Zack's Rants

One of the biggest disservices we do to each other within the church, is failing to acknowledge failure. We’re like characters in a play, who dress up and cover our faces with masks to fool the world into thinking we’re someone we’re not. But inside we’re hurting, and we’re dealing with heavy burdens. I see a major problem within the church walls, when a room is without prayer requests, and our biggest struggles are time management and forgetting to read our Bible.

There are much bigger problems left unsaid. 

We visit our churches every week, thinking that we’re the only ones who deal with the struggle of feeling lonely, or being addicted to pornography, or using drugs, or dealing with sexual immorality, or homosexuality, or feeling bitterness and hatred, or feeling hopeless, or feeling depressed or anxious, or suicidal, or unworthy, ruined, broken, abused, forgotten. 

The truth is, our very congregation is made up of the people I’ve just mentioned. They teach our sunday schools, they lead worship, they preach sermons, they sit beside us silently in service, or they stand up and raise their hands. Its okay to be imperfect, just like me, and everyone else. Embrace each others struggles. Alone, we are broken fragments- broken people. But together, we are complete. We are a bride to a living God. You aren’t alone in your struggles. 

The church is not a museum for saints. It is a hospital for sinners. 

Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

What are the first things that come to your mind when you think of what it means to be a Christian? For some people, this could mean going to church a couple of times a month, or at least on Christmas and Easter. For others it might mean saying a prayer before eating, or flipping through the Bible every now and then. Some might even say that being a Christian means being born into a Christian family. According to the Bible, being a Christian means turning from your sin and trusting in Jesus Christ alone. This also means believing that the blood of Christ that was shed on the cross can wipe away your sins and give you eternal life- if you place your faith in Jesus Christ. 

Ephesians 1:15-19:

“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power towards us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might.”

As Christians, we live new and transformed lives. And as we live these new and transformed lives, we grow in three different directions. 

1. Growing in our love for God’s people (growing out).

Take a look at Ephesians 1:15- “For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints…”. Naturally, when we place our faith in Jesus, our love for our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ will increase. When the Bible uses the word “Saint” is it not referring to perfect people. When the Bible uses the word “Saint” it is referring to people like you and I: Fallen, sinful and sometimes difficult to get along with. As your faith in Christ grows, so does the love you have for your fellow Christians. 1 Thessalonians 3:12 “and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you.” This love that is a reflection of our relationship with Christ, towards our fellow believers, is a sacrificial, unconditional love. As your relationship with Christ grows, so does your love for people. 

2. Growing in our knowledge of God’s Son (growing down). 

Ephesians 1:16-17- “do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”

There are three important words in the passage.

I. Wisdom - Acting on what you know and believe.

II. Revelation - The unveiling of truth.

III. Knowledge - Becoming involved and connected. 

Its important to note that “knowing” Jesus is very different from “knowing about” Jesus. A person can know plenty of facts about Jesus, but still never know Jesus personally- in the same way that a person can read a biography on a person, but never truly have a relationship with the person they’ve read about.

So how is it that we get to know Jesus? The answer is remarkably simple. In the same way that we get to know someone by spending time with them, we’re able to build a relationship with our Lord and Savior by simply spending time with Him. Practically speaking, this can be done through prayer, worship, reading the Bible, and through service. 

3. Growing in our vision of God’s greatness (growing up). 

Ephesians 1:18-19 “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power towards us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might.” To have your eyes “enlightened” means to have your eyes opened to the reality of who Jesus is. Christ wants you to see the hope of eternal life that you have sealed inside of His death and resurrection. You are God’s treasure and His inheritance- highly valued and anticipated by Him. 

Growing in Christ ultimately means decreasing in self. When the light of Christ is growing in your life, the light that you project will naturally decrease in the presence of a great light. A question to ask yourself is: Who in my life is bigger- me or Jesus? Who do I talk about the most? Who do I think about the most? Who is being placed first in my life?

James 1:17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

 It’s amazing how easy it is to forget the blessings that we are given in our lives. Sometimes it feels as if one word of bad news trumps the joy of the blessed life that we’ve been provided. In the book of James, we see that every single good thing that happens in our lives and anything good that we receive is given to us by God. That’s an incredible thought. Think about it- the God of the universe chose to personally bless and reward you, when, frankly, non of us are truly worthy of any reward from God- yet He does it anyway out of love.

Knowing this, take time to thank God for the incredible life you’ve been given. Remember that we are all undeserving, yet God, out of His own graciousness, has given us much to be thankful for. Remember that every good thing that we receive in life comes from above. Every material possession, relationship, ability and kind action, is a blessing from God.

Make it your prayer that you would not to lose sight of the creator through the creation.

