Better Relationships #2

We are made for relationships, yet those relationships are not easy. What does the Bible say about having better relationships? 1 Corinthians 13 is not just a passage that you read at a wedding, the context of this passage is how we treat one another within the church. The church is to be different than the rest of the world by the way we love one another. 

1 Corinthians 13:1-2 “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.”

#1 If I have love in my heart, what I say will be more than noise.

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” In some translations, there is the phrase “the tongues of men and of angels.” This is a poetic way of simply saying language, while at the same time also being articulate. I’ve been a pastor for a long time, but I am nowhere close to the best preachers out there. I wish I was a lot better of a preacher. There are some pastors that preach and I am amazed at how they can turn a phrase and put together thoughts and I wish I could do that. If I was a fantastic public speaker, speaking with the tongues of men and angels, the greatest possible eloquence, oratory, and articulation of speech in languages of heaven and earth, yet no language in heaven or earth has real meaning without love.

Have you ever noticed that you can get an album with just piano music, or just guitar, or one of the several different kinds of horns? However, I have yet to find an album of just cymbals. The cymbals blend into the background, but the repeated clashing all by itself just makes meaningless irritating sounds. The Bible tells us that if I do not have love in my heart, my words will just be about as welcome as clanging cymbals.

#2 If I have love, what I know will be of worth.

“If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge…, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.” My great-grandpa Cleveland was an amazing guy. He was a school teacher, but also spent some time as a pastor in the Pacific Conference in the 1940’s & 1950’s. I remember one time when I was probably around junior high age and great-grandpa Cleveland said to me, “hey Brian, what do you know?” And, as a typical adolescent I said, “not much” or something along those lines. Then grandpa told me, “Don’t ever say that. You’re a smart kid. When someone asks you ‘What do you know?’ you tell them, ‘I know everything, what do you want me to tell you?’”

I obviously do not know everything. However, you can be the person who knows almost everything. You could be Albert Einstein, Elon Musk, Dr. Phil, and King Solomon all rolled into one, but without love in your relationships, all you know is worthless. It says in 1 Corinthians 8:1b “while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church.” If we want to have a strong conference of churches, if you want a strong local church, if you want a strong marriage, or a strong family, we need to have love for one another.

BETTER RELATIONSHIPS

A few years ago during the worst part of the pandemic, we were staying home and isolating like we were supposed to, and that took a huge toll on so many people. In prison, solitary confinement is a punishment because it is painful. Human beings are not meant to be alone. God said this in the second chapter of the Bible.

We were made for relationships. Primarily we were made to be in relationship with God, and we were designed to be in relationship with other people. The problem is that we also struggle with relationships. The world offers lots of ways to get better relationships, and many of those ways work to some degree. However, as a Christian, and as a pastor, I want to know what the Bible says about relationships.

One of the greatest passages on relationships is 1^st Corinthians 13. This passage is read at many weddings. Way too many people find some sort of framed artwork with this chapter and give it to couples as a wedding gift. This is not a bad thing, however, this chapter in the Bible was not written to be about the love of a husband and a wife. In the context of the book of 1 Corinthians this is about how we treat each other within the church. Chapter 12 talks about the different gifts of each person in the church and how they work together. Chapter 12 ends with the various ministries of apostles, prophets, and teachers. Then chapter 13 tells us we need to love one another as we work together as a church.

1 Corinthians 13:1-2 “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.”

The Bible tells us that our words, our knowledge, our understanding, and even our faith do not mean anything if we do not love one another. In my relatively new role as a superintendent, I am learning on-the-job. I do not claim to know everything about this role, but what I do know is that we are a conference of churches, and we are in a connectional system of pastors and churches working together. This means that we do ministry in relationship with each other. For the next several weeks this blog will focus on God's way to have better relationships. Without relationships we are not able to effectively do God’s will. This is true in a conference of churches, in a local church, and in a family. So, in our speech, will we speak in love to one another?

