Conduit Dec 1- You Can't Take It With You

We spent the Thanksgiving week in Nebraska. I’m not entirely sure if I’m supposed to call it “Dads House” or if I can still call it my parent’s house. Neither one feels quite right. We didn’t spend the week sad as much as we were thoughtfully pensive. It was a week devoted to going through my moms things, organizing, and cleaning those forgotten parts of the house where my mom hadn’t been in for a long time. (she wasn’t able to climb the stairs for years)

My mom was somewhat of a pack rat. To be completely honest she was more like a colony of pack rats. She didn’t necessarily achieve the medical definition of hoarding, but was certainly perched precariously right on the edge of it. She saved pretty much everything. It was almost like she had this primal urge to take the most mundane of daily things and scurry off to bury them somewhere in the house.

The downside of this was that she had newspapers from 1973 and TV guides from the 80s. The upside is that we still had her original passport from when she was 13 and report cards from my grade school years. We would find bottles of medicine from 1985 and wonder why, and we would find the baptism certificate from when she was 3 and wonder why not.

This all took place in an attic like upstairs of an almost 140 year old house with the kind of dust and disrepair that you might imagine in a structure that in 1870 housed an Evangelical congregation. (we know this because my dad found the title deed and paperwork for the house that started in 1870 containing the presidential seal of Ulysses Simpson Grant)

I held in my hands letters and cards that my parents traded when he was in the army in Germany and she was in Superior, NE wondering if they would actually have a relationship when he got back. Cards that were written against the backdrop of a nation embroiled in the Cuban Missile Crisis and Civil Rights marches, but you’d never know it from the tone of the letters. This was a young couple in love and as usual, young love seems to drown out the background noise. They were the kind of letters that convey the “haven’t heard from you in a while” and “can’t wait till you’re in my arms again” sentiments. Maybe love doesn't drown out the background noise as much as serve as a filter that allows us to focus on what really matters.

There were pictures; lots of pictures. Pictures of people that I had no idea who were, but clearly fit a piece of my moms life at some point but had since faded into memories. I wondered if somewhere in some other attic in America there were pictures of my mom. Surely there were.

There were pictures of folks who still played a large part of her life but whose faces had changed in the way that only time can do. Fascinatingly, my grand mother who is in her mid eighties and in the final stages of Alzheimer’s remembered many of their names even though she couldn’t remember mine and thought I still lived in California. I have never lived in CA.

There were pictures of my mom as well. She was young, thin, and I feel kind of weird saying this but kind of hot in that 1960’s short hair short skirt Austin Powers kind of way. Like most sons I had never seen my mom in this light mostly because, well that’s gross.

But standing there looking at the pictures though, I found myself wanting to know everything about her. I wanted to ask her so many questions about the people in the pictures, what she was thinking at the time, did her Dad want her to wear a longer skirt, etc. Those are all questions that will have to wait for now.

I found myself looking at her chair that she sat in that was empty, her seat in my dads car that I now rode in, and mostly the empty spot beside my dad where ever he went that was filled by her for the past 43 years. Seeing him without her beside him was definitely the most difficult part of the trip. I guess I never really saw them as individuals as much as a pair. Perhaps that’s what Paul calls the “mystery” of marriage. The two shall become one.

When we went to the cemetery to visit her grave I was really not sure what to expect. We went at night (which wasn’t nearly as creepy as I thought it would be) because my dad had installed lights. They were solar powered and he was quite proud of them. This of course begged the question of why you need to have lights in a cemetery since no one in their right mind goes there at night, but as we crested the hill coming down to Bostwick, NE I saw the purpose. It was almost beautiful.

SIDEBAR: Among my moms collections were her collection of all things cow. Cow potholders, cow banks, cow statues, cow butter plate, and heck even a cow CD case. Imagine my surprise when we pulled up in the darkness, and found a cow that had gotten loose grazing right beside her grave. The cow was just as surprised as we were and scurried off into the night.

