Slow Down to Grow Up (Click here to listen to the message!)
Many of us have lives determined by a hectic schedule. We are exhausted, overworked, and stressed out… this has come at a tremendous cost to our personal lives.
In this message, I spend time teaching through Luke 10:38-42. If you are encouraged by this message, be sure to share it with a friend!
P.S. I preach every Sunday at The Rescue Church in Garretson, SD. If you live in the area I would love to have YOU join us!
We all go through our lives crushed by the weight of emotional baggage. This baggage has devastating effects on every area of our lives. In this message, I explain how God speaks into this deeply rooted problem and how we can find freedom from our past (If you are reading this in your e-mail, go to the actual page to watch the video).
I pray this message encourages you in your faith and helps you understand just how much God loves you!
This is a question many of us wrestle with this. I pray that this short video answers this question for you and encourages you to set your eyes on Jesus, not yourself. (If you are reading this in your e-mail, you will have to go to the actual page to watch the video).
Yards take a lot of work to keep them looking good! One of my first jobs was taking care of my grandpa’s yard – it was GIGANTIC! Each time I came to mow and weed-wack it was a 6-hour ordeal! Those of you that know me understand that I HATE being in the sun… especially when there are wasps in sight!
While the sun marred my skin with ultraviolet radiation (at least that’s how I felt!), I noticed the same weeds always grew back. Regardless of how many times I ripped apart their leaves with the powerful blades from the weed-eater, I had to repeat the process the following week!
I realized the issue is that I was only dealing with the part of the weed I could see. The nourishment and sustainability for the ugly plant came from the root system. These weeds were deeply rooted into the ground; I was dealing with the symptoms and leaving the true problem untouched.
This is true in the Christian life.
We deal with the 10% of ourselves that everybody can see and neglect the destruction wreaked by the sinful root system. Even the Titanic, proclaimed as the unsinkable ship, was utterly ripped apart by a seemingly innocent iceberg.
It’s not what you see that causes destruction, it’s often what is hidden below the surface.
Removing weeds through the root is a painful process. It takes the effort of your full body and leaves you experiencing exhaustion. Instead of the painstaking process of self-examination, many Christians combat the symptoms rather than remove the roots. As we gather around other people, we put on masks in order to appear more righteous than we really are. Each sphere of our life is a different scene, calling for a new costume, all in a grand attempt keep up appearances.
One of the greatest playwrights, William Shakespeare, explains it this way:
All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts…
We began a brand new series this past Sunday at The Rescue Church called Emotional IQ. We are going to spend 8 weeks digging into the root system of our sinful habits. I believe we are going to experience incredible freedom as we expose the hidden parts of who we are to the power of the Gospel!
I preach in the Garretson, South Dakota campus of the church (we meet in the local high school). If you live in the area, it would be an honor for you to join us on this journey. We meet every Sunday morning at 10am; you are welcome to take off the mask and admit your brokenness.
We are a hospital for sinners… not a memorial for saints.
Christianity has been poisoned by a mixture of pop psychology and self-help that cloaks itself as preaching. Well-meaning pastors stand in front of congregations and harp rules and regulations in order to fix their lives.
There’s only one problem… it doesn’t work.
Whether its “5 Steps to a Better Marriage” or “3 Steps for Victory,” the pastor places the power in the hands of the people to succeed. This circumvents the cross and exalts the will-power of man. Rather than bringing life, this form of Christianity delivers death, shame, and condemnation.
This past Sunday I had the opportunity of preaching through the fruit of the Spirit. In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul gives us a litmus test of true Christianity. In other words, if you are truly following Jesus, your life should be marked by the following:
– Love
– Joy
– Peace
– Patience
– Kindness
– Goodness
– Faithfulness
– Gentleness
– Self-Control
Does your life consistently measure up? Probably not (at least mine doesn’t!)
I made the following observations which help frame the ethical commands in Scripture with the overall story of the Bible:
This is the fruit of the SPIRIT!
The mistake we often make when reading lists like the one above is striving to display each one of these characteristics. This is often done through soul-killing legalism and cold regulations. When you fail to live up to this standard, you heap condemnation and shame upon yourself.
