{"id":3615,"date":"2015-09-30T00:21:39","date_gmt":"2015-09-30T07:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/?p=3615"},"modified":"2015-09-30T22:24:43","modified_gmt":"2015-10-01T05:24:43","slug":"930-bounce-it-back-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/2015\/09\/30\/930-bounce-it-back-up\/","title":{"rendered":"9\/30: Bounce It Back Up (\u8bd7115:1-11 \u81531:27-2:11 \u80361:1-2:30)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u8bfb\u7ecf\uff1a\u00a0\u8bd7115:1-11 \u81531:27-2:11 \u80361:1-2:30<\/h2>\n

Bounce It Back Up<\/h2>\n
\n

It was one of the most moving and powerful testimonies I have ever encountered. A former sex worker, drug addict and dealer described how she had reached a point at which, in her own words, she was \u2018dead\u2019. She said her \u2018blood was black\u2019 and her \u2018heart was black\u2019. She described how she came on Alpha and heard that Jesus loved her so much that he died for her. She described how this had broken the concrete of her heart. She experienced God\u2019s love for her for the first time. She is now filled with love for everyone, forgiving those who abused her, and radiating the love of Christ.<\/p>\n

After she had given her testimony to a stunned congregation, I went up to thank her and said how extraordinarily powerful it had been. She replied, \u2018I need to bounce it back up<\/em>!\u2019 I didn\u2019t understand what she meant, so I asked her to explain. She said, \u2018It\u2019s all his grace. I need to bounce the glory back to him<\/em>.\u2019 She has a profound understanding of grace, glory and what it means to be Christ-like.<\/p>\n

The theme of \u2018glory<\/em>\u2019 runs through each of today\u2019s readings (Psalm 115:1; Philippians 2:11; Jeremiah 2:11). In each passage we see why, how and when the people of God bounced the glory back up to God<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

1. Why glorify God?<\/h2>\n

Psalm 115:1-11<\/a>When people came up to John Wimber and praised him because of a talk he had given or a healing that had happened through his ministry, he used to say, \u2018I\u2019ll take the encouragement, but I\u2019ll pass the glory on.\u2019<\/p>\n

The psalmist gives us a great example of passing the glory on \u2013 bouncing it back up to God. He starts: \u2018Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name<\/em> be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness\u2019 (v.1). He goes on to give two reasons why we should glorify and worship God.<\/p>\n

The first is because of our experience of God\u2019s \u2018love and faithfulness\u2019 (v.1b). Worship is a response to what God has done for us, and this is why we should give him all the glory.<\/p>\n

The second is the oft-repeated biblical truth \u2013 you become like that which you worship: \u2018Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them\u2019 (v.8). So, if we worship idols, we become totally lifeless, unable to do anything of any value at all.<\/p>\n

Put your trust in the Lord who is your \u2018help and shield<\/em>\u2019 (vv.9\u201311). If you put your faith in the Lord and worship him, you will become like him \u2013 you will be changed into his likeness and obtain fullness of life.<\/p>\n

Lord, help me to trust in you, my help and shield, and to experience your love and faithfulness. Help me always to \u2018bounce it back up\u2019 and to give you all the glory.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

2. How to glorify God?<\/h2>\n

Philippians 1:27-2:11<\/a>Paul explains how you can glorify God by becoming like Jesus: \u2018Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself\u2019 (2:5, MSG). Become Christ-like in attitude because of concern for the \u2018name of Jesus\u2019 (v.10) and the \u2018glory of God\u2019 (v.11).<\/p>\n

Live a life \u2018worthy of the gospel of Christ\u2019 (1:27). It is a privilege, not only to believe in Jesus, but also to suffer and struggle for him (vv.29\u201330).<\/p>\n

When people or events come against you, you need to \u2018stand firm<\/em>\u2019 (v.27) in unity against all the opposition and attacks that you are bound to encounter. The language Paul uses is that of aphalanx <\/em>\u2013 the most formidable military device of antiquity. With shields together and spears out front, the soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder in files eight men deep. As long as they did not break rank, they were virtually invincible.<\/p>\n

\u2018Stand united<\/em>, singular in vision, contending for people\u2019s trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity<\/em> will show them what they\u2019re up against: defeat for them, victory for you \u2013 and both because of God\u2019 (vv.27\u201328, MSG).<\/p>\n

A Christ-like attitude is the key to this unity. Any disunity in the church would have detracted from Paul\u2019s \u2018joy\u2019 (2:2). Disunity so often comes from \u2018selfish ambition and vain conceit\u2019 (v.3a). The key is to consider others better than yourself (v.3b), to look not only to your own interests, \u2018but also to the interests of others\u2019 (v.4).<\/p>\n

