Worth

Worth, Strength, Purpose,
Placing value on human life.

I have worth because....
I have strength to....
I have purpose for....

Each of us is incredibly valuable, we are capable of making choices and we have a divine purpose that God has created for us.

What is worth?
Worth - the quality that renders something desirable, that commands esteem and respect.

We think about worth often in the monetary value of things and the benefit of something, either for us or somethimgw e can offer someone else. We tend to think of worth as the value that something has: the top is worth $10;  it wasn't worth the money I paid for it; what is it worth to you? etc
We can value people this way too, by what they do! But this is not God's way.

God's way places value on people because they are and not because they do. God says we have worth because we exist, because we are. Worth is not about material or physical assets, even if the world in general and the media in particular tells you that it is. Worth is an intrinsic quality, given to us at conception, because we are.

We treasure what we value, those things that are of great worth to us - our families, our friends, our relationships that are important to us. Worth is not dictated by the circumstances of life - what we have or haven't done - but by the value that God places on us for who we are, not what we do. In our culture we often derive our value from what we do. We find out what others do and we measure ourselves against this mark - either better than or worse than - (which leads to pride or lack of self-esteem).

Thomas Edison said "Your worth consists in what you are and not in what you have". This is partly right, but it's really about what we are in the sense of how God sees us. God says "I value you on the basis of who you are - a much loved and valid person of great worth simply because you exist." What we do does not change our worth or value - e.g. the $10 note - crisp and clean or old and squashed - its still $10. It still has intrinsic worth.

We have incredible value in God's eyes because we are, and he loves us so much that he sent his Son for us. We were created to be children of God. Because God values us highly and places great worth on who we are, we also choose to place value and worth on others.

So who am I? I am a woman of great worth Because:

1. I am known by God
Everything about us is known by God. He knows our greatest desires and our greatest needs. He understands everything we have and do. He knows us intimately.

Psalm 139 :1-2
Lord you have examined my heart and you know everything about me.
You know when I sit down and when I stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.

It goes on, showing how God is there always, he knows us and we can be assured that we are known by him.

Psalm 139:6
Your knowledge of me is deep, it is beyond understanding. GNT
God knows everything about us, and this is a good thing, it is meant to show that he cares for us, and that he knows us.

Jesus said that God knows even the number of hairs on our head. In Luke 12:7 Jesus says that God even cares about the sparrows and knows when one of them falls, and we are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows. We are known by God therefore we do not have to worry about anything.He values us highly and cares for us. God wants us to understand that he knows us, because he values us and wants us to know him in return.

2. I am loved by God
Knowing everything about us, the good the bad and the ugly, God still values us and loves us. We are of great worth to him.

Eph 1:4
Even before the creation of the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
Loved and chosen by God.

God has loved us for a long time. Since before the creation of the world, we were loved by God. He saw us, and loved us even when we had not been born. This is something that shows our great worth. We are loved by God.

John 3:16
For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believed in him would not perish but have everlasting life.

God loves us so much that he was prepared to lay down his life for us.

Romans 5:6-8
For when we were still helpless, Christ died for the wicked at the time God chose. It is a difficult thing for someone to die for a righteous person. It may even be that someone might dare to die for a good person. But God has shown us how much he loves us - it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us.

What this verse actually means is that while we were "devoted to sin" God proved, established and exhibited his great love. It goes on to say that we were God's enemies, but because he loved us he made us his friends through Christ.

1 John 4:9
And God showed his love for us by sending his Son into the world, so that we might have life through him.

We see God's love in the way he treats us and tells us to treat others. We are loved by God, therefore we can love others in the same way. In John 8:1-12 we read the story of the woman caught in adultery. For many of us, familiar with this story, we see and understand God's grace extended to this woman. But we also see Jesus placing incredible value on this woman.

The teachers of the law wanted to humiliate her and judge her because of what she had done. Jesus treats her differently. Jesus sees her not by what she has done, but by who she really is - a woman who is loved by God and in need of care and restoration. The love of Jesus for this woman elevated her and changed her. She understood that she was valuable because of who she was and her value was not in what she did. Jesus loved her enough to encourage her to change her ways, but his love for her, and God's love for her was based on her intrinsic value as a person and not on what she had done or failed to do.

I am loved by God, not because of what I have done, but because of who I am. Loved by God means that I am valuable and of great worth to him.

3. I am created by God
Each of us is incredibly valuable and we see that in the amazing creation that we are. We are created human beings but we are created in the image of God. We are created individually and specially with different fingerprints, different DNA. The human genome is an incredible thing. Scientists have been able to identify it. We are different to very other animal.

We are not like any one else - we are not a copy. The Mona Lisa is a masterpiece, a one of a kind. We may copy it, but the copy will never be the masterpiece. We are one of a kind, not a copy of someone else. We alone are created in the image of God. God desired human beings to be in relationship with him, and he desired that they be like him.

Genesis 1:26
Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.

Genesis 1:27
So God created human beings in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
Male and female he created them.

Make - to fashion, to accomplish, to produce.
Created - to shape and to form.

We are created by God. His plan for us is good. His plan for us is blessing. God values human beings so much that he makes us in his image, in his likeness.

Ps 139:13-16
You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mothers womb.
Than you for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvellous - how well I know it.
You watched me as I was formed in utter seclusion as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment laid out before a single day had passed.

God has created us with great care and complexity. He knows us and loves us, created by him, thought of by him before we were born. Jeremiah was a prophet to the nations. He was a young man, called by God and he found it all a bit daunting. God says to him

Jer 1:5
I knew you before I formed you in your mothers womb.
Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you a prophet to the nations.

