Yes … it’s really that time again to start thinking about the … Christmas Tea 2012. If you would like to audition, please click here to view and download the Tea Audition Information Letter, Audition Application, and Rehearsal Schedule. Auditions are coming up very soon. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Sarah Pate. Audition applications won’t be taken after the May 31 cutoff.

2 Corinthians 4:16 says, “Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”

We are called to value spiritual strength over physical strength.  Our outer man in the clay pot, our physical bodies.  All of our bodies are decaying, but some of us are more aware of this process than others.

Paul states that there is an undeniable connection between the dying of his outer man, and the growth and maturing of his inner man – the heart… the soul that lives forever.

Our inner self is renewed day by day.  Renewed means to cause to grow up, changed into a new kind of life.

It’s a paradox but the truth is that when believers are physically weak and at the end of their own resources, they are in the place where they can be made spiritually strong.

2 Corinthians 12:10 says, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

When I’m sick, I just want to be better.  Last summer I was just so frustrated.  I never once thought to look with anticipation for the spiritual blessings God might be bringing.  In all honesty, I was spending too much time trying to figure out what I had done wrong that God would turn his back on me, especially with the ministry year right around the corner.

With few exceptions, in our later years we are going to have more and more moments of physical weakness and distress.  We can dread that, or we can have the mindset that while not easy, these years hold the potential to know God’s power in ways we may have never known before.

2 Corinthians 4:17 says, “For this light momentary affliction of preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”

We are called to value the future over the present.  Not only did Paul’s suffering make him spiritually strong, it also enriched his eternal reward.

The Greek word for “light” actually means “quick.”  This quick, momentary pressure is producing an eternal weight of glory – the glorious condition of blessedness which is promised for true Christians to enter at the end of this life or when Christ returns.

Do you grasp what this means?  There is a direct correlation between the suffering we experience in this life, and the glory/eternal rewards we will receive in the next.  This glory is beyond all comparison.  In the Greek it is an expression of extremes: immeasurable times infinity.

Romans 8:17-18 says, “We suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

When was the last time you looked at that person who has it made and never has any problems and thought, “How sad!  She might have a pretty skimpy crown in heaven!”  Okay, that’s a little silly… but we do look at others and wonder, “Why do they have it so good?  Why doesn’t God love me like them?”

Ladies… this is the Word of God!  Your trials are priceless because they are storing up treasures for you in heaven as you deal with them in ways that honor God.  These are not happy, slappy words.  This is eternal truth.  His power is there for you to do something that will last for eternity – bring glory to God.

Our unholy world: immorality is rampant.  Pornography is a click away.  The Bible no longer has the authority of being God’s Word.  Wrong is applauded.  Churches are no longer influential in the community.  Many who call themselves Christian resemble the world more than the Lord.

God’s will for us as believers is holiness.  1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 tells us this is how you ought to live and how to please God.  This is His will: your sanctification.  God has not called you and me for impurity but for holiness.  To disregard this is to disregard God who has given His Holy Spirit to us.

What does it mean to be holy?  Holiness is NOT a halo; perfection; huddling up together in church; shutting the world out.  Holiness IS being set apart from sin; being consecrated and devoted to God alone, personally and within the body of believers.

What is the goal of holiness?  That individuals would be conformed to Christ, look like Him, act like Him, think like Him, respond like Him.

What does it look like to live a holy life, set apart for the Lord?  This is the theme of the weekend: living differently in an unholy world, not getting caught up in the trappings of our culture, yet not isolating from the culture either.  Living to impact others for Christ.

The way of holiness is easy to see in the life of Peter through his spiritual journey, and the process the Lord took him through to create in him holiness, the set apart life that God could use for His glory.

Peter was a well-known personality in the Bible.  He was very human, easy to relate to, bold, boisterous, impulsive. He had a big hear and a big mouth and was somewhat of a natural leader.  Sometimes he had great spiritual understanding, and sometimes he didn’t.  He was a rough, uneducated fisherman from Galilee until Jesus called him.  He was one of twelve disciples who followed Jesus.  Acts 2 tells us he was also a powerful preacher and leader of a newborn church.

