Grace and Growth

Hope and a Future: “God Resetting our DNA”

Well, the Convention was extraordinary. Some 3500 people came through, and hundreds more came to the Friday night concert. You can read more than you will ever want at Kendall Harmon’s website here. Note the links to lots of photos on his website, too.

I spent most of my time around the edges of the Conference. I picked up Rick Warren in the middle of the night early Friday, and hosted him throughout the long day. It was good to spend a day with Rick, and to get a better measure of the man for it. My impressions of him didn’t change. He seems to be the same up close as he seems at a distance. Genuine, a LARGE thinker, a great gift for strategy and communications, hugs everyone in sight (I had to schedule 10 extra minutes every time I tried to escort him between his room and anywhere; when we were LATE for his talk, I finally said, 'OK, Rick, we are now on a new spiritual discipline - No more hugging for the next 10 minutes!"), absolutely sold out to the Gospel, and quickly able to grasp the measure of the moment.  By the end of the weekend there was a significant friendship between his Purpose Driven movement and evangelical Anglicanism. Another friendship between Rick and a few of the Primates at a long late night Friday meeting formed before my eyes. He makes friends quickly. You can get the substance of his talk here.

People have asked me my ‘takeaway’. All positive. The movement is far deeper now that it was just three years ago. That is perhaps because some with no more heart for this fight have peeled off, and perhaps because too many with lots of heart have suffered. Perhaps most of all, though, God has been shaping us. Resetting our DNA for what inevitably lies ahead.

 

Here are some phrases from Bp Duncan’s summary at the end of the Conference…

“It has all been about choosing Jesus Christ…

About leadership that comes from below and is blessed by above rather than leadership that comes from above and is blessed by below...

The choice is for exile…

The choice is for the new day and the new thing that God is doing…

The choice for one another in the battle…

The choice for truth over accommodation, for accountability over autonomy… for courage…

The choice for worship and scripture and for God’s plan for us… wait on the cloud and the pillar…“

He brought a prophecy from one of our intercessors that summed it up best for me…

“This is what the Lord says… [After General Convention] Dallas was our Palm Sunday. ‘Hope and a Future’ is our Maundy Thursday. Next is Good Friday. Be watchful and be ready. But after that comes the Resurrection and the release of mission in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

How to Love the People You Live With Sermon on Colossians 3.11-4.1 10/30/05

“We use two very familiar failing strategies for managing most of our relationships, ‘Assault’ and ‘Withdrawal’… Almost always, assault and withdrawal are simply an exercise of my power, to build my kingdom and get what I want, no matter the cost to other people. Living with assault and anger and withdrawal shreds your soul. ”

“Into this broken world the Gospel of Jesus comes with God’s own answer, You do relationships ‘With-Christ’”

“Remember who he is talking about when he is talking about Christ. He is the risen, redeeming, ruling, reigning King of the Kingdom. This is the Jesus who is the Son of the Father, the second person of the triune God who, the scriptures tell us, “is love”. This is the Jesus that we take “with us” into every relationship. More honestly, we don’t take him into our relationships with us. Rather, He takes us into his relationships with him. This is the triune God who invites every person into his eternal circle of his eternal relationship.”

 

In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Col 3:11 (NLT)

“Say with me, 'It doesn’t matter...’   Say ‘Christ is all that matters…’ ”

“Because you are inside Christ’s circle of security you can stand through the difficulties of life and the challenges of relationships. You find yourself able to say to your family, “I will serve you. I will love you. I can yield to you. I will give my life for you.”

“This Kingdom is not just a private religious affair, meant to bless home and church. It is a cosmic affair, meant to invade every corner of every city, every place of public discourse, every room of secret decision, every coffee room, every board room, every corner of the cosmos.”

Read the whole message

Look at other St Stephens messages

Putting On Kingdom Clothes Sermon on Colossians 3.1-17 10/23/05

“You cannot get the right clothes for the King’s party in any mall or order them from any catalogue. You can’t make them or buy them or design them, but you must have them. These clothes are not dresses and shirts and shoes like you have at home; they are a spiritual garment.”

