Be a Hose, Not a Bucket

Matthew 28:18-20

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

 

2 Timothy 2:2

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

 

 

Joshua led the nation of Israel into the Promised Land.  By the mighty hand of God they conquered the inhabitants and took possession of the land.  That generation saw God’s mighty works and their hearts belonged to him.

 

The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.  -- Judges 2:7

 

That one sentence covers the brightest spot in the history of Israel.  That generation served the Lord.

Three verses later there’s a train wreck: 

 

After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals.   -- Judges 2:10-11

 

What happened!?  How can a nation go to hell in one generation?  It’s because their parents were buckets and not hoses.  They received and held the knowledge and blessings of God, but they failed in passing it on to their children.  The sweet, pure water of God’s favor filled up their lives; but it didn’t run through their lives to the next generation.

 

The same danger threatens the church.  Someone has said, “The church is always one generation away from extinction.”   That won’t happen.  Jesus is building his church and the gates of death will not prevail against it.  But the church will be stronger or weaker depending on our obedience to the great commission.  If we don’t pass on our faith to the next generation we’ll pass away like a mist and many will be lost. 

 

To be effective at making disciples we need to have several spiritual generations in view.  We must not be content with being disciples.  The Lord’s command is that we make disciples.  Just to be safe, let’s be sure we are making disciples who will make disciples.  Not only are we to teach the way of Christ, we must teach our students how to teach the way of Christ.

 

I have not truly learned until my students are teaching others how to teach.

 

 

 

 

Manly things coming up:

 

March 9-10—New Heights Men’s Retreat at New Life Ranch

Food, worship, teaching, outdoor stuff, building friendships.

Sign up this Sunday at church or online at https://newheights.ccbchurch.com/w_form_response.php?form_id=47

Cost:  $70 (students $55)

 

Monday, March 12—Man Night at The Warehouse

The first monthly meeting for men designed to help equip men to be men of God

Grilled burgers (suggested donation $5)

Worship,  teaching, and group discussion.

 

I hope you do

Hey Guys,
I know I was a little harsh on the last email about not being passive, but I couldn’t put the last half of that message on there in the interest of not writing a book in these emails.

The other part of that story is how do we live life with passion? How do we reject passivity? I believe that it’s not possible without tremendous effort unless you live with hope. You always have to keep in mind that Jesus said that my yoke is easy and my burden is light. If your life is experiencing some burn out, ask yourself a couple of questions. One, is the story I’m writing for myself a small one, that I am the center of, and two, am I putting any hope in the creator of this universe; do I believe his heart for me is good?

So for an example of living with hope, I have a young man that works for me that sometimes doesn’t make the best decisions in life and has suffered the consequences of those decisions. He is really trying to put his life on a good track but occasionally suffers from getting along with the women in his life, namely his ex and one of our managers. His ex is trying to keep him away from their daughter, which as you can imagine, causes him considerable stress. We sat him down with a law clerk that gave him some advice with his child custody case which really gave him some hope to be able to see his daughter on a regular basis. The next day, he stopped our manager and asked if everything was ok between them and that he was sorry for any grief he had caused her. Out of the blue. Unsolicited. There was a situation that was robbing him of hope and when he was able to see a ray of hope in the middle of it, he was willing to humble himself and ask forgiveness. Wow

When we are robbed of hope, we can be some pretty rotten people to get along with. When we live with hope, the love and joy of Christ has a much easier time flowing through us to the rest of the world. “My yoke is easy” has much to do with how much we trust Jesus and are following Him!
“and these three remain, faith, hope and love.”
 

What have you done lately?

Hey Guys,

One quick word and then an infomercial today.

The word: Passivity

I was watching a movie this weekend and at the end, the main character is monologuing about his last six weeks and how he had quit his job, found out who he was, got in the best shape of his life, learned how to endure pain, learned some skills, etc. Then he looks at the camera and says “What have you done the last six weeks?” Good question. What have you done to move towards the man you want to be and away from all the things that drive you crazy (or maybe others crazy)?  If you’re sitting still the word for it is Passivity.

But I’m at least not hurting anything, right? Wrong. I can name you at least a dozen guys, just that I know personally, whose marriage has failed because of their passivity.  They didn’t beat their wife, didn’t have an affair, they just didn’t step up emotionally or spiritually and it left a hole in their marriage that their wife got sick of trying to fix.

I have always had a desire to write and I believe that story (fiction) stirs more people that just propositional truths. So this semester I am taking a class at UA to help me learn how to write fiction. Do you have any idea how proud my wife and kids are of me? Something I wanted to do, a selfish pursuit, if you will, and all they can say is that’s so cool that you are doing that. I have really been blown away by their reaction.  They love the fact that I’m not sitting still.

Ok, so how do I get out of this rut I’m in? My life never changes, you might be saying. I tried this, I tried that, and none of it stuck. Ok, it’s time for the infomercial now. At our spring men’s retreat, every year we talk about following God and His plans for you. We are taking a little different approach to that subject this year and are planning for you guys to stay in your small groups on Saturday while you are geo-caching together. At each cache there will be time to dialogue about your life in particular areas, and time to dialogue with God about your life.

THENNNNN…. In April, we are hosting “It’s Your Call” a retreat to help men find out their God given calling and to overcome the obstacles to offering that to the world around you. Gary Barkalow, the author of “It’s Your Call” will be leading that retreat. I have known Gary personally for many years and he has been instrumental to my journey.

Either or both of these retreats will go a long way in your battle against passivity.

More info and sign-up on at:    www.newheightschurch.com/men

So will Band of Brothers in the morning at 6 in the warehouse.

Get to fighting, our enemies are winning too many battles.

 

Your Brother

Alex

 

Creating Opportunities for God

It doesn’t seem right to suggest that we can “create opportunities” for God.  How can mere mortals do things that would influence God’s behavior?  Part of me wants to declare that God will do what he wants to do when he wants to do it and there is nothing I can do to encourage or discourage God from behaving however he wants.  But the Bible reveals that God doesn’t just act—he interacts.  As in any relationship between two independent beings sometimes God initiates a relational encounter and we respond, or not; and sometimes we initiate the encounter and God responds, or not.

 

So perhaps God creates a beautiful sunrise.  I see it and respond with praise to the creative Artist who not only made the sunrise but made me.  Or maybe I see it and rush on and don’t worship at all because I’m distracted with a big to-do list.

 

God has revealed the steps to this dance.  He always moves first, but then our response will influence his next move.  For example, God blesses us with health and opportunity and we are able to work and produce wealth.  If we hoard the wealth, or waste it, that’s pretty much the end of the dance.  But if we manage it wisely and give generously God responds by throwing open the storehouses of heaven and covering us with even more wealth.  Before you know it we’re dancing around in the goodness and gifts of heaven, pulling other folks in to join the party.

 

I want to respond to God in such a way that his next move thrills my soul and throws light into the darkness.  My response creates an opportunity for God to do something wonderful.  My failure to respond to him can throw a wet blanket over the whole thing. 

 

God wants to throw a party.  Will you give him the opportunity?

 

Brian