So how did Peter get from being a fisherman to the leader of a church?  He was an unlikely candidate.  Uneducated.  Unrefined.  A common laborer.  He had no theological degree.  He was the last person you would pick.  It is so like God to work in ways contrary to what we think.

The Lord chose Peter not for who he was, but for who He was making him to be.  But there was a refining process.  Peter was very full of himself and needed to be brought to the end of himself to be usable.  God took those qualities in Peter that were liabilities and redeemed them for His kingdom work.

These are true for us today.  To be used of God in the way He desires He has to bring you and I to the end of ourselves: our self-dependence, self focus, selfishness, confidence in what self can do, self controlling everything, self seeking.

Holy living begins with a humble, repentant, and yielded heart for the Lord.  Salvation is the first step in the process, but it continues throughout our lifetime.  The process: as God presents us with new challenges there will always be new areas of giving up control; new areas of needing to be humble before Him.  There are three steps in the process: Peter’s heart for God; Peter’s humanness; Peter’s humbling.

Peter was a good Jew.  He was morally respectable, observed the law, longed for the Messiah, had clear-cut boundaries.  He was most likely a disciple of John the Baptist, so he would have heard John’s message of repentance and would hear John talk of One more worthy who was coming.  In this, the Lord was preparing Peter’s heart to respond.  It drew him.  It gave him an awareness of sin.  His heart was softened and prepared.  John’s message created in him a desire for the Lord.

It is God’s plan to refine us to completeness.  You may feel like there is nothing worthy in yourself.  The Lord who created you views you with delight because He sees the finished product.  We will be stunned because we will be stunning on that day in heaven when we view each other as we were created to be, sin removed.  Right now we are in process.  How can this encourage us?  We are not discarded or overlooked!  The Lord of the universe views you as worthy of investing in.  He desires to use you for His glory.  He takes raw ingredients and shapes it all to achieve the holiness He already sees.

God uses our failures often to form in us the humble dependence on Him that enables us to be used by Him.  That process is death to self, to flesh, to pride.  Paul said it this way in Galatians 2:20 (paraphrased): The rest of my life will be spent in dying to myself and living to Christ.  It is a lifelong battle and process, so strongly does self desire to assert and take over.

Where are you in the process?  When the Lord begins stripping off layers of self in your life, how cooperative are you?  How often do you associate the process with the end result, anticipating what he is making you to be, and how he wants to use you?

Being holy, impacting the culture for Christ, begins with a repentant, humble, yielded heart for the Lord that responds to His voice, is teachable, and trusts God in the process of holiness.

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.  Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?  Who may stand in His holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.  They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior.  Such is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, God of Jacob.  Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is this King of glory?  The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.  Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is he, this King of glory?  The Lord Almighty – He is the King of glory.

Any discussion of giving has to begin with God’s giving.  His giving in creation – that everything in this world is His.  His giving in redemption – that everything in the next world that is ours is all because of Him.

1 Corinthians 16 starts by saying, “Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do.  On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper.”

It is inconceivable that we could ever out give God.  Alistair Begg said, “When we have given to God all that we are and all that we have, we have simply given him what is his own.”

1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “So, my dear brothers (sisters), be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.”

That word for steadfast means motionless.  If you have ever tried to get your teenager out of bed, you know what this word is.  Immovable, firm, unshakeable.

Since the resurrection is true, since there IS a life to come… be a person of conviction who can’t be shaken up, no matter what anyone says, even when tragedy hits.

The word for “always abounding” means to exceed a prescribed number or measure.  The negative side is to stand firm, but the positive side is to be tirelessly involved in the Lord’s work.  Since the resurrection is true, we can live life on this earth with heaven in mind.

And know this…

Nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless!  No moment of time, no drop of energy, no sharing of riches is ever, ever wasted when it is done for the Lord.

