Sunday night the Elders took the opportunity to share with you what we believe is God’s word for our body. We would like to use this forum as an opportunity to continue the discussion about what it means and how we should respond.
Here is what was shared:
Jesus invited us to a great feast and there was a huge table with all kinds of food set out for us to eat. However, when we sat at the table there was silence and discomfort. There was a look of question or bewilderment on the face of Jesus. Our body language indicated that we did not want to be there or we would be glad when it was over, it was almost like we were looking for a reason to leave.
Please remember that following Jesus doesn’t get us where we want to go. It gets us where Jesus goes. Following Jesus is not a skill we aquire, it is obedience. I have been pondering the following questions since last night and wanted to share them with you. We we will also discuss these in your small group. Perhaps this will give each of you time to formulate your thoughts as you submit them to God and our body:
- Why is God speaking to us about something that he has already addressed in our body? What are we missing?
- Why are we uncomfortable sitting at the table with God? Why are we silent? How come we are unable or unwilling enjoying the feast he has prepared? Why are we eager to leave ? Why do we avoid conversation with God and the things of God?
- Like the churches in Revelation what areas are we to be commended and judged? What instruction is God giving us in order to set things right?
- What are the insignificant issues that we are turning into a big deal? Why?
- How have we communicated a lack of humility to God, our body, our leaders, and one another and in what In what ways has that manifested itself? Be specific.
Luke 14, Revelation 2 and 3, and Revelation 19:5-9Revelation 19:5-9
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 A voice came forth from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, the small and the great!”
6 I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns!
7 Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let us give the glory to him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.”
8 It was given to her that she would array herself in bright, pure, fine linen: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 He said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” He said to me, “These are true words of God.”
ryan parker
/ 07/22/2009I am coming to believe that we as a body have developed a false sense of confidence in different areas of ministry and church work. Though our daily duties with family, friends, work, and church we have all developed a certain pattern of living and being. Alot of these patterns are Godly and some of them are not. God has been doing a lot of good in and through us. However, we are as the plant choked by the thorns, or the ruler who can’t sell his possessions. We are deeply interested in God, and His Kingdom but we aren’t full invested in Him. Karen’s “vision” shows that. We are present but not engaged. We accept the invitation of the host but don’t embrace the host Himself. Christianity is something that takes the whole of a person, we must (as individuals and as a corporate body) relearn that truth. Our worship, our prayer, or outlook on evangelism, our obedience must become vulnerable to God’s judgement. Has or patter of relating (to God and each other) caused us to become calous to true communion with God and each other? These questions must be asked and resolved (if necessary). I think as we look into our sins, successes, and failures we will see that God is still desiring us. We must rightly desire Him.
Gavin
/ 07/23/2009This past Wednesday night Viviana, Alicia, Heather, Josh and were able to have a very good conversation about these things. We didn’t cover all of the questions, but here’s what we did discuss. We talkedf about how we’re coming to the table with nothing to say because we don’t have anything to talk about. As we’re gathered around the table of Christ we don’t have the things of Christ in our life to reference to talk about….we don’t have experiences with him. When talking with Teal a couple of nights ago we talked about the same thing. We can quote what God is doing in others lives, but can’t talk about what He is doing in our life.
On that note we decided we MUST become a church with one another rather than a social group. Our relationships with one another shouldn’t be graded on how much time we spend hanging out, but rather how much time we are spending trying to serve with and for one another. In short, cultivating true christian relationships rather than friendships. Having friendships is a bonus we have here at Divine Life, but I feel like that longing to be friends can also get in the way of our true work. At times I feel more concerned with maintaining our my friendships rather than cultivating the work of the Lord in the lives of the people around me. Hope this makes sense.
In terms of practical application I asked our group for help. I view church as a discipline. One we practice in a non threatening environment in order to learn how to live that out every day of our lives. With that in mind we talked about what we can do as a small group to model what we’re talking about more clearly on Wednesday nights. Coming up with things we can practice in order to see other opportunities during the week more clearly. We understand that this makes us pretty vulnerable to the needs around us which is exciting, but it will also demand a lot of time and energy from us which will be different for us.
Sorry this is so long and I hope it makes sense.
Nate
/ 07/24/2009During small group, we ended up having a long discussion over 2 things. 1. The interpetation that we have of Karen’s vision. 2. The meaning of Luke 14 and how it applies to our body. During the discussion about Karen’s vision, a couple of people expressed that they interpreted the vision to be that we were all uncomfortable and felt awkward because we were sitting at the table the way Jesus wanted us to sit and not how we would have sat if it was our own choice. Specifically, one person stated that he/she would not like sitting with people whom she didn’t feel comfortable engaging with due to the fact that they are not friends or have little in common. We discussed Luke 14 also and talked about how the lack of humility and our seeking for acknowledgement affects the fellowship we have with others and the Lord.
Karen Hanscom
/ 07/28/2009Nate, I am not sure if I understand the statement that was made about how we are sitting at the table and uncomfortable because we are not sitting the way we want. What does that mean? Jesus calls us to come just as we are. I think that when we do not know someone very well, that we are uncomfortable and this feel awkward.
If we are uncomfortable in His presence, we must seek to know Him more. The more we know Him, the more we want to engage with Him.
I think that there is not a magic formula for us to follow,but what He is calling us to is to engage. I think that what Ryan and Gavin said is true. We are good at our friendships and good at coming to the table but what we lack is intimacy with God. He wants more from us than our ideas and thoughts, He wants us-our lives!!! We are pretty good about “scheduling” Him in, but He doesn’t just want to be scheduled into our lives. He is the one person that we really can have with us all the time!
I believe that the more we allow Christ to become part of our lives,that the more our conversation will reveal such. I think that some of us are afraid to let our conversation be able the things of God. Some might not want to be like our parents or some might not want to seem “super spiritual” and some for other reasons.