That was the header for an awesome passage in 1 Chronicles 23. Starting in verse 24, we see how the Levites get their roles and responsibilities massively restructured. Before this shift, the Levites were responsible for carrying the ark of the covenant – the seat of the physical representation of God.
Think of the times you’ve felt the closest you’ve ever felt with God, and how rare those “super close” times tend to be. Now, imagine what an amazing responsibility it must have been, to be a Levite tasked with carrying the ark of the covenant – to have the physical presence of God at arm’s length.
In this 1 Chronicles passage, however, the Levites get their “duties revised.” I love this header because it’s so counterintuitive to what our modern reaction would be. The Levites had to shift from this awesome resposibility and physical closeness to God, to essentially becoming assistants to the priests and the custodial crew to make sure the Temple services went off without a hitch.
How could this header not be “The Levites get a demotion,” or the “The Levites get demoted and then revolt?” Why does the Bible not record the Levites letting out a collective groan upon hearing the news, especially given the Israelites’ penchant for complaining? I think it’s because the Levites weren’t motivated by personal gratification but rather divine mandate. They didn’t see themselves as having a job that was comprised of specific tasks, but rather as being privileged to contribute anything to a higher purpose. Rather than looking at what they were doing, they were focused on what they were achieving.
Application
That is so key in our personal, professional, and spiritual lives. Look for the “why,” search for the end goal, find the glorification of God in who you are, not what you are doing. Tasks are more volatile than personhood. You may have a job or position one day, and be out of it the next. But your heart, soul, mind, and strength are things you can always give to God, regardless of circumstances. If you can find a way to praise God with your whole person, your personality, your intentions, and your passion, as opposed to the various tasks that happen to fill up the minutes and hours of your days and weeks, that is when you will be truly fulfilled.
(This essay was written by Chris Coultas, Worship Leader of the 10:0am Service)
This past week, Pastor Williams shared a message entitled “Noah & Sons.” It’s the latest message in our Hall of Fame series based on Hebrews 11. Noah was a man of tremendous faith in challenging days. It had never rained before (and probably never flooded, either), and yet God tells him that it’s going to rain and the whole earth will be covered in water. God tells Noah to build an enormous ship big enough to hold his entire family and the animals that would be needed to replenish the earth. It takes Noah 100 years to build this boat! For years, he is mocked and laughed at, yet he continues to demonstrate great faith in God…faith worth emulating.
So, how did all the animals fit in the ark?
Today, many of us may still wonder how all of those animals fit inside the boat. It’s questions like this that cause us to be a little hesitant to accept the biblical story as accurate. But, simple science and simple math reveal how this is possible. You can believe that the story is true…and therefore, that the Bible is true!
Check out this video that explains how the animals all fit…
The month of October has been set aside annually for several causes and programs, and we just wanted to remind you about them as we continue on through the month. Perhaps, God is even challenging you to take action and get involved. October is…
It’s football season, so I think it’s very appropriate to talk about passion and excitement. Real fans wildly cheer their team’s victories, and occasionally, deeply mourn their losses. Do you identify with that, or are their other things that light you up? What do you get really fired up over, what excites you, what causes emotion to burn deep into your being?
Now another question, what are your most intense emotions. Really think about it – when you have an intense emotional reaction to something, what are you typically feeling. Chances are, the most common and intense emotions we experience are sadness, anger, or joy.
What about regret and remorse? More than likely, it’s been a while since you’ve truly allowed yourself to experience these emotions. Our culture idolizes personal happiness, glorifies anger and rage, and romanticizes sadness, so it’s “acceptable” to experience these emotions. Shame, guilt, regret, and remorse are the red-headed stepchildren in our culture’s collective bank of emotions. We live in a society of “no regrets.” We say it is meaningless to live in the past, and “What’s done is done.”
Yet when we embrace this mindset, we abandon the gravity of sin and forget the holiness of God. Furthermore, this nullifies the grace of God and downplays the sacrifice of Christ. When we reject remorse, we silence our consciences and the Holy Spirit within us.
When was the last time you wept over your brokenness? When was the last time you looked back on your day and realized you had abandoned God, that you had ignored His calling and thumbed your nose at His command? When was the last time you felt sadness wash over you because you disappointed God? The Bible records one particularly poignant story of two men who blatantly abandonded, betrayed, and rejected God. Their response was not to “forgive themselves” and move on immediately. Both men had intensely sorrowful reactions when they realized what they had done. Why do we not call all of our sins “betraying God’s grace?” Was it not our sins that put Christ on the cross?
Some may say this is a negative view of God – that He is full of love, grace, and is “the God of second chances.” These would say that we need to bask in the grace of God and freely accept it. Those statements are true – God is like that. Yet sin is sin, and after all He has done for us, is it not the height of arrogance to vaccilate freely between accepting the love of God while ignoring the will of God?
Some may say this is a dangerous approach to considering sin – that we as a society are prone to depression, and overemphasizing our faults and flaws would be extremely detrimental. This is also true. Yet God has left us with an appropriate way to deal with our own sin. Returning to the story I referenced earlier, who were these two men who abandoned God? Judas and Peter. Both men realized they had betrayed Jesus in their own ways. Judas felt sorrow and disgust at himself, and tried to erase his actions and distance himself from them – eventually his sorrow led him to commit suicide. Peter also betrayed Christ, and “wept bitterly” when he realized what he had done. Yet he stuck around long enough to run back to Christ with passion and humility when given the opportunity.
