....Lust? There's an App for That

Ever since getting my IPhone 4 on February 10th, I've been amazed by how many apps there are, and all the weird and quirky functions these apps can do. Right now on my phone, I have an app to determine what type of "body shape" I have based on my fat/weight ratio, an app that tells me what song is playing if I'm at a restaurant and really want to know what catchy tune is coming through the speakers, an app that turns my voice into auto-tune like T-pain, and even a multi-track recorder when I have a new song idea. I could go on and on...there's no shortage of them!

In the same way, scripture never ceases to amaze me by it's scope: how many topics it touches on, and how specifically it addresses them. Sometimes we just have to search to find what we're looking for.

While studying Proverbs earlier this year, I stumbled over a scripture that caught my eye. As a collegiate pastor, one of the most common areas of sin I find myself addressing to my students is lust - seeking physical satisfaction or gratification from another person that is not their husband or wife. Often times, it is lust that occurs in the secrecy of one's own dorm room, apartment bedroom, or even in the corner of a room with their laptop facing them so no one can see. To be more specific, I've found that lust can creep in over Facebook in the aimless viewing of someone's pictures (or if they're not your friend, their profile pictures). Simply put, for the college student especially, lust is a dangerous weapon against our love for God, our sanctification, our relationship with our church, our priorities, our time management, our relationship with God's word, our prayer life, etc, etc (I think you get the point).

Here's what I found in Proverbs 4:14-19:

"Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble."

I know that for a lot of guys (probably girls as well), the process right before bed goes something like this:

1) Log on Facebook, "I wonder what's on my news feed?"
2) Look at girl's pictures.
3) Minutes goes by....
4) Hours go by...
5) Hopefully at this point it hasn't led to other things.
6) Lay in bed. Can't sleep.
7) There's only one way to fall asleep now...

That week at Bible Study when the issue of lust is addressed...

"I find myself having a really hard time falling asleep without..."

And the cycle continues.

Examining Proverbs 4 can convict us and give us hope that this cycle will not continue for the rest of our lives:

Starting with verse 14: "Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on."

Remove the girls/guys from your friends list that you don't actually know (or maybe you do know!), but their pictures cause you to stumble and lust after them. That way they don't show up on your news feed. Don't simply "remove them from your news feed". Remember, if you don't manage lust, lust will manage you. Then, make the commitment to not to log into Facebook at night, or within a certain amount of time before bed. (Or when you are alone!) Find someone of the same sex who will help you out - they could text you at night to ask how you're doing or call you in the evening to pray with you before bed. There are other creative ways - talk to this person about it!

Continuing with verses 16-17: "For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence."

Does this describe you? 


Lastly, verses 18-19: "But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble."

As Christians who have been made righteous through faith in Christ, our late-night activities should be just that: like the light of dawn. Above reproach. Pleasing to God. Honoring to our future husband or wife (or current!). Exemplifying our savior. Pure. Peaceful. Restful. Joyful. "It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest,eating the bread of anxious toil;for he gives to his beloved sleep." (Psalm 127:2). Unlike the world, whose way is like "deep darkness", our path at night should only get "brighter and brighter" until the next day. The students within my Church should have confidence that my integrity and my actions into the night are only getting more Christ-like minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour; not less!


If I could count how many times I've met guys who ask me, "why is my relationship with God so lackluster"? I  would need dozens of hands and feet. The common denominator? Late-night lust that takes their intimacy away from God. Yet they never think to make war against this late-night thief... "they do not know over what they stumble". It's hard to give stuff to God you've already given to yourself or a girl on a laptop screen.