We are used to having everything for our pleasure and enjoyment.  Alistair Begg put it this way:

We want a relationship with God so we can use God, rather than obey God.  We are willing to sacrifice an hour of our week for God, forgetting entirely that he holds every breath in his hands.  We think of God as someone who will fulfill all our needs instead of someone to whom we must surrender all our rights.  The big problem in the work of the Lord isn’t burn out… it’s rust!

Always, always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord.  When you are enjoying it, when you are not enjoying it, when life is going smooth and you have an abundance, and when you think you don’t have one more thing to give.  That’s how you live on this earth with heaven – and the resurrection – in mind.

Chapter 12 tells us that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to every believer for the common good.  We put out the challenge for you to prayerfully discover just how the Spirit has gifted you.  Paul gave us this powerful picture of a body joined together with each part being important.  If one part says, “I’m not important,” we all suffer.  If one part says, “I’m all important,” we all suffer.

Chapter 13 tell us that the most excellent way to use spiritual gifts is love.  If I do all these things – if I speak in tongues, or have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries, and have all knowledge and all faith – but have not love… I’m nothing.

Chapter 14 tells us that the most important goal of spiritual gifts is edification and building up of the Church.

In chapter 14 Paul tells us to “excel in building up the church” (vs. 12).  Four times in this chapter Paul uses the Greek word “oikodome”, which refers to the building up of a house from foundation up and keeping it in constant repair.

During these difficult days as a church family, the reality that we are continually being edified and built up in Christian love is so evident.  The highlight of Judy’s last days was mail call.  On Thursday when I was there she received 10 cards filled with encouragement.  There was an abundance of food from the choir and WOW friends.  The outpouring of love on the Ramirez family was just amazing.  The waiting room in the ICU was packed almost around the clock with dear friends.  Someone who lives just a few miles away from the hospital transformed a detached room of their home from a play room into a guest house for Tammy’s husband and children in a matter of hours.

It has been so very sweet to be part of the staff and be able to look out and see how the body of Northpoint has embraced being the body of Christ to these two families.  Thank you!

If we don’t start with this last phrase from Chapter 12 when we begin to read Chapter 13, we will misunderstand the entire chapter.  It is not a formula for how to have wedded bliss, or a great family reunion, or even a happy home.  In fact, it’s not a formula at all, even though it has been used for that purpose for centuries.  1 Corinthians 13, “The Love Chapter”; engraved on plaques, read at countless weddings, quoted in poetry and song, reprinted in greeting cards by the thousands.  Part of our problem is the word “love” itself.  In English we use the same word to describe our love for our spouse, our children, our parents, and even diet Pepsi.  This is not the case in the original language of the New Testament.

Classic Greek has four words for love:

Eros describes an intimate and passionate love.  Storge is the love of family.  Phileo is the love of friendship or loyalty.  Agape is a selfless, sacrificial and unconditional love.  It is the highest of all four types.  Only Phileo and Agape are used in the New Testament.

Agape is, of course, descriptive of God’s love for humanity, but also our love for our fellow man, and it is the Greek word used throughout the chapter.  Leon Morris says this about God’s love: “This love of God is a love for the utterly unworthy.  It is a love which proceeds from a God who is Himself Love.  It is a love lavished on others without a thought of whether they are worthy to receive it or not.  It proceeds rather from the nature of the lover than from any merit in the beloved.”

Romans 5:8 says it like this: “… but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

When Paul was discussing Christian liberty in his letter to the Romans, he used the word “agape” to describe one believer’s action toward another: “For if a brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love.  By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:15).

As believers God has given each of us the perfect gift.  We are probably using that gift, even if we don’t realize it.  But we will never use our gifts to their fullest if we don’t understand their purpose and know what they are.

We are entering this whole realm of spiritual gifts.  We will be on this topic for several weeks so if all your questions don’t get addressed today (which they won’t), we will be coming back to the concept of spiritual gifts throughout the month.  Notice I said we would hopefully “address” the key questions, not necessarily “answer” them.

While Paul is writing to the Corinthians 2,000 years ago, we find a lot hasn’t changed in the Church today.  In chapters 12-14 it becomes clear that the issue of spiritual gifts was clouded by some confusion and controversy in the church at Corinth.  It is much the same now.