It got me thinking about how a life is measured. When I’m gone is what I have left just a box of pictures and documentation that proved I was here? She’s not in her chair, not beside my dad, she’s not here anymore. What proof is there that she ever existed? I don’t think that in Gods eyes the proof of her existence was in the pictures I was holding as much as it was the person that was holding them.

It’s not in the pictures but in the stories behind them, the impacted lives represented in them. She had poured herself into her family and all of the investments that she had made were now living on in those of us who came in contact with her. There wasn’t a single thing that I was holding that she could have taken with her. Me on the other hand, I am definitely going where she is.

And not only does she take me with her, but in a sort of God like multi level marketing strategy, all of the lives that I impact will be counted unto her as well. It’s fun to imagine some sort of party where those in her spiritual lineage will all meet up in heaven; most of whom she has never met this side of heaven.

We use the word “spending” when referring to how we use our time. I believe this is an appropriate word because time is a commodity that we have a limited amount of in much the same way money is. My only real currency in this life is time. How I spend each minute investing not only in the world I exist but investing in my ultimate "retirement" in the Kingdom of God.

We have the chance to not only spend our time, but invest it. I have a finite amount of time here on this earth. Ephesians 5:16 says that I should “redeem” time. Redeem is an accounting term. It’s financial in nature. When I redeem a coupon or gift card I hand it in and get something in exchange for it. That’s the picture that Paul is painting with redeeming the time.

Following that logic…

Well I’ll follow it in the next blog.

Until then, I look forward to seeing you at Conduit Monday night. I missed you all last week, and look forward to diving back into our journey through Exodus. Last time we talked about the idea of “what’s in your hand”. This week we’ll dive into Chapter 5 and see what the Lord would say to us there.

Monday night. 7:30pm at Journey Church in Building 8 at the Factory.

Blessings,
Darren

www.darrentyler.podomatic.com (join the podcast)

www.conduitmission.org You can donate here. Remember that just $15 feeds a child in Haiti for an entire month. We don’t keep your money, we let it flow through the conduit and right into the hands of those who are hungry, poor, and hurting.

No Conduit Monday

I’ll write more later this week, but I wanted to let everyone know that we won’t be having Conduit this week. I’m in Nebraska this week with my family going through my mom’s things and helping my dad as he enters this next phase of his life.

It’s been a sort of cathartic experience and has been kind of fun as my kids are learning that their daddy had girlfriends in high school and that according to my 8th grade music teacher Mrs. Christianson, I made “too many comments that disrupt the class.”

Would you do me a favor and email, facebook, myspace, and maybe even kick it old school and call around and make sure that word gets out? We're somewhat of a scattered group but maybe even just putting "no conduit monday" in your facebook status for a couple hours will make sure we get the word out.

We're coming back next week with the Benefit To Fight Hunger. More information to come very soon.

Exodus 4

Conduit November 17- What's In Your Hand

Isaiah 58:1 "Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.

3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? 
 Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' 
 "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD ?

6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free 
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness [a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, 
and your night will become like the noonday.


Isaiah opens up with a sort of hell fire and brimstone shout at the people for their sins. “Shout out to all my sinners out there!” As a parent I would like to use this as a proof text that it’s ok to yell at my kids.

Isaiah is about to let them have it. I expect he would rant about their adultery or their fornication or some other big ticket sin like idolatry or murdering or stealing. As I read on into the chapter I see that the “sin” wasn’t so much about what they were doing as much as it was about what they weren’t doing. Follow me on this.

Fasting was a huge part of Jewish nations worship. It was part of their rituals for the atonement of sin (Lev 23) and it was done as an act that would avert disaster (Esther 4). The Pharisees would continue this tradition as a proof of piety and used it as a litmus test for legit ministry when questioning Jesus about why His disciples did not fast.