God knew who Jeremiah would be even before he was born. God knew us even before were born. This is not about us existing before then, but that God already had a plan in mind for us and created us with great care, with great love and valued us for us, even before we were born. Life for Jeremiah was not always easy, and our life isn't either, but that does not negate God's love for us and does not negate how valuable we are to God.

Ephesians says we are God's masterpiece. You may not feel like one right now, but God says we are his masterpiece. We are created anew in Christ, but even before that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and loved by God.We are women of great value and great worth.

4. I am a child of God
Because I am loved by God, because he sent his son for me, I can be a child of God. A daughter of the King. Romans 8:15-17 says that we are his children and his heirs.

Roms 8:15-17
For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory.

An heir is someone who receives his alotted possession by right of sonship. Our alotted possession is heirs of God's glory. Ephesians says he has given us every blessing in spiritual relams. We are truly children of God if we follow him.

When we understand our true value, when we understand that God knows us, loves us and cares for us, that he places value on us: When we understand that he made a great sacrifice for us, to make a way for us to have a relationship with him, then we can also know that we are God's children.

So I am valuable because I am known by God; I am loved by God; I am created by God and I am a child of God. This means I have great worth. Not because of what I do, but because of who I am. My value is intrinsic, because I exist and am valuable to God, created by him, as his masterpiece.

A thought

John 16.

Jesus promises the Holy Spirit and outlines the role of the Spirit in our lives. He is our counsellor and comforter, but he also has a role in reaching the people who need to know Jesus. The role of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world in regards to sin, righteousness and judgement. As we seek God, as we lift the name of Jesus high, then God is at work. He is in the business of saving people.

When we are praying for our unsaved friends, we can ask God to save them, and for the Holy Spirit to convict them. The salvation of people is of paramount importance to God. Lost people matter to God and they should matter to us.

We can ask God directly, in the name of Jesus. God knows us, that we are followers of Jesus, wanting to do his will. Jesus says we are known by the Father and therefore we can ask whatever we want, in Jesus name, and God will bring it about, and bless us abundantly.

Notice though that this requires us to be in a relationship with Jesus that is loving and obedient to the will of the Father. This is all in the context of relationship with God, who knows what is best. When Jesus is talking about praying here, he is talking about asking for Kingdom related matters, things that will expand and grow the kingdom, not just things that will make us happy.

When we align our desires with God's we will know that he will answer our prayers. When we think of delighting in the Lord and receiving the desires of our heart, ( Ps 37:4) it is related to kingdom, not selfish ambition or gain. God loves answering prayers that are related to expanding his kingdom and seeing "his kingdom come and his will be done on earth as in heaven".

I like to ask myself: What is the focus of my prayers? Is it personal comfort and success or expansion of the Kingdom?

This helps me to think more carefully about what I'm praying about and make changes where necessary to align my prayer life with the will of God.

Be in it to Win it -Part 2

Last week we looked at Hebrews 12 and running with perseverance and endurance.

Heb 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne.  Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.

Run with perseverance the race marked before us.

Perseverance and endurance; living life for the long haul are important characteristics of living life well. We have looked at getting rid of the extra baggage, those things that get in the way and cause us to stumble, the things that hold us back; we looked at wearing the right clothes, putting off the old and dressing with love and kindness etc. And we looked at focusing ahead on what is ahead and not what is behind.

This week we will look at making it through the quit zone.

What is the quit zone?

It’s that place we all get to when we have to push forward, push harder, do those last things and not giving up when it gets hard. In a marathon, the runners go through what they call the quit zone, or the wall; that part of the race towards the end where they think they can’t go any further. But when they push through it, they run better and they finish well.

"There's something about quitting that hurts your spirit.  It's demoralizing.  I know we're all tired of the humanist mantra, "Believe in yourself!!!"  But there comes a time when you have to just stop telling yourself you can't do it.  When you give up, when you don't cross the finish line, when you throw in the towel....it's a discouragement that sticks with you.  It'll make it harder to keep going next time.  Lots harder. And life is not supposed to be easy.  Difficulty is part of life.  We're all going to face situations that seem impossible.  But for me, when I have proved to myself in even just one area of my life (running, for instance) that I can do it, that I can push through it even when the hills are steep, when things are hard...it makes me feel stronger to meet whatever else life will send my way. - See more at: http://runforyourlifefitness.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/persevering.html#sthash.y4wC8Ahc.dpuf

Knowing that it will happen marathon runners prepare for it ahead of time. It helps them be mentally prepared and focused.The quit zone will happen. We have all experienced it. We have all had something that has been hard and we've felt like giving up. we've all had those things that seemed great, that we knew were right, and then stuff happens; it gets hard and we get tired, or it seems like the result we expected is not happening.

What do we do when we get to that zone?
What can we draw on that will help us?

1. Understand the quit zone is normal

Finding things tough and hard is normal. That sense of "it’s all too hard" is normal. It’s normal but it doesn't have to overwhelm us or define us. It only becomes too hard if we give up. Tough times happen. When we are prepared for them, when know they will come, we can be ready for them and realise that they are only a point and a time, a season, they are not the be all and end all of our lives.

Jesus had tough times too. Even as he faced the cross he was saying "God this is hard,but I look to you, to do your will". Instead of being defined by "it’s too hard" we can be defined by "this is tough but it will get better". I believe we need to get rid of the phrase “it’s too hard”, and replace it with “all things are possible”

Philippians 4:12-13
I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Giving up never makes anything better.

Gal 6:9-10
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

Heb 12:12-13
So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.

Don't give up because we will reap a harvest of righteousness etc. (And others are watching and will follow.) This is talking about persevering in our spiritual lives. When we persevere, when we do good, when we don’t give up, there is a reward. Its normal to get to a point where it is hard and going on seems difficult. But remember: The victory is usually just around the corner. As in the Marathon, the toughest part is usually just before the breakthrough, just before the victory.