\u2018Don\u2019t push your way to the front; don\u2019t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don\u2019t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand\u2019 (vv.3\u20134, MSG).<\/p>\n

In other words, you are to have the same attitude as Jesus, who let go of his natural, legal and social status, and made himself \u2018nothing\u2019. He took \u2018the very nature of a servant\u2026 he humbled himself\u2019 and \u2018became obedient to death \u2013 even death on a cross!\u2019 (vv.7\u20138). He took the path of downward mobility, humble service and unselfish love. If you are ever anxious about your relative status, remember that Jesus made himself lower than we could ever imagine.<\/p>\n

\u2018It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn\u2019t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death \u2013 and the worst kind of death at that \u2013 a crucifixion\u2019 (v.8, MSG).<\/p>\n

And as a result, \u2018God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father<\/em>\u2019 (vv.9\u201311).<\/p>\n

This is how you can glorify God: by following Christ in his humble service and selfless love.<\/p>\n

Lord, help me to have the same attitude as Jesus. Help me to take the path that brings glory to God the Father. Help me always to bounce the glory back to you.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

3. When to glorify God?<\/h2>\n

Jeremiah 1:1-2:30<\/a>What happens when troubles, difficulties and disruption come into your life and the lives of those around you?<\/p>\n

Jeremiah lived in one of the troubled periods in Israel\u2019s history \u2013 the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC and the exile in Babylon. He was given a difficult message to give to the people. He did it with great courage in the face of hostility and persecution.<\/p>\n

The opening chapters of Jeremiah show two more ways that you can glorify God and when you can do so.<\/p>\n

First, you glorify God when you respond to God\u2019s call<\/em>. Age is no barrier to leadership. Jeremiah was probably a teenager when God called him, around the year 627 BC. He could be described as both a \u2018born leader\u2019 and a \u2018born prophet\u2019. Before his birth he was set apart to be a prophet. God said, \u2018Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you… and before you were born I separated and <\/em>set you apart… I appointed you as a prophet to the nations\u2019 (1:5, AMP).<\/p>\n

God knows all about you \u2013 the good and the bad. His knowing leaves nothing out. He loves you. He does not necessarily approve of everything you do, but he wants you to live, like Jeremiah, with the freedom of knowing his love and approval.<\/p>\n

The Lord tells you, as he told Jeremiah, to go wherever he tells you to go and say whatever he tells you to say (v.7). This takes the ultimate responsibility off your shoulders. Glorifying God does not mean having to try to save the whole world (that is God\u2019s responsibility), but rather doing what God asks you to do. This will not be easy. God warns that there will be opposition (vv.17\u201319).<\/p>\n

Second, you glorify God when you respond to God\u2019s correction. God asked Jeremiah to warn the people against worshipping worthless idols and to call them back to worshipping him.<\/p>\n

Jeremiah said, \u2018My people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols\u2019 (2:11b). Not only does this deny God the glory he deserves, it is actually self-destructive. When we turn away from God we lose the blessings of relationship with him, and replace it with something useless. God laments how \u2018my people have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water\u2019 (v.13).<\/p>\n

Again, we see that you become like whatever you worship. Those who follow \u2018worthless idols\u2019 become \u2018worthless themselves\u2019 (v.5). If you follow Jesus, you become like him. If we try to find satisfaction, meaning and purpose through our own ambitions and self-centred appetites for power, money, food, drink, and drugs, we become of no value \u2013 our lives are worthless.<\/p>\n

In particular, they were \u2018on the hunt for sex, sex, and more sex \u2013 insatiable, indiscriminate, promiscuous\u2019 (v.24, MSG). They were \u2018addicted\u2019 and could not \u2018quit\u2019 (v.25, MSG).<\/p>\n

Jeremiah despaired that God\u2019s people had not responded to his correction (v.30). They had forsaken his blessings, and failed to give him glory.<\/p>\n

Lord, help me to fix my eyes on Jesus, the spring of living water, and to turn my face towards him. May I become Christ-like and give you all the glory.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Pippa Adds<\/h2>\n
\n

Jeremiah 1:11\u201312<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018The word of the Lord came to me: \u201cWhat do you see, Jeremiah?\u201d \u201cI see the branch of an almond tree,\u201d I replied. The Lord came to me, \u201cYou have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

It is interesting that God uses pictures to speak. They can be so comforting, encouraging and memorable. I find it a little scary if I think I have a picture at a meeting. It is easy to discount it, thinking someone else will probably have a better one and that maybe I\u2019d made it up anyway. I am trying to be a bit braver and, if I have something, to share it in the hope that God might give me more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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