Self-Examination

here is a half-stolen sermon from matt chandler, the pastor of the village church, in highland hills, just north of dallas. the topic is something that's been flipping around in my head, and i didn't know exactly what to do with it...then last night, i was lounging around church while katy, ryan and the rest of the singers and band for amplify were rehearsing (i don't know why they don't ask me to sing...i'm amazing!), listening to one of chandler's sermons on my iPod, and he just started speaking to me...his words were exactly what i needed to hear...so much so that i scribbled some of it down on a piece of paper and felt compelled to share his words here. so, here it is...the names and some of the words have been changed, but the problem (and sermon) are real...

"joy... so much of The Bible can sem threatening... do this or, do this or, do this or, God doesn't like this, God doesn't like that, it use to seem like God was really angry. and not only angry, but pretty against anything that i thought was funny.

the commands of God are about joy...that God is not glorified in begrudging submission to rules, but rather by our joy in submitting to Him.

here's an illustration... marriage: if someone asked me "jeff, how's married life with katy?", and i said "well, i gave my word, so i'm in...look to be honest with you, i think that woman is horrible, and she sucks the life out of me. but i made a promise to stay faithful and i'm a man of my word. so, for the rest of my long, long, long life..." is anyone going, "oh, i want some of that! i want that for me. when i was little, i drempt about just that, a committment that was so....strong, that it could endure the most horriffic of circumstances." that's absurd...but that's what people have done with Christianity...that's the package...be committed.

but in the scriptures, Christ is going, "i'm not glorified by your begrudging submission, i'm glorified by your joy, so i'm trying to lead you to joy"... so the commands about your wealth, or food, or acts is not about getting your money or possessions or mouth, it's about your joy... because God is most glorified in your enjoyment of Him.

God's not sexually repressed...for the record, it was His idea. "be fruitful and multiply"... has anyone read Song of Songs, chapters 3-4? God is after our joy...that's why there should be a joyful ferocity towards obedience.

the truth is, everyone of us is in this story (talking about Mark 4, The Parable of the Sower... we are all 1 of the 4 seeds)...we all have a part to play, whether we like it or not. so, how do we find out what part we are in this story?

it's self-examination. how you view your stuff, how you live your life, how you view your job, how you view your neighbor, how you spend your money. all of this has to be a part of your life, because there are very eternal things at stake in your life.

and nobody want to call each other sinners, and no one wants to call each other out, because it's what we are, we're all sinners, we're all broken.

all we can do is examine our own life, lay the scriptures on our own heart and see if our own life is bearing fruit, it there change? we must ask ourselves, "can i and others see a growth in love, joy, peace and patience in my own life?" and where we fail at those things, we must run to the mercy of Christ, beg for forgiveness, ask for help and get back up and go."

do you pass the process of self-examination?