Manly Revolution

What an incredible weekend at Calvary Wilmington! We had a great turnout for the Manly Revolution men’s conference, powerful worship, hard-hitting teaching, and some super manly completion (let’s hear it for the GREEN team!)!

I really appreciated Pastor Sandy Adams coming to teach, encourage, exhort, and even correct us with God’s word. We learned some powerful truths about being a godly man, a godly husband, and a godly father.  For me personally, I gained a new respect for the responsibility that God has given me to raise up the next generation of world-changers and god-lovers.

This weekend has also given me a vision for the 2012 Men’s Breakfast emphasis, to continue the Manly Revolution here at Calvary of Wilmington. I will be asking you men to pray with me as I seek the Lord to put together the teachings and the events for next year. Starting in 1Q12, we will be focusing our monthly sessions on digging deeper into our role as men, husbands, and fathers.  I can’t wait to see the results!

Yesterday I took my boys to see Courageous, and I bumped into several men from the church (awesome!).  At the end of the movie, the main character stood at the podium of his church and challenged the men sitting in the congregation, “who will stand and fight for our families,” then he answers his own question:  “I WILL!” While that might have been a great movie scene, the question begs to be answered in our own churches:  "Who will stand and fight for our families?"  I hope your answer is "I WILL!"

FYI, if you missed the conference, we will have the conference audio sessions available in about 2 weeks. 

Pastor Clay

The Offering

Dear church, 

recently we have made some changes to our services.  One of the changes was to have one of the pastors come up and pray for the offering.  I have received feedback on this part of our service; some positive, some negative. 

I realize that there will be many perspectives among the church regarding something as personal as the offering, and I know that it is not possible to please everyone regarding this matter, but I do feel it’s important to let you know where our hearts are regarding this part of our service.

As a pastoral staff, our heart is to find a balance where…

1. We ensure the congregation has an understanding of how money and possessions are dealt with in God’s kingdom;
2. We give people an opportunity to participate in His kingdom, both spiritually, practically, and financially.
3. We do not make people feel guilty if the aren't able to give, or don't want to give. 

I realize that having one of the pastors come up to bless the offering may seem we are bringing attention to the offering time, but please know that is not our intent.  Our intent is that our offering would be a time of spiritual worship and thanksgiving. If we get the sense that the way we take the offering is not what’s best for the church and the congregation, we will change it.

Also, we’ve been reminding the congregation about the offering we are taking this Sunday for the Children’s Ministry modular classroom. This follows the model that the apostle Paul gave us in 2 Corinthians 9, as he sent word to the church that he was coming to collect an offering for the saints in Jerusalem. He told them what the need was, that he was coming to pick it up, and that he wanted them to be prepared. He then went on to preach a mini-sermon on giving:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

As it is written:  “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

 – 2 Cor 9:6-15 (NIV)

It is an interesting fact: There are approximately five hundred verses in the bible that deal with prayer, approximately five hundred verses that deal with faith, but there are over two thousand verses that deal with the subject of money and possessions.  Jesus talked about money in sixteen of His thirty eight parables.  While I would not go so far to say that money is a central theme of the bible, or Jesus’ ministry, it is clear that God wants us to understand His principles concerning money and possessions. 

So I will leave you with this:  At CCW our desire is to do all we have been given by the Lord with excellence and integrity, and we will trust the Lord to provide all that we need for every work that He gives us.  There will be times where we let you know what the needs are so that you may seek the Lord regarding your gift, and as Paul noted “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

… till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

...in the multitude of Your mercy.

This coming Sunday is communion service.  To be honest, I was unaware of it until someone texted me and ask about it.  Yes, I have an excuse:  I have been having some serious technical issues with my computer and my ‘smart phone’ (which, it turns out, isn’t so smart!). All of my calendar events were wiped out, including my reminder of Communion this Sunday.

But then as I started reviewing the latter part of 1 Samuel 14, something really jumped out at me.  See I was reading about how Saul, once he saw that the Philistine army was in chaos, made the men of the army take an oath that they would not eat anything until the Philistine army was defeated. His exact words were “Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies” (1 Sam 14:24).

What Saul did was wrong on so many level’s (which we will get into later!), but there was one specific way that stood out to me:  Saul took something that was good and spiritual, a fast, and forced it on his men.