Genesis 1:27-28 “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Everyone is searching for purpose in their lives. We look to our careers, anticipate relationships and desire possessions, believing that these things could bring us a sense of well-being and satisfaction. We desire to carve out our own destinies, and find our own place in the greater picture of life. Its very easy for us to miss that we do not define the purpose of our lives.

Before the fall of man, before sin ever entered the world, God spoke to man and gave him a purpose. He clearly showed Adam and Eve what they were to do with their lives- He did not leave them in the dark to figure out their purpose on their own. Sin entered the world by man’s selfish desire to take the reigns from God’s hand and create a life apart from God’s design. As humans, we naturally resist anything outside of ourselves that tries to dictate our lives. When we act this way towards God, eventually we find ourselves without direction, chasing dead end after dead end, craving purpose and meaning.

As a Christian, you are part of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27). You have a purpose in the overall functioning of this body. Just as God had a specific plan for Adam and Eve in the garden, he has a specific purpose and plan for you as well. Remember that God makes no mistakes. Before the beginning of time, you were a thought in God’s mind- given a purpose and role to play in His grand design. Pray that God would give you the desire to carry out His will for your life, the wisdom and strength to see it through, and peace of mind when faced with uncertainty. 

1 Peter 4:12-15 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler”.

If Christ is being projected by your life for people to see, you will undergo persecution of some sort. Certainly the thought of being persecuted is frightening- we all want to be loved and respected by the people around us, and avoid trouble if we can. To someone that does not hold Christian beliefs, the gospel can easily come across as a direct assault on the humanistic lifestyle that is rooted within us and promoted by our culture.

Though persecution can be a scary thing to think about, Paul says in Romans 8:18 “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.” Jesus gives us something to look forward to in the face of persecution in Matthew 5:12, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

When you proclaim the gospel, there will be a cost. The world openly rejects what you stand for, and there will be resistance. But rest assured that through Christ, you will be able to endure any persecution directed towards you. Paul mentions the secret to persevering through suffering brought on by persecution in Philippians 4:11-14 “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Make it your prayer that God would help you make the gospel the joy and prize of your life. Philippians 3:7 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

Psalm 54:1-2 “Save me, O God, by Your name,
and vindicate me by Your power.Hear my prayer, O God;
Give ear to the words of my mouth.”

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

When we started up our guys accountability group years ago, the first meeting we had was initially very awkward. It started as a group of 5-7 college guys and many of us didn’t know each other that well at the time. Typically when you start up an accountability group, you chose to only 1 to 3 of your closest and most trusted friends to confide in. But we decided that it was something that needed to be done in order to both keep each other accountable as a group of Christian guys, and also that it would allow us to grow closer together.

I can remember when it was time to share what it was that we were struggling with. We all started off with small things that everyone deals with- from time management to anger. Nobody wanted to open up at first. But as the meeting went on longer, slowly but surely more personal issues began to arise. Amazingly, we found that we all were struggling with the same issues. It was such a relief to be able to know that there were other people that could identify with the same things that I was going through.

When Christ came down to earth, he identified Himself with our struggles and our problems. Christ was both fully God, and fully man, subjecting Himself to the sufferings and temptations of this world. The God that we serve is not a God that is far off from us, and He is not a God that cannot relate to us. He endured the very same problems as you and I, yet He persevered without sinning- later dying on the cross in our place as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. God understands that we are not perfect, and he understands that we mess up and give into temptations. God lavishes grace upon us (Ephesians 1:8) and provides a chance for us to start anew, washing away our transgressions (Isaiah 1:18) and giving us hope. 

Remember when you come before God to pray, that He knows your heart, and He knows about the difficulties that life can bring, having endured them also. He knows our weaknesses, and can identify with us. As a Christian, take comfort knowing that you aren’t alone.

Psalm 139:1-3 “O Lord You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up, You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.”

Philippians 1:9-10 “And this I pray, that your love may about still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ”.

It can be easy for the trivial things in life to sweep away our attention, and if we’re not careful, these little things can make their way up our priority list. Paul prays for the Philippians to have knowledge and discernment so that they may “approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless”.  He’s urging Christians to be on their guard against little things that might steal away their time and energy. More now than ever, it can be easy for us to become swept away by unimportant things- due to the fact that through the Internet, laptops and smart phones, we have access to an unlimited amount of information and entertainment, anywhere, anytime. Because we have access to so much information, this makes it especially difficult to turn these devices off long enough to spend time alone with God.

