Past Points

Affluence and Heaven

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:44:30 -0800

“Whatever happened to our hope of heaven?”

That’s the question an aged saint asked of a small group she had joined when a twenty-something Bible student told her he could care less about heaven because, “He was into being the hands and feet of Jesus to a hurting world.” He was about living for others, not about what He would get someday through some, in his words, “pie-in-the-sky” promises that, again in his words, “medicate the poor and hurting” so that they’ll accept social injustices.

As a Jesus Movement convert of the 60’s, I’d have to own some of this young man’s charge. We were so focused on “getting people to heaven,” we convinced ourselves we could ignore the social insensitivities, the prejudices, and injustices of our day. Wouldn’t want anyone to accuse us of preaching a “social gospel” like the liberals.

However, if I’m reading my Bible correctly, there’s no good hell and no bad heaven. Seems to me this isn’t an either-or but a both-and deal. Believers who ignore the hurting aren’t living out Christ’s love in this world; believers who ignore eternity aren’t living out what He says about the world to come.

One common thread I’ve observed in sincere and Godly people so uncomfortable with my passion for the gospel: They often come from upscale neighborhoods, attended schools filled with other affluent students, and have little personal experience with life at the bottom.

It’s not their fault; they just did.

Could it be that at least some of the reason we don’t long for heaven is because we have it so good here?

Phil Yancey says it best, “To believe in future rewards is to believe that the long arm of the Lord bends toward justice, to believe that one day the proud will be overthrown and the humble raised up and the hungry filled with good things. Like a bell tolling from another world, Jesus’ promise of rewards proclaims that no matter how things appear, there is no foundation in evil, only in good.”

What do you think? I sure would love to hear from someone who’s dealing with the meanness of this world as a participant rather than an observer. Does affluence diminish our longing for heaven?

“For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly awaits for the revealing of the Sons of God” (Romans 8:20).

by Ed Underwood

Copyright 2010 theTippingPoints.com Press | Contact Us | Church of the Open Door

Hoops or Holiness?

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:37:12 -0800

What if?
What if you knew something that made every difference in your own experience with the Lord Jesus, something that your friends and loved ones didn’t know? What if this truth you understood was solidly biblical and had been affirmed by every faithful saint in history? What if your life had changed dramatically from the day you embraced this truth?

What if, though you knew this truth was exactly what your friends and loved ones needed, you failed to tell them because it was somewhat controversial? What if, in spite of this principle’s biblical accuracy and effectiveness in every serious disciple’s heart, a lot of Christians felt as if it were a private matter? What if more than that, many believers really became angry if someone mentioned the subject?

Would you feel that in spite of the tension, you should tell your friends and loved ones about this powerfully liberating truth?

Then I have to say…
If your answer to that question is “yes,” then you can understand why I challenged the congregation of Church of the Open Door to trust God enough to commit 10% of their income to His work.

Notice I didn’t use the word “tithe.”

There is no “magic giving percentage” that makes you a “faithful steward.”

The Old Testament “tithe” was required, but it didn’t lead to righteousness. Like the rest of the law, most Israelites disobeyed it. New Testament believers are not “law-givers,” we are “grace-givers.” Because of our new identity in Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we have the capacity to do what the Old Testament believer could not do. The New Testament assumes that church-age saints would go beyond the minimal requirements of the law in every area of life.

Still, if you asked the question, “Is there any threshold in Scripture or in the experience of the saints of history I should begin with?” the answer would be 10%. Before the Law, both Abraham and Jacob responded to God’s grace with a freewill offering of 1/10 of all they had. (Genesis 14:20; 28:22)

Randy Alcorn says, “I’ve interviewed many givers. In the great majority of cases they mention [ten-percent] as the practice that first stretched them to give more… and then watched God provide.”

I agree with Randy. But as soon as I teach this, someone is going to say, “You’re just trying to control us!”

Hoops or Holiness?
No I’m not. I’m trying to fulfill my responsibility as a shepherd in a community of faith. Loving shepherds never withhold critical information from their flock, no matter what the flock might think of them. Mature believers in a community of faith are commanded to care for, teach, and encourage the less mature from the Word and from their experiences with the Lord Jesus.

I’ve noticed over the years that when we try to tell a believer what we feel is best for them, the first charge is, “You’re just making me jump through hoops!”

• If we tell a young couple we won’t marry them until they go through premarital counseling.
• If we tell a missionary candidate he or she should submit to a lengthy training and equipping process before we can send them to the field.
• If we tell a husband he should take a break from ministry because his family is hurting.

Love doesn’t control, but it does express itself in wise counsel in a loving community.

It’s not about jumping through hoops; it’s about moving toward holiness.

These aren’t petty demands; they’re indications of deep affection.

Before You React!
Just because they feel like arbitrary requirements when you and I don’t want to submit to the love of God and others doesn’t mean they aren’t the exact reason Christ has put us in relationship with Him and others.

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works (Hebrews 10:24).

by Ed Underwood

Copyright 2010 theTippingPoints.com Press | Contact Us | Church of the Open Door

Explain This!