As I read that, and contemplated on our upcoming communion service, I had to ask:  Are we doing it just because it’s on our calendar, and we always do it the second Sunday of the month?  Or are we coming to communion with hearts ready to fellowship with the Lord, and with one another?

I don’t know about you, but I never want to approach something as holy and spiritual as the Lord’s Supper with an attitude of “well, it’s communion Sunday again!”  For me, I am going to take time this week to reflect on who Jesus Christ is to me, what He has done for me, and how I can be closer to Him.  I encourage you to do the same, and then on Sunday let’s come together, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in our presence, and worship our Lord and our King!

But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.  Ps 5:7

 

… till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Does the bible have application for us today?

Edmund Allenby, the "bloody bull"

Last week we learned about how Jonathan used a unique rock formation to his advantage in gaining an upper hand against the Philistines, even though he was on lower ground. God was working supernaturally, through the natural.  God wins the same kind of victories today. In fact, one military man read this account and used Jonathan’s exact strategy to win an important battle. Here is the story from Major Vivian Gilbert, a British Army Officer

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In the First World War a brigade major in Allenby’s army in Palestine was on one occasion searching his Bible with the light of a candle, looking for a certain name. His brigade had received orders to take a village that stood on a rocky prominence on the other side of a deep valley. It was called Michmash and the name seemed somehow familiar. Eventually he found it in 1 Samuel 13 and read there: 

“And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.” 

It then went on to tell how Jonathan and his armour-bearer crossed over during the night “to the Philistines’ garrison” on the other side, and how they passed two sharp rocks: “there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez and the name of the other Seneh.” They clambered up the cliff and overpowered the garrison, “within as it were a half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plough.” The main body of the enemy awakened by the melee thought they were surrounded by Saul’s troops and “melted away and they went on beating down one another.” Thereupon Saul attacked with his whole force and beat the enemy. “So the Lord saved Israel that day.”

The brigade major reflected that there must still be this narrow passage through the rocks, between two spurs, and at the end of it the “half acre of land.” He woke the commander and there read the passage through together once more. Patrols were sent out. They found the pass, which was thinly held by the Turks, and which led past two jagged rocks - obviously Bozez and Seneh. Up on top, beside Michmash, they could see by the light of the moon a small flat field. The brigadier altered his plan of attack. Instead of deploying the whole brigade he sent one company through the pass under cover of darkness. The few Turks whom they met were overpowered without a sound, the cliffs were scaled, and shortly before daybreak the company had taken up a position on “the half acre of land.”

The Turks woke up and took to their heels in disorder since they thought they were being surrounded by Allenby’s army. They were all killed or taken prisoner. And so, after thousands of years British troops successfully copied the tactics of Saul and Jonathan. (Keller, The Bible As History, pages 179-180)

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Does the bible have application for us today?  Just ask Allenby!

Fearless - follow up

Last week we looked at 1 Samuel 14, and how Jonathan was a man that was fearless and full of faith!  We learned four great truths from the scriptures last week:

Lesson #1 - Sometimes we have to step out in faith

We can sit around and hope God raises up someone to go into the Philistine camp…

Or we can stand up and say “here I am God, I’m ready, use me”

Lesson #2 - When we step out into God’s plan, God will meet us there.

We can say “Oh look, God is working over there, that is just so awesome…”  as we sit under our tree.

Or we can get up and get involved in what God is doing!

Lesson #3 - The enemy is not as tough as we think.

We can look at our circumstances, our situation, and think “I can’t be used by God right now, because I have too many problems”, “or I’m too busy,” or “it’s too big for me to handle,” or “it won’t work…”

Or we can get up and face our Philistines in the power of the Living God!

Lesson #4 - Our faith encourages others

There may be people around you that are too afraid to move, paralyzed by their situations, sitting in fear, perhaps even walked away from God altogether.

Saints, when those people see you step out, fearless and full of faith, it will give them the courage to get up, and get back into the fight!

So, where are you today with the Lord?   

Are you like Saul, sitting in the shade of your Pomegranate tree, wondering what to do next?

 Or are you like Jonathan, looking out at the world around you, and thinking “I’m going to step out in faith, and see what God might do through me?”

… till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay