Your Role is Bigger Than You Think

Matt Chandler of The Village Church (Highland Village, TX) discussed the importance of confession, repentance, and focusing on God.

There are a lot of things going on in your churches. Some of you are in good places. Some of you are in bad places. Remind yourself what you have been caught up in.

Apparently according to Hebrews 11, the gauntlet that you and I will run has seasons with lions and seasons where we escape the sword and seasons where we die by the sword and seasons where the dead will rise and seasons when the dead are dead.

Somehow the idea of confession and repentance has become negative. It seems like the longer we are Christians, the more we think you shouldn’t be confessing things. The problem is, well… the Bible. 1 John 1:5-10 says if you live and walk as if you are sinless, you are a liar.

Look at every delay as an opportunity to deepen the waters with the God of the universe. It is a lack of gratitude and therefore a sin that causes you to want to be something that you aren’t. A day is coming when history in your life will be rewritten as it really is. Your role is bigger than you think.

Look to Jesus because He is the founder of our faith. Without Him there is no reconciliation with God.

May we remember what we have grown up in. May we remember what God has called us to. And may we run well.

 

(This summary created by Kent Shaffer at ChurchRelevance.com)

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4 Comments »

1. Matt is onto something that is potentially a huge revolution in the Christian movement in the U.S. For years, we’ve assumed that “repentance” is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We repent and come to Jesus, then we’re saved—and that’s the end of repentance because we “live by grace.”

   If what Matt says is heard carefully, it means we’ll be repenting regularly. Is the church ready for that? Sounds like “going to confession,” but really meaning it.

   But Matt’s onto a rich truth. We’re working on an upcoming issue of Leadership jouirnal on the theme of “Repentance Renewed.” The implications of this for evangelism and making disciples are pretty significant.

   Comment by Marshall Shelley - Oct 20, 2009 @ 10:09 AM

2. Marshall - you might also want to check out Tim Keller on “All of life is repentance.”

   Comment by Dave Campbell - Oct 20, 2009 @ 06:22 PM

3. I liked what you wrote, ‘Look at every delay as an opportunity to deepen the waters with the God of the universe’. This gives a lot of hope.

   Thanks

   Comment by Shalini - Oct 21, 2009 @ 12:45 AM

4. Love the paradox that some by faith were able to die for the Lord and other by faith escaped death.  Some escaped death by the sword only to die by the sword later.  God’s ways are too big to fit into our little boxes.

   Comment by Lon Dean - Oct 23, 2009 @ 09:01 PM

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