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Pastor Mark
Mikels – November 5, 2006

“WE HEED ONE
ANOTHER”

Church Under Construction – Relational Phase #7

Intro … This morning, in preparation for Communion, I would draw
your attention to the final and arguably the hardest “One Another
Directive” of them all …

And yet, if we view it properly and if we are experiencing the reality
of the first six directives we have examined, then it’s perhaps the
most logical and practical of all …

It’s a directive designed to keep us out of trouble – it’s a directive
that is given for our good.

It’s a directive that seems pretty natural in a context where people
are devoted to each other, where they genuinely desire the best for
each other, where they consistently encourage each other and seek to
build up each other, where they are comfortable enough with each other
to confess their sins and admit their failures to each other and where
they practice genuine forgiveness towards each other.

As the seventh then in such a life-affirming list of directives,
consider with me …

Biblical Relational Directive #7 …

“SUBMIT to one another.” – Ephesians 5:21

“Submit” … when I hear that word my mind goes back to my childhood
and to numerous skirmishes with my older brother where each of us was
determined to make the other cry “Uncle”.

He was older, bigger and stronger but I was stubborn … it was easier
to make me cry than it was to make me cry that humiliating word.

“Submit” … Webster says it simply means to “yield yourself to the
authority of another” – to allow someone else to determine or at least
influence the course of your life.

It’s not necessarily a negative or a demeaning thing … it certainly
doesn’t have to be a humiliating thing.

In fact, in this Scripture, it’s intended to be a helpful thing -
helpful to us individually and helpful to the Body of Christ
collectively.

In this phase of our spiritual construction, I’m placing it before us
as the final thing in this long list of things designed to build us
into the relational body Christ would have us be.

So … for our good and for the greater good of our church family, the
Word of God directs us to

“Submit to one another”.

Three key questions come immediately to mind …

Key Question #1 …

To WHOM Am I To Submit Myself?

“My FELLOW BELIEVERS – My PEERS

This directive, like the six that preceded it, is focused upon the
Church of Jesus Christ – specifically upon the local expression of that
Church. We here in this room who are committed to this local fellowship
and who are thus linked to one another by that commitment are the focus
of this directive.

I am to submit myself to “My Fellow Believers – my peers”

Notice that this is a general submission … this is not the specific
submission that God says should exist between a wife and her husband,
or between children and their parents, or between slaves and their
masters or even between church members and church leaders. The Bible
talks about those submissions in other places.

Here Paul is talking about submission to “My Fellow Believers – My
Peers” in the family of faith. We are all included in this directive
just like we are all included in the previous six.

Key Question #2 …

What Is My MOTIVATION For Submitting Myself?

“My REVERENCE For CHRIST”

I submitted to my older brother as a kid because he was bigger than me
and stronger than me and actually meaner than me. He made me submit.

This expression of submission is not like that at all … this is a
voluntary yielding of ourselves to the will or directives of another.

Now why would I do that?

What would motivate me to do that?

Paul says that I submit to my fellow-believers because of … “My
Reverence For Christ”.

He’s saying that my feelings of reverence for Christ – my awe of Christ
and His profound plan for my life – cause me to submit to my
fellow-believers.

The point is …

I connect these people in my church family with Christ – some of the
reverence I have for Him just naturally transfers over to them. I see
them as representing Him – living for Him – bringing Him in some more
tangible way into my daily life. I see Him in them and therefore I find
myself yielding myself to them even as I would yield myself to Him.

So …To whom do I submit myself? – “My fellow-believers, my peers in
the faith”

And …Why do I submit myself to them? – “Because of my reverence for
Christ”

And now “Key Question #3″ …

Key Question #3 …

WHEN Should I Submit Myself?

“When they COUNSEL or CORRECT Me”

Under what circumstances should I be most conscious of submitting
myself to my fellow-believers? In what settings ought I be most
sensitive to what they are saying to me?

When they Counsel or Correct me!

You see, in situations where I am in need of direction or correction,
Christ might well choose to speak to me using the vocal cords of my
church family.

One of the most life-changing decisions I ever made came as a result of
just such a moment …

I was the Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Apple Valley – I had
been the pastor there for over

15 years … I had become intrigued with and had begun to embrace the
concepts of Cell Group

Ministry – I was beginning to sense that the entire life of the church
could be and perhaps should be structured around such ministry.

Without really knowing it, I was seeking counsel and direction from the
Lord concerning the next steps in implementing those Cell Group
concepts.

And right at that moment, the Chairman of the Church Board, came into
my office and said,

“Pastor Mark, I believe the church needs a change in leadership”.

Now those could have been deflating words – they could have been
fighting words – in many ways, those are the words that any pastor
anywhere most dreads hearing.

But on that day, at that critical time in my life, they sounded to me
like words from Jesus Himself.

Jesus was counseling me through this Spirit-Sensitive man concerning
the next step in my personal ministry … I would be leaving First
Baptist Church and heading in a new direction.

That new direction turned out to be Sonlife Community Church and I will
forever be grateful to Sam Johns for allowing the Lord to use his vocal
cords that life-altering Monday morning.

Who knows what all the Lord Jesus desires to communicate to us
concerning the direction our lives should take – on one hand, he may
desire to send us some word of counsel, on the other hand, he may need
to bring us some word of correction. In either case, to hear and heed
the voice of those who speak for Him is an extremely wise thing to do.

In fact, as we have seen this morning, the Lord Himself directs us to
do just that … Submit to One Another.

And now as we conclude this meditation, let me just share with you “the
key condition” that allows this “submission” to function effectively.

The Key Condition …

Be so in TUNE with CHRIST that you recognize His VOICE

when He SPEAKS to you through those AROUND you.”

The Lord Jesus once said … “I am the Good Shepherd … my sheep
listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me.” (John 10:11a, 27)

Daily Communion with Christ – abiding in Him and with Him – is the way
to stay “in tune with Him” … the way we put ourselves in position to
benefit from His ability to speak to us through those around us.

And when He speaks – when we hear words that are consistent with Him -
we are to “submit ourselves to the direction we are receiving” for it
will always be in our best interests to do so.

Final Thot … SUBMISSION is the ultimate demonstration of REVERENCE.

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Pastor Mark
Mikels – October 29, 2006

“WE LET EACH
OTHER OFF THE HOOK!”

Church Under Construction – Relational Phase #6

Intro … It’s a wonderful and yet scary thing to be part of a
relationship … It’s wonderful because we know we don’t have to “go it
alone” and it’s scary for the very same reason – we’re not allowed to
just “go it alone” – to just “do our own thing” – to be responsible
solely for ourselves and to have to worry about no one but ourselves. …read the rest

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Pastor Mark
Mikels – October 22, 2006

“WE COME
CLEAN WITH EACH OTHER!”

