When God spoke to the people at Mount Sinai, His voice created dread.  They became so afraid that they begged “that no further word be spoken to them” (Hebrews 12:19).  By contrast, when God addresses His people today, they hear a better word.

The voice of the living God rings out on Mount Zion in a joyful assembly made up of angels, the spirits of the righteous, and of course, Jesus- the one who mediates the new covenant.  This is not mountain of gloom and fear.  We can be happy and at rest in His holy presence.

Are you familiar with this mountain?

Do you feel a sense of lightness and ease when you think about listening to God’s voice?  Or do act more like the people of Israel who cowered and covered their ears as God thundered from Sinai?

You should find comfort from being with God – not guilt.  You can find relief and confidence from listening to him.

I would invite you to the Summit class that will be having on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m.  We’ll be seeking to join the joyful assembly that listens to God’s better word.  He is full of goodness and wants goodness to flow in Your life.  He is ready to bring you peace if you’ll come into His presence.

In this short series, “The Shoe Fits,” we are looking to answer the question, “What does it mean if I have love for God and love for neighbor as a higher priority in my life?”  I have two major ideas

1.  Our concern will be for others rather than ourselves (see #1 and #2 in the series)

2.  When loving God and neighbor are higher priorities, our private spiritual life will be a higher priority than our assembly time.

Too often, we as Christians place too much confidence in our assemblies to re-energize our faith.  It is healthier to strike a balance where our private devotional life feeds and supplements our times of corporate worship.

If our personal spiritual life hinges on a particular style of corporate assembly, or if our spiritual satisfcation in life rests on a certain grade that we might give our worship time (or preachers, or teachers), then we are really out of balance.  We have given Satan a great foothold with which to manipulate our lives.

We might see ourselves as the great judge and jury every Sunday assembly sitting with scorecards grading worship time.

• I like that song.                 +7 points
• I hate that song.                -5 points
• That was a good video.    +7 points
• I don’t get that at all.         -3 points
• He sure seemed of today, don’t you think?  – 4 points

Today’s Total worship score: 2 points

Who are we kidding?  This kind of thing is terrible.

Having or not having major (or minor) change(s) to the style of our corporate assembly cannot become an end unto itself.

For example, adding tempo to the song, “The Battle Belongs to the Lord” won’t make us more ready to be soldiers for Christ.  And I would add that singing that song standing up, or with your eyes closed, or hands raised, or folded won’t change your character.

And if we are preoccupied with how we sing,”The Battle Belongs to the Lord,” we might fail to be ready to let the battle be his.

In a provocative section of Galatians Paul explains, “In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.  The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love (Galatians 5:6).  What does this Scripture mean to you?

And in Lesson 10 of Tied Together, I reflected on Isaiah 1 where the LORD expresses his complete disdain for worship practices because the people are not making justice and encouragement and advocacy of the weak their priorities.  Does this speak to us today?

I think it does.  Let’s make sure that our private life and ways of following Jesus are in full focus.  And if we can show deference and grace, we’re called to wear that shoe.

It fits . . . really it does.

Today we celebrated at Baky’s funeral as we sang the song, “The Greatest Commands.” Part of the lyrics are adapted from 1 Corinthians 13:7

Love Bears All Things
Believes All Things
Love Hopes All Things
Endures All Things

Father,

Please help us to grow in Christ’s love and wear that love for others to see.  Amen

1.  Our concern should be not for ourselves but for others.

In the first century city of Corinth, Christians were divided into two camps.  The problem centered on the tradition of eating meat that had been sacrificed to a foreign god.   This issue was creating doubt and uncertainty—to the point that people were confused and losing their new-found faith in God.

• Some felt that absolute abstinence was the appropriate response.
• Others were convinced that the food was legitimate to eat.

What Did Paul Think?

“So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: we know that an idol is nothing at all . . . But not everyone knows this.  Some people are still so accustomed to idols that wen they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.  But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do (1 Corinthians 8:4,7-8).”

The apostle Paul knew that food did not make one more spiritual; however he recognized that inherited, ill formed beliefs could make it difficult to understand and embrace the freedom of Christ.  In such a circumstance, Paul encouraged all Christians to support rather than destroy each other.

Paul hoped that in time brothers and sisters would grow and expand their weaker consciences and take a larger view of things.   The overriding principle –“whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” — applied to both meat and non-meat eaters.

• The meat eaters in Corinth had to be conscientious of those whose belief in God might crater.  They could not simply do as they please.  They were not destroy a weaker brother.  They were not to use their freedom as a license to create stumbling blocks for the weak (1 Corinthians 8:9).

• However, the non-meat eaters – those scandalized by the meat sacrificed to foreign gods – had a responsibility as well.  They had to accept the example of Christ and not insist on their own way.   At some point they had to hear Paul’s teaching: “eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience” (1 Corinthians 10:25).  To put it another way, sometimes you have to eat the burger.   Sometimes you make yourself a slave to others to win as many as possible (1 Corinthians 9:19).

The Shoe Fits Everyone!

For today, this will mean that more progressive Christians have to set their own needs aside in favor of more conservative sisters and brothers.  And likewise, more conservative Christians have to care about the needs, concerns and fears of more progressively minded Christians.

Both groups have to care more about each other than being right or wrong about any specific topic.  The personal relationships really matter.

It is possible to be right about an issue and yet entirely wrong in how one treats fellow Christians.  We should feel deep sorrow for whatever would disrupt fulfillment of the greatest commands (that we love God and neighbor)

Mutual concern for one another – despite obvious differences – creates a congregation that prays together, worships together, studies together, laughs together, and lives together.

More to follow . . .

One of the reasons that I love teaching adults is the wisdom and perspective that everyone brings with them.  I’ve been teaching a series with Warren Heffington on Wednesdays this summer called Tied Together.  I put a link for it in the left margin of my blog so that you as readers can take a look at the series.  This post has to do with Lesson #10 which was recorded last Wednesday (August 11^th).

As I have visited with a few people after the class ended, I realize that I might have left a false impression that needs to be cleared up.   The class was entitled “Majoring in Minors,” and I do think this can be quite a problem.  It seems like God’s people need to be reminded that the main things are 1) having a love for God and 2) having a love for neighbors.  Nothing else is important as these two matters.  They are “God’s shoe,” and one size really does fit ALL.

In the class we discussed Romans 14:13, but it may be helpful to look at the entire paragraph:

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.  Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.  As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself.  But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.  If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love.  Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.  Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

Do you feel the sway in this passage?

1.  Everyone has to stop passing judgment and putting up obstacles– meat eaters and non-meat eaters.

2.  The food is not the issue– the people are.

3.  No one can insist on their own way and forsake a loving spirit.

4.  Things that are good should not be spoken of as evil, but as fellow believers they must be patient with each other.

He is telling the entire group – across every division to wear the same shoe.  The question is “Will they wear it?”  I get impression that not everyone is excited about putting on a shoe like this.  They might find it embarrassing or humiliating.  Who would be caught dead wearing that?

And yet – Paul is calling the Roman church to a cease fire over meat and non-meat.  Neither group can really “win” at the expense of their brothers and sisters in Christ.

More to follow – but for now join with me in praying about the implications of this teaching . . .

____________

God,

Our hope and trust is in you.  We pray that this weekend that our hearts can be sensitive to what is really important to you.  Help us to lay aside our pride, our efforts to justify ourselves, and let us be your simple servants.

Through Jesus we pray,

Amen