We forget that this is the fruit of the SPIRIT. It is the Holy Spirit who empowers us to live a life of holiness. It is the Holy Spirit who cultivates this fruit in our lives; not our will power. As such, we grow in the fruit of the Spirit by pursuing JESUS – not the fruit!
This is rooted in the GOSPEL!
Paul explains in Galatians 5:24 that those who belong to Jesus have crucified their old nature. Paul utilizes this litmus test to help us examine if we are living into our new identity. We do not bear fruit in order to receive our identity as God’s children… we bear fruit BECAUSE we have received this identity!
You do not begin a relationship with God by fixing up your life; you approach God in all of your brokenness, sin, and internal wounds and allow him to begin the healing process. The story of the Gospel is that you are far more wicked, sick, and sinful than you realize… yet more loved than you could ever imagine.
We only grow in the fruit of the Spirit by preaching the Gospel to ourselves in the midst of failure and suffering. Preaching which gives ethical commands divorced from the hope of the Gospel is self-help deism that leads people to Hell.
Jesus lived the life you could not live, died the death you deserve to die, and resurrected from the dead to display his victory over sin, death, and Satan. You may not see it now, but you will bear fruit as you pursue Jesus!
I absolutely love to read. Books give us the possibility of entering into a conversation with people we will never meet. These authors teach us about life, marriage, faith, and the art of story-telling. Yet a badly designed book can have devastating consequences on the ability of the reader to enjoy it!
On the left, right, top, and bottom of a book is white space. This white space is known as margin. If the text in a book filled up the entire page – which seems as if it would accomplish more – the book would be a nightmare for the reader.
The same way that margin is vital for a book, it is essential for our lives.
Many of us believe that constant activity will produce extraordinary results. This simply isn’t true. Those of us who feel the need to constantly work are slowly eroding our families and destroying our marriages on the false altar of productivity. Our need to work 60-hour weeks says less about our work ethic and more about our desire to be a god. God does not sleep… He doesn’t have to. He is infinite. We are finite.
We get this confused far too often.
One of the greatest ways to build margin into your life is by practicing a regular Sabbath. I have been using Saturday as my Sabbath for the past year and it has been incredibly refreshing and healing.
I want you to pick a day of the week that you can spend time resting with your family. After you select this day you need to guard it with passion! If you do not fight for margin in your life, no one else will. There are not a bunch of legalistic rules you need to keep on your Sabbath; instead, I would encourage you to seek out activities that allow physical, emotional, and spiritual rest (I’d also encourage you to do this with your phone OFF!)
For me it means I spend a lot of time reading fiction. I love being pulled into a good story rather than being occupied with the current stress of my ministry. Fiction allows me to experience exotic places and incredible stories without leaving my home!
I also love nature. As long as it is not -30 outside, I will go for a long walk to breathe in fresh air and slowly watch birds, squirrels, rabbits, and insects enjoy the day. This reminds me that I’m really not that important. If God sustains the creatures of the earth with food and shelter, He will provide me with everything I need.
During my weekly Sabbath I commit much of the time to hanging out with my beautiful bride. Here’s the truth I live by: The Rescue Church in Garretson can have many different pastors, my wife and (soon to be) daughter only get one husband and father. I will willingly lay down formal ministry if it becomes a god which ravages my family through workaholism.
Can you say the same about your career? Or is your family being ripped apart by the incessant demands at work? Anything or anyone other than the Living God is extremely destructive to worship.
I’m afraid many of us are sacrificing self-care and the health of our families for the false gods of productivity, career, financial security, and materialism.
Many people view the Gospel as a means to become rich and achieve supernatural health. The has been propagated by ministers who preach the so-called “prosperity gospel.” This false teaching has been spurred into popularity by the materialistic society which exists in the western world.
In opposition to this, Jesus teaches us that an invitation to follow Him is actually an invitation to come and die (Luke 9:23). I unpack this truth and it’s implications for our lives in this message.
(If you are reading this in your e-mail, you will have to go to the actual page to hear the message.)
The Christian faith has been deeply wounded by the individualism paraded by capitalistic society. Everything around us urges Christians to seek self-help and improve their personal lives. This has formed a church culture based on will-power and self-realization apart from Christ.
Pragmatism has trumped biblical truth.