2. Build Strength

Knowing that these times will come what can we do to build resilience and strength?

Last week we talked about how an athlete prepares well. When we prepare well we build strength. A marathon runner does not wake up one morning and go “I think I will run a marathon today” without doing many months of deliberate training and preparation. When we are deliberate about reading the Word and seeking God, when we are deliberate about our relationship with him, when we choose to get his word into our hearts, we build strength.

Why do some people bounce back better from adversity than others? Or why do some fail under pressure and others don’t? It’s called resilience. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from the things that happen to us. Sometimes stuff happens in life that reduces resilience but the good news is that we can build resilience by focussing on and building on our strengths. By being deliberate in our approach, by making decisions that choose to look at what we can do, rather than what you can’t, we build resilience.

What areas of strength do we have in our lives?
What can we do, what do we have that helps us?

We have the word of God and the promises of God, we have friends and people, we have our own individual strengths, and we can be ahead of the game by the way we prepare. The bible says that what we sow is what we reap.

Galatians 6:7-8
Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.  Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

Before we get to the tough times we have to learn to sow well. As we build strength into our lives, we can draw on those strengths. Sow into the Word; get it into your life and build on God's promises for you, his promises in his word. Develop a habit of positive attitudes and thinking that draws on the truth of the Word and on who you really are in Jesus. Jesus always with us, Jesus never leaves or forsakes us, God is the same yesterday today and forever.

Heb 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

As we get this stuff into our hearts we can draw on it when it’s tough. Dr Leaf’s strategies of working on areas of thinking and getting rid of toxic thoughts and building healthy thoughts are helpful here. Know what you want to build into your life and thinking and be deliberate about the change; then make a habit of doing it. (www.drleaf.com)

Be deliberate in relationships so that when it’s tough there are others who can help us. When we have support and encouragement, when we build positive relationships with others, there will be people to help us in tough times. Others will believe in us even when we struggle, but we need to develop strong and positive relationships.

What areas of life will you begin to build strength in?
What areas of thinking will you work on?

3. Refocus and apply faith

What was the original vision you had, the original direction, the word from God that you were given? Ask yourself “Why am I doing this”; What is the goal I’m heading to? Go back to it. Get excited about it again. Refocus on the main thing.

The story of Crystal from the No Quit Zone is a great story and a great example of refocussing to achieve goals. Pregnant at the age of 15, Crystal decided that she would not become a statistic; therefore quitting goals she set out to accomplish was not an option. She refocussed, finished her education and now helps others do the same. Stuff happens, but instead of giving up, we can refocus and move forward.

Refocus on what it is/was that you were working towards, regardless of the actual circumstances. Last week we looked at Phil 3, the apostle Paul, and his determination to push forward to reach the prize. Jesus as we mentioned earlier endured because of the joy before him and the final outcome. As we refocus we can take hold of God's promises, apply faith, step out and keep going.

Hebrews 13:5-6
Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you.
    I will never abandon you.”
6 So we can say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper,
    so I will have no fear.
    What can mere people do to me?”

It’s the final outcome that is the key thing here. The immediate situation is never the end. There is always something to look towards. Anything worthwhile takes time and effort. Do a bit of an inventory.

What have we started that we didn’t finish?
What was it that caused us to quit? (a good decision or too hard?)
Is this a pattern or a habit we have developed?

In Nehemiah 4 we see the people of Israel under attack from the enemy. They had set out to build the walls around Jerusalem to strengthen their city and to rebuild their city. It got really hard: there were threats against them and terrible taunts aimed at stopping their work. But what did Nehemiah do? He could have quit, but he knew that was not right. Instead he focussed on the vision, on the goal on what he knew was his God given destiny. He refocused and he helped those with him to refocus. And most importantly, he did not quit. He applied faith to the situation and he kept going. God had called him and God would enable him.

What vision or goal do we need to refocus on?
What habits have we developed that are hindering us?

My Challenge to us all is to refocus and redirect our energies back on to the vision and not the circumstances.

Conclusion

As we run the race set before us, as we understand that the "quit zone" happens and is normal, we can be prepared and develop strategies to push through and to move forward. We can build strength and resilience through looking at the positives and concentrating on those, attacking negative thinking and building healthy thoughts instead. And finally, we can refocus on the original goal and aim, draw on God's promises, apply faith and step into the fulness of what God has for us.

Be in it to Win it: Part 1

Living life to win the race.

I believe most of us want to live life well. We want to be able to live in a way that is significant.What we find though is that some people seem to run the race of life well and others seem to stumble through it. What does it take to live life well? What does it mean to be able to live a life of significance over the long term.

Our society is an "instant" society. We want everything now, but life is not an "everything now" proposition. There is a saying that good things come to those who wait.This is really about patience and teaching kids to be patient. But life doesn't come to those who wait. Life comes to those who choose to live a significant life.

I'm using the term significant because we often think in terms of success,and prominence, but significance is more important. Significance is more about the legacy we leave for others than it is about success. Significance is about how we live and not about what we have.

We are all called to a significant life, but a significant life does not just happen. A significant life comes from understanding who we are in God and what he has called us to, then living our life from that.

Eph 1:4
Long ago before the creation of the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

This is our position in Christ.

Eph 1:18
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realise what a rich and glorious inheritance ha has given us.

In Hebrews 11 we read of the people of faith and then in Hebrews 12 the writer says, because of all this, because of who we are, because we have such an inheritance, run the race of life with perseverance.

Hebrews 12: 1-3
Therefore since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip of every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.

Run with perseverance the race set before us. Hebrews 12 in the KJV says "Throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and run with perseverance the race set before us."

