God’s Grace is forever!

And if we are part of God’s family, by definition, we are called to be heroes. We are called to follow a hero named Jesus Christ. We are called to heroism in a fellowship of heroes, that is the church. You are called to be a hero in the faith- that is a Christian. That is why you are here!

Perhaps it is summed up best by the religious leader and founder of Pennsylvania- William Penn.

Heroism isn’t comfort; it is greatness. And in Christ- heroism isn’t a possibility, it is destiny. God has no other plan for your life.

So what are we going to be? What are you going to be? Purpose isn’t some hypothetical study for the future- it starts now. It starts before you even get out of that seat. Purpose should send some of us to the altar- to accept Christ, or to wrestle with direction. Purpose should send all of us to seek as a group in Sunday school and Wednesday evenings. Purpose causes movement you can feel. Purpose causes everyone to become a part- to participate.

We are called to be heroes- You are called ... I wonder what will happen when we really start believing that. I wonder what will happen when we start acting like that. Before we do another thing this morning, let this burn into your hearts- God is telling us quite plainly… our culture is telling us- the time to believe; the time to act, the time to become a hero with purpose- is now.

How would you describe “spiritual cowardice”?

Can you site any Biblical examples?

Without saying names, can you site any present day examples?

What does it mean to have a destiny in God?

Name some heroes in your church… your life?