The belief that Christianity is ONLY an individual decision made at the beckoning of a preacher or “spiritual experience” has been prominent in Western Christianity for centuries.
Nathan O. Hatch describes the religious attitude of the early 19th century, “Christians should shun all institutions, soon to topple around them, and allow the Spirit to work within. It was the disappearance of the church and the unmediated operation of the Spirit upon the individual soul that would mark the advent of the millennium.”
The dangerous thing about false teaching is that it is almost true. This attitude has been practiced by evangelicals for hundreds of years… to our own ruin. Let’s break this statement down and discern what is actually true:
CLAIM: Christian should shun all institutions.
TRUTH: Some institutions are evil. The institution of slavery, the practice of chauvinism, and a variety of other institutional abuse should be shunned. This does NOT mean ALL institutions should be rejected… even the institution of government has been established by God (Romans 13:1). An institution is simply an organization that is established for a specific purpose. Many religious leaders encourage Christians to “shun” the church in pursuit of purely seeking Jesus. This sounds spiritual… really it’s demonic (we’ll get to that in a second).
CLAIM: Christians should allow the Spirit to work within.
TRUTH: Yes, Christians SHOULD allow the Spirit to work within. Nevertheless, Christians should also allow the Spirit to work outside of them as well. The Holy Spirit often speaks through human mediums – pastors, authority figures, parents, friends, small groups – just to name a few. The Holy Spirit does not wait for a Christian to seek a mystical experience before speaking… the Spirit of God is constantly communicating with us; the real question is whether or not we are listening.
CLAIM: The Church is going to disappear.
TRUTH: This is what makes the belief so dangerous. Jesus is clear that not even Hell can overcome HIS Church (Matthew 16:18). The United States will cease to exist. Your job which you sacrifice countless hours and anxiety to will cease to exist. Yet the Church will outlast EVERYTHING!
Jesus Christ established the church and it will exist into eternity. This does not mean the church is perfect! Rather, we should believe in the Reformation principle of “Semper Reformanda” or ALWAYS REFORMING! You cannot reform the church by rejecting it; you can only reform the church by faithfully discerning whether the present practices align with Scripture.
Friends, there really is an enemy and he wants to destroy your soul. He cloaks demonic teaching in the veil of religion in order to distort the true faith delivered to the saints. Christianity is not an individual faith. It is vital to have a group of people around you – the local church – to support you in this tremendous pilgrimage.
There is no such thing as a lone-wolf Christian.
If you try to live the Christian life on your own, you will be torn apart by Satan. He prowls around like a lion looking for arrogant evangelicals to devour. Lions pounce on those separated from the pack; there is no living faith apart from being involved in a church.
Do YOU agree or disagree? Let me know by leaving a comment!
We have a tendency to take cultural norms and make them a standard for religious orthodoxy. One of the most disgusting, shameful, and terrible examples of this is racism. Flannery O’Connor lived from 1925 – 1964 and wrote prolifically about the cultural issues of her day. Growing up in the south, she saw the true evil of racism practiced and ingrained in the minds of Christians.
O’Connor sought to judge the cultural norms through the lens of Scripture.
One of the characters in her short story “Why Do the Heathen Rage” is appalled by the justice of God. This character believed that racism was good – that African Americans were treated best when they were treated as less than human.
You’re probably thinking this doesn’t apply to you.
Matter of fact, you may be someone of a different ethnicity and find racism horrible.
Hold on before you close this page out.
We as Christians tend to allow 21st century social issues to become the means of determining whether or not someone is a Christian (especially during a political season). Often we look to the constitution as our standard rather than Scripture. When someone questions a certain political issue held almost universally by Christians, that person is often labeled as a heretic and dismissed.
Unknowingly we have twisted the Gospel. We have added certain qualifications to the Christian life in order to determine whether or not a person is truly spiritual. We need to remember…
Jesus + Nothing = Everything.
Jesus + Something = Nothing.
Below are some qualifications I have experienced Christians (including myself!) lay on other believers:
You are only a true Christian if you believe there should NOT be more gun control.