Notice we do this keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
This verse has some great thoughts about living the life set before us and being in it to win it.

Lay aside - put off and out away, get rid of burdens weights and encumbrances. The NLT says strip them away.

KJV Get rid of sins that beset - the word beset or entangle means the things that skillfully surround us, that try to entrap us and prevent us from running freely.

The word here for sin is a word that includes both sins of deed and of thought.

Here are some thoughts around what Jesus said sins.

Matt 12:34b-36
For whatever is in your heart detetmines what you say. A good person produces good words from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil words from and evil heart. And I tell you this, that you must give an account on judgement day of every idle word you speak.

Hebrews says to strip away the things that stop us living the life we are called to and to especially deal with the things that come from our heart and cause us to sin.
Be deliberate!

Remember that the good news is that God will bring to completion that which he started.

Phil 1:6
And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ comes back again

God is at work, and we too are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling or as the NLT says:

Phil 2:12b-13
Put into action God's saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.

God is at work in us to will and to act. What does it mean to run with perseverance?

When I think about perseverance, knowing all this I think about the marathin runner. The Marathon runner runs a great distance, and originally it was a great distance run on purpose to get news of the ooucome iof a battle through to commanders: A race with purpose

If we are to run with oerseverance,what do marathon runners do? They train alot and they train diligently with an end goal in mind, they eat the right things and they prepare well. On the whole, most of the innformation around marathon running was about dress right, prepare well, hydrate properly. Proper preparation, then good follow through and aquital of the race is what is important.

In 2013, what does perseverance look like in an instant gratification world. How can we over come the temptation for short term gratification instead of long term gain? What does our marathon look like? How well prepared are we for the race we are to run?

The writer to Hebrews probably had the ancient Greek games in mind when he wrote this. When those guys ran their races they stripped off everything so that there was no hindrance to the progress. This is what the writer means when he says get rid of the things that slow us down. Those things are an encumbrance that we don't need to be carrying and we actually are not supposed to be carrying.

In fact in Hebrews what this means is that we exert ourselves to the utmost, against struggles, annoyances, obstacles etc that stand in the way of faith, holiness and a desire to spread the word. Colossians speaks of patient endurance with joy; the ongoing, the long haul, not a "tried that and it didn't work" attitude.

Anything worthwhile takes time and energy and perseverance. Paul says in Phil 3 he will put behind him everytjing he once counted important and push forward - not that he already attained it, but he would forsake all else and push forward to receive a heavenly reward.

Some thought around putting off short term gratification for the long term gain.

1. Get rid of excess baggage

The excess baggage we carry stops us from running the race well and from running to win. It trips you up. If you are going overseas and you have excess baggage you pay for it, it costs you.  It's the same when we run God's race of life for us. We need to be running the race; we are in it, but if we are to win it, we need to lose the excess baggage that trips us up and costs us a lot of time and energy.

The writer to Hebrews says get rid of the excess baggage.

What is the excess baggage that we carry ?

People that pull us down - the people in our life who take our time and energy and are always negative.

Bad habits that we have developed - those things that hinder us - sleeping in, eating the wrong food. Following and holding on to things that stop us moving forward - music and movies that feed us with rubbish

Grudges and  unforgiveness that cripples us spiritually and emotionally.
Sin - he things that we do that we know are wrong and that we struggle with.

Matt 5:30
If your hand - even if it is your stronger hand - causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your  whole body to be thrown into hell.

Matt 18:8
So if you hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter heaven crippled or lame than to be thrown into the unquenchable fire with both hands and feet.

If something causes you to sin get rid of it.

The past that intrudes and trips us up and lies to us - Paul says he will put the past behind him.

Phil 3:12-14
I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working towards that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No my dear brothers I am not yet all I should be but I am focussing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the need of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling us up to heaven.

Paul says he is working to make the changes necessary and to get rid of the things that trouble him. He is not focussing on the past, or letting it intrude, he is forgetting the past, and looking at what lies ahead.

What is your excess baggage?
What is God asking you to throw off?

Are you getting caught up in sin - the enemy has set it up to entagle you and to craftily beset you?

2. Wear the right Clothes for the race

This is not about our physical clothes and how we dress although can I suggest wearing clothes appropriate to the occassion.

Going to a ball - wear a ball gown; running, wear running clothes; walking - wear good hiking boots and clothes etc.

The right clothes I speak of here is the right attitude - wear the right attitudes and the right characteristics.

Col 3:8-10
But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage,  malicious behaviour, slander and dirty language. Don't lie to each other because you have stripped off your old evil nature and its wicked deeds. In its place you have clothed yourself with a brand new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you.

Col 3:12-14
Since God chose you to be holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. You must make allowances for each others faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember the Lord forgave you so you must forgive others also. And the most important peace of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what ninds us all together in harmony.

Don't put off getting the right clothes. Get rid of what is inappropriate; chuck out the clothes that are no longer working for us; chuck out the attitudes that are not right, they don't work for you long term.

Notice that the runner in a marathon, or in any race for that matter is not worried about what others are wearing. They make sure that what they have is right and they don't make a fuss about the person next to them. We are each running our own race and we are to get rid of the behaviour and the attitudes that slow us down and clothe ourselves with the right clothes for the race.

Get rid of the things that hinder. Our attitudes can hinder us or help us

What attitudes are we carrying around that we need to get rid of?
What pieces of "clothing" are we wearing that is hindering us?
What will you replace it with?

Phil 2:2-8
Our attitude is to be like that of Christ's. He did not demand and cling to rights instead he humbled himself and became obedient.