(It’s interesting to note that they asked Jesus this while He was having dinner with the “tax collectors and sinners” luke 5:30)

In VS 5 of Isaiah 58 God asks a sort of half rhetorical / half mocking question; “what do think fasting is really about?” A I read verse 5 it kind of jumped out at me that is exactly what I thought fasting was about: humbling yourself, bowing your head, and the kind of demureness that comes when you’re especially hungry. Man do I hate being hungry.

It reminds me of James 1 where we are told that true religion is looking after orphans and widows and keeping yourself polluted from the world. James makes this statement in the larger context of doing the word and not just listening. Not just talking about it. He makes it in the context of taming the tongue. It’s so easy to take the Word and misuse it, to use my tongue to deliver the Word in a hurtful stinging manner. James says we should tame our tongue and use it wisely letting our good works speak loudly.

I have spent most of my life really focused and concerned about the pollution of the world part but skipping over the orphans and widows. There is no question that James emphasizes purity in our lives, but he gives equal time to caring for those in need.

I spent a lot of energy making sure I was in church every time the doors were open and tithing and raising my hands at the right moment in the song (we stand and lift up our hands…) I was part of the 10% that did 90% of the work. My wife and I were faithful and consistent.

I can also tell you that for a large portion of my life I didn’t even know an orphan and could name a handful of widows, but I certainly didn’t spend as much energy on that as I did on not listening to “secular” music or whether or not I should watch the smurfs since they were demons. Or, if in a show of solidarity I should go to Disney during the boycott even though I wasn’t a Baptist.

Conduit was born out of an “aha” moment in my life. It was born when the Spirit started moving in me. I couldn’t articulate it at the time it was born out of a realization that Isaiah was talking directly to me.

As a believer it is absolutely my job to be involved in loosing the chains of injustice, to break bondage, to set the oppressed free and to share my food with the hungry, to provide shelter for the homeless, and to clothe the naked. If I was looking for a job description, I just found one.


1 Peter 2:9 refers to Christians as a “Holy Nation”. I wonder if when we are praying for our government and culture and we don’t see the results that maybe it’s because we’re missing the point. Israel wondered why they were doing all the “right things” in their religious services and God didn’t seem to hear them.

I speak in broad terms obviously. I know that there are many in the Body of Christ who are very much a part of “true religion”. There are many in our community that are living this out every day. I personally fellowship with a group of believers who are proactively involved in these things.

It’s just that somehow as Christians we’ve been relegated to a voting block or a target market instead of a force for change in this world. If everyone of the quite literally hundreds of thousands of churches would focus equal attention onto the cause of justice, freedom and provision for those in need just think what would happen.

Actually we don’t have to think about it, God told us in VS 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness [a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.


About tonight…

So what can you or I do? Where do we start in allowing the Lord to move through us? In Exodus chapter 4, God asks Moses a very simple question. He asked “what’s in your hand”. That’s the key. We’ll talk about it tonight.

7:30pm at Journey Church in Building 8 at The Factory.

Blessings,
Darren
www.conduitmission.org (for ever $15 we can feed a child for a month in Haiti. Click on the donate now button.)

www.darrentyler.podomatic.com for the podcast of the teachings from Monday nights

Conduit Nov 10- Put Up Or Shut Up

For those who want more government intervention in feeding the poor, I would suggest they’ve never enjoyed the “food” given out by the government in the 80s. Specifically government cheese, which was actually and more accurately labeled “cheese product”. This was usually accompanied with carnation powdered milk, or on a really good month, it would come premixed in a can. These were usually disseminated by some not well meaning persnickety old person. (the complete opposite of the old people who staff the voting poll locations) As a person in need you were clearly not a part of their job nearly as much as an interruption of it.

Somewhere around 1982 I was in grade school and my father had been ill for an extended period of time. This followed a couple of hospitalizations of my mom and oh yeah, my brother got smashed by a car they year before. He survived but not without a year of hospitalization, home care and rehabilitation. My dad was literally gone for months in hospitals leaving my Mom to figure out how to feed 4 hearty, active and hungry boys.