Church Under Construction – Relational Phase #5

Intro … “Church Under Construction” … that’s what we are! In
fact, the pace of construction has now reached a feverish pitch as
Christ rushes to ready this congregation to enter the structure that is
rapidly moving toward completion at 13324 Apple Valley Road.

We are building a building – Christ is building a people – people who
will use that building as a gathering place for fellowship and worship
as well as a headquarters for ministry. It’s essential that the people
be as well constructed (as well put together) as the structure.

In our personal spiritual construction project we are halfway through
phase three …

We have completed the Doctrinal Phase … where we carefully examined
the major beliefs of the Christian Faith which form the foundation upon
which we stand.

We have also completed the Behavioral Phase … where we sensitively
discussed the basic moral standards of the Christian Faith which form
the framework within which we live our lives.

The current phase that we are halfway through is the Relational Phase
… where we are discovering the quality of life that Christ would have
us enjoy as we share our lives together.

In this phase of construction we are being shaped by a series of
Biblical Relational Directives … Specific directions from God
concerning the way that we are to inter-act with one another.

So far He has directed us to:

“Be Devoted To One Another”

“Agape One Another”

“Encourage One Another” and

“Build One Another Up”.

If we merely carried out those four relational directives faithfully,
we would be in pretty terrific shape as a congregation. We would be
well on our way to being “the happiest place on earth”.

However, there are three more of these directives that Christ would
have implemented in His Church and let me say that these final three
are absolutely dependent upon the presence of the first four.

You might say that the first four establish a necessary context for the
final three …

So then, as we are devoted to one another and agape one another and
encourage one another and build up one another – as we have created
among ourselves a community that we enter with great delight – let us
consider now …

Biblical Relational Directive #5

“CONFESS your SINS to one another” – James 5:16a

Confess your sins … what sins? Do any of us still sin? And if we do,
does it matter? Hasn’t Christ died for all of our sins? Hasn’t God
already in Christ forgiven us for every one of them?

Well, apparently our sins do matter and apparently God desires that we
not only recognize our sins as sins but that we bring some trusted
person into that recognition with us.

Now there’s perhaps nothing quite so difficult as that … it’s hard
enough to swallow our pride and confess our sins to God but how much
harder is it to openly admit that we have sinned – that we have
willfully disobeyed the Lord in some way or another!

Why would God direct us to do such a difficult and uncomfortable thing?

Consider with me this morning …

FIVE INCREDIBLE BENEFITS OF CONFESSION:

1. Confession officially puts our sin “ON the TABLE” and brings to a
conclusion the Holy Spirit’s Work of CONVICTION.

Keep in mind that the Holy Spirit is the supreme example of One who is
devoted to us and who continually agapes us and who would seek to
encourage us and who would do anything to

“build us up” …

It’s in that incredible context of support and love that He brings to
our attention those things that would prove detrimental to our
continuing growth in grace – it’s in that context we are to understand
the use of the word “conviction” – a word that has nothing at all in
common with the word “condemnation” …

Conviction: The Holy Spirit saying to us …

“Here is something WRONG that needs to be DEALT with.”

Confession: Us saying to the Holy Spirit …

“You are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.”

That’s exactly what confession is … confession is us agreeing with
God about the true identity of the thing we have done – it’s sin …
it’s something wrong that needs to be dealt with.

Confession gets our sin out into the open where it can be seen for what
it is and where others can assist us in dealing with it. That’s a
powerful positive benefit that God wants confession to accomplish in
our lives.

2. Confession salvages the ENERGY that would have been put into
RATIONALIZATION or DENIAL and directs it into RESTORATION.

The words … “I was wrong and I need to do things differently” replace
the words …

“I didn’t do it” or “I couldn’t help it”.

There’s a lot of mental and emotional and spiritual energy expended
when we try to cover-up or explain away our sins … our sins of
neglect or disrespect or willful violation of some Biblically commanded
principle or practice.

It can feel like a thousand pound load has been taken off our hearts
when we finally just come right out and say, “I was wrong”.

It adds a very important piece of information to that confession when
we say,

“God has convicted me that something I did was wrong”.

That statement communicates that we are sensitive to the Spirit within
us and that we have heard His voice and sensed His discomfort and that
we are prepared to ease that discomfort by dealing with the very thing
in question – the sin that we have committed.

To have our feet put firmly on the path of correction or restoration is
a tremendous blessing whenever it happens – confession provides that
blessing for us.

Now here’s something else I want us to think about before we move on to
discuss benefit #3 …

Our “confession” sends a wonderful and sometimes relieving message to
those who know us best …

If our “sin” was something that they already knew about, then our
confession has saved them from the never desirable task of confronting
us about it … the Holy Spirit has beat them to it and they can simply
support us in the task of restoration. They don’t have to convince us
or debate us or get frustrated or distressed in any sense because of
us. Our confession brings them a sense of relief.

If our “sin” was something that they had known nothing about, then our
confession has made them aware that our relationship to the Holy Spirit
within us is both genuine and productive – a delightful awareness that
causes them to treasure us all the more.

And those twin effects of relief and delight prepare them and us to
experience the third benefit of confession …

3. Confession unleashes a powerful spiritual DYNAMIC when we confess
our sins to those who are DEVOTED to us!

“Confess your sins to each other and PRAY for each other” – James
5:16b

To the degree that our confession causes our closest Christian brothers
to cherish us all the most – to that same degree, our confession will
stimulate them to an even increased focus upon us and upon our
particular need in their prayers.

They will pray that we gain victory over this particular sin; they will
pray that we be specifically protected from the Evil One; they will
pray that our minds will continue to be renewed so that our lives will
be more and more conformed to Christ.

They will immerse us in prayer … effective prayer, wonder-working
prayer. How good is that!

And as that prayer on our behalf pours forth from those who are devoted
to us – from those who truly agape us – from those who would desire to
encourage us and see us become stronger and stronger in the Lord …
the fourth benefit of confession begins to unfold:

4. Confession initiates a life-renewing spiritual PROCESS as a result
of those who are devoted to us praying knowingly for us.

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other that you may
be HEALED.”

(James 5:16c)

Here we have it … sin creates disease in the spiritual realm and sin
frequently as a result creates

dis-ease in the physical realm.

Prayer for spiritual health and healing – for oneness and wholeness
within the heart of man – is automatically a prayer for physical health
and healing as well.

