The Affliction of Faith

In Hebrews 11:23 we are presented with Moses. A baby born to an obscure Jewish family who were toiling away as worker-slaves for the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose I, building the supply cities of Pithom and Raamses.  At that time the Israelites were not only working hard, they were procreating rapidly! Pharaoh looked at the birthrate and knew that at some point in the future, the Israelites would outnumber the Egyptians, and they would be able to revolt and overthrow the dynasty.  So Pharaoh had a solution; Every male born of the Israelites was to be tossed into the Nile and drowned. Problem solved! But something happened with Moses.  His parents, at great risk to themselves, hid Moses away from Pharaohs guards.

Apparently Moses parents knew that there was something special about Moses, and so they hid him away, and they devised a plan to where he would be placed into the Nile right where the daughter of Pharaoh took her daily bath. And through a series of incredible events, Moses was adopted by the Pharaohs daughter, and raised up as royalty. Brought up with all of the royalty of the palace, all of the riches of the royal family, put through the best schools of art and sciences, trained in the most advanced military tactics – Moses had the world at his fingertips.

But then, in one fateful day, Moses came to the defense of an Israelite being beaten by his Egyptian slave-master, and ended up killing the man.  In one moment, with one decision, Moses threw it all away.  Or did he?

You see, in this short but concise review of Moses life, here in Hebrews 11, the writer uses a curious phrase to describe Moses choices.  He uses the phrase “by faith.”  If I were writing this passage, I would have used a different phrase. “Dumb move” comes to mind. “Insane choice” would also work. From a strictly human perspective, we would say that Moses threw away a life of luxury to help a man that he had never met. 

But then there’s that phrase… “by faith.”  That phrase tells us that something else was at work here.  It tells us that Moses was not really inspired by righteous anger or a sense of standing up for the helpless.  Moses was inspired by the thing we have been talking about for weeks: Faith!  But perhaps a different shade of faith.

We have been talking about faith from the perspective of obedience, as with Able and Noah.  We have been talking about faith from the perspective of believing God for the impossible, such as Sarah, or walking into the unknown, as with Abraham.  But in the case of Moses we see faith from a different angle: Faith is walking into the known, realizing that it will not be pretty.  Here, faith is shown as making a choice that we know full well will propel us into a situation that will be difficult, perhaps even deadly. Why would someone knowingly make such a choice? 

Join us Sunday as we explore the affliction of faith.

Pastor Clay

Ministry to Japan

Dear CCW,

Some have contacted us asking how they can minister to the people in Japan affected by the earthquake and tsunami. I have some updated information…

First – PRAY! Pray for comfort for the people, for those who have lost or are missing loved ones.  Pray for the relief efforts, and especially that God’s love would be evident to the people of Japan, 70% of whom say they have no personal faith.

Second – There are relief efforts being coordinated through Calvary Chapel affiliates. Calvary Chapel La Habra is the main church that has developed outreaches and planted churches in Japan, and they have already begin organizing relief efforts through Committed Relief, which began in 1995 to minister to the people affected by the 1995 Kobe earthquake.

You can learn more about how to get involved by visiting their website: 

www.committedrelief.org

Pastor Clay

Washingtons Prayer

I ran across this today in the opening pages of the Army and Navy Song and Service Book for Ship and Field, published in 1942.  It is an open letter, written by George Washington, to the governors of all the states, upon the disbanding of the revolutionary army in 1783.  The ending is Washington's prayer for the nation, that he desired to be read in the presence of each state legislators.

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I have thus freely declared what I wished to make known, before I surrendered up my public trust to those who committed it to me. The task is now accomplished. I now bid adieu to your Excellency, as the chief magistrate of your State, at the same time I bid a last farewell to the cares of office and all the employments of public life.

It remains, then, to be my final and only request that your Excellency will communicate these sentiments to your legislature at their next meeting, and that they may be considered the legacy of one, who has ardently wished, on all occasions, to be useful to his country, and who, even in the shade of retirement, will not fail to implore the divine benediction on it.

Almighty God, we make it our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy Protection, that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to the government, and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large.

And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy nation.

Grant our supplications, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  

(Written at Newburg, and sent to the Governors of all the States on the Disbanding of the Army, June 14, 1783)

The same old lie...