3. Focus on what is ahead

Run the race set before us. We are in the race and in it to win it. Our life is spread out before us and is set before us. The race is not behind us, it is not what has already happened. Its the race that is set before us, which means it doesn't matter where you are at today, what is important is that which is ahead of you.

Endurance, living for the long haul, requires us to have a focus. What is our focus? The writer to Hebrews talks about looking to Jesus who enables us to run and not grow weary. He says, keep your focus on Jesus, keep your focus on what he has called you to.

Paul says to the Philippians, that his focus is the reward in from of him, the heavenly reward. He is focussing on what lies ahead and not what is behind. When we focus on what is ahead of us, we stop being distracted by the past.

Ecclesiastes 5:19-20
And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life that is indeed from God. People who do this rarely look with sorrow on the past, for God has given them reason for joy.

Eph 1:3 says that God has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. We are blessed, we are wealthy. God has placed us here in this time and place to run the race set before us, not to run each other's race but to run our race. When we understand that God has given us a purpose and we accept that and run the race before us, we have very little time to worry about what has already gone because the focus in on the future.

Focus on what you are supposed to be focussing on and the past won't be an issue. Focus on rewards and eternal outcomes. We often want to focus on short term gain, not long term reward and fulfilment.

What is it that we want to achieve?
What is it that is important to us and what is it that is the reason for being?

Whether we are in business, professionals, sports people etc, the long term is important and the goal that lies ahead is important. Those who are training for the Olympics train for many years, they keep the long term in mind which enables them to move forward in the short term. Focus on what lies ahead.

Where is your focus?
What is it that God  asking you to focus on?
What goals has he set before you to pursue?
What will you change to ensure you stay focused?

Conclusion
God has placed before us an amazing life of purpose. A race that he has set up and planned for us to win.We are to run that race to win.Throw off the things that hinder, clothe ourselves with love and run with perseverance focussing on the purpose of God and the end goal.

Life from Titus - 3

Titus Three
Recap last two weeks.
Week 1 - the call, the message, discipleship, leadership
Week 2 - Honour God, set an example - family life
Week 3 - Living God's way, devoted to doing good
The last chapter of Titus starts with an exhortation to teach the peopel to submit to rulers, to the government, and to the officers, and be ready to do what is good. The word submit here is the same word used in the previous chapter so we can see that it is a voluntary decision to carry proper responsibility to do what is right in regard to civic duty as well as in the home.

Titus is also to remind the people to be kind, gentle, not slandering people etc. Remember in chapter one, the people of Crete we called liars, cruel animals and lazy gluttons. The call to be gentle and kind and to do good works is in direct response to their natural way of life and their reputation. In other words it addresses the natural tendency of the people to be liars, to be unkind, to be misled by lusts and pleasures, full of envy and hate etc. with what we can describe as God's 'norm' for people. There are two main ideas here.

1. Live according to God's norm
What is God's norm for people? God has a standard of behaviour that he expects from us. This flows out of obedience because of what he has already done for us.

Ephesians 4:20-24
But that isn't what you learned about Jesus and the truth that comes from him. Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature created to be like God -truly righteous and holy.

God says we are to live differently from what we used to do before we knew him. We are to have a new nature. This nature is often against our 'norm for behaviour  and God challenges us to change and live according to his normal.

Col 3:5-7
So put to death the sinful earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust and evil desires. Don't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshipping the things of this world. Because of these sins the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world.

Col 3: 12-14
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humilty, gentleness and patience. Make allowances for the faults of others, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

When we look at this scripture, we get a glimpse of what God's norm looks like. If we are to live according to his way and his pattern, there are several things we might want to think about. What is my norm? What is my starting point?

When we address situations in life - we might think about what is actually normal - bear in mind that normal varies depending on the situation.
Medically what is normal for some is not normal for another, but knowing our norm is important. For example we all have a blood pressure that is normal for us. Bit that does not mean it is right or good. We would ask, what is OK medically, what is a persons individual norm, do they match up what is acceptable. Just because something seems normal to us, doesn't mean it matches God's 'norm for us

God has a standard of living that is meant to be the 'norm' for those who follow Christ. His 'norm' is obedience, love, faith, hope, gentleness, etc. In Colossians he says clothe yourself with kindness and humilty. This is God's 'norm' and it is what we are to aspire to as people who follow Christ. We don't do this from duty, or even in our own strength. In Titus 3:4-8 We discover that it is God who has saved us. It is God's love that compels us. He has poured out his Spirit generously on us; it is because of his grace, that we can live in confidence of eternal life.

Therefore, as a result, we are to be people who trust in God and devote ourselves to doing what is good and beneficial for everyone. Our 'norm' changes and begins to become like God's accepted 'norm' when we understand that we are to renew our minds, to make changes. Its not by anything we do, but because God saved us, because he has given us his Spirit, that we are able to follow through on living his way and not our own.

Question: Does our 'norm' actually line up with what God calls normal?
Where do we fall short? What is behind us falling short? Are there wrong patterns of thinking, missunderstandings of what it means to be a follower of Christ?

How will we rectify it? What are two practical things we can do to change our 'norm' to God's 'norm'? For example, wrong patterns of thinking can be rectified as we devote ourselves to God and begin to understand his ways and his desires. As we begin to take tjoughts captive and allow God to work on how we think, through his Spirit. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind! We can also be accountable to others, and gain encouragement and support to follow through on the desired changes. What two things that you will do?

2.Be ready for every good work.
This is clearly the theme for this part of Titus. It is mentioned several times throughout the book, but particularly in this chapter.
Verse 1 - always ready to do good
verse 8 - devote themselves to doing what is good.
verse 14 - learn to do good

It is clear that doing good should be a natural outworking of faith and of following Christ. Not because good works gain us salvation, but beacuse we have salvation, we can do good works. And these good works are profitable to everyone. They are profitable for those doing them, and they are profitable to those who receive them. As we do good works, we become productive - as we work alongside others for the benefit of others, we become fruitful. Good works bring advantage to all.