Mom was forced to do many humiliating things and one of them was to stretch the money beyond the food stamps, beyond the government handouts which often found herself at a food pantry much like Graceworks, which is located here in Franklin, TN.

Graceworks is like most food banks around the country right now. Their requests for assistance are up dramatically and the donations are down. Tina Edwards from Grace Works was quoted as saying that the supplies in their pantry are the lowest she has seen in the 5 years she’s been with the organization.

(see this article for more information about Graceworks)
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008811070349

And so it was Sunday morning instead of going to church, that a few dozen of us from Journey Church descended upon the surrounding neighborhoods armed with a simple bag with a note that we placed on each home. The idea was to inform folks of the problem and give them an easy solution for getting involved. Simply put some food in the bag and leave it out on your front step the next Sunday and we’ll come back and get it.

It is a simple idea, simply executed and made for some amazing teachable moments for Shannon and I with the kids. We were in a sanctioned “church skip” led by our pastor in answering the question “more services or more service?”

What I loved about it most was it was a simple idea with simple execution. We are being a simple voice of Love. It’s one thing for me to sit around writing or speaking about how the government falls short of their promises in these areas, and it’s quite another for me to put my works where my mouth is.

As we walked from house to house with our little red wagon and my wife and kids all working as a team I felt like this was perfectly God. The kids were having fun. They were seeing how easy it is to be part of something bigger than themselves and ultimately my daughter Ashleigh summed it up by saying “I wish Church could be like this every Sunday”. Inside I wondered, I wonder if THE Church could be more like this every day.

My friends who are republicans and conservatives are going to be tempted to spend a lot of energy taking shots at the new Administration in the White House. As a former recipient of government health care and social welfare I concur that the government simply can’t get it right in these areas. Might all the current recipients of government hand outs raise a glass of carnation instant milk in agreement?

At the same time, I would challenge myself and everyone else to spend the energy it takes in verbally tearing down the government and aim it towards coming up with solutions. What if I hold my tongue on these problems if I’m not personally involved with being part of the solutions. I'm reminded of an interview with a powerful CEO who once said he tells his staff: "don't come to me with a problem without a solution". It's been our temptation to sit over in the peanut gallery and Monday morning quarterback without actually offering to solve anything.

Returning form Africa with Compassion International I saw that the Church does a WAY better job anyway. We make the money go further, we implement the services better, we make the impact go deeper. What I saw in Africa were churches whose facilities were used for worship gatherings on Sundays and the rest of the week used to feed, educate and teach the kids about the Lord. It wasn’t impersonal, rather it was very nurturing.

To be clear, the Bible never calls upon the government to fulfill or implement these types of services. It does however call on Gods people to do so.

I think it’s because when it comes from the government it is just and act of service. When it comes from the Church it’s an act of Love.



About tonight…

Exodus 3 is full of the meat of the Word. God uses a burning bush to speak to Moses. If I were God, I would have used something like a towering and majestic Oak tree or something very impressive. Why a bush? Why does God choose something so simple and unassuming to speak? Maybe it’s the same reason He chooses you and me. We’ll talk about that tonight.

Hope you can join us at 7:30pm. I’ll have updates on the money and where it’s going. At Conduit we are part of the solution. I hope you’ll join us.

Darren
www.conduitmission.org

Join the 1200 people who are already subscribed to the podcast… www.darrentyler.podomatic.com

Now What?

