Being Christ Church (4): Spirituality

2014/05/25
Christ Church, Mountain Top

Prayer,
Psalm 6

Children,
2 Samuel 23.13-17

Message,
1 John 2.12-17, Jeremiah 9.23-24

Wealth,
Sex, Power (human struggles)

Poverty, chastity, obedience (monastic vows)

Monastic
spirituality: no wealth, no sex, no power

Domestic
spirituality? For ordinary disciples?

Wealth,
Sex, Power (human struggles)

Lust
of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life (1 John 2.16, traditional lang)

Lust of the eyes – Wealth

      Expensive car, “he deserves it”

      College debt

      Mortgages without down payment

      Slavery to debt

      Slavery to work, work like a slave

Deut
5.12 – Sabbath given to Israel because they had been slaves

Value in Practice: Giving … our
practice and situation

      Secondary: Sabbath

Lust of the flesh – Sex

“Then,
when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is full-grown,
gives birth to death” James 1.15

      Porn, objectify ourselves and others

      Intimate moment: No one else on your mind,
not the past, not a fantasy

Value in Practice: Faithful

      Song of Songs 8.9-10, be either a door or
a wall

Song
of Solomon 8:6, Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for
love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave.

Pride of life – Power

      Control (obsessive-compulsive, and all
other ways)

      Have it your way … not in the life of
discipleship!

      Anti-Serenity Prayer:

      God, grant me

      The anxiety to try to control the things I
cannot control

      The fear to avoid the things I can

      And the neurosis to deny the difference.

Value in Practice: Being Real

      Self-aware, accurate self-perception

      Responsibility, ownership,

            not projected onto others or defined
by others

      Story: Coaching conflict

      Story: David and the water from
Bethlehem’s well (2Sam 23.13-17)

Antidote: The Love of the Father

Not about our guilt, but about sins forgiven – because of Jesus

Not about our weakness, but about our conquest – in Jesus

Not about our desires, but about our deepest longing – “love of the Father”

Jeremiah
9:23-24  Do not let the wise boast in
their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the
wealthy boast in their wealth;  24 but
let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am
the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth,
for in these things I delight, says the LORD.

1
John 2:12-15  I am writing to you, little
children, because your sins are forgiven on account of his name.  13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you
know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, because
you have conquered the evil one.  14 I
write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young people,
because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome
the evil one.  15 Do not love the world
or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the
world …