Good works is about the community in which we live. Good works gets people's attention and turns them towards God. It is about a godly, life giving, community building focus. This is the reason to avoid foolish arguments. We touched on this in week one, and Paul addresses it again in chapter 3. Foolish arguments are a waste of time. They are useless and they are not profitable. Foolish arguments detract from the good we are supposed to do.
Foolish arguments, whatever form they take, are totally unprofitable, draining and achieve nothing.

Titus 3:10-11 says to warn a divisive person twice and then have nothing to do with them. These people are those who are deliberately argumentative and who are detracting from the word of God. The word used for devisive is the same as the word for heretic, in other words, foolish arguments about things that are not truth. They are unprofitable, not helpful to anyone. They are ungodly, life sapping, and community destroying behaviour. Paul says remove these people (divisive argumentative heretics) from you if they refuse to change.

Instead of getting caught in arguments, we are to be devoted to good works, and to ensure that the things that are really necessary are carried out, especially where we see that there is a need. The words used here, mean the things that are in our care, the things God has given us guardianship over, the things that God is asking us to give attention to. This will be different for each person, but together we do what God has called us to do. This is how we are to be fruitful because good works bring fruitfulness. In John 15:14-16 Jesus says that we are his friends if we do what he says and that when we stay connected to him, we will bear fruit.

John 15:16,17
You didn't choose me, I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: love each other

How do we bear fruit? We bear fruit when we stay connected to Jesus, when we live in what Jesus has done, when we go and do good works that will bear fruit for the kingdom in the communities in which we live and in teh broader world. We can ask ourselves some questions. What good works am I already doing? What good works would I like to do/will I do? What good works is God calling me to do?

Conclusion
Live the way God calls us to live, according to his 'norm' for us. Be devoted to good works because this is what brings fruit for the kingdom. This is beneficial for everyone, for our entire community. It is a life giving, community building focus that God calls each one of us to, in whatever community we find ourselves.

Life from Titus -1

Titus

The Book of Titus is a letter of Paul's and is written to an individual, unlike most of his other letters which are written to churches. Titus was left in Crete by Paul to continue the work in Crete and to appoint elders in the churches. Crete is an Island, and at the time of this leter was, like most of the Mediterranean world, part if the Roman empire.

Paul says at the beginning of this letter that he has been called to proclaim the faith - to teach people the truth about Jesus. Paul knew his calling and Titus was working alongside Paul to spread the good news. Titus was to complete the work started there, (vs5) and return to Paul.

Titus had a leadership gifting - He was to do the work he had been given,  and to appoint elders in each place to carry on the work. He was to train the people and to encourage right teaching.

This is a short letter but it is full of great teaching. The people of Crete must have been difficult at times.  One of their own men, a prophet from Crete had said they are liars cruel, animals, lazy gluttons. History records this as Epimenedes a poet from 600 BC. The people of Crete had a reputation for greed, for lusting after materialsim, even before the Gospel came to the Island. Paul is clear though that the message of the Gospel, the grace available through Christ is for all epopel everywhere. This message came at the right time and is available to all

What do we learn from this letter?

1. God's message is a message for all
Paul says in verse 1 that his job was to preach the good news - to bring the message of Christ to people. This is a message of truth that shows people how to live godly lives.
This message is of salvation through Christ and gives us confidence of eternal life. This promise of  life was in God before the world began. We are known by God, we are loved by God and God has a plan for us from before the world began.

Eph 1:4
Long ago even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ, to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his family by bringing us to himself through Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.

God takes pleasure in us and in who we are. Paul says this is the good news they announce to everyone. Paul had a particular gift, but it is the responsibility of every Christian to take the good news, the message of salvation to others. It is a message for everyone to hear. We can't assume that everyone we meet knows God or something of God. The message is for everyone, but not everyone knows that the message is for them. The only way they will know is if we take it.

'Be a friend' is about loving people enough to want the best for them, and to be ready for the opportunity to share the message of Jesus with them.

Romans 10:14-15
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?

We often use this for cross cultural missions, but Paul is talking about salvation for all, for those near and those far away. We are sent by God to our community, to take with us the good news of Jesus Christ. Titus was left on Crete to complete the work entrusted to him.
We are in Wollongong, by God's design to complete the work entrusted to us. The work entrusted to us is the message of the gospel, the message of love for everyone.

Who is God asking us to take his message to?

2. Right living and Discipleship
The next whole slab in Titus is what Titus is to teach to the people, and especially what he is to look for in people that he appoints as elders. An elder was like a pastor or a leader, an overseer. In truth, each of us leads someone in some way!

Don't be put off by this list. If you look closely at this list, it is actually a repeat of what Paul writes about in his other letters (Eph 4. Col 3,4) about right living for everyone who belongs to Christ. Paul is stressing to Titus that leadership is not to be taken lightly, that for people to lead others, they must be able to show their faith not just by what they say, but it must be obvious by the way they live.

When I look at this list I see what is the result of Discipleship. If we follow Christ, if we love him, we choose to live his way. This does not mean we always get it right, but Paul says to Titus, when you are looking for people to lead, choose someone who is showing by their life that they are trustworthy and able.

Col 3: 5
So put to death the sinful earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don't be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry.

Col 3:8
But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behaviour, slander and dirty language.

We could probably spend weeks looking at how to develop and build each of these attributes into our lives. Today, lets think about them from a point of view of which one is God speaking to me about today?

Faithful to his wife - faithful to our partners in life - to those we live with and work with. A heart of loyalty to others.

