worship

evangelism/outreach / God / jesus / ministry / people / prayer / rancho cordova / Sacramento / worship — No Comments
5
Dec 08

God of this city

As I ponder what’s next with the call God put in my heart to share the love & grace of the gospel of Christ, I am reminded of the powerful and thought-provoking words of the song God of This City by Chris Tomlin and how I was moved to tears when I first heard this song. The chorus tells us:

    Greater things have yet to come
    And greater things are still to be done in this City
    Greater things have yet to come
    And greater things are still to be done here

Won’t you take a moment to watch the video and let this song speak to you today?

You’re the God of this City
You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation
You are

You’re the Light in this darkness
You’re the Hope to the hopeless
You’re the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

There is no one like our god
There is no one like our God

[Chorus]
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

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25
Nov 08

The narrow gate is not about doctrinal correctness

On page 274 of The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard writes in regards to Jesus’ discourse in Matthew 7:13-27:

You enter this kingdom community, he first points out, by a narrow gate. That is, there is a correct way to enter, and not just any approach--the “wide way that leads to disaster”--will succeed (vv. 13-14)

He then goes on to say that those leaders that are to be trusted are the ones who actually learn to do what Jesus taught was best. That in calling Jesus Lord or doing great works in his name is simply not enough.

Willard contends it’s about hearing and obeying:

  • “The one who hears him and does what he says accordingly builds the house of his or her life to be totally indestructible. The house is built upon a rock, not upon sand, where the winds of life will knock it down.”
  • “The narrow gate is obedience--and the confidence in Jesus necessary to it”
  • “The fruit of the good tree is obedience, which comes only from the kind of person we have come to be (the ‘inside’ of the tree) in his fellowship.”
  • “Doing what he said, beginning from ‘believe on him whom God has sent,’ we step into the flow of God’s ways, we ‘enter the kingdom of the heavens.’”

Willard concludes that “in actually doing what Jesus knows to be best for us, we build a life that is absolutely indestructible, ‘on the Rock.’” The Rock of course being Christ.

The narrow gate is about doing the will of the Father and not about doctrinal correctness! For all of us that spend so much time studying and debating doctrine, do we sometimes disregard discipleship and living the life we are called to live so that others can see us as continuing to be learners of what Jesus taught, so that we may be trusted? Isn’t it really about being obedient to the Father, living in the grace of Christ’s sacrifice for all, as we give ourselves to him as an act of spiritual worship?

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27
Aug 08

Asian church vs. multi-cultural church, part 1

It’s amazing to me that through a simple question so much information can be found through study and research in order to confirm an answer. I was asked the following question by a Korean friend:

What should be our attitude toward multi-cultural church? Should we seek it out or just build a church without actively seeking it?

As someone that has way more experience on this subject than me, I contacted DJ Chuang and got some insight from him, which he posted on his blog to illicit feedback from others to help as well. Then I started finding that through following blog links that this is a subject discussed a lot within the Asian-American context. As an Asian-American, this interests me a great deal. It seems that there is quite a lot of debate on the issue of having segregated Asian churches in the US or whether we should strive to be an amalgamation of one body within one homogeneous church.

For me, I really feel more comfortable in a multi-cultural church. I want church to be about loving God and loving others and being in-service to my fellow man rather than being served. I feel like being in an ethnic church makes it more about one’s heritage rather than about serving others. In a Korean church, the context of the message is going to be presented in a way relevant to the culture of Korea. Food will cater to Korean taste buds. So, what if God sends a Mexican family to a Korean church? Well, maybe they will connect, but most-likely I think they will feel out of place. Even if they connect, the church is probably so inwardly focused on reaching other Koreans than unchurched Mexican, Caucasian, African-American, Argentinian (etc.) people with the saving grace of Christ for both the Jew and the Gentile, that they will miss out on connecting others to the church and subsequently to the gospel of Christ.

One thing that puts me up against a lot of others in ministry is that I believe church was never intended to be safe and comfortable. The minute it is, where do we need to seek Jesus? If the church is feeling all warm and fuzzy then why would they want to venture out and attract those unlike them to be a part of their community? Jesus called upon the disciples to be challenged and always learning and growing. They were put in situations so risky that at times their life was dependent on whether or not they would be willing to die for their faith in Christ. I don’t think we can truly comprehend this idea in modern-day America.

Looking at the church and it’s amazingly rapid growth under oppression and persecution, it causes me to wonder something. They are Chinese and don’t really have options to worship in multi-cultural churches, but if religious freedom came about, I’m wondering what would happen. As a country that just hosted 200+ nations for the Olympic Summer Games and is reaching out to the US, Middle East & Europe and adopting some of our cultures into their way of life, would they really want to be just a church to the Chinese?

If we are to expect the kingdom of heaven to reign here on earth, will there be ethnically separated churches on that day? Are their segregated streets with segregated worship spaces in heaven? I seriously doubt it! So, we might as well realize that Christ has only one bride and it has nothing to do with our birthplace or skin color. It has to do with our love and faith as we set out in the journey to follow Christ.

For more thoughts, some of which go against my thoughts in this post, take a look at:

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22
Jul 08

Your will on earth as it is in heaven…

I’ve been praying hard about a lot of things lately. Some days I wonder if I’m on-track with what God’s will is for my life. Some days I wonder if I am doing all I can in ministry to see others being discipled and new believers coming to know Christ for the first time.