1 Peter 2:9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
13Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
18Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

Some observations for me personally from this…

1. VS9 Specifically refers to you and I as a “nation”. If you’re a believer that has accepted the stone rejected by men (see vs 4-8) you were not just buying a ticket out of hell. I have become part of a nation, a Holy Nation. Our King is not of this world. America is an amazing nation, possibly the greatest nation that has existed to this date, and yet cannot hold a candle to the ultimate Kingdom that Jesus will rule over here on earth in the future. But for now…

2. VS11- We’re aliens. Not Roswell aliens, but foreigners. Through out the scripture God repeatedly has a soft spot for the widow, the orphan and THE ALIEN, (the foreigner) The Old Testament is riddled with that language. Israel spent most of their time as aliens in another land. We have our physical address here but not our residence. God has a soft spot for the alien, for you and me. Does that mean that I can just check out of the process and life? ..

3. VS 13- Submit your selves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men. Peter was writing this at a time when the ruling government was Rome. The human rights abusing, oppressive, highly taxed, profanely sinful and ultimately self-destructive Rome. Peter didn’t caveat his statement with, “I know that they’re crucifying Jews and I don’t support that, but you must submit anyway”. Strangely enough, He just said submit. So should I just be silent and not lift my voice in disagreement?

4. V15 Peter suggests something simple and compelling. He suggests that we won’t silence ignorant talk of foolish men by arguing or debating but by our GOOD WORKS. What if we all were mini Mother Teresas? He does suggest that our lifestyles and abstaining for sin is key, but he says “good works”. Not just what we DON”T do, but what we DO. If we are speaking the truth with our lives and occasionally with our mouths, Peter says that is the way to silence the Bill Mahers of the world. As it stands we’ve not only not silenced them, we’ve given them plenty of extra fuel for their fire. What if the government, the rulers, the leaders turn this nation into a socialist empire that chooses to imprison or attempt to silence or punish us like they did to Peter and the early church?

5. VS18- Peter says to the slaves to submit with all respect. I want to make that applicable for today by saying that He was talking about employees, but He wasn’t. He was NOT condoning the practice of slavery, rather he was telling the slaves how they could actually defeat their captors. Not by violent uprising, but by lovingly submitting. It’s completely backwards. It’s completely the Kingdom. He says what credit is it to me if I’m punished for actually doing something wrong? The loudest voices are not from the pundits or talking heads. The most significant statement comes from our brothers and sisters around the world who are being persecuted, abused and dying as martyrs. I feel terribly for them, I pray for them, and yet God has their back. Peter said that Jesus set this example for us to follow. Should I just stand by and not speak out against an oppressive or socialist government should it exist?

6. VS23- Peter says that Jesus set an example by not retaliating. This is an ultimate act of faith. It is faith because I am trusting that God will in fact have His way. Abraham asked a question. He asked “Shall not the God of all the universe do what is just?” It was rhetorical but the answer, of course, is yes. It is not faith when I try to fix it myself. Faith is me standing tall, head held high knowing that God will ultimately bring His Kingdom and that EVERY knee shall bow, EVERY tongue confess, that He is in fact, Lord. (a spiritual term with vast political implications)

I personally believe that our Nation, (not America) but the Nation of Christ, is positioned better than ever to make an impact on this world. I wonder what would happen if we took these next few days, weeks, months, years and started a non violent revolution of Love. What if that love just isn’t just the tingly sensations, and not just stopping with a bunch of churches in the community for “unity “ nights. What if we go further?

What if it was a love that looked like you and I in the most unlovable of situations with the most unlovable of people serving. What if we do a better job than our government (republican or democrat) of feeding the poor. What if we as the church do a better job of adopting unwanted children who might have otherwise been aborted. What if our churches were side by side filled with people of every nationality, income bracket, and background? What if we stop asking the government to do what God clearly has asked you and I to do personally as believers? What if we silence the talk of foolish men with our good works?

We’ve seen what we can accomplish with our well-crafted arguments and debating skills. I wonder what we could do with our lives.

Darren Tyler
www.conduitmission.org
www.myspace.com/conduitbiblestudy
www.darrentyler.podomatic.com

Conduit- Nov 3-Our Deliverer Is Coming

Exodus 3: 7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.