Children who have been taught how to live and who believe/are faithful.
As parents, our greatest desire should be that our children know and follow Jesus Christ.

Children who are not rebellious: If you are a rebellious parent you may well raise rebellious kids! This is worth thinking about.We often think how we want our children to be successful in life and that is good, but ultimately, it's where there heart is and whether they belong to God or not that really counts.

Not arrogant or quick tempered, violent or heavy drinker, greedy for money. Here Paul is addressing the attitudes of life, the things that can stop us from living lives that reflect the love of God.

A blameless life - we are to live lives of integrity, lives that show who God is and not get caught in the things of this world. In other places Paul calls them the lusts of the flesh, the things of this world that seem bright and shiny, that seem fun, but are actually sin.

Enjoy having guests and love everything good. Living wisely (good stewardship of God's household, good stewardship of our own households,) and judging fairly. We can ask ourselves, how well am I looking after what God has entrusted to me in my life, my ministry, my family?

A devout and disciplined life.  A life that puts God first in all things at all times. This is what Paul says is needed to be able to lead others. Notice that they are all Discipleship issues. We may have great leadership skills but on their own they are not good enough. Character is the key competency.

Paul gives no real direction to Titus on the skills needed to lead. Of course there are skills that are helpful, useful, even necessary, if we are to lead others, but Paul is more interested in our attitudes, our behaviour and the type of lives we lead. Skills can be taught but character develops over time.

Are we disciplined, are we devoted to God, do we have a strong and steadfast faith in our amazing God who has saved us?

We rise or fall on the way we live our lives. How we live, how we treat others, will be seen by others, and will impact others. Are we women of integrity, living in a way that promotes right living and the truth of God's word? Paul says if we live this way, we will be able to encourage others with right teaching, and show others who oppose right teaching where they are wrong.

What aspect of your life are you doing well in?
What aspects of your life are you struggling with?
What is God speaking to you about area?
What is God asking you to do to change that?
What tough decisions do you need to make about the way you live?

3. Stop listening to useless talk.
Useless talk is anything that isn't useful for building others up. Titus lived in a time as today, when there were people trying to add things to the truth, trying to distract people with useless information and deceiving other people. Paul tells Titus to stay away from this stuff and to teach others to stay away from it as well because it is damaging to ourselves and to others. These he calls Jewish myths. In verse 16 he says they are of no use and worthless for doing good.

What would this be for us today?

Well there are plenty of people who want to change the Christian message either because they don't like it or don't fully understand the truth. Even in the time of the New Testament writers this was true .

1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from what we believe and will follow lying spirits and teaching that comes from demons. These teachers are hypocrites and liars. They pretend to be religious but their consciences are dead. In other words, there will be distractions from the truth, there is plenty to pull people away, but God has the truth. There are plenty who have twisted the truth that salvation is through Christ alone. We are to stay away from them.

Later in Titus 3:9 Paul encourages us to stay away from godless chatter, geniologies etc. When Paul wrote this letter, the Cretans had a reputation for lying, laziness and gluttony. Paul told Titus to rebuke them where necessary to make them strong in the faith. We all have a reputation of some sort. It is worth thinking about what that is, and whether it is a good one or not!

We don't like rebuke do we, but when we get away from the truth, when we need correction, a rebuke from someone we love and respect is actually better for us than anything else. We want a pat on the back, but the bible says that sometimes rebuke is necessary, it is healthy and it makes us strong in the faith!!

How do we stay clear of deceitful people?

Be devoted to God, to the truth, to right teaching, which we learn through reading the word, through applying the word to our lives. God's word has the power to change our lives if we will let it. Lets be listeners of truth and people who live the message of salvation with love and integrity.

What untruths am I listening to?
What will I do to rid them from my life?

At the end of chapter one, Paul says that all things are pure to those who are pure. When we live in purity according to God's word, we will see life in people, we will see the best in people, but we will be aware of those who try to pull us away.

Have you taken hold of the message of truth?

Life from Titus-2

Last week we looked at the first chapter, including Paul's desire to take the gospel to the gentiles, and Titus's call to finish the work on Crete. We looked at developing Godly charachter and not getting caught up in unhelpful ideas. As we approach chapter two we need to understand something of the background of family life in the Roman world. Ot was very different to ours.

The Romans occupied Crete in 67BC and romanised it. In doing do, the traditional style of communal living and communal sharing transitioned to private ownership, and individual households. Houses contained family groups including servants and may have contained extended family groups. The type of family familiar to the Roman world was very different to how we experience family today

As we continue to look through Titus and to learn from Titus, we have to remember that it was a very different world. Paul writes to Titus giving instructions on how the people in the churches were to live and how they should behave. He goes on to instruct Titus on what to teach various groups of people. In doing so Paul particularly addresses the roles of the older and younger women, and the older and younger men.We all fit in to one or other of those categories, but lets not ignore the rest.

To really understand this we need to understand some of the culture of the day. In the Roman world, there was a marriage contract arranged by families but had no legal force, simply a declaration of intent to live together, or in case of divorce to not live together. The wife was often very young, usually early teens, and was therefore very vulnerable. Her place was not necessarily secure.The husband was usually quite a bit older, was responsible for the public side of the family and had total authority. Women were probably poorly educated if at all and had little experience of the world outside the family home. The male had all the power.

When we look at the role laid down for women here, the cultural context is really important, so what can we learn?

1. Honour God in your world
The way we live and interact with one another, particularly how we relate in families, will either honour God or dishonour him. The older men are to be self controlled, worthy of respect and setting a good example. They are to live wisely and to and to have a strong faith. The older women are to do the same. In fact if we look at these instructions the key thought is honour God.

