A Clearer 2020 Vision

Focusing In

At the beginning of the year we started 2020 with a sermon series called “Vision 2020”. There were 3 main areas that we discussed; Seeing Jesus More Clearly in 2020, Spirit Filled Vision in 2020, and Seeing ‘U’ in Church. It has been a remarkable year and we all have been through a wringer (explain for Gen Z’ers and millennials).

Now before I go on, let me explain that I don’t want to relive the last painful year. As some of Cindy and I’s favorite TV shows come back up, we’ve seen that Hollywood wants to include the drama from the pandemic. We turn it off. We’ve lived it in real time. I don’t want to relive it.

However, I do think that God is speaking to us and wants to reveal Himself to us in greater ways for our good. So, it is good for us to think about how we have seen Jesus revealed, how we’ve learned to sense the nudge of the Holy Spirit, and how we’ve learned more about the Church during this year.

My Creed

I believe that more than most years, 2020 has made us really think about what we believe and what we hold dear.

In 2010 when I was working on my master’s degree in Bible and Theology, I was given the assignment to work on my personal mission, vision, and creed. It would have been easier if I was a football player – “to win a Super Bowl”, or an architect – “build a modern library”. I found this task to be very difficult and the result came from a lot of introspection. I ended up writing this as a way to help me work through the problem.

I believe in an awesome God who should have Lordship in all of our lives.

I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who sacrificially died for my sins, rose from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. In Christ there is life abundantly that straightens out the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of anyone who calls on Him.

I believe that there is a process called sanctification that is God’s intention for us. A Christian should expect to live a spiritual life – filled with the Holy Spirit, enabled and called to function in the gifts of the Spirit. Miracles and the moving of the Spirit should not live only in history books but should be a part of our very existence. I believe Christ is perfecting me: I am not perfecting Christ.

I believe In the whisper of the Holy Spirit, the thundering of God, and the fellowship of Christ.

I believe that praise and worship are fitting responses to the reality of God. These times of loving Christ will be charismatic (live giving) covering the gamut of exuberant praise to awestruck stillness.

I believe that prayers are the girders on which the work of the church thrives, and that intercession is a deep place of groaning before the Lord – both to be desired and feared (a healthy fear). Intercessors are the special forces of the kingdom.

I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and is perfect for changing a person, community, and world. Nothing needs to be added or should be taken away.

I believe that one day either Christ will appear in the sky or I will eventually die. Either way I will go to my Master. The real things of my life will be made known that day – that is all that matters, the eternal.

I suppose that this has become my creed. It recalibrates me and encourages my faith. Perhaps God has used 2020 to really clarify some things in your life.

What Has God Taught Us in 2020 about Jesus, Holy Spirit, and the Church?

In a recent Pew Research Center survey, conducted in mid-July on the Center’s American Trends Panel. First, we asked people: Do you believe there is a lesson or a set of lessons for humankind to learn from the coronavirus outbreak? And if so, do you think these lessons were sent by God, or not? 35% said that they believed that God intends us to learn a lesson through the pandemic. I would be among that 35%.

The Church is not about a building, it is about people

We need one another

We have been fortunate in Montgomery County to have been allowed to meet in person with the exception of about 5 weeks. However, those 5 weeks were very difficult for us to miss the smiles, the hugs, the laughs, conversations, and feelings of community. It is no wonder that the writer of Hebrews encouraged the Church to continue to meet regularly:

Hebrews 10:24–25 NIV

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Sonia, Cindy, and I have talked many times about the dynamics of having groups of people together, especially during worship. Now I understand that the Spirit is there when we worship individually or as just a couple people, but when we have just a few worshippers in the sanctuary it is very different from having a strong group worshipping together. That is why we encourage everyone to be a part of the worship here at Grace Chapel. By doing so, you bless one another.

Loving one another demands unity, not uniformity

As the body of Christ, we realize that we are to love one another. Loving one another does not mean that we all need to behave the same way. Loving others can be very practical by staying home when you are sick. Loving others can be keeping the doors of the church open so that the Koinonia of the Church continues to be available.

I certainly respect the needs of families that are vulnerable to the flu to be absent but be careful to know the difference between safety and negligence – only you can know the difference. And, of course, we look forward to your return.

The Church is ESSENTIAL.

I never would have believed that the government could have shut down the churches as quickly as it did. The decision to close down churches illustrates that many individuals and entities within the government believe that the church is non-essential. Many leaders in the church have been warning about the secularization of our society and it became evident in these decisions.

I am not alone. This past Thursday Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito spoke about his concern that religious liberty is under threat in the United States. Justice Alito was speaking to 60,000 lawyers, law students, scholars and others. I quote:

The justice said that he was not offering a commentary on the severity of the coronavirus, and he was not suggesting that all the restrictions taken to control the spread of the virus were necessarily illegal or bad public policy.

But, he said, “we have never before seen restrictions as severe, extensive, and prolonged as those experienced for most of 2020.”

Alito specifically mentioned the closure of churches on Easter Sunday, and the closure of synagogues during the Jewish holidays of Passover and Yom Kippur, and the delays of many federal court trials.

“The covid crisis has served as kind of a Constitutional ‘stress test’ and in doing so, it has highlighted disturbing trends that were already present before the virus struck,” said Alito.

He raised concerns that the pandemic has sparked a “executive fiat” in terms of lawmaking.

“Just as the COVID restrictions have highlighted the movement toward rule by experts, litigation about those restrictions has pointed out emerging trends in the assessment of individual rights.”

“This is especially evident with respect to religious liberty,” said Alito. “It pains me to say this, but in certain quarters, religious liberty is fast becoming a disfavored right.”[1]

It is not my intention this morning to argue politics but my intention of pointing this out is to illustrate that 2020 has brought the importance of the Church under a national spotlight. Those of us with a Biblical worldview are becoming more and more out of step with the powers that be in the government.

To sum it up, I believe that 2020 has shown us that we need one another, loving one another may look different, and that the Church is essential in our lives.

What has 2020 revealed to you about the Church?

How Has Holy Spirit been Revealed to Us in 2020?

The Holy Spirit is Not Constrained by this World

From the beginning of time, the Holy Spirit has been working creatively.

Genesis 1:1–2 NIV

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

In formlessness, emptiness, and darkness the Spirit of God was there. Isn’t it nice to know that Holy Spirit is not constrained by the situations in our world? Instead, He continues to work to convict of sin, give direction, transform experience, encourage, empower Christians to witness, sanctify, and bring freedom, peace, and life.

The Holy Spirit is Not Weird

Just a month ago we had the opportunity to have the evangelist, Ty Buckingham with us for 2 services for a Holy Spirit Conference. Ty showed us that Holy Spirit was a person, not a dove. And, secondly, he shared with us that Jesus insisted that the disciples prepare for the coming of Holy Spirit. In addition, he shared that Holy Spirit has a way of nudging us into the purposes of God. In our services we have heard the Spirit of God speak to us about hope and trusting in Him – 2 powerful messages of encouragement in a very difficult year.

Too many Christians miss out on the opportunity to have this powerful influence in their lives because they get confused. The think that Holy Spirit only does spectacular things when, in reality, He is very practical. Some Christians believe that Holy Spirit is only some type of force like the ‘force’ in Star Wars; they miss out on a gift that Jesus intended for each of us.

What has 2020 revealed to you about the Holy Spirit?

Finally, What About Jesus?

Jesus Can Be Disturbing

Most often, Jesus is presented as a good, kind, and loving person. These are certainly true, but He is more than that. When you read the statements of Christ, you’ll find many of them to be rather challenging. Phillip Yancey says, “Jesus’ most devoted followers usually come off as scratching their heads in wonderment – Who is this guy?” Have you found yourself scratching your head this year, asking, “What is Jesus doing?”

Jesus put spit and mud in a man’s eye, chose the Cross instead of Israel’s crown, waited 3 days to visit his friend Lazarus, turned popular thinking upside down with His teachings, spoke openly with a Samaritan woman, scolded Peter, tossed the tables on the street vendors, and promised that Herod’s temple would be destroyed and rebuilt in 3 days. It may be that Jesus has challenged our thinking in 2020. But, even so, He continues to reveal Himself to us.

Jesus is the Ultimate Physician

We’ve learned in 2020 that Jesus remains as our ultimate physician. The World Health Organization, the President’s health officials, and the Center for Disease Control have issued directive after directive just to change the directive weeks later. We’ve learned how science DOES NOT have all the answers and can only be interpreted through the viewpoint of the scientist. It reminds me of another woman who lived long ago and found no help from doctors:

Mark 5:24–34 NIV

So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Constant for the Christian is the need to go to the Great Physician for our healing. With no vaccine and no previous strategies for treating Covid, we gathered together to pray for one another. We’ve stretched out for loved ones and for ourselves.

2020 Has Reminded Us that Jesus is Coming Soon

I’m sure that a Google search about 2020 and the End Times would yield opinion after opinion about the uncertainty of the world and the certainty of the Return of Christ. We are not the first to ask: the disciples actually did ask Jesus:

Matthew 24:3–14 NIV

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

We are currently working our way through the Greek alphabet for named storms, wildfires have burned up states, earthquakes have shaken places in the world, and a pandemic has claimed millions of lives worldwide. Our nation is in the middle of the most contentious election of my lifetime and possibly since Abraham Lincoln. Instead of 2 genders, male and female, some argue to 63, 74, and over 100 different gender identities. In 2015 the Supreme Court ruled that all 50 states must recognize same sex marriages. 862,000 abortions were performed in 2017. We could certainly go on but I think the evidence is pretty convincing. We stand at 11:59 pm awaiting the return of Jesus Christ.

What has 2020 revealed to you about Jesus Christ?

Thankful for 20/20 Vision

Matt Roever was telling me about what the Roever Evangelistic Association is doing in Africa, Vietnam, and Cambodia with the miracle of sight. His dad, Dave Roever, has put together medical teams going into poor areas and fitting them with eyeglasses. Eyeglasses are taken for granted here in the US but imagine being able to regain your young eyes for reading or fixing small objects. Imagine being able to see into the distance for the first time! These are the miracles that they are making happen.

I believe that God is also making miracles happen in our lives as we learn to know Jesus more, experience the Person of Holy Spirit, and embrace the Bride of Christ – the Church. This all has happened and continues to happen under the most difficult of times.

Let me encourage you to allow your vision to be clearer and clearer. Keep your eyes, thoughts, hopes, and dreams fixed on Jesus – He will get us through! Protect yourself by using this final verse –

Philippians 4:8 NIV

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

[1] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/religious-freedom-becoming-second-tier-right-warns-supreme-court-justice-73228