The root of all sexual sin is this: "Not your pleasure God, but mine." At night, it could even be described like this: "Not your pleasure God, but my rest." In my own life, I've been led to believe a variety of lies to justify late-night lust. "I need energy tomorrow to serve the Lord - so whatever it takes to get me to sleep." Or, "By following through with this, I will now be able to have compassion on those who struggle..." Or, simply, "I will never conquer this battle...so I will just learn to live with it and maintain it." Then I got married - where God has been killing every last desire in me to please myself apart from my wife. You cannot simply maintain sexual sin in marriage, where the word commands: "because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another." (1 Corinthians 7:2-5). Not to say marriage is the key to killing the lust within your heart. Because it's not. I also couldn't count on a dozen hands and feet how many guys have told me "marriage didn't help at all"...if not more guys saying "marriage made things worse"! Marriage is not the key to killing lust.


I can tell you what is. I'll let Billy Graham's grandson, Tullian Tchividjian take this one - it's from his article, "Reminders are More Effective than Rebukes" (I pulled it off the gospel coalition website). 


"Ironically, when we (or our “friends”) focus mostly on our need to get better we actually get worse. We become neurotic and self-absorbed. Preoccupation with my guilt over God’s grace makes me increasingly self-centered and morbidly introspective... But–and this is the point–our holiness is NOT what Christianity is all about! If it were, I and every other sinner out there would be in big, hopeless trouble. Christianity is not first about our getting better, our obedience, our behavior, and our daily victory over remaining sin–as important as all these are. It’s first about Jesus! It’s about his person and subsitutionary work–his incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, session, and promised return. We are justified–and sanctified–by grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone. So that even now, the banner under which Christians live reads, “It is finished.” The accountability I need, therefore, is the kind that corrects my natural  tendency to focus on me–my obedience (or lack thereof), my performance (good or bad), my holiness–instead of on Christ and his obedience, performance, and holiness for me. We all possess a natural proclivity to turn God’s good news announcement that we’ve been set free into a narcissistic program of self-improvement. We need to be held accountable for that (grin)!...Christian growth, in other words, does not happen first by behaving better, but believing better–believing in bigger, deeper, brighter ways what Christ has already secured for sinners. I need my family and friends to remind me of this all the time."


Amen.


In conclusion: God's word (unlike an IPhone 4) knows how to identify us, our struggles, and our pain. It also knows how to identify God's faithfulness to us in Christ through the midst of that pain.


Continuing from the previous article... "Realizing the Colossian Christians were being tempted to buy counterfeit versions of salvation (self-improvement and freedom through rule-keeping being the main ones), Paul repeatedly reminds them of the treasure they already have in Christ. His point: don’t buy false versions of what you already have. In 1:9-14, Paul sums things up by saying, essentially, “You will grow in your understanding of God’s will, be filled with spiritual wisdom and understanding, increase in your knowledge of God, be strengthened with God’s power which will produce joy filled patience and endurance (v.9-12a) as you come to a greater realization that you’ve already been qualified, delivered, transferred, redeemed, and forgiven (v.12b-14)."

And like we all know so well - the Word tells us to do these things, because we wouldn't naturally do them on our own. We need God to remind us that only through an elevated love for grace can we kill late-night lust. Simply trying to target and annihilate the lust on our own strength will only cause us to feel like failures (and lead us to believe we're unworthy in the eyes of God...and thus doubt the gospel.)

Praying for all my brothers and sisters who are desperately seeking purity in Christ!

Galatians 2:20-21 - The cross was not impersonal and mechanical

I spent about an hour this morning studying the first 2 chapters of Galatians with the ESV Study Bible. Galatians is a gold-mine of hope and encouragement that faith in Jesus Christ is sufficient for justification for all people (who trust in him). It's hard to read without treasuring Christ more and more.

For example, I have found it to be a common misconception that the Cross was an "impersonal and mechanical" event without any personal expression of love. I have seen this to be true sometimes even in my own heart. I see Christ on the cross, dying only for "all believers", but not "for me". This is an easy-to-fall-for contradiction. To use more imagery, I am walking up to the cross, and I ask Jesus "what are you doing here?" and he says, "dying for the sins of all believers...who are you? what is your name? where do you come from?"