The servant was to be obedient, because that honoured God and showed his devotion to God. The men were to live wisely because that showed their honour of God. Verse 12 says that we are to live in this evil world with self control, right conduct and devotion to God. The role of the older woman was to help the younger women fulfil their role in a way that honoured God. The older women, were to honour God by the way they lived and they were to show the younger women how to live in a God honouring way, in line with the times and culture of the day; in other words, to honour God in their world.

Lets look at some of the things that the women were to teach that would bring honour to God by right living.

Love their husbands and children: If we remember the cultural context we can see that this is about strengthening the marriage in what was a culture of loosely held together marriages. We can relate well to this. It is good to love each other and it is good to love our children. Both Ephesians and Colossians echo this thought.  Live wisely, be pure, living a life that does not lust after the things of the world, but seeks to serve God,

To take care of their homes: We can get our backs up with this, we don't like the idea of the housewife, we get pictures of being stuck in the home, and for me the idea of the 1950's housewife comes to mind. We need to get that picture out of our heads. This is not what taking care of their homes meant. So what does it mean. Older women, what are we to teach the younger women about honoring God?

In this time, in the home, to be a keeper of the house was more than just doing housework. It involved running the household. It meant that the responsibiity of the wife was to ensure that the entire household ran smoothly. This would have included looking after the servants and ensuring that all of the household, had everything they needed to fulfil their roles.

I wonder if Paul had Prov 31:10-31 in mind as he wrote about these things. Here we see a godly women, being diligent to the task at hand, looking after her household, working and ensuring that everything ran well, but she also had freedom within her role. she had responsibilities to fulfil and she did them with love and grace. In doing so, her husband could fulfil his role well. It was a partnership.

This is the role of the women as Paul would have seen it. The husband was able to trust his wife, he was able to do his job in the city, confident that his wife was able and taking care of the household. The wife had a huge responsibility.  Within the home the women had some power and  were probably responsible for behind the scenes running of the entire household and possibly the business as well. These were not insular hones like we know them. There were lots of people and basically the wife worked in Human Rresource management for the family. This is what the older women were to teach. Girls we have a responsibility to work with and alongside our partners to take care of the affairs of our household, whatever that looks like for us in our world.

Today we might suggest that it includes the role of women who are experienced in business teaching the younger women how to conduct godly business. It might be that the younger women need to learn how to work well with other people in the workplace. In other words this is about teaching people to honour God wherever they are, in whatever cultural context they find themselves, and this will be different for different cultures, different families and different circumstances.

Submission to their husbands is the other curly one for us.  Wives are encouraged to submit to their husbands in Ephesians, Colossians and Titus. It seems that wives often wanted to disrespect their husband, and so Paul addresses the issue, and encourages Titus to teach proper submission in the home. So what does it really mean to submit? Submission was originally a military term that was about various military divisions submitting to a leader to maintain order and take responsibility. It became a civilian term meaning a voluntary attitude of giving in or co-operating with, assuming responsibility for or carrying a load. In other words, the older women were to teach the younger women that it honoured God when they voluntarily co-operated with their husbands and took responsibility for their part of running the household.

What is our responsibility and our part today? In our culture it varies, but the principle is the same; that we work together with one another to carry a load, to take on responsibility, and to ensure the smooth running of the family under godly leadership. When we look at submission this way, we can see that today it may also mean submitting to and co-operating with those who have a leadership role in the workplace, to be responsible with the tasks we have been given and to fulfil our job description. This is what older women are to teach the younger women, but it all revolves around honouring God in your own circle and sphere of influence, wherever you are placed.

What does it mean to honour God where ever you are?

Does the way I live bring honour to God or bring shame on his word?

How can you help another person in your sphere of influence to honour God wherever they are placed at work or at home?

2. Intentional Examples

Be a positive example to others. Paul tells the older women to live in a way that is appropriate for someone serving the Lord. Not only does this honour God, but it sets an example for others to follow. The older women (young women, one day you too will be the older woman - we are all older than someone) are  to set an example by the way they live. They are not to be gossipers or speak evil of others.

Col 4:5
Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will always have the right answer for everyone.

Those older people in our lives that know all the gossip and are happy to pass it on, good bad or otherwise, are not the example for us to follow. When we are looking for someone to mentor us, lets look for someone who is living appropriately, who is living according to God's purpose and is a good example of what it means to honour God. Older women, we need to check out our lives and make a decision that we will be women who can teach good things to others and set a good and godly example for others

Prov 22:1
Choose a good reputation over great riches, for being held in high esteem is better than having silver or gold.

Determine today to live as a positive role model for younger women. In speaking to the young men, (Titus 2 vs 7), Titus is to be an example of how to live and how to behave.  (See also 2 Cor 8:16-24) Titus was a splendid example of those who bring glory to Christ, doing good deeds, reflecting integrity and seriousness of the teaching and ensuring that the teaching is correct. The context for this is Titus being an example to others, to the people he was leading and specifically the men, but the principle is that someone is watching how we live. We live as examples to others, influencing someone by our lives.

The young people who come into our church are watching how we behave. Our children are watching us. The people we disciple are watching us. Who is watching you? What kind of example are we to those people who look to us for wisdom and understanding? Girls, the younger women are watching us and learning from us. At work, others are watching us and seeing how we behave. What kind of example are we setting for others?

Are we living in a way that is a good example of what it means to honour God and to live life his way?

What attitudes and behaviours might we need to change to start being a positive role model to others?

Conclusion
The reason we are to live this way is because of the grace of God that brings salvation to all. We can live, in Christ, in a way that is totally committed to him, totally committed to doing what is right.

Titus 2 vs 14.
He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing what is right.

We may not always get it right, but we can determine, that because of what God has done for us, we will live in a way that honours him and is an example to others.