Sunday, February 24, 2008
Lifehouse "Everything" Skit
This is a great skit that speaks for itself. If you haven't seen it yet, enjoy. If you have seen it, I'm sure you'll watch it again. Don't mind the 70's style Jesus suit (it's standard issue..LOL), but just pay attention to the message that it gives. It's pretty powerful.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
"My father was a wandering Aramean..."
Ok, so you're probably wondering what the heck is the above quote all about. It is based on a sermon given at Mars Hill Church on 10/27/07. Before I begin, I would like to explain the meaning behind it and get some feedback from you about your story.
The quote is actually derived from the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 26 (v. 5). Just to give you a little bit of a background, the book of Deuteronomy is located at the end of the first 5 books of the Law (or the Torah) in the Old Testament. The Torah was the law given to the Israelites when they were brought out of Egypt. It was given to a generation who had been wandering in the desert and God was going to bless them. Right now in the story however, they are poor. They have very fresh memories of oppression, suffering, and slavery. God is going to bring them into a new land, but he tells them that when they enter that new land, when He blesses them and gives them a new life, He wants them to remember Him (vv. 1-9). He basically says, "When I bring you to this new place, it is going to be a great temptation to forget your story."
When the Israelites enter the new land, possess it and live in it, God wants them to say three things:
1. (v. 3) "I declare this day to the Lord my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us."
God wants them to declare that they have entered the new land and what God has done for them. Sometimes we are tempted to believe that God doesn't want to bless us, that we should feel guilty for what we have. But God delights in taking these refugees, these people that have suffered and pours out His blessings on them.
So what is God asking? He is asking them to take the fruits of their blessing (v. 2) and declare that God has blessed them and kept His promise (v. 3).
2. (v. 5) "My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation."
Another translation reads, "My father was a homeless refugee..." Now think down the road. Hundreds of years have passed since Egypt and the Israelites wandered in the desert and Israel has become a rich and powerful nation. God is essentially saying to them, I want you to always remember your story: you were once a homeless, wandering refugee. Never forget your story. Remember the Egyptians subjected you to hard labor and there is pain in your story. God wanted Israel to never forget that pain. He wanted them to always remember their story, to remember that time of suffering in their past.
(v. 7) "Then we cried out to the Lord..." Israel had reached that place of desperation; that time when they had no other hope. Part of their story was not just to remember their suffering, but that time when they cried out to God.
(v. 8) "And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders." They were not only to remember their pain and their crying out, but also God's great deeds. So when they came into the land, they not only declared it and told it with all its pain, but they were also to declare what God had done for them.
3. (v. 13) "I have removed the sacred protion from my house, and also given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow..."
When they bring their first fruits and put it in a basket (v. 2), that food is given to the Levite, the widow, orphan, and alien. The Levites were those who were, by decision, unable to care for themselves because they were too busy caring for others. The widow, orphan and alien, by their circumstance, were unable to care for themselves. So God is essentially saying to these wandering refugees, "When you come into this land, when I bless you as I have promised to do, I want you to not only declare what I have done, but of who you are. I want you to tell your story. Then I want all of that fruit, all of the results of your faith to work out for justice, for the weak and poor--for others."
The question then becomes, will they remember that their father was a wandering Aramean? God is basically telling the Israelites, "Years from now things are going to go really, really well for you and I know human nature." Human nature is when things go really, really well--you forget God because you are fine and everything is going great. Human nature is also when you crash and burn and say, "God where were you?!" and God's response would probably be, "Where were you?! Because I've been here the whole time." So human nature is when things go really well, we simply forget.
What does it all mean? Don't forget your story! Because when you are prosperous and successful every force around you is going to want you to think that it is all about you and you are going to forget just how bad it was. You are going to forget God's grace and that life is a gift.
How do you keep your story alive? By extending to others what God has extended to you. In extending grace to somebody who needs it, you are reminded what God has done for you. Face it, there are times when all of us have said, "What do I have to do with that person?" Or, "What do I have to do with those people over there in that country?" Why care about them? Because God says that when you become successful, when everything is ok, it will be very easy to forget about what it was like back then in your own life.
So what is your story? What has God done in your life (big or little)? What are those events that have shaped you? How has God touched your life? Was it through a car accident, illness, surgery, death of a loved one, bankruptcy, divorce, or recovery from an addiciton? Or perhaps was it through something beautiful like being loved by another when you didn't deserve it, being forgiven, supported, the birth of a child, or perhaps seeing the strength of someone else who is suffering?
