Archives for March 2015

Deliverance isn’t just for the demon possessed, the drug addict or the alcoholic. The Bible teaches we all need deliverance from at least three things: ungodly thinking, ungodly actions and ungodly attitudes. In this post we’ll cover how to find freedom from ungodly attitudes.

We all need deliverance from ungodly attitudes (Exodus 15:24, 16:2, Numbers 11:1,5).

Even once the Israelites were up and out of Egypt, the ungodly Egyptian attitude wasn’t up and out of them! They had such bad attitudes! They constantly grumbled and complained. And they were super ungrateful too! God not only saved them from Egypt, He also provided all their groceries free of charge. Every morning when they walked out of their tents, Panera bagels were all over the ground (back then they called it manna). Were the Israelites grateful? No! Instead, they began to complain that they preferred the food of Egypt more the food from God!

This reminds me of the time I served food at a homeless shelter with my kids. As we served the food some were grateful, but some were very ungrateful. Some of them were picky complaining about the ripeness of the fruit. Some didn’t even look at me but instead would shoo me away with their hand without looking up from their card game. Talk about ungrateful!

Well this is how the Israelites were treating God! The Israelites were slaves to the Egyptians and God set them free! They should’ve woke up everyday rejoicing, not complaining! And the same is true for us! Because God has saved us we should have an attitude of gratitude but instead we complain just like the Egyptians. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Paul wouldn’t have written this unless the Christians he was writing to needed deliverance from ungodly attitudes. Well they needed it and so do we!

So God gave us church to help us find freedom from ungodly attitudes (Exodus 25:8-9).

After saving the Israelites from Egypt, God first gave the nation His laws. Next God organized the nation by tribe. Finally, God gave the nation the Tabernacle – a place for corporate worship – to help them find freedom from ungodly attitudes. God’s cure for the Israelites’ complaining and grumbling and ungratefulness, was to have them gather together to worship. As they praised and thanked God for all He had done for them, they would be reminded of all they had to be thankful for, and this would take care of their complaining and ungratefulness.

When Kristin and I first got a home we were so thankful and thanked God every day for our home for probably the first year. But when things starting breaking our thankfulness turned to forgetfulness. We forgot how the landlord wouldn’t let us paint how we wanted, how the landlord would run over our kids toys as he mowed the lawn, how we would give our money away to someone else vs build equity in a place of our own, how the teenagers on the other side of the duplex would loudly run up and down the stairs late at night, etc. We started complaining so much we about talked ourselves into selling and moving somewhere else! But then we had a talk and we started to remember. We started talking about how bad it was before and how much better is was now. As we did this forgetfulness turned back into thankfulness.

Isn’t it true that it’s so easy to forget all the blessings in our lives? It’s so easy to focus on the two or three things going wrong in life to the point they totally eclipse all the good that’s happening at the same time. When this happens we start complaining. Well God has a solution to this tendency of ours to complain. To counter this tendency God gave us church – a weekly time to remember all we have to be grateful for. This is how we find freedom from an ungodly attitude of complaining, grumbling and ungratefulness. Ephesians 4:23 says that we need to be made new in the attitude of our mind. How does this happen? Well, it happens as we worship! When we worship we find freedom from an ungodly attitude of ingratitude. It’s so important that we’re faithful in church attendance – not because if we don’t we won’t go to heaven – rather because if we don’t we’ll slip back into old habits of having a bad attitude, being ungrateful, complaining and grumbling.

Deliverance isn’t just for the demon possessed, the drug addict or the alcoholic. The Bible teaches we all need deliverance from at least three things: ungodly thinking, ungodly actions and ungodly attitudes. In this post we’ll cover how to find freedom from ungodly actions.

We all need freedom from ungodly actions (Exodus 16:19-20, 16:27, 31:1).

Even after the Israelites were out of Egypt, ungodly Egyptian behavior was still in them! They were very disobedient towards God! God said don’t save any of the manna until morning but they didn’t listen. God said don’t make for yourself any idols. But while God was giving this very command to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai the Israelites were at the bottom making a golden calf to worship. God told them not to work on the Sabbath day but they simply did not listen. Now if anyone ever needed a day off, it was the nation of Israel who were slaves in Egypt for four hundred years. But even though this would’ve been good for them, they rebelled. Why? Because they had a sinful nature – just like we do! The speed limit is there for our good, to prevent disaster, but what do we do? The dentist tells us to floss for our good and the doctor tells us to exercise for our good, to prevent disaster, but what to do we? We know holding a grudge is bad for us, that it’s like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die, but what do we do? We know we shouldn’t spend more than we make and that we should save a little more, but what do we do when we see the next latest, greatest whatchamacallit on amazon or at the mall?