Maybe it's because I grew up in a large suburban town where I was always a small fish in a big pond, always lost in the crowd. Maybe it's because I went to a college that had over 25,000 undergraduates. Maybe it's because throughout my life, I always felt like I had to do something crazy or over-the-top to be noticed, loved, or appreciated. Either way, I have found that my tendency is to see the cross as an impersonal event for the "crowds" rather than for me as an individual. Maybe this is all because I am trying to avoid pride - but "far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ"! (Galatians 6:14).

All that being said, check out Paul's words in Galatians 2:20-21 and feel the "individual" love. "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose."

Even more than this, I consider my ministry. Is it a self-sufficient effort, Kevin Singer toiling and striving, in hopes that Christ is pleased (outside and removed from me)? Or is it Christ living in me? Walking in me, talking in me, counseling in me, discipling in me, preaching and teaching in me, sharing the gospel in me?

Maybe you're with me - and you're thinking, "I have no idea what it really feels like to be special in the eyes of God. I want to know how much he loves me, how much he died for me, and how much he is living in me." Well, Galatians 2:20-21 is a start! Have a wonderful day and God bless you!

Sermon March 31st - Luke 20:45-47, Luke 21:1-4

v     ⁴⁵And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, ⁴⁶"Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, ⁴⁷ who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation." ¹Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, ²and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. ³And he said, "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ⁴For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

v     Jesus is in the temple, the center of Jewish life, and he is speaking to his disciples *in the hearing of all the people. What do we learn from this? Jesus does not hold back publically what he is thinking privately. This guy is not afraid to teach the truth no matter where he is or who is around. We also need to realize that Jesus, God incarnate, is physically there, in the temple, literally describing what he sees taking place right before his very eyes.

v     Have you ever wondered, “Does God see everything?” Well he does, and right now Jesus is describing to his disciples what he has seen and what he is about to see. Simply stated, God himself is the narrator, and the audience in this passage. Just like in our lives – he’s the narrator and the audience. He writes our story and has a front seat to see it all come about. The question we have to ask ourselves concerning this passage is, when Jesus narrates our lives, does describe the self-serving scribe or does he describe the sacrificial widow? When Jesus watches our story come about, will he use us as an example for what it means to be self-serving, or what it means to be God-serving?

v     Jesus says to his disciples, “Beware of the scribes.” Who are the scribes? Well, they were learned teachers and authoritative leaders who transcribed and protected the law. They were buddy-buddy with the Pharisees, and they enjoyed the authority of leadership in Israel given to them primarily because of their knowledge. They were advisors to the same high-priests who would very soon beg the Roman government to crucify Jesus. Anytime you see “teachers of the law” mentioned in scripture, scribes were part of this group. Summing it all up, they made it their job to protect the Jewish faith and message against imposters like Jesus Christ. Preserving Judaism was their purpose and mission in life, hence their hatred for Jesus.

v     Jesus however throws his more-than-two-cents into play here, when he describes the Scribes like this: They “like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, ⁴⁷ who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers.” These guys were self-serving. Let’s just dissect this here. First and foremost, it says they “like to walk around in long robes.” These guys only did what they liked to do. Don’t ask these guys to give you a ride. Don’t ask these guys to help you out with your homework. Don’t ask these guys to vacuum the Church or take out the trash. That wouldn’t benefit them in every way, so forget it. So what do the Scribes like to do? They like “walking around in long robes”. When is the last time you did anything productive walking around in a long robe?  They were totally oblivious to the needs of others, however at the same time, totally oblivious to how hypocritical and self-serving they had become. Darrell Bock, who wrote my commentary on Luke, says this: “What is subtle about pride is that it develops at such unconscious levels in the mind that it is often unnoticed by the person who has it.”

v     Then Jesus goes on to say, they “love greetings in the marketplaces.” They like looking good, but they especially love praise from people. They want all the encouragement and affirmation without doing any of the hard work to deserve it. To be in the marketplace was to be in the center of attention. These aren’t the guys who are at church hours early making sure everything is in order and ready for service. These are the guys that show up when the party gets started and demand attention and praise.