God hears the cries of His people.

For 400 years there is no record of God speaking or moving in the people of Israel but His absence did not mean He wasn’t moving. At the very moment the people of Israel were being enslaved, bruised, beaten and oppressed God was preparing a deliverer.
What seemed a world away, in the backside of the desert, far away from the prosperity and power of Egypt, God was preparing a deliverer. He was preparing a way of escape. He was molding and sculpting the life of a man named Moses. He seemed to be so utterly qualified and prepared already. He was powerful and wealthy in Egypt with all the right connections to get it done. He knew both the language and customs of Egypt as well as the language and customs of Israel. He was strategically well placed in political power to do something.

However, God knew that Moses needed an extra 40 years on slow roast in the desert. Gods seeming absence should not be confused with His lack of movement. On the contrary He was very much on the move. With all the atrocities going on around Moses, God had a plan. It required patience.

In our world, there are atrocities and human rights violations going on everywhere. Lest we forget, there are millions of children that are murdered every year under the ironically watchful eye of physicians and carefully legislated care of the government. We euphemize it with words like Pro Choice or abortion but it is taking the life of an actual baby who feels actual pain is murder. Maybe their cries are not audible, but I am confident that God hears them. I can think of no people group more oppressed and more helpless than these, the least of these.

Not parenthetically, God does have forgiveness and grace for those who have experienced it in the past, and just like you or I mercy awaits those moms who have gone through this.

These things weighed on me the past few months. It has quite frankly brought me to the question: “Can I be a one issue voter?” I’ve heard folks say that they’re voting for the candidate who speaks most to their own personal issues. I’ve heard folks who are voting out of fear from what the other party will do to the country.

But is there one issue that can drive a vote. Is there one thing inside a person’s mind that I can look to and say, “that person doesn’t speak for me”. Is it the war in Iraq? Is it raising taxes on my own personal company? For me personally that deal breaker issue was the voice of the helpless, the voice of the unborn.

We have euphemized this over the years. God help us that we’ve become so comfortable with the word Abortion that we aren’t even incensed anymore.

I personally think God will judge nations as a whole. Look no further than Revelation to see that He will gather together the nations for judgment. For all the talk of God “judging our country” perhaps we should listen.

If you’re a believer though, it might be interesting to note that Peter chooses the word “nation” to describe the Body of Christ. 1 Peter 2 says that we’re called out, that we’re a peculiar people, that we are a “holy nation”.

Before the great judging of the nations, the Lord has some words that are very pointed towards the church, to this peculiar nation Peter talks about.

This one particularly jumped out at me.

Revelation 3:14"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

We live in a dispensation of Grace. God’s wrath towards mankind was aimed at Jesus Christ on the cross. It was there that He absorbed the penalty for you and me. It’s a grace experienced by believing in Jesus Christ, evidenced by the fruits of repentance. Repentance means changing your mind your direction. We’re not saved by works, but works / fruits are there as proof of our connection to the vine.

There is a day coming however, a day that Jesus referred to in Luke 21 as the “times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” that Gods wrath will be poured out on a wicked, Christ rejecting sinful world.

In the meantime, the Lord says that He stands at the door and knocks. He’s not knocking on the doors of unbelievers, but rather of the church, of you and me. Perhaps we should open the door.

God does hear the cries of His people. He hears the cries of the poor, the oppressed, the powerless, the starving, the unborn with no voice at all. His seeming absence in places like Darfur, Somalia, or Doctors offices around America should not be confused with His lack of movement.

Our deliverer, the real one, is coming.

How should we then live? We’ll talk about that tonight.

Tonight is going to be a sort of special time at Conduit as we talk about our lives in between now and when the Kingdom comes.

We’re going to also spend some time in prayer together as a group. Philip Peters is going to lead worship and we’ll just kind of pray it out.

As a reminder, God is still in control. Any illusion otherwise is just that.