A person living in harmony with the Spirit and thus in compliance with
the Word of God is a person who will avoid much of the physical and
emotional breakdowns that afflict those who are out of harmony

with Him.

Doctors have maintained for years that over 80% of our hospital beds
are filled with people whose physical ailments have emotional roots.

Emotional sins like anger, wrath, bitterness, fearfulness, resentment,
unforgiveness, hatred, impatience create an environment of stress
within the body that is highly destructive.

Just imagine what the replacement of all those things with the Fruit of
the Spirit would mean to a person’s physical and spiritual well-being -
things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

When we confess our sins to those who are devoted to us and they begin
to pray for us, there is set in motion a healing process that can work
its way through every part of our being. It’s the ultimate benefit that
comes from confession.

Confession – what a scary and yet wonderfully beneficial thing …

* It puts our sin on the table and brings to completion the convicting
work of the Holy Spirit,

* It salvages the energy that would have been put into rationalization
or denial and

directs it into restoration,

* It unleashes a powerful spiritual dynamic (prayer) when we confess
our sins

to those who are devoted to us and

* It initiates a life-renewing spiritual process (healing) as a result
of those who are

devoted to us praying knowingly for us.

Now there’s one final benefit of confession that I would suggest to you
this morning. I alluded to it earlier but let’s see it directly
identified …

5. Confession protects us from the DAMAGE wrought by UNCONFESSED sin.

“When I kept silent, my BONES wasted away … my STRENGTH was sapped”

(Psalm 32:3-5)

Unconfessed sin – sin that we know about, sin that we are refusing to
deal with, sin that we are either consciously harboring or merely
avoiding – creates havoc in the heart of a born-again follower

of Jesus Christ.

Our new man is not equipped to co-exist with willful, purposeful,
frequently prideful sin. It’s an offence to him; it’s an offense to the
Holy Spirit within us.

Willful sin and a refusal to deal with it set up internal shockwaves
that like an earthquake rumbling deep in the earth create damage in
far-flung places.

David said that even his bones hurt … his energy was gone – he was
feeling physical consequences as a result of his sin. He was in a bad
way.

But he found a way out … verse 5

“Then I said … I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.”

And David did just that … more of the details of his confession and
the results of his confession are recorded in Psalm 51 but suffice it
to say this morning …

David was restored to the path of blessing.

Immediate confession – confession that happens as soon as we become
aware of our sin – provides the surest protection from the damages
wrought by unconfessed sin.

Within the Church of Jesus Christ, within the context of a devoted,
loving, close-knit body of believers, God would have us confess our
sins to one another that we might be wonderfully and gloriously healed
and wonderfully and gloriously blessed!

Final Thot …

CONFESSION – Indeed, it’s GOOD for the SOUL!

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Pastor Mark
Mikels – October 15, 2006

“WE
MAKE EACH OTHER BETTER!”

Church Under Construction – Relational Phase #4

Intro … One of the most complementary things and most coveted
things that can be said about a professional athlete is … “He makes
those around him better”. Usually those to whom those words are
addressed wind up in their respective sports Halls of Fame …

In my lifetime, it has been said of Magic Johnson – he made every
member of the Showtime Lakers better because of his play; it was said
of Michael Jordan – he lifted and practically willed his teammates on
several Chicago Bulls teams to championship level; and it has also been
said about my personal favorite athlete John Elway who on numerous
occasions brought championship efforts out

of a bunch a pretty average players.

Each of them has been enshrined in the Hall of Fame not only because of
their personal skills but also because of the effect they had upon
those around them.

If there had been a Hall of Fame in the first Century and if
Christianity had been considered a sport, then Jesus Christ would have
made it in on a unanimous first round ballot because there has never
been a player in any venue to whom this designation more rightly
belongs.

Jesus made everyone associated with him better … He elevated their
game to levels they never thought possible – he took a motley
assortment of fishermen and rebels and government workers and
visionaries and practical, hard-nosed “I don’t believe it until I see
it” types of people and built them into a team of men who “turned the
world upside down” playing the game he taught them to play.

He turned cowards into heroes – doubters into believers willing to die
for their faith – he turned common ordinary working men into
world-class proclaimers of the Gospel and administrators of

His Church.

And now here’s the thing for us today … He says that we should “play
our game” the same way that he played his!

He says in effect that we should be able to look around at those with
whom we share this Christian experience and say (as the title of this
message puts it) … “We Make Each Other Better”.

Here’s the way, one of Jesus’ most well-known protꨩs, the Apostle
Paul, put it in his letter to the Thessalonian Church …

Biblical Relational Directive #4 … “BUILD One Another UP”

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Now that’s our fourth directive in this series of “relational
messages”. It’s added to the first three which
were: “Be Devoted To One Another”

“Agape One Another” and

“Encourage One Another”

Each of these “directives” can be expressed in the form of a personal
reflection …

“These People Are So Special To Me”

“I Would Do Anything For Them”

“We Keep Each Other Going”

And now to those three we add today’s reflection … “We Make Each
Other Better” or to use the exact Biblical wording “We Build One
Another Up”.

That Biblical Directive and resulting Personal Reflection zeroes our
attention squarely upon …

Today’s Key Concept …

God calls us to play significant ROLES in one another’s SPIRITUAL
GROWTH!

To some degree, all of us in this room this morning (who are committed
to this particular local fellowship) are dependant upon the others for
our spiritual growth …

We will not reach our full maturity in Christ without them.

On the other hand, all those others are equally dependant -

They will not reach their full maturity in Christ without us!

Those twin realities lie at the heart of all these “relational
directives” … we need one another … we can’t become all that Christ
would have us be without each other – we are engaged in a “team sport”
and we cannot be successful playing alone.

And so the Word of God instructs us …”Build One Another Up”

You build me as I build you!

This morning I want us to consider Two Strategic Roles God would have
us play as we build one another up – as we “make each other better” …

First of all, consider the Role of

1. THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTOR – providing INFORMATION – (Romans 15:14)

“I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of
goodness,

complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.”

Note the other things that Paul includes in that Scripture:

“full of goodness” … Your intentions are positive and loving as you
seek to involve yourself in someone else’s life – you truly do “cherish
them” and are only “seeking the best for them”. You truly do desire to
“encourage them” and help “keep them going”.

“complete in knowledge” … No matter who you are, there is someone in
this room who knows less than you about something relevant to the
Christian Life … your knowledge is more “complete” than theirs.

It may involve Christian Truth … something the Bible says that they
have not heard or have not remembered and yet applies to their current
circumstances.

It may involve Personal Testimony … some situation where the Lord or
the Lord’s People provided for you in some significant way -
particularly in your personal conversion.