REVIVAL

It is amazing about the revival that is taking place right now. At Asbury University they had a routine Wednesday morning chapel service that has not ended. People who are there talk about the powerful presence of the Lord and how people keep coming, it is difficult to leave. Friends of mine was there Monday and they said the auditorium is full and so there is overflow in other areas around campus. It isn't just students anymore, there are people from all over wanting more of God and looking for hope. 

Things like this have happened before at this University, but because of social media, this has taken on a life of its own. On Saturday I watched a livestream for over two hours just enjoying by distance the spirit and presence of the Lord. They just keep going with worship, with some preaching, some testimonies, some reading of Scripture. 

This school in Wilmore, Kentucky was started by John Wesley Hughes and was originally named Kentucky Holiness College and later renamed Asbury College in honor of the great Methodist Bishop Asbury. In Hughes Auditorium where this revival is taking place, it says on the wall right up front "Holiness Unto the Lord." 

Just like Asbury University, here in the Pacific Conference we are a holiness people. What does that mean? It means that we believe the Scriptures where God commands us to be holy as He is holy. It is not a legalistic perfection, but it is cleansing and setting apart by God. We are not trying to manage a minimum amount of sin in our lives, we are seeking after God so that we can have victory over sin. 

I'd like to get on an airplane and head to Kentucky, but more importantly, I desire revival here in the Pacific Northwest. This revival started when students started confessing and repenting. Revival always starts with the church, let it start with us. In Acts chapter 3 Peter & John were at the Temple. There was a miracle and then a crowd shows up and Peter starts preaching. Peter tells us how to find revival in Acts 3:19-20 "Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah."

Lord may that be so here in the Pacific Northwest. May we truly repent of our sins; not trying to keep them to a minimum, but truly repent. Then as we turn to God our sins will be wiped away and the times of refreshment and revival so that we can proclaim the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ here in the Pacific Northwest. 

JOY AHEAD

This may sound like something you get in a fortune cookie, but there is joy ahead for you. Do you really believe that? It's so easy for us to look at the world, look at our schedule, look at our circumstances, and forget that there is joy ahead. It says in:

1 Peter 1:6-7 “So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine..."

The most famous of all the old hymns, Amazing Grace, has the verse that starts, “Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come.” Some of our problems are from the enemy, some are just how life goes this side of heaven, and some are there just to test our faith. It isn't really faith unless it's put to the test. 

There is joy ahead, even when this life isn't easy. We get into trouble when we think that being a Christian means that nothing bad will ever happen to us. That’s not true. We know it’s not true. And, we’re being dishonest when we tell people they should be a Christian so that they won’t have any problems anymore. Jesus never said anything like that. He told us there would be problems, but that we were to be happy.

Matthew 5:11-12 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad!"

Why are we happy? Because we have hope of heaven. I love my acronyms, and I found one a few years ago for hope. HOPE stands for Hold On, Pain Ends. In these Roaring 20's we have already had all kinds of trials, but then again, life has all kinds of trials. I am glad, even when there are trials because there is wonderful joy ahead. 

INHERITANCE

Have you ever gotten an inheritance? Last fall at Annual Conference I talked about how when my grandpa Hotrum passed away I got an inheritance and became a multi-hundredaire. How much more amazing is the inheritance we receive from the Lord? The Bible says that it is a "priceless inheritance." 

Peter, the friend of Jesus, is seen all through the gospels and in the book of Acts. Yet, his two epistles are tucked away toward the end of the New Testament. Peter was as close to Jesus when he was here on earth as you can get. Peter wrote:

1 Peter 1:3-4 "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance..."

When Peter says that God raised Jesus from the dead we know it's true. Peter was an eyewitness to the empty tomb and the risen Lord. Jesus is more than a nice idea and a good teacher, but he is the risen Lord. As a result we have a great expectation. This is called hope. We have hope in this life and hope for the life to come. Peter also says we have a priceless inheritance. Jesus fed thousands of people, he performed miracles, but he didn't leave Peter and the early church with a multimillion-shekel endowment. Jesus told Peter that he would be with them, and that was good enough. Peter was full of hope, focusing on the priceless inheritance we receive from Jesus. We get forgiveness of sin, peace in the midst of trouble, guidance from the Holy Spirit. All this and Heaven too. 