We don’t do the good we ought to do and we do the bad things we know we should refrain from doing because of our sinful nature.  Even the apostle Paul struggled with ungodly actions. He said in Romans 7:19, “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” He went on to say in Romans 7: 24, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” Paul was saying: I need deliverance from this body of mine that has a sinful nature that encourages me in ungodly actions! Well God had a solution for Paul and He has one for us too!

You see, God gave us growth groups to help us find freedom from ungodly actions (Exodus 24-39).  

After God gave the Israelites his laws to help them find freedom from ungodly thinking, he next organized them by tribe to help them find freedom from ungodly actions. That is, God gave them relationships so they would have the support, encouragement and prayers they needed to overcome their ungodly behaviors. We read almost nothing of tribes until God gives them his laws. Then tribes are mentioned 9x from ch 24 through the end of the book. Here’s the message: We need the tribe to help us obey the laws.

Before I started my fitness growth group I could never find the motivation to get up each morning and work out. I would wake up, think about working out, then go back to sleep.  I couldn’t work out consistently on my own because there was no one to let down if I didn’t work out that day, and I had no one encouraging me and praying for me to persevere. But with the help of a tribe I’ve been very consistent. Apart from sickness or extreme circumstance, I haven’t missed a single work out in about six months. This is the power of having a tribe. At New Day we call them growth groups.

God organized the Old Testament Israelites by tribe and the New Testament Church by groups (Acts 2:46).  Some think all they need is the armor of God but those who do have missed Paul’s Ephesians 6 metaphor! A solider never fights alone. He needs an army to fight with if he’s to have any hope of victory and a Christian needs a growth group for the same reason. A growth group is God’s gift to you to help you find the support, encouragement and prayer you need to overcome the ungodly behavior in your life. Paul wrote in James 5:16, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” When it comes to salvation we only need to confess to God (1 John 1:9). But when it comes to deliverance we must confess to others and ask for their prayers. This is a picture of accountability and we need it to find freedom from ungodly behavior.

Deliverance isn’t just for the demon possessed, the drug addict or the alcoholic. The Bible teaches we all need deliverance from at least three things: ungodly thinking, ungodly actions and ungodly attitudes. In this post we’ll cover how to find freedom from ungodly thinking.

We all need freedom from ungodly thinking (Exodus 14:10-11, 16:2, 17:3).

In Exodus 12 God brought the Israelites up out of Egypt, but they didn’t leave ungodly Egyptian thinking behind in Egypt. They brought that with them! Like many irreligious people, the Israelites thought God was out to harm them, not help them! When the Egyptians chased the Israelites and trapped them by the Red Sea, they accused Moses of bringing them out of Egypt just to kill them. When they were thirsty they accused Moses of bringing into the desert so they could die of thirst. When they were hungry they accused Moses of bringing them out of Egypt to starve them to death. What warped thinking! God had just miraculously rescued them from the Egyptians and it wasn’t so He could kill them! Nevertheless, that’s what they thought.

My toddler views me a lot like the Israelites viewed God. He thinks I’m out to ruin his life because when he climbs on top of our very high chairs at the kitchen table, I take him down. But when I take him down, I’m not trying to ruin his life, I’m trying to preserve it!

Though many think God is out to limit their fun – what’s the truth? God brought the Israelites out of Egypt to turn them into a great nation, give them land and bring from the people and out of the land the promised Messiah – to help them, not harm them. And the same is true for us! But our thinking will naturally gravitate towards harm, not help so we need deliverance from ungodly thinking. Paul knew of this tendency to think wrong about God so he wrote in Philippians 4:8, “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Paul wouldn’t have written this unless the Christians he was writing to needed deliverance from ungodly thinking. And we need that too!

This is why God gave us the Bible to help us find freedom from ungodly thinking (Exodus 20:3-17). 

The first thing God did once he brought the Israelites up out of Egypt was give them his laws. Living in godless Egyptian culture they picked up Egyptian ways of thinking: Egyptian world views, Egyptian values, Egyptian principles for living which were contrary to God’s way. So God gave them his laws to reprogram their thinking.

Recently my computer went nuts so I brought it to the Apple Store in Holyoke. They had to restore it to factory settings. Once they did that everything worked great. Well, similarly, when we read God’s word it reprograms our thinking – it restores our mind to factory settings. Living in our godless culture we pick up on godless worldviews, godless values, godless principles for living. God’s cure is the Bible. Paul wrote in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” As we read the Bible our thinking is renewed. So we always encourage people to attend Explore 201 (the second of our four New Day University courses) and to pick a reading plan at bible.com because a steady diet of God’s Word is essential to finding freedom from ungodly thinking. God has given you this tool – are you using it or neglecting it?