But be sure of this … there’s a “completeness” in your personal
knowledge that the Lord can use in the building up of someone else.

Pray every day that the Lord will “hook you up” with someone who needs
to know what you know about Him and His Gracious Workings.

And when He does, be ready to assume the role of “instructor” in their
lives for you possess knowledge that can “build them up”.

Now consider with me secondly this morning

2. THE ROLE OF MOTIVATOR – providing STIMULATION – (Hebrews 10:24)

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and
good deeds.”

Now that’s what those Hall of Fame athletes that I mentioned at the
beginning of this message were particularly good at … they knew how
to motivate their teammates and their methods were as different as they
were …

A playmaker like Magic Johnson motivated his teammates by his uncanny
ability to get them the ball at the very moment that they were prepared
to take a comfortable shot – they knew that if they got to their spot,
he would get them the ball and they would have an excellent chance of
success – they worked hard to get to that spot!

A passionate competitor like Michael Jordan motivated his teammates by
bringing such intensity on to the court that they simply threw
themselves into the flood of energy that he brought and played at
levels beyond what they had ever done before.

A never-say-die quarterback like John Elway simply kept plays alive by
evading would be tacklers until even the slowest receivers could find
some open spot on the field where he could get them the ball. They
learned to never give up on a play and as a result they participated in
many memorable moments over the years.

Each of these “Hall of Famers” stirred their teammates – spurred them
on – by their own example to high, high levels of achievement.

And so, of course, in the most important game of all, did Jesus Christ.

He said to his followers … “As I have loved you, so you must love one
another.” John 13:34

In other words … “Do for one another what you have seen me do for
you”.

The Apostle Peter picked up on that when he wrote in 1 Peter 2:21 …

“Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example,

that you should follow in His Steps”

And when we get right down to it – that’s still the most effective way
to “spur one another on” …

Be an example – a faithful, passionate, informed example of a follower
of Christ!

You seek to be an example for me and I’ll seek to be an example for you
and together we will

“make each other better”.

You approach me when you see something that needs to be addressed and
I’ll approach you … we will be one another’s eyes and ears and as a
result the cause of Christ will flourish in our midst!

Final Thot …

The building of a LIFE just like the building of a CHURCH is intended
to be a GROUP EFFORT!

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Pastor Mark Mikels
- October 1, 2006

“I WOULD
DO ANYTHING FOR THEM!”

Church Under Construction – Relational Phase #2

Intro … Last week we entered into the third phase of this spiritual
construction project we are involved in … the relational phase. I
said last week that this is the phase “where the fun starts” for this
is the phase where we begin to focus upon the quality of life that is
to be enjoyed by the family of God that lives inside the “Church” (the
house) that Christ is building right here in our midst.

During the course of construction we will be examining several Biblical
Relational Directives (the “one anothers” of the Scripture) that
describe the kind of life God intends his family to experience.

Last week we considered Biblical Relational Directive #1 …

“Be Devoted To One Another In Brotherly Love” – Romans 12:10

The title of last week’s message arising from that directive was …

“These People Are So Special To Me !”

Today’s Meditation is entitled … “I Would Do Anything For Them !”
and it grows out of Biblical Relational Directive #2 …

Biblical Relational Directive #2 …

“LOVE one another … AS I have LOVED you, you are to LOVE one
another.”

John 13:34

Last week’s directive also included the concept of love but it was
“brotherly love” – a love based on family connection and affection.

In today’s directive Jesus uses the word Agape (Divine Love) … and
that choice stimulates the observation expressed in Today’s Key Concept
…

Key Concept …

“AGAPE has more to do with DOING than it has to do with FEELING.”

Agape could be defined as “well-intentioned benevolence” … the desire
to see its object benefited or blessed in some necessary way.

Three quick Biblical Examples …

Biblical Example #1 … perhaps the most familiar verse of all.

“God SO LOVED (agaped) the world that He GAVE…” – John 3:16

God’s agape saw man’s need and stimulated decisive action … He gave
His own son as a solution for man’s need. He set in motion things that
would allow man’s need to be met.

Biblical Example #2 … the events surrounding the last supper.

“He now showed them the full EXTENT of His LOVE” – John 13:1

As an object lesson of agape in action, Jesus humbled himself and took
upon himself the task of a lowly servant and “washed his disciples’
feet”.

Agape says, “If there’s a need in the lives of those I love and I can
meet it, I will”.

Now it was in the context of that incredible service to his disciples
that Jesus gave the relational directive that we focus on today …

“As I have (just) demonstrated my agape to you, you are to agape one
another.”

It’s interesting that John used the expression “full extent of his
love” to describe not Jesus’ incredibly noble sacrifice on the cross
but to describe his incredibly lowly sacrifice at the table.

Is it possible that it takes “more love” or a “fuller understanding of
the nature of agape love” to do the menial thing than to do the
extraordinary thing?

It’s almost as though John were saying … “If Jesus would stoop to
wash our dirty feet, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for us – how great
must be His Love!”

The menial task doesn’t get the notoriety, the menial task doesn’t
require exceptional ability, the menial task doesn’t promise great
result or benefit … it simply needs to be done and usually can be

done by anyone – even by the Son of God!

There is simply no missing John’s intention … we are to “agape” just
like Jesus “agaped” – if there’s a need we can meet in the lives of
those we love, then we are to meet it.

Biblical Example #3 …”Jesus LAID down his LIFE for us ” 1 Jn. 3:16

The Apostle John who, of course, experienced that final supper with
Jesus wrote many years later to a brand new generation of believers …

“This is how we know what agape is: Jesus Christ laid

down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives

(our possessions, our comforts) for our brothers.”

Agape establishes a priority that says, “You are more important than
me” – if what I have can meet your needs, then I will put “my stuff” at
your disposal. That’s exactly what Jesus did as he “laid down His life
for us”.

The Communion we share together this morning is intended to remind us
of that incredible agape love Jesus demonstrated on the cross. It is
also intended to remind us of the directive Christ gave us to so love
(and serve) one another.

Final Thot …

People committed to LOVE are people committed to SERVE.

Download File

Pastor Mark
Mikels – September 24, 2006

“THESE PEOPLE
ARE SO SPECIAL TO ME”

Church Under Construction – Relational Phase #1

Intro … Today is the day that this whole series “Church Under
Construction” starts to be fun … I say that because today is the day
that we actually begin to talk about the kind of life that the family
of God is intended to enjoy and I firmly believe that it was from the
heart of Jesus that Walt Disney stole his key description of Disneyland
- “the happiest place on earth”.

God never intended Disneyland to be “the happiest place on earth”. He
intended His Family – Christ’s Church – to be that place. Scattered
throughout the New Testament is an entire collection of descriptive
phrases that highlights the kind of life that members of Christ’s
Church are intended

to experience.

And believe you me … anyone who experiences the kind of relational
life that the New Testament describes will be living an incredibly
happy and blessed life.

Are you ready to check it out? Or do you already know it to be true?

Now here’s the deal … these blessings only come to those who are
confidently living their lives inside the security of the church
structure Christ is building …

Now that structure requires a foundation … and we have seen over the
past few months that the foundation upon which Christ’s Church is built
and upon which we stand as we live our Christian lives is formed out of
the Basic Doctrines of the Christian Faith.

That why we spent eight weeks or so working our way through our Sonlife
Statement of Belief – we’ve come to know exactly what it is that Christ
is building His Church upon – we’ve come to know just

how solid a foundation we stand upon.

Those who reject or deny these basic Christian doctrines are unable to
enjoy the blessings of the family life because they have not yet
entered into the structure … they have not yet committed themselves
to take their stand upon the foundation that underlies the structure
itself.

They are still on the outside looking it – they might observe the happy
family inside but they will not share that delight themselves until
they definitely decide to come in.

Now there’s a second thing … in addition to a solid foundation, this
structure that Christ is building called “The Church” also requires a
well-laid out framework … a carefully defined set of behavioral
standards that establishes the understood boundaries within which the
family life will be enjoyed – the walls and ceilings, if you will.

To that end we spent several more months working our way through our
Sonlife Covenant of Behavior – a series of statements that define the
boundaries of the Christian Life – a series of statements that define
as well the family that will be sharing this home together.

And now, finally, we are ready to talk about the quality of the life
Christ intends to be experienced inside this well-designed, carefully
constructed structure He has built.

We are ready to move into the relational phase of His Construction
Project … it’s in this phase of Christ’s work that His House becomes
our home.

I want you to imagine that each of the messages in this section of our
series is taken from plagues that might be found hanging on the kitchen
walls – you know like the Pennsylvania Dutch wall hanger that says,
“Kissing don’t last, cooking do”.

Each of these messages will focus on one Biblical Relational Directive
that, if followed, will cause the church family to truly be “the
happiest and the most blessed place on earth”. We might call them the
“One Another Directives”" of the New Testament.

The truth is … if followed, they will make your own personal family a
pretty happy place as well.

So then let’s consider …

Biblical Relational Directive #1 …

“Be DEVOTED To One Another In BROTHERLY LOVE”

Romans 12:10

Now who wouldn’t be happy and feel blessed to live in a place where
everybody is devoted to you … where everybody thinks you are pretty
special … where everybody treats you like you are

someone special?

Now turn it around … who wouldn’t be happy and feel blessed to live
in a place where all the people

you are devoted to also live? Everyday you get to hang around with the
people that you think are the greatest!

What a blessing that would be. The family of God – the church – is to
be just such a place.

Notice the family terminology that Paul uses … “Be devoted to one
another in “brotherly love” … here Paul employs the Greek word
“Philadelphia” … it’s because we are “brothers in the Lord” that this
devotion is possible.

We are to see one another in relation to the Lord to whom we are
absolutely devoted – thus our devotion to the Lord spills over to those
who belong to Him.

Here at Sonlife Community Church this devotion should express itself
both generally … we are devoted to every member of the Body … and
specifically … we are devoted to every member of the particular

Cell Group or family group to which we belong.

Human beings who are devoted to one another – who are genuinely
delighted in one another’s company – not only feel blessed, they
attract attention.

Though we might all have a pretty good idea of what it means to be
“devoted to someone” or to a “group of someones”, let me flesh it out
just a bit more by sharing from other New Testament Scriptures …

Three Examples Of Devotion In Action …

1. ACCEPT ONE ANOTHER … Romans 15:7

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to
bring praise to God.”

People who are devoted to one another, accept one another just as they
are … we might say, “warts and all”. It doesn’t matter what they look
like – what they dress like (within reason) – how much education they
have … how big or small their bank account is … what background
they come from.

The thing that makes them acceptable is that they share a bond with us
in Christ … they have been accepted by Christ just as we have been.
We didn’t earn His Acceptance and our fellow believers don’t need to
earn ours. It comes automatically with our entrance into the family.

To use our image of the moment … acceptance comes to every person
“living in the house that Christ is building”.

Now keep in mind that all those who are, in fact, living in that house
Christ is building have already shed themselves of a lot of otherwise
unacceptable things …

They have shed themselves of their own intellectual pride – they have
accepted God’s Word to be the final word on all matters it addresses.

Listen carefully … God doesn’t tell us to accept or be devoted as
brothers to those who deny the clear teachings of the Christian Faith
or who are still in the process of coming to grips with it.

To them we witness and for them we pray as we seek to lead them to full
faith in Christ. Them we love even as Christ has loved us but we can’t
yet “accept” them for they are not yet members of the family.

They are still “outside the house” as it were – they are the lost and
“acceptance” is something that is conditioned upon their decision to
yield their heart and mind to Christ.

Those living “inside the house” are those who have shed themselves of
their own intellectual pride – they have accepted God’s Word to be the
final word on all matters it addresses.

They have also shed themselves of their own willful, sinful ways – they
have adopted for themselves the lifestyle laid out in the Scripture.
They are seeking to live a life that is pleasing to God and thus are
highly motivated to follow the guidelines for living laid down in the
Scripture. (Perfection is not in view here but persistence is.)

Thus those who are “living in the house” – those whom we are to “accept
as Christ has accepted us” are those who have (to use the terms that we
find familiar) embraced both the Doctrines laid out in our Sonlife
Statement of Belief and the Standards laid out in our Sonlife Covenant
of Behavior.

It’s those very life decisions that underlie our sense of devotion to
every house member … we accept them sincerely – warts and all -
because we can distinguish between that which is substantial and

that which is merely superficial.

To feel accepted in Christ and by Christ’s People is a marvelous
feeling. To communicate acceptance to those around you – to those you
know are your fellow believers – is an almost magical thing. It creates
in the midst of this highly competitive and suspicious world a very
happy place.

Now here’s a second example of “devotion in action” and it surely is
easier to do once we have learned to “accept one another” …

2. LIVE IN HARMONY WITH ONE ANOTHER … 1 Peter 3:18

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic,

love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

One way to live “in harmony with one another” is simply to refuse to
let every little thing become a big deal … (example – you come in on
Sunday morning and someone is “sitting in your seat” … now that
presents a real potential “threat to harmony”!