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:58:46 -0800

When Judy and I disagree and I go into “defend yourself, make three preaching points and get your way” mode, I usually win the argument. But it never feels as good as I thought it would. In fact, I feel a little sick inside.

When Judy and I disagree and I give up my rights, listen to her, and determine to love her well as Christ loves the church, I usually lose the argument. But it always feels better than winning. In fact, I feel a little euphoric.
How do you explain this?

My new identity as a Christian: When I trusted in Christ, I became a new creation.

I’m not who I use to be; I do not have to act the way I use to act, and I get more pleasure out of doing what Christ would do than doing what the old Ed would have done.

This doesn’t mean that I always do what Christ would do, but it does mean that the new Ed, Christ in me the hope of glory, is only satisfied completely when I’m living out of who I am in Christ.

There’s a big difference between shaming and manipulating people into doing what Christ would do and telling Christians that they don’t have to live the way they use to.

The same difference there is between grace and works. Grace never fails; works always fail.

So, has anyone ever told you that when you trusted in Christ you became a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)? Or, explained to you that you were set free from not only the guilt of sin, but its tyranny (Romans 6:14)? That the real you, the forever you, the Jesus life inside you will never be satisfied with the life you use to live? And that you have the power of God within you to live a life only explained by His presence and power?

If not, then let me be the first.

If you have believed in Jesus, you are not who you use to be. Your life is comingled with Him in inseparable ways. You have the power to resist sin. You have the power to live the life He always wanted to give you and that your redeemed heart longs for.

That’s how I explain that—by the most radical New Testament truth in the Bible:

It’s a mystery now revealed to His saints: “What are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

by Ed Underwood

Copyright 2010 theTippingPoints.com Press | Contact Us | Church of the Open Door

Permission to Hurt One Another

Tue, 5 Jan 2010 08:37:29 -0800

The pastor paced the floor screaming out to God. “What did I do wrong? All I ever wanted to do was serve you!”

I had just had breakfast with the chairman of his elder board who had asked me, “Where did we go south on this? All we ever wanted to do was see people come to Christ.”

Church fights, family tensions, embattled ministries, friends at odds—the most discouraging and damaging dynamic in Christianity.

I’ve been around churches and working with church leaders for decades, and I’m convinced that the number one reason church leaders fight isn’t doctrine or philosophy of ministry. Our problem is that in the furious blur of personal and corporate ministry, we begin to neglect our relationships.

I know, it happened to me fifteen years ago.

Judy and I have thought a lot about that painful process, asking ourselves where it all began, what was the first sign of disunity that we should have heeded to. Here’s the condensed wisdom of all that pain and the pain of others we have tried to help:

We created a climate in which we gave ourselves permission to disregard one another.

• Someone expresses their heart and the rest of us give one another that “here she goes again” look. After the meeting we all agree, “She’s just trying to get her way.”
• One family member leaves the room in tears and nobody follows. “We’ve told him over and over he’s just too intense.”
• Two leaders disagree on a finer point of doctrine and begin to view that as the simple explanation for every strain in their relationship, every tear in their unity.

You may not be a church leader, but you are a wife, a husband, a son, a daughter, a friend, a coworker, or part of a ministry team. Whatever you do, don’t give yourself permission to disregard those the Lord Jesus has brought into your life.

It never ends well.

“These things I command you, that you love one another” (John 15:17).

by Ed Underwood

Copyright 2010 theTippingPoints.com Press | Contact Us | Church of the Open Door

You’re As Alive Today as Anybody!

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:17:29 -0800

God spoke to me in one of my most desperate moments. Everyone, including the best doctors in SoCal, was pretty sure I wouldn’t make it. My skin would not stay on my body, my kidneys had failed, and now my liver. Thousands of dollars of cutting edge drugs were pumping through a picc line directly into my heart.

I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t stay awake, couldn’t eat, and all bodily functions had stopped.

When I was aware of the world around me, all I could do was cry.

“So this is it,” I remember saying to the Lord at 2:00 in the morning from my lonely hospital room. “So this is how I’m going to leave this earth, hooked up to beeping machines and incapable of even praying much.”

And then the Lord said, “Ed, you’re as alive today as anybody!”

It was a critical moment, a tipping point in my life. That’s all He said, but His Spirit continued to bring thoughts of hope to my mind.

“That’s right, and as long as I’m here, I might as well serve Jesus with all my heart. Tomorrow someone who’s perfectly healthy is going to die in an accident, someone else is going to drop dead from a heart attack. All over this city people will wake up in the morning not knowing that this is their last day. And who knows, I may even be here tomorrow, and the next, and the next…”

That was almost ten years ago. Yesterday I turned sixty.

The next day turned into the next week, the next month, and the next year. And I’m still as alive today as anyone.

I can’t know what fears or struggles may be causing you to lose hope in tomorrow, but I do know this: Jesus promised to take care of tomorrow, all the assignments that are your responsibility are for today.

So serve Him with all your might!

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Jesus Christ, Matthew 6:34

by Ed Underwood

Copyright 2009 theTippingPoints.com Press | Contact Us | Church of the Open Door