Is there pain in your story? Is there suffering? Was there ever a time when you just cried out to God? What is your, "My father was a wandering Aramean...?" It can be brief or long, anonymous or named. I'd love to hear your story.
The quote is actually derived from the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 26 (v. 5). Just to give you a little bit of a background, the book of Deuteronomy is located at the end of the first 5 books of the Law (or the Torah) in the Old Testament. The Torah was the law given to the Israelites when they were brought out of Egypt. It was given to a generation who had been wandering in the desert and God was going to bless them. Right now in the story however, they are poor. They have very fresh memories of oppression, suffering, and slavery. God is going to bring them into a new land, but he tells them that when they enter that new land, when He blesses them and gives them a new life, He wants them to remember Him (vv. 1-9). He basically says, "When I bring you to this new place, it is going to be a great temptation to forget your story."
When the Israelites enter the new land, possess it and live in it, God wants them to say three things:
1. (v. 3) "I declare this day to the Lord my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us."
God wants them to declare that they have entered the new land and what God has done for them. Sometimes we are tempted to believe that God doesn't want to bless us, that we should feel guilty for what we have. But God delights in taking these refugees, these people that have suffered and pours out His blessings on them.
So what is God asking? He is asking them to take the fruits of their blessing (v. 2) and declare that God has blessed them and kept His promise (v. 3).
2. (v. 5) "My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation."
Another translation reads, "My father was a homeless refugee..." Now think down the road. Hundreds of years have passed since Egypt and the Israelites wandered in the desert and Israel has become a rich and powerful nation. God is essentially saying to them, I want you to always remember your story: you were once a homeless, wandering refugee. Never forget your story. Remember the Egyptians subjected you to hard labor and there is pain in your story. God wanted Israel to never forget that pain. He wanted them to always remember their story, to remember that time of suffering in their past.
(v. 7) "Then we cried out to the Lord..." Israel had reached that place of desperation; that time when they had no other hope. Part of their story was not just to remember their suffering, but that time when they cried out to God.
(v. 8) "And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders." They were not only to remember their pain and their crying out, but also God's great deeds. So when they came into the land, they not only declared it and told it with all its pain, but they were also to declare what God had done for them.
3. (v. 13) "I have removed the sacred protion from my house, and also given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow..."
When they bring their first fruits and put it in a basket (v. 2), that food is given to the Levite, the widow, orphan, and alien. The Levites were those who were, by decision, unable to care for themselves because they were too busy caring for others. The widow, orphan and alien, by their circumstance, were unable to care for themselves. So God is essentially saying to these wandering refugees, "When you come into this land, when I bless you as I have promised to do, I want you to not only declare what I have done, but of who you are. I want you to tell your story. Then I want all of that fruit, all of the results of your faith to work out for justice, for the weak and poor--for others."
The question then becomes, will they remember that their father was a wandering Aramean? God is basically telling the Israelites, "Years from now things are going to go really, really well for you and I know human nature." Human nature is when things go really, really well--you forget God because you are fine and everything is going great. Human nature is also when you crash and burn and say, "God where were you?!" and God's response would probably be, "Where were you?! Because I've been here the whole time." So human nature is when things go really well, we simply forget.
What does it all mean? Don't forget your story! Because when you are prosperous and successful every force around you is going to want you to think that it is all about you and you are going to forget just how bad it was. You are going to forget God's grace and that life is a gift.
How do you keep your story alive? By extending to others what God has extended to you. In extending grace to somebody who needs it, you are reminded what God has done for you. Face it, there are times when all of us have said, "What do I have to do with that person?" Or, "What do I have to do with those people over there in that country?" Why care about them? Because God says that when you become successful, when everything is ok, it will be very easy to forget about what it was like back then in your own life.
So what is your story? What has God done in your life (big or little)? What are those events that have shaped you? How has God touched your life? Was it through a car accident, illness, surgery, death of a loved one, bankruptcy, divorce, or recovery from an addiciton? Or perhaps was it through something beautiful like being loved by another when you didn't deserve it, being forgiven, supported, the birth of a child, or perhaps seeing the strength of someone else who is suffering?
Is there pain in your story? Is there suffering? Was there ever a time when you just cried out to God? What is your, "My father was a wandering Aramean...?" It can be brief or long, anonymous or named. I'd love to hear your story.
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