It also presents a real opportunity to practice saying “No big deal”
and simply go sit in “someone else’s seat” and let them also
participate in this Biblical Directive!

However, the best way to “live in harmony with one another” is for us
to consciously keep our focus on the things that we all hold in common
- our common faith in Christ and our common commitment to live lives
that are pleasing to Him.

When we do that we just automatically “live in harmony” because we
“are” in harmony … we are like “peas in pod” … and there’s nothing
that feels better – that can better generate feelings of gratitude and
happiness than to truly be “living in wholehearted harmony” with your
fellow man.

And it all comes of “being on the same page” and “valuing the same
things” and “experiencing the same reality” … and in this fallen
world, God intends it to happen in the Family of God – the happiest
place

on earth!

And now we come to a third and final example of devotion in action …

It’s an action that pretty naturally occurs when people who “Accept One
Another” and who “Live In Harmony With One Another” – that us, when
people who are “Devoted To One Another” – encounter one another …

3. GREET ONE ANOTHER … Romans 16:16

“Greet one another with a holy kiss.”

Now, of course, the form the greeting takes must be culturally
determined … (kissing may not be the most acceptable form) – the
point is, there is warmth and delight communicated when one member of
the Family of God sees another.

Think of the person that you cherish more than any other … think of
how your heart leaps when that person comes into view. Do you not run
to greet him or her, especially if you spotted him/her before he/she
spotted you?

Anyone watching can tell pretty easily how you feel about the person
you have just “greeted”.

Now, members of the same household of faith should feel something like
that for one another

when they encounter each other. The thought process might go something
like this …

“Here is one of my own family … here is someone who believes as I
believe – someone who seeks to live the same way I am seeking to live.

Here is someone who reinforces and confirms everything about my own
commitment as a follower of Jesus Christ … Here is someone to whom I
do not have to explain myself – or defend myself … Here is someone
who doesn’t consider me to be weird or old-fashioned or out of step
with the times or living in some sort of fantasy world.

Here is a brother or sister in Christ – a member of my own local
fellowship – one who has committed him or herself to the very same
belief system and behavioral standards that I have. How fortunate that
I have encountered him or her – how good it makes me feel!”

Those kinds of feelings should only be multiplied when we enter the
fellowship of a Sunday

Morning or into the smaller fellowship of a Cell Group.

“These people are so special to me … I am devoted to them … I am
blessed to be part of their company – they help make this place for me
at this time, the happiest place on earth.”

Final Thot … Our DEVOTION to God will be revealed
by our

DEVOTION to the members of our CHURCH FAMILY.

Download File

Pastor Mark Mikels
September 17, 2006

“MY COMMITMENT
TO MY CHURCH”

Church Under Construction – Behavioral Phase #7

Intro … Today on this Anniversary Sunday we come to the conclusion of
Phase Two of our personal Church Construction Project – the Behavioral
Phase. …read the rest

Download File

Pastor Mark Mikels
September 10, 2006

“MY COMMITMENT AS AN AMERICAN – Part Two”

“My Relationship To My Society“

Church Under Construction – Behavioral Phase #6

Intro … This morning we enter into a section of our Sonlife Covenant where we could easily spend a month but we’re only going to spend a day. It’s the part of the Covenant that outlines what I’m calling “My Responsibility To My Society”. To understand this part of our Covenant we need to acknowledge the truth of  …

Today’s Key Concept …

The fundamental UNIT in God’s Social ORDER is the FAMILY.

From the very beginning of time, God (to borrow Dr. Dobson’s designation) has had a “focus on the family”. God created Adam and Eve and instructed them to be fruitful and to multiply and to exercise responsible dominion     over all the earth. God has used family images to reveal truth about His Own Nature – God the Father and God the Son. Christ has used family images to reveal truth about The Church – it is His Bride.

Jesus referred to the basic dual nature of man when he explained the basis for life-long marriage by saying, “In the beginning God created them male and female … and for this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and be united to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Man’s maleness and woman’s femaleness seeks completion and fulfillment – in the blending of the two in marriage that completion is to be found … and from that blending a family is intended to come and the human race continued and the nature of the church illustrated.

The family is intended to function as a child’s first school house and first church house – in the family is where a child is to first learn the truths of God and the basic realities of life. Ideally, a family consists of a husband and wife committed to Christ who are rearing their children in the nurture of the Lord – a family where the parents demonstrate by example the very godly traits that they would teach to their children.

Ideally, this family together exhibits a kind of unity and commitment to one another that mirrors that of the heavenly family itself.

This is the kind of family that we at Sonlife Community Church would take as our model and our inspiration though we recognize that many factors not always under our control can alter our own experience.

Death can alter that family paradigm … divorce can as well … misbehavior of various types can enter in and force the family to move forward into less than the most ideal circumstances.

We at Sonlife Community Church both promote the ideal and recognize the realities in the world in which we live … We at Sonlife Community Church are committed to helping every family be the healthiest spiritually that it can be. And to that end we at Sonlife Community Church, recognizing that there are numerous threats to the family in
our current American Society, together make the following commitment …

My Sonlife Commitment …

I will stand resolutely AGAINST those destructive, ungodly PRACTICES in our society which threaten the very EXISTENCE of the God-ordained family unit.

Here’s the point … Things that threaten the clear understanding and the free and proper functioning of the family, threaten the clear understanding and the free and proper functioning of God’s Plan for Man …

In our society today, a biblical understanding of the family flies directly in the face of much that is deemed socially acceptable and politically correct and as a result there is much in our current society that directly “threatens the God-ordained family unit”.

Consider then with me this morning A Biblically-Based Family Threat List – (things that do in fact threaten the very existence of the God-ordained family unit – things that God does, in His Word, directly oppose) …

I do not intend to discuss them at length this morning but to simply identify them and link each of them to some appropriate Scripture …

1. FORNICATION and ADULTERY … (1 Corinthians 6:18; Ex 20:14)

“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18)

“You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)

From the beginning of time, there have been kids sneaking around having sex and there have been married men and women cheating on their spouses. Our society today has in many places made it almost standard procedure. The ideas of purity and fidelity have become almost laughable to many. There are segments of our society and places in our country where over 75% of all live births are to unwed mothers – in those segments of our society and in those places in our country, you might as well say that the “god-ordained family unit” no longer exists except as a distant memory in the minds of the older members. This is the result of sexual activity among unmarried people being looked upon as completely acceptable and normal – almost as though there is no recognition that the one activity leads to the other reality. The concept of marital fidelity has also fallen out of mainstream thinking … marriages routinely break up because one partner has “found someone else”. The bottom line of all this is that the concept and the reality of “family” suffers greatly and God’s heart breaks as He surveys the mess that we as a society of people have made of things.