John MacArthur said, “Perhaps no area of biblical doctrine has been more misunderstood and abused, even within evangelicalism, than that of spiritual gifts.  Yet no area of doctrine is more important to the spiritual health and effectiveness of the church.

Alistair Begg said, “The Evil One, knowing how vital the correct use of spiritual gifts is both to the health and effectiveness of the church, seeks to sew dissension, confusion, and uncertainty, in order to foster ignorance and unbelief in the Church.”

In all this controversy and confusion, we neglect and ignore spiritual gifts.  We each leave our own gift undiscovered and underutilized.

Join us at WOW the next three weeks as we unpack spiritual gifts.

For women to have their heads uncovered actually put themselves on the low level of the temple prostitutes who wore their hair cut very short.  Paul’s point here is: if you are going to disregard what is proper, why not go all the way and just cut your hair off?

Paul did not forbid the women to pray and prophesy.  This was a huge change from Jewish tradition!  Prophesying is not the same as our “preaching” or “expounding the Word” today.  Prophesying referred to inspired speech consisting of the proclamation of God’s message, directed toward the church community, for the purpose of exhortation, edification, and encouragement.

This brings us to one of the most difficult verses of the passage:

“A man ought not to cover his head because he is the image and glory of God.  But the woman is the glory of man.” (v. 7)

I think that we first need to answer the question… What does the word “glory” mean?  If you look it up in a Strongs Concordance you will find this simple but surprising definition: Opinion, judgement, view.  A good opinion concerning one, resulting in praise, honor, and glory.  A bad opinion concerning one, resulting in ridicule, dishonor, and shame.

We find an important clue on how to understand verse 7 in verses 8-9.

“For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake.”

Each one reflects the glory of the one from whom they were created.  Now you’re thinking, “That doesn’t help me!”  Follow me for just a minute.  I have really wrestled with this concept.  There just seemed to be something demeaning about it somehow.  But I came up with an illustration that has really helped me.  I pray it helps some of you.

Man was created by God out of dust and brings God glory.  When man is what God calls him to be he brings praise, honor, and glory to God (so do we as women, by the way).

God created man and then saw him all alone in the garden with no TV, no remote, and he couldn’t decide what to do with himself.  And God said, “We can’t have this!  This isn’t good!  I know… I’ll make woman.”  So God puts man to sleep, and from his rib He fashions woman.  She is uniquely created to be man’s helpmeet.  And when woman is what God has called her to be she brings praise, honor and glory to the man.

Just so you know, that is NOT a demeaning position!  Man shouldn’t look at woman and say, “You are my slave.”  He should look at her and think, “You are my necessity!  I can’t make it without you!”

Here’s the part of the illustration I’ve been building to.  We struggle to understand this as women, but maybe this will help.  Follow me… man was created by God.  Woman was created out of man.  What was created out of woman?  Our children!

Aren’t our children our glory?  Think about it!  When your children are what God has called them to be, does anything on earth bring you more praise, honor and glory?

And isn’t the reverse true, as well?  Nothing can bring us more ridicule, dishonor and shame than a child who is not what God wants them to be.  Is it not true that people form opinions or judgments about us, good or bad, based on how our children behave?

Does the reality that your child has the ability to fill you with glory… or fill you with shame… demean them in any way? Does it mean that your child is somehow a lesser being because they can reflect on you that way?  No!  The reason they have such power over us is because they are so incredibly precious to us!

So, can you see how we as women by our disrespectful behavior bring ridicule and shame on our men – whether at home or here at church?  Not because we are second-rate, but because we are so valued!  That doesn’t demean us in any way.

Forget what the world has told you!  This is perfection!  This is order!  This is life above the chaos of a fallen world!  Our husbands and leaders living in a way that brings God glory, willing to lay down their lives for us as they follow Christ.  We as women living in a way that brings both God and the men glory, willing to be helpers, coming alongside our husbands so that together we accomplish all God calls us both to be.