Today I heard one of the most disturbing things I have heard in a long time. A well-known political activist was speaking to a group of college students at a college in Colorado Springs, and he made some very disturbing statements to that group of students:

• He stated that there had been a time in the past that people needed to respect their parents, but that time had passed.
• He stated that this young generation is intellectually superior to their parents.
• That told the students that they were “walking superpowers” thanks to their smart phones and macbooks, etc.
• He told that that they are essentially “like gods”

I don’t think I can remember a more blatant attack on the role of parents, and elders in general. I use this example not to personally rail against this person (although I do believe his rhetoric to be inherently dangerous), but to show you that this is the world system we are up against. We are swimming in closed world system that has been infected by a humanistic and godless perversion that grows stronger over time. These lies and perversion of truth has infiltrated our schools and so-called “institutions of higher learning”. These institutions are indoctrinating our young generation with lies such as:

• Having two dads or two moms is perfectly normal and acceptable.
• That believing in creation is the same as believing the earth is flat.
• That it is good and normal for kids to experiment sexually with one another, and these institutions will provide instruction and birth-control to enable thie behavior, outside of the counsel of the parents.
• That kids really don’t need to listen to their parents, that they should be able to make their own decisions about their bodies and their lives.

Certainly we can work in the social and political systems to resist these trends, and as concerned citizens we should fully carry out our civic duty relating to these matters.

But I believe that the more important point is this: That we cannot allow this world system to shape our children. We must be persistent and determined to train up our children in the truth of the Word of God so that they are not influenced by the lies our enemy, Satan. 

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
– Rom 12:2

Our children are a gift from God, and it is our responsibility, our DUTY as parents, to teach them the truth about God, about life, about humanity – so that they are not sucked into the Satan-inspired humanistic vortex of this age.

What struck me about this particular screed was the almost perfect match with the admonitions of God’s word:

Lie #1 - There was a time in the past that people needed to respect their parents, but that time had passed.

Admonition:
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you – Ex 20:12
Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord – Col 3:20

Lie #2 - This young generation is intellectually superior to their parents.

Admonition:

Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the LORD is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed -- 1 Sam 2:3

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. – James 4:10

Lie #3 - Young people are “walking superpowers”, they are essentially “like gods”

Admonition:
I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images. – Is 42:8
For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; For how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another. – Is 48:11

This talk made me think of when Satan came to Eve in the garden, using a serpent as the instrument to deliver his seed of deception:

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. – Gen 3:4-6

Look at the parallel; it’s the same lie. Essentially Satan told Eve that the information she had been given by her heavenly Father was wrong. He told her that she didn’t really need God anymore, that she was fully capable of making her own decisions, that she could take control of her own destiny. The hook that Satan used to seal the deal with Eve was that He told her “you will be like God”.

Parents beware, Satan will use people as mouthpieces to delivery his clever lies, and that is exactly what is happening in these last days. Be diligent. Be purposeful. Be strong.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. – 2 Tim 4:3-4

Pastor Clay

The Reality of Faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.  – Heb 11:1-2

I think in many ways faith is misunderstood in the Christian culture we live in today.  Some see it as some invisible force through which we can make things happen (if you have faith, you’ll be healed!).  Others see it as a noun to describe religion, “The Christian Faith.”  Some see it as “believing something to be true” which comes closer to the real meaning, but still lacks the complete picture.

The thing is, faith seems to be very important to God, for the bible tell us in Hebrews 11:6 “…without faith it is impossible to please Him.” So if as Christians we want to please God, it is incumbent on us to attempt to fully understand not only what faith is, but how it should be exemplified in our lives, what it should look like.   

As we being this next section of Hebrews, we are going to be confronted with the reality of faith. We will see examples of faith.  We will have men and women held up before us as heroes of the faith. God doesn’t want to keep us in the dark, but wants us to be able to wrap our arms around this simple yet elusive term.  One of the first things we are going to see is that faith changes us.  It is an action word. 

A.W. Tozier wrote:

“Plain horse sense ought to tell us that anything that makes no change in the man who professes it makes no difference to God either, and it is an easily observable fact that for countless numbers of persons the change from no-faith to faith makes no actual difference in the life.”

In other words, if faith is at work in a persons life, there will be a visible, unmistakable change in the nature, character, and actions of that person.  A comment in my Nelson study bible sums it up quite nicely:

“Those who do not have faith cannot see past the physical world around them. They are limited by their temporal circumstances and are blind to what God is doing. But those who open their spiritual eyes can see the spiritual realities which transcend this world.”

Join us Sunday, as we begin our journey of learning about faith!

Pastor Clay