2 Corinthians 7:8-13 talks about a “godly sorrow” that yields repentance. God is not in the business of inducing depression. Longstanding shame and guilt only neutralizes us and makes us impotent for the Kingdom of God. Rather, God sends the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin, to induce remorse, so that we would acknowledge our wickedness (incidentally, calling all our wrongdoing “wickedness” greatly increases its perceived severity) and turn from our ways (i.e., “repent”) towards a closer relationship with God.
David asked God to create a “new heart” in him after he abandoned the ways of God in favor of murder, sexual immorality, and passion (Psalm 51). In fact, the psalms are filled with the remorse of a man who would turn to God and run away from Him. Would that God would soften our hearts again, and give us a sensitivity towards our own sin, and passion for personal holiness.
(This essay was written by Chris Coultas, worship leader of our 10am Worship Service)
Thank you so much for getting involved at our recent purse exchange event. Because of your generosity and desire to get involved, $254.80 was raised for the missionary wives who will be with us in our 2012 missions conference.
Also, many purses are still available for purchase. Check out the table in the lobby this Sunday for another opportunity to support missionary wives.
This weekend we’re encouraging everyone at our church to go and see Courageous, the new movie from the producers of Facing the Giants & Fireproof.
It’s important to support the film on opening weekend
The longevity of a film in theaters is closely associated with it’s performance on opening weekend. If it does well, it gets to stay. If it does poorly, it is replaced by a higher grossing film, probably one that’s been in theaters for a while. And, the longer the film is in theaters the broader its impact. It will reach more people with the message of the Gospel if it is well-supported by people of faith. If we don’t support faith-based movies like this, fewer will be made. If we will support movies such as this, the movie studios will finance more. It’s as simple as that.
So…
Come see the film with us this Sunday at 4:15
Free childcare will be provided at the church from 3:45-7:45 by the great people who are part of our AWANA team.
Also…
Please use the event as an outreach opportunity
Invite some friends to go with you.
Here’s the trailer for the film
See you this weekend at the movies!
P.S. – We are giving away more free tickets to the film this Sunday morning!
Life is too short… to work at a job you hate, to do work that doesn’t matter, to do things that are not fulfilling, and to miss out on doing something big for God!
James 4:14 teaches us that “life is a vapor;” it appears for a little while and then vanishes away. We need to take advantage of the time that God has given us.
We need to be doing things that excite us and challenge us. When someone asks us, “What are you involved in?” Our excitement about our pursuits and passions should just flow from within us.
This week, Seth Godin share a few thoughts about being asked the question…
What are you working on?
If someone asks you that, are you excited to tell them the answer?
I hope so. If not, you’re wasting away.
No matter what your job is, no matter where you work, there’s a way to create a project (on your own, on weekends if necessary), where the excitement is palpable, where something that might make a difference is right around the corner.
Hurry, go do that.
The point is, life is just too short not to do something that you find enjoyable and fulfilling. Maybe it’s time to make some changes. The new year is coming…it’s a perfect opportunity to change things up and do something important.
(Contributed by Jonathan Williams. This post first appeared on Jonathan’s blog in December 2010)
Imagine yourself all alone in a new city. New faces all around. And, you don’t have any friends in town…at least not yet. Plus, you’ve got a new four year challenge ahead of you.
You’re a college student. You’re living in a dorm with people you don’t really know. You’re going to class, and it seems quite a bit harder than high school. And, home is a long way away.
You need some help. Some encouragement to help you along. Because the truth is…
It’s easier when you’ve got support.
Well church, that’s where Chris Gardner is. We just sent him off to college for the first time, and he needs to know that he has your support. There will be challenging days ahead, and you have the opportunity to encourage him along.
You can send him letters, cards, and packages. You can be a blessing! Here’s Chris’ mailing address:
Chris Gardner 800-200 Hammond Blvd Box 140 Jacksonville, FL 32221
We are so excited about our upcoming Student Ministries all-night event. Our theme for this event is “The Good Life,” and it’s based on John 10:10. This verse tells us that Jesus came to bring to us abundant living, a good life. In addition to exploring this concept more, we’ll be having tons of fun…all night long!
All students 6th grade through 12th grade are invited to join us at this event on August 26-27. The drop-off time is between 7:15 & 7:45, and the pick-up time is 7:00am on Saturday.
For just $20, we’ll have a night full of fun, games, prizes, lots of pizza, a dodgeball tournament, a couple of hours at Fun Spot in Orlando, and a challenging talk from a guy named Aaron.
Have you ever stopped to think about what it would be like to be completely debt-free? No more car payment, no more credit card payment, no more student loans, and even (gasp) no more house payment. What could you do with the extra cash flow? Here’s a little video to get you think about the amazing possibilities of debt-free living.
Life is too short… to work at a job you hate, to do work that doesn’t matter, to do things that are not fulfilling, and to miss out on doing something big for God!