Some Christians treat the 2nd amendment as if it was written into Scripture. Just for making this statement, there are people reading this who are assuming I am a crazy liberal supporting the “anti-God” agenda of taking away firearms (for the record, I enjoy shooting guns). We forget that many sincere Christians throughout the centuries have been pacifists; that doesn’t make them “anti-God” liberals.
You are only a true Christian if you vote republican.
No matter what you do, do not tell another Christian you support a democratic candidate. Regardless of the character of a certain Republican leader, be sure to vote for them over all else. We all know that God has selected a special political party and nominated the United States to be HIS county where HIS glory dwells (that’s sarcasm… or I’m a godless liberal. I’ll let you decide).
You are only a true Christian if you believe in greater immigration laws.
Forget all the commandments in Scripture for supporting immigrants. We need to focus on US before focusing on THEM (P.S. anytime you have an US vs THEM mentality, it is out of line with the Gospel.) For the record, I’m with the pope on this one. The gospel tears down walls, it doesn’t build them.
You are only a true Christian if you support the nation of Israel.
I almost don’t want to comment on this one… but I will. I won’t go into the theological debate regarding the nation of Israel but I will say this… We should identify more closely with a Christian in Palestine (or Israel, or Iraq) than we do with a secular citizen of any country – Including the United States or Israel.
Let me take this one step further. As a Christian, you should be more willing to support other Christians of different countries than you are willing to support a secular but very patriotic American. The blood of Christ trumps the blood of country.
You are only a true Christian if you attend a contemporary church.
We all know that liturgical churches are made up of lukewarm Christians who care nothing about Jesus (sarcasm again). Anytime our music/style preference negates our love for believers in a different context, we are contradicting the Gospel.
You get the point.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe any of these issues are morally evil or along the same lines as racism. Nevertheless, there is a document greater than the constitution.
Rather than blindly supporting a political agenda and demonizing those who disagree with you, find unity in the Gospel. Below is my contemporary translation of Galatians 3:28:
“There is neither Republican nor Democrat, conservative nor liberal, immigrant nor citizen, Jew nor Gentile, for you all are one in Christ Jesus.”
Are you mad at me? Leave a comment and let me know… I’m all for the 1st amendment!
I’m a recovering fundamentalist.
Fundamentalism can be applauded for a variety of things. First, if you are a fundamentalist, you take the Bible seriously. You view the Bible as a set of demands upon your life that must be lived out. This encourages you to pursue holiness and righteousness.
This is good… except when it’s not.
Fundamentalism breeds legalism. Fundamentalism turns Christianity into a set of fundamentals – or rules – that we need to obey. Here are some of the rules:
1. You CANNOT listen to “secular” music.
2. You CANNOT mow your lawn on Sunday.
3. You CANNOT wear a dress that doesn’t go down to your ankles.
4. You CANNOT hang out with non-Christian friends.
5. You CANNOT play video games.
6. You CANNOT drink any amount of alcohol.
…You get the point.
Fundamentalists tend to downplay the physical world. In an effort to attain a certain level of holiness, these Christians tend to reject any type of “earthly” pleasure. This causes them to become lemon-sucking, self-righteous Christians.
Vigen Guorian describes this perfectly in his article on Christian imagination, “Modern fundamentalism doesn’t take the Incarnation seriously enough. It limits the the limitless God to the written word and denies his presence in the physical creation.”
What exactly DOES the incarnation teach us about God?
The incarnation shows us that the physical world really IS good.
When God created the heavens and the earth, He declared them as really good! Nevertheless, the enticement of sin brought ruin and destruction to the universe. This leaves us to question whether or not the physical world should be rejected altogether since it has been marred by sin.
The incarnation is a resounding NO!
God really did become a man. Jesus is fully man and fully God. He did not APPEAR human… He really is human. If God embraced the physical world by becoming part of it, we can find joy in creation as long as we remember the Creator in the process.
My encouragement to you today is to view creation through a God-centered lens. We sprint through our busy lives without taking the time to truly SEE. We need to slow down and search out the hidden parables throughout creation. I challenge you to go for a walk today and consider some of these questions:
1. What do the birds teach us about who God is?
2. How do trees reflect God’s beauty?
3. How does God’s care for seemingly insignificant insects such as ants teach us about his care for us?
Slow down. Open your eyes. Worship God.
Tyler Ramsbey 