2. HOMOSEXUALITY - (Leviticus 18:22; Romans 1:26-27)

“Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.” Leviticus 18:22

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Romans 1:26-27

We don’t need a thousand verses here … we only actually need one. God is disgusted with homosexual behavior …  It’s perverted and sinful. It’s not an acceptable “alternative lifestyle” … It’s certainly not a form of “marriage” – and people living in that relationship do not deserve the designation “family”.

I suspect that Paul in this passage from Romans was describing the state of affairs in the world prior to God sending the Great Flood in Noah’s day. Mankind had so destroyed God’s Plan for man that God simply decided to “start all over again” with a new family.

If that was indeed the condition mankind had fallen into, then it’s pretty easy to understand why Noah reacted so strongly when his son Ham, looked upon his father’s nakedness in the tent. (Gen. 9:20) Homosexuality destroys family as God ordained it.

Now consider these other threats to the family as we list them in our Covenant …

3. PORNOGRAPHY - (Philippians 4:8)

Pornography is sex by proxy – it’s watching someone else do what we are not permitted or able to do. Pornography fills the mind with images that arouse improper, unwholesome desires. Pornography will in time make almost impossible the feeling of proper, wholesome desires. Possibly Ham gaze upon his Father Noah fell into this category as well.Pornography directly contradicts the instruction in Philippians 4:8 …

Finally, brothers, 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.

Quick test … If it arouses passions that can not be properly and wholesomely expressed then you shouldn’t be looking at it.

4. Spouse and Child ABUSE – (Ephesians 5:28-29; 6:4)

“In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church” (Ephesians 5:28-29)

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

Treating any human being under our care abusively is an affront to God who would desire that all men see His Love in our actions. Abusiveness in the home effectively hides that love – sometimes forever.

5. DRUG Abuse - (Proverbs 23: 29-33; Ephesians 5:18)

Frequently spouse and child abuse arises directly from some form of drug abuse … we take things into our bodies that short-circuit the control that we might normal exercise – we come under the influence of things that have no godly connection.

Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things. Proverbs 23:29-33

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.Ephesians 5:18

If you are going to allow yourself to come “under the influence” of anything, allow yourself to “come under the influence of the Spirit of God“!

Drug abuse destroys bodies – Drug abuse destroys lives – Drug abuse destroys careers and Drug abuse destroys families. It’s on our “threat list” big time. Warn your children against drug use … clean your own life of dependence upon “recreational” drugs (including nicotine and alcohol).

6. Convenience ABORTIONS - (Exodus 20:13)

Let me clarify immediately that almost all abortions performed in this country fall into the category of convenience abortions – I’m talking probably 95% or more. All abortions involve the premeditated taking of innocent human life – the very thing that the Bible prohibits.

“You shall not commit murder” – Exodus 20:13

Whether our laws currently allow it or not, abortion is wrong – it is a sin against God and against the family of man.

7. Unscriptural DIVORCE - (Matthew 19:3-9; 1 Cor. 7:10-16)

Let me say right off the bat – “Not all divorce is a sin” – some divorce is permitted by God though divorce is never commanded by God.

Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” Haven’t you read, he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator `made them male and female,’ and said,   `For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ ?
So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

That’s the Biblical position … Here’s how the Apostle Paul expressed it …

Words from the Lord …

To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

Words from a concerned Pastor …

To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified (brought under a holy and beneficial influence) through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified (brought under a holy and beneficial influence) through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean (possessors of nothing but an ungodly outlook on life), but as it is, they are holy (possessors of a godly outlook and hopefully a genuine godly life).

But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? (There is no guaranteed that he/she would have ever “come around” – you’ve done what you could and now it’s over).

There are legitimate reasons why some marriages end in divorce – both God and our government are concerned that those affected by such divorce suffer as little as possible – from guilt and from financial deprivation.

However, most divorce in our country today is not of that sort … people divorce generally because “it didn’t work out” and that’s not a biblically sound reason and those kinds of divorces definitely undermine the entire concept of secure family life … it’s that kind of thinking and that kind of almost casual action that we are committed to teach and stand against.

And now one final thing that threatens the “God-ordained family unit” and something that actually underlies all the rest of these “family threats”.

We call it in our Covenant …

8. Self-Centered INDIVIDUALISM – (Philippians 2:4-5, 19-21)

Self-Centered individualism first raised its ugly head in the Garden of Eden when Satan convinced Eve and then Adam that watching out for themselves was much better than letting God watch out for them.

“What’s in it for me?” is the key and frequently only concern of the self-centered individual. Self-centered individualism ignores and discounts the needs of others – when those others are family members, the family suffers greatly. The success of the family depends upon a broader outlook … in fact, the family is the very laboratory where
such an outlook is to be practiced.

Hear these words from the Apostle Paul …

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus … (He actually sacrificed himself for us).  I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also maybe cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.

Resisting self-centered individualism is fundamental to protecting the family unit as God ordained it to be.

In conclusion then …these eight practices of our current society are practices against which we as a Church Body are committed to resolutely stand and standing resolutely against these practices means teaching our children the true Biblical standards and demonstrating to them in our daily lives the true Biblical realities.

It also means opposing the things in our society that contribute to these practices … might be by prayer, it might at times be by protest, and it might at times be by our participation in the election process.

Final Thot … A solidly committed Christian Community is SOCIETY’S best friend!

Download File

Pastor Mark Mikels
August 27, 2006

“MY COMMITMENT AS AN AMERICAN -
Part One”

“My Relationship To My Government”

Church Under Construction – Behavioral Phase #5

Intro … Our theme these past few months has been “Church Under
Construction” for we have seen that even as we are engaged in building
a church structure on the corner of Apple Valley and Ottawa Roads, so
the Lord Jesus is engaged in building the church congregation that will
assemble within it. You and I are the raw materials the Lord is using
to build that special congregation – He is shaping us and refining us
and then arranging us into a spiritual structure that will suit His
Purpose in this little corner of His Kingdom.

We have seen that this construction project will proceed through four
distinct phases … the doctrinal phase where we come to understand the
key teachings of the Christian Faith, the behavioral phase where we
will we exposed to key practices of the Christian Life, the relational
phase where we will explore key inter-actions within the Body of Christ
and finally the evangelistic phase where we will discuss our outreach
to the world. So far we have completed the doctrinal phase and we are
currently right in the midst of the behavioral phase.