“You may ‘dress to impress’, but God isn’t buying it. He sees deeper than our clothing. He sees to the heart. To the depths of our character. He sees the stains, the compromises, the mistakes, the rebellion, the half lies, the critical spirit, the pride at the root of it all. He sees.”

“And then you go to Christ and say, “Lord, take away these rags. Clothe me with your grace.” Then a wonderful miracle takes place. God sends you on a journey to his wardrobe. It is the ‘With-Christ Journey’. This journey has not just started. It is already over. But it still goes on!”

“We are back standing at the doorway to the marriage feast. You have the invitation in your hand. You come to the door with a new address, a new life, a new center. The door is open. You can hear the sounds of the celebration in the great hall...  It is all joy...”

“Now you step into the changing room, take off the old clothes and put the new ones on. Do you know where the changing room is? It is your life upon this earth. That is God’s changing room. You are in it now. And He is in it with you.”

"But you do have to take the old clothes off. He will help you – this is a part of the “With-Christ” journey. But you have to want to. And be willing to. It cannot happen without him. He will not do it without you."

Read the whole message

Look at other St Stephens messages

“Christ Above All” Sermon on Colossians 1.15-2.13 10/16/05

"The #1 best seller of the NYT’s book list for the past several years has been a novel of fiction solidly inside the Gnostic family.  Know it’s name?  The DaVinci Code"

"Jesus is not just a sketch, not just an outline of God, but a full painting.  A clear picture.  Nothing essential is held back.  Do you remember how Jesus himself said it to Thomas? John 14:9  'He who has seen me has seen the Father...' "

"Look up at the stars, look down into the sub-atomic structures and you will see the traces of his handiwork.  Look carefully at your neighbor be he friend or foe, look deep within yourself…   and you will catch a glimpse of his signature - you will understand that all was created: 'by him, through him, for him' "

'That is the power of the sacrifice of Jesus, to reconcile to God (take a breath with me here…) every galaxy,  every nation, every star system, every race, every plant, every planet, every person …  There is nothing beyond his reach."

“People need something far more than a good story.  We need a real life, a changed life, a forever life. A life written by the real Author, a life “free from accusation”, a life stretching out into a redeemed cosmos for never-to-be-told centuries ahead.  There is one place to get that life.  Only one place.   It comes “by him, through him, It goes on forever for him, in him”  Nothing more is needed.  Nothing less will do."

Read the whole message

Look at other St Stephens messages

“Kingdom Increase” Sermon on Colossians 1.3-14 10/09/05

"What Jesus taught about the Kingdom that was so shocking to people was that it is present and available.  His Kingdom is right here, right now, and the doors are open to anyone."

"Jesus had taught that increase was a mark of the Kingdom... Look at the phrase “bearing fruit and growing”.  Behind that phrase is the Greek word for "increase".  Here’s the deal: In the Kingdom of God the "increase" reality is connected to the "Word" reality which is connected to the “God” reality.  They go together."

“The Word of God is a Kingdom power, and you have to learn about Kingdom powers.  It brings “Increase”.  No limits.  No boundaries.  Stretching forth.  Enlarged territory.  Lives redeemed.  Darkness thrown back.  Hope abounding.  Love rising.  Faith spreading. Christ-likeness breaking out!”

“Our minds are what John Stott calls the "control tower of our lives.  If something goes wrong with our thinking, something will go wrong with our lives.”  It’s true.  You become what you think.  That’s why the primary meaning of “repent” is “change your mind”.  So Paul prays specifically and daily for this increase of knowledge and wisdom.”

“Knowing about the Lord is linked to living for the Lord.  Knowledge of God is not given for any other reason.  Not to make us smarter, but to make us holier.  The Christian who knows a great deal about Jesus but has no desire to become like Jesus or act like Jesus is a discredit to the Bible he reads and the God he confesses.  Truth is given not to puff us up, but to build us up.  So Paul prays for increase of a Christ-like life in ‘every way’ and in ‘every work’.  And he knows God will answer that prayer because it’s a Kingdom prayer.”

Read the whole message

Look at other St Stephens messages