v     Jesus goes on to say that these guys love “the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts.” What a surprise – these guys love to sit. They aren’t washing anybodies feet; they’re getting their feet washed. These are the guys that walk into the church expecting to be entertained, pampered and fed. They aren’t there to serve – they’re there to be served. For them, they were the narrators and the audience of their own glorious story. To make matters worse, they took the places of honor at feasts. What did these guys do that was worthy of any honor? Yet they felt it was their place to be honored among all the people.

v     They were misguided, misinformed, and mistaken, that they were what all the fuss was about. And the Oscar goes to…the scribes. Now let’s feast for them, because they know a lot of stuff, and everybody at the top of the Jew chain knows them and loves them.

v     People like this typically have a few skeletons in their closet and it usually has something to do with the way they treat other people. The same is true for the Scribes. Darrell Bock says it this way: “Pride leads further to an elevation of the self that ends up seeing others (such as widows) as inferior and capable of being used as pawns.” They’re personable – they’re exciting – their outwardly inspiring in every way. But they’re *robbing the poor, and their stealing from the broken, and they’re prospering at the expense of widows. The same is true in the church today – the poor and the broken work the hardest so that the scribes can came enjoy themselves, make a mess and leave it for the widows to clean up. At the end of the day, the people who did the most work and made the biggest sacrifice often go unnoticed, while the people who have the most knowledge, leadership and authority receive all the fame and appreciation even though they didn’t earn it.

v     Lastly, Jesus says that the Scribes “for a pretense make long prayers.” Not only do these guys steal from widows and take advantage of people who work hard, but they’re actually super holy, and they prove it by praying for a really, really long time. And it says they do it “for a pretense”. Meaning, these guys aren’t actually praying to God and for God, they’re actually praying to themselves and for themselves. It’s a big show. It’s all fake. They play the part of the super-spiritual person on the outside without actually being one on the inside. The best part is, Jesus sees them for who they really are and says, “They will receive the greater condemnation.”

v     Let’s go back to the point I made at the beginning of my sermon. Jesus sees. People might see it differently – but Jesus sees it, knows it, and describes it to his disciples at this very moment. How does Jesus see you? How does Jesus describe you? At the end of the day, are you scribish? Are you serving or are you served? Are you sacrificing for others, or are others sacrificing for you? In your mind, make a list of how you would describe yourself, then, make a list of how you think other people would describe you, and then make a list of how you think Jesus would describe you. If those three lists are vastly different than one another – you might need to do some self-reflection and pray that God reveals to you your pride.

v     People with true character and integrity do what is right in the eyes of God in the marketplaces and in the privacy of their own dorm, apartment or bedroom. People with true character and integrity do what is right in the eyes of God, not for worship and appreciation from others, but out of worship and appreciation for God. People with true character and integrity are rarely seen and heard – they’re the ones up at 8am while everyone else is asleep reading and studying God’s word. They’re here at 11pm praying for someone. They’re out between classes sharing the gospel. They’re here on Thursday night’s after service starting meaningful conversations with people they barely know. They’re doing your dishes downstairs. They’re throwing your garbage away. They’re planning the events you can’t afford to go because you’re spending your money on stuff you don’t need. They’re picking up your slack, with barely enough time to take care of themselves, and all along the way praying that you’d wake up to your selfishness.

v     Jesus is saying to us today, “Analyze whether the encouragement and affirmation you demand from others is really deserved, and whether it’s even necessary in light of the encouragement and affirmation you should be seeking from God.”

v     ^“1Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, ²and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.”