Here’s the first sign that you need God…

1. I feel like something is missing.

Pharaoh – the ruler of Egypt – forced the Israelites to work to build his kingdom. But the nation of Israel was destined to help build God’s kingdom. Since they weren’t doing what they were put here on earth to do – they lived with a sense that something was missing.

All growing up I absolutely was obsessed with playing basketball. I went to special camps, joined special teams, entered and won free throw shooting contests. I practiced year round. Neither snow nor rain kept me from practicing. I was really into basketball. But when God started calling me into the ministry, playing basketball started to feel really empty – whereas it used to be really fun and fulfilling for me. I took that feeling of emptiness as God letting me know that I was supposed to be doing something different with my life. Similarly, when I went off to college I really got into playing the drums. I tried to be as dedicated to playing the drums in college as I was with playing basketball in high school. But even though initially it was really fun, this too began to feel empty. I took that feeling of emptiness as God letting me know that I was supposed to be doing something different with my life.

In the same way – if you feel empty on the inside, that’s God letting you know he has something different for you. This is God’s way of calling you out of the life you’re living into the life He has for you. You were created to have a relationship with God. Apart from a relationship with God, you’re always going to feel like something is missing in your life. And that feeling of emptiness is God’s way to telling you that you need to begin a relationship with Him.

Let’s move on. Here’s the second sign that you need God…

2. I feel hopeless.  

If anyone ever felt hopeless, the Israelites felt hopeless. For four hundred years they were slaves in Egypt. Generations came and generations went – and nothing ever changed. An Israelite must have thought: My grandparents were slaves. My parents were slaves. I’m a slave and my children will be slaves too. It seemed to them that nothing would ever change. Things felt hopeless.

I’m so thankful for the hope I have through God. Romans 15:13 says that God is the source of hope and that he fills us to overflowing with confident hope when we put our trust in him. I’ve experience this many times. When we started the church, all the obstacles piled up and looked like an impossible mountain to climb, but I overflowed with hope that God would make it all work out. We are now entering our eighth year of ministry at New Day. Several years in it seemed impossible to ever have full-time staff that would also work on New Day all week. But I would dream of the day when the entire second floor was full of full-time staff. We now have an entire second floor office filled with full-time staff. When Kristin and I couldn’t have another child for five years, I overflowed with hope that we would have, not one more child, but two! Barre came a year and a half ago and our fourth is coming in September! You see, no situation is hopeless when God is in the mix!

• Maybe you feel hopeless about your marriage situation.
• Maybe you feel hopeless about ever getting married.
• Some of you feel hopeless about ever having children.
• While others of you feel hopeless about the children you have.
• You may feel hopeless about a financial situation or about an illness.
• Maybe you feel hopeless about a situation that just looks like it’s never going to change.

Well being hopeless is actually a very dangerous situation to be in. You see, when we feel hopeless we get discouraged. Discouragement without relief can turn to depression. Depression without relief can turn to bitterness (you become bitter at life and at those you blame for your bitterness) And bitterness without relief can lead to suicide (for those who have given up hope completely). The average person can survive about 3 minutes without air, about 7 days without water, and about 40 days without food – but no one can survive without hope. You need hope – not because you’re going to die tonight, rather because you’re going to have to wake up tomorrow. You need hope to cope. If you don’t have hope that’s a sign that you need God.

Let’s move on. Here’s the third sign that you need to come out of the life you’re living…If you’re taking notes…

3. I feel weary.  

At one point, when Pharaoh was angry with the Israelites, he decided he would stop providing them with the straw they needed for making bricks. Pharaoh said: Continue making the same quota of bricks you’ve been making, but we will no longer provide you will straw. This put the Israelites in an impossible situation. They could barely keep up before. Now they were drowning in Pharaoh’s demands. They were burdened down and weary.

A couple weeks ago Kristin was sick and I had to leave work, come home and take care of her. One by one the kids got sick and I had to take care of them too. I did all this on top of my work, which I did from home that week. At the end of the week I was feeling tired…But I never got weary. You see, there’s physical tiredness and then there’s spiritual weariness. These are two different things. Being tired is a physical issue. Being weary, on the other hand, is a spiritual issue. When we’re physically tired we just need sleep. But when we’re weary no amount of sleep will help. You could get twelve hours of sleep a day for a whole month and it wouldn’t make any difference whatsoever because the issue is a spiritual one, not a physical one.

If you feel beat up by life, broken, run down…you’re weary and that feeling of weariness is God’s way of telling you that you need God. So what do you do if you’re feeling how I’ve described today? What do you do if you feel like something is missing, if you feel hopeless, if you feel weary? Well as I’ve been saying – these are all signs that you need God. So the only thing to do is accept God’s invitation to enter into the abundant life Christ died to provide for you.

If you need God why not click here to learn more.