On my desk I have a pocket watch that doesn't work. My uncle Ken gave it to me a couple years ago. He said his grandpa (my great-grandpa) had given it to him over 40 years ago and Ken said that maybe I should hang on to it for a while. My great-grandpa Cleveland did not leave an inheritance of money to the family, but he did leave an inheritance of moral and godly character. He is the one who helped my dad through college and seminary. He is the one who we knew was praying for us. Are we passing on to the next generations part of the inheritance that we have received from the Lord? 

Church on Fire

Last week I watched online the livestream of a fire in downtown Portland. The building was a church that had been empty for several years. Before that it was a Korean church. Before that it was Portland First Evangelical Church. This once grand structure had been sitting empty and ignored for the past several years. That is until January 3rd when it was set on fire. 

I know and enjoy the history of the Pacific Conference, so I was sad to see the building burn. Especially since this was my family's church when I was a child. My dad was the youth pastor there while he was in college and seminary. However, it was even more sad to me that a place that once was the home of dynamic preaching and ministry had become an abandoned building that no longer was the site of a move of God, but a place of emptiness. People didn't care about this building until it caught on fire. There were plenty of firetrucks, firefighters, and camera crews. It made national news as people came just to watch the church on fire. 

There is a quote that is attributed to John Wesley. “Light yourself on fire with passion and people will come from miles to watch you burn.” So the question for us is, are we a people of passion? Do we have a passion for focusing on Jesus? Do we have a passion for following God's Word? Do we have a fiery passion for fulfilling the Great Commission? In Matthew 3:11 John the Baptist spoke of Jesus saying that he would baptize people in the Holy Spirit and in fire. Nobody cares about a church that is empty and does not have the fire of the Holy Spirit. Churches led by pastors who are on fire for the Lord and have believers on fire with a passion for following Jesus are an irresistible attraction. Just as people came to watch a church on fire in downtown Portland, they will come to watch a church that is on fire for the Lord. Do we have that passion? If not, are you asking God to renew your passion? 

Superintendent Brian

REPORTS

 

Last week between Christmas and New Years there were a lot of programs where they took the week off and basically showed the highlights from the previous year. The past few years I would put together a little video with a bunch of pictures of what we had done the previous year. Pretty soon the conference office will be "encouraging" pastors to fill out some reports that we need here at the office. I know those end of the year reports aren't the most fun a person can have, but they are significant. The end of the year report for churches we ask a few questions. They are good to stop and take stock of the state of the church for the past year as we look forward to a new year. 

In the Bible, in the book of Joshua, there is the story of the crossing of the Jordan River. Joshua and the Israelites left Egypt, wandered in the wilderness, and are now entering the Promised Land. Just as God performed a miracle and the previous generation walked through the Red Sea on dry ground, God performed a miracle and this generation walked across the Jordan River on dry ground. During this process, the Lord instructed Joshua to have guys get some rocks from the river and set them up on the bank. Joshua 4:7 "...These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever." For years after this event people would take their grandchildren to look at these stones and tell the next generation about the miracle God had done for them. 

So, as we begin a new year and we're doing the end of the year reports, filling out the paperwork, and doing our taxes, think about the miracles God did for us this past year. Maybe we don't have a pile of rocks to look at, but we can look back at this past year. There were blessings that came from the Lord. There were difficulties where the Lord was with us in the midst of our struggles. As we look back on the year and the changes in life, we recognize God's presence and God's provision, and just know that it is not all about us, but it is also to be a testimony to those who are not yet Christians. Joshua said at the end of chapter 4, "He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever." 

The Lord's hand is powerful. May we fear the Lord our God this coming year.