During the doctrinal phase we carefully examined the statements
contained in our Sonlife Statement of Beliefs and now in the behavioral
phase we are proceeding statement by statement through our Sonlife
Covenant of Behavior. Here are the statements we have covered so far
…

The Behavioral Phase of Construction

I will seek to worship God in spirit and in truth as a continuous
practice of my life and I will commit myself to a regular study of
God’s Word so my mind might be renewed and my life transformed by its
truths.

I will make my time, energy, and personal resources available for God’s
use knowing that all I am and have is simply a trust from Him and I
will invest my finances cheerfully and sacrificially in the work of the
Lord, taking the Biblical “tithe” as my guideline for giving.

I will endeavor to give positive witness of my relationship to Jesus
Christ by word and deed in every circumstance in which I am placed and
I will refrain from any activity or practice of life that might
discredit the name of Jesus, harm the temple of the Holy Spirit (my
body), hinder a fellow believer, or cause my personal testimony to be
compromised.

(John 4:23-24; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; 2 Timothy 3:15; Romans 12:1-2)
(Psalm 24:1; Matthew 25:14-18; 1 Corinthians 4:1; Malachi 3:10; Matthew
6:19-20;

1 Corinthians 4:7) (Acts 1:8; Colossians 3:17; 1 Peter 2:15) (Romans
2:24; 1 Corinthians 6:19-10; 8:9; 1 Timothy 4:12b, 15-16; Proverbs
23:29-35)

That’s quite a list of commitments … that’s quite a blueprint that
the Lord is following as He seeks to form us into a spiritual structure
that will honestly bear His Name and accurately reflect His Cause.
Today we examine the next commitment that’s on the List …

Here’s how it reads: I will fulfill my responsibilities as a citizen of
this land by: respectfully submitting myself to the authorities that
God has placed over me, carefully informing myself on public issues of
moral concern, and prayerfully involving myself in the political
process through which leaders are chosen so that reasonable,
God-fearing men and women might be placed in all levels of government.
(Romans 13:1-7; 1Timothy 2:1-3)

You see … we as members of Sonlife Community Church and as followers
of Jesus Christ have certain Biblically based responsibilities as
citizens of this great nation in which we live. We cannot be a true
Church of Jesus Christ unless we take those responsibilities
seriously. Jesus Himself would build us into a congregation of
committed Christian Americans.

So what does it mean to be a “Committed Christian American” – What
specifically are my responsibilities as a Christian American to my
government?

Our Sonlife Covenant identifies three. We call them this morning …
THE ACTIONS OF A COMMITTED CHRISTIAN AMERICAN:

1. I Will Respectfully Submit Myself … Be OBEDIENT

“I will fulfill my responsibilities as a citizen of this land by …
respectfully submitting myself to the authorities that God has placed
over me”

That action arises directly from Scripture … Romans 13:1-5

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there
is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities
that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels
against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and
those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no
terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want
to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and
he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you
do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is
God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only
because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.”

This is ground that we have covered before … Followers of Jesus
Christ have no option but to submit themselves to those who rule over
them as long as those who rule over them are not requiring them to do
something that is morally or biblically wrong. Generally speaking,
Christ would have his followers obey the laws of the land and
respectfully submit themselves to the governors of the land. Generally
speaking, government officials should see the churches of their
community as their allies not their enemies.

But there’s more that makes up our citizen commitment …

2. I Will Carefully Inform Myself … Be AWARE

“I will fulfill my responsibilities as a citizen of this land by …
carefully informing myself on public issues of moral concern.”

Now here’s something that the Apostle Paul could not have imagined. In
this great land, to some degree every citizen is part of the ruling
body. Any law-abiding citizen can run for office and can share in
determining who in fact gets elected to office. To some degree every
citizen is accountable to God for the moral condition of the country.

It is the responsibility of a Christian American to become informed
regarding the state of affairs in the nation and in the part of the
nation in which they live because our American Constitution gives every
law-abiding citizen a say in what happens. Our Constitution is build
upon solid moral principles – principles that have allowed this nation
to prosper. I believe that a careful study of the Constitution will
uncover grounds for a rigorous defense of things that are morally
right.

As I’ve said before … the challenge for any Christian in government
(especially in national government) is to find “Constitutional Reasons
to do what is Biblically right”.

A government official in this country can never and must never defend
his decisions by saying “The Bible Says” … he must defend his
decisions by saying “The Constitution Says …” On local levels the
appeal might be “the contract says” or “the ED code says” …

And so it is imperative that we, as the most junior members of the
governing structure, carefully inform ourselves on public matters of
moral concern so we know what and where the issues are that our leaders
need to address. In our next message (“My Responsibility To My Society)
we will focus on several of those very issues but for today we
recognize the commitment to “carefully inform ourselves” …

And now there’s one more action that our Covenant says a Committed
Christian American and we as members of Sonlife Community Church

will take and that is …

3. I Will Prayerfully Involve Myself … Be ENGAGED

“I will fulfill my responsibilities as a citizen of this land by …
prayerfully involving myself in the political process through which
leaders are chosen.

Here’s the Scripture that suggests such a commitment … 1 Tim. 2:1-4

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and
thanksgiving be made for everyone– for kings and all those in
authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness
and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all
men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

Surely if we are to pray for those who are in office it follows that in
this country we would prayerfully concern ourselves with the process by
which men and women are put into office. In a certain sense a church
should pray as much for the Lord’s leading when facing an election as
it does when it faces the calling of a pastor. In both cases they are
asking God to fill one of the positions of authority that He has
established in the world of men.

So what does it mean to “prayerfully involve myself in the political
process” …

Certainly it means “voting intelligently” … it might mean “actively
supporting a candidate” … it might even mean “running for office”
yourself!

And to what end are these “Actions of a Committed Christian American”
taken? Consider now …

THE ASPIRATION OF A COMMITTED CHRISTIAN AMERICAN:

That REASONABLE, God-fearing Men and Women be PLACED In all LEVELS of
Government!

“I will fulfill my responsibilities as a citizen of this land … so
that reasonable, God-fearing men and women might be placed in all
levels of government.”

That’s what we desire … that’s what God desires … that reasonable,
God-Fearing Men and Women be placed in all levels of government – Men
and women who will uphold and reward that which is right and good and
who will stand against and punish that which is wrong and harmful.

May God stimulate our hearts to take up the call to truly function as
Committed Christian Americans! May Christ successfully build us into
just such a church body – a body of believers who function absolutely
biblically in relationship to the government under which they exist.

To that end I would share with you this …

Final Thot …

GODLY leaders leading well bring BLESSING to the people they GOVERN! So
SEEK them out – put them in OFFICE and PRAY for them once they are
there!