v     Jesus has his eyes open, and he looks up and sees the rich, most likely Scribes or Pharisees or other people of that nature, lavishing their gifts on the temple of the Lord. It’s no surprise that they’re doing this during the middle of the day when large crowds have gathered and everyone can see them. I envision it being like the wise-men lavishing gold, myrrh, and frankincense on the baby Jesus in the manger, except it didn’t demand them to travel hundreds of miles to do so, in the thick of the night, comprising their reputation, their freedom, and their safety. The contributions made by the rich were extremely generous but at very little actual cost to them. It was like loose change in their pocket and it took little to no sacrifice to give it.

v     Jesus then “saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins”. These were the smallest coins made – each of them worth 1/100^th of a denarius, which was the equivalent of 5 minutes of work at minimum wage. Yet the scripture says that it was *“all she had to live on.” Widows were the poorest of the poor, on the fringe of society, barely making it by, always on the brink of losing their residence if they even had a residence, which was probably falling apart and extremely unsanitary. They usually had multiple children and even multiple grandchildren, and they struggled on a day-to-day basis just to provide food and all the necessities to the people they were taking care of. The ironic part is, the widows were supposed to be the most taken care of by the same pious men who were stealing from them. In the law the Scribes knew so well after re-writing it so many times, it says in Exodus 22:22, “You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. ²³If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, ²⁴and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.”

v     Deuteronomy 10:17 says, “¹⁷For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. ¹⁸ He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.” David says in Psalm 68 that God is the “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows.”

v     While the rich gave out of their excess, this woman gave out of her poverty. She gives what little she has, even though she needs it to live on. Jesus calls this real giving. He says in verse 3, “³"Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ⁴For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

v     Jesus doesn’t count – he weighs. He doesn’t look at how much; he looks at how much it cost you. In our culture, we tend to appreciate the amount of a gift, not necessarily the sacrifice that went into giving it. A seemingly poor gift can actually be rich in what it costs and represents. The question Jesus poses is this: How do you measure giving? He’s not just talking about money. Every one of us in this room needs to fill in the blank on this statement: “I will do what God wants when I have enough __________ to do so.” Is it money? Is it time? Is it energy? Is it patience? Is it knowledge? Is it motivation? Is it sleep? Is it comfort? Is it safety? Whatever it is, it’s probably never going to happen. What if everyone in the Church waited for the same thing you do in order to obey the Lord? What would the Church look like? Would it be broke? Would the doors close because there is no one to do the dirty work? Would the church lawn be out of control? Would the church kitchen be a mess? Would there be no one out there reaching the lost? Would the worship services be dull and repetitive? Would missionaries be starving?  Would widows be robbed and hopeless?

v     Don’t wait to give your money, your time, your gifts, and your energy, until you have an excess of it. That’s not really giving at all. That’s giving God your leftovers.

v     Giving out of abundance is appreciated, but it costs little. Giving out of what you need to live, shows trust in God and love towards people.

v     The truth is, Jesus is opposite of those scribes. Jesus took the worst possible seat in his suffering on the cross. He was greatest “non-for-profit” that ever existed. No one knew better than Jesus, that the more special you make yourself, the less special God becomes.

v     Philippians 2:6-11 says of Jesus, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

v     Pride comes before destruction, and humility comes before exaltation. Who else can say that their name is above every name, that every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that they are the Lord?

v     An even more important question might be, who in hell made themselves nothing, taking the form of a servant, humbling themselves by becoming obedient to the point of death for the benefit of others?

v     Jesus was homeless. Some scholars predict that Jesus walked over 3,000 miles during his 3 years of public ministry. He climbed mountains to be with God. He slept in boats during storms. Thousands followed him and demanded his attention and care 24-7. The longest mile Jesus ever walked was the last mile to Calvary where He was crucified on a Cross for you and for me. He walked the last mile for you.

v   Jesus shows us that no one is too poor in anything to give. The issue is not the amount but the participation. As we love to say here at Emmaus, it’s not about success, it’s about obedience. Ask the Lord to reveal where you’re being a scribe, and where you’re making excuses in order to stand in marketplaces and sit in synagogues while others are in dire need of your attention and care. Let’s pray.

Welcome to my blog! More to come!