As I was praying today the two questions that came with immediate answers were:

1. Could I really ever do anything outside of God’s will for my life?

2. What is God’s will for my life

Could I really ever do anything outside of God’s will? I really don’t think so. Even the bad things I’ve done can be used to bring glory to God. It’s crazy how some of those things have worked out, but it just points to proof for anyone that wants to believe that God obviously is in control of everything. In fact, this idea is revealed to us in Matthew 10:29-30 (AMP):

29Are not two little sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s leave (consent) and notice.

30But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

If it were not for God, I could nothing. He knows the number of hairs on my head, therefore he must know what I will do.

As for what is God’s will in my life? Man, I really pray about that a lot. However, I think that is pretty clear. It came to me tonight. Ready to know what seems to be the secret every Christian wants to know? The answer is that God wants me to worship and honor Him all the days of my life and that I am to love others as I want to be loved myself. Christ is in me because as He loves me, His Spirit can move through me to love other people. Loving God and loving others is really what God’s will is for our lives. Jesus explains this in Matthew 22, verses 34-40 in the New Century Version like this:

34When the Pharisees learned that the Sadducees could not argue with Jesus’ answers to them, the Pharisees met together. 35One Pharisee, who was an expert on the law of Moses, asked Jesus this question to test him: 36″Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”

37Jesus answered, ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38This is the first and most important command.39And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ 40All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.”

It’s not about setting my mind to doing more ministry or the right kind of ministry, but if I love God and worship Him and love others then I will be doing His will and I will see the kingdom of earth on heaven and I will know which open doors to walk through and recognize the righteous path to follow on my journey here on earth.

Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

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30
Jun 08

Sunday night thoughts…One Prayer has ended, but…

…the spirit of unity within the body of Christ will continue on! This series has touched me in unintelligible ways because it has shown me that God can do anything and will use anybody all for His glory and purpose. So many things are underneath the surface, but I know that God will bring my experiences to the forefront of my thoughts at the right time as He continues to use One Prayer to help us be a catalyst for change in Sacramento and for drawing people closer together.

With the conclusion of the One Prayer series yesterday (wanted to write this earlier--hence the title--but now it’s actually Monday), here are some of my thoughts:

  • A ton of competition on the preaching this month with me concluding the One Prayer series after our church got to experience video teaching from Ed Young, Jr., Steven Furtick, and Perry Noble. Not to mention that I’ve got Gary Lamb of Revolution Church in Canton, GA on-deck for our mid-week core group gathering this week! I definitely wasn’t up to the task, but I believe God came alive in me and broke a spirit of intimidation today so I’m on my way Big Boys of Preaching! :)
  • God sent us a church today to lead our worship time and to join in fellowship and they thought they were a small church until they met us! No matter what you think, there is always someone with less.
  • Del Paso Union Baptist Church saved the day! Not only did they breathe life into our church like a holy tornado, but they were the most amazing, attentive, appreciative, joyful, and encouraging group of people I have ever had the honor and privilege of speaking to. They allowed me to get my “preaching shoes” on and let loose with a little heat in the name of love. I will never, ever forget your act of service for us as we were just starting out and God is gonna bless you to overflowing because your hearts (and actions) are in the right place!
  • I found out there is a little fire burning within me that needed to be unleashed through some uplifting preaching. Lord, reign in me, reign in your fire, reign in me again, and again, and again…I need you and can’t do it without you.
  • The revolution has begun, and some people are gonna wanna stop and get off. I’ll just have to trust the Lord and not be reactionary.
  • As crazy as it seems to me, it was pretty evident that some in our church took a bit of a competitive spirit for some reason. I’ll need to seek God to find away to get that spirit cast out and sent away permanently as there is no place for it in Christ’s church, ever!
  • I had no clue how much difference the house would feel when people received and responded to the preaching of the Word of the Lord. Wow, was I ever riding a wave of feeling fulfilled and with purpose today, even though the day started of less than desirable through my inability and ineffectual in the worship.
  • So many words to describe the events today, but the one that keeps popping into my head and making me feel giddy is: F-U-N. Today was unbelievably fun and there was true joy in my heart for my God and for His people. I don’t think I would have ever imagined using the word fun to describe a church service, but it isn’t it supposed to be a celebration experience? No question, when it’s working on all cylinders it is indescribable joy in the finest hour.
  • I love being around others that love God! I need to keep that kind of joy when I am around others that don’t love God. I love people that don’t love God and try to connect with many that do not share my faith, but I don’t always have the same joy when that love isn’t mutual to the Lord, and that must stop.
  • Israel Houghton songs really speak to me and minister to my spirit in ways that no other songs can do. Praise you Lord for Israel and New Breed and their music!
  • No matter what successes I witness, nor how affluent the community is that God puts me in, He always seems to be calling me back to my roots and never forgetting where I came from.   I feel like things will take me back full-circle and I will find myself right back where I started. If that’s the plan, I’m ready Lord! May your will be done regardless of where my human eyes want to take me.
  • Lord, please send us some worshipers that want to pour their hearts and souls into loving you through songs and leading others to share in the blessing that comes only from worshiping you in spirit and truth. We are thirsty for some authentic worship that can be led by the King of King and the Lord of Lords and not through human means. No matter what, I praise you for all who surround me and pray that You will continue to cause us to grow together and become all that You plan us to be.
  • If God is for us, who can be against us? Revolution Church Sacramento must be from God, by God, and for God…no if’s, and’s, or but’s. It’s GO time!
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