The word “sincere” in verse 10 could be translated as “pure” which means to be “tested by sunlight”. In ancient times, deceitful potters would fill holes and cracks in expensive pottery with wax and sell them to unaware buyers. Overtime the wax would dissolve and the cracks in the pottery would reappear. The way that you could discover if the pottery had been filled with wax, is by holding it up to the sunlight. In the same way, as Christians, we are called to be “pure”. If we are living deceitful lifestyles, we will eventually be uncovered and the cracks that we’ve tried so hard to hide will be revealed. Pray that God would reveal hidden sins in your life,  and give you the desire to be pure.

Psalm 147:5-6 “Great is our Lord and abundant in strength, His understanding is infinite. The Lord supports the afflicted, He brings down the wicked to the ground.” 

1 Corinthians 2:1-3 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”

Sometimes one of the most challenging aspects of being a Christian is sharing your faith with other people who do not share your same Christian beliefs. We find ourselves feeling unworthy or too uneducated to share the gospel, and so we shy away from sharing the message of Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 2:1-3 Paul talks about the power of the gospel. He says that he did not come before the people of Corinth with “persuasive words of wisdom”, but instead he came before them in weakness, fear and trembling. If Paul, the author of the majority of the New Testament and ex-Pharisee, is claiming he was not overly confident in his abilities to communicate- what does that mean for us?

You don’t need to be a master theologian to share the gospel. Paul claims that the important thing to know is “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” Words of persuasion and convincing arguments will not change a human heart, nor make them more libel to accept the message of Christ. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. And while it is important to always be increasing in our knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10), remember that the turning of human hearts lies in the hands of God. We are simply messengers. Next time you you’re nervous about sharing the gospel, remember and be thankful- it’s not by our own power that people our saved, but it is the work of God.

Psalm 16:9-11 “There fore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh will also dwell securely. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. You will make known to be the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” 

We’re searching for who we are. We’re looking for an identity. We’re looking for a purpose- we’re looking to contribute to something greater than ourselves. 

We learned the last post “Who You Are (Part 1)” http://zacklocklear.tumblr.com/post/34677424435/who-you-are-part-1 

- To be part of something truly great is to be part of something used to bring God glory. 

- God has great plans for yourself, and wishes to carry them out through you.

Now we want to take a look at something that I think snares many believers and keeps them from reaching their full potential, and in the end, causes them to not live their lives for Christ in the way that they could. 

One of the biggest problems we face as Christians, who really want to make our lives count by doing something great for Christ, is the issue of unworthiness (I would encourage you to read this post, dealing with this very issue http://zacklocklear.tumblr.com/post/33432098324/are-you-worthy ).

Satan would love nothing more than to make you feel like the task before you is impossible because, after all, “look at what a wreck your life is? How could God ever accomplish something great through you for His glory after all you’ve done?”. While lets keep in mind, that IS something satan will continuously attack you with, and its important to understand that when you feel that way, it is him trying to ruin you before you’ve even started- it’s also important to understand that there is some truth to that. Outside of Christ living in you, theres nothing you can do. And your sinful nature will forever keep you from giving God any glory. HOWEVER, in Christ, you have incredible potential- you have a new nature, and by His grace, you can do great things for Him.

SO, that being said, many of us feel like we are unlovable because of our past. And whether you realize it or not, this causes mayor problems in both our relationship with Christ, and our relationship with others. Here’s the equation:

God’s love for you + your acceptance of God’s love = the ability to love yourself, and  the ability to ACCEPT and GIVE love to others.

When you feel like you are unlovable, this makes it very hard (if not impossible) to accept love from others. It leaves you believing that you aren’t worthy of compliments or encouragement. You may find yourself drowning out praise from other people because they’re “just being nice”, and you assume that they don’t mean what they say. In return, this can begin to build feelings of neglect because you believe that you simply aren’t loved by other people. This will cause a cancer in your soul. It will destroy you. 

You might be thinking that loving yourself is not being humble- don’t misunderstand me. Someone once said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself, less.” This is what I’m talking about. Going through life with the belief that you’re a dirtbag isn’t just unhealthy, but its unbiblical. Paul talks about you being “bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:30)- you aren’t a dirtbag, and Christ bought you with a price. You are valuable to Him. Valuable enough for Him to come down from heaven and die for you. And He has a plan for you. 

We must learn to accept God’s love. Know that it is God that sets your value, not men.

One you begin to grasp that you are truly worth something to God, then you will be able to see that you have value. Once you understand that you have value, you will be able to REFLECT and ACCEPT love from God and others. A Good verse to remember is 1 Peter 5:6-7 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 

God is not a God who is far off and unreachable. He watchers over you, and he cares for you.

Psalm 139:1-5 “O Lord you have searched me and known me, you know when I sit down and when I rise up, you understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold O Lord, you know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.”

Remember, we are sinners. But God loved us so much that He gave up His son for us. Through him we can do great things for His name. Knowing this, we are free to love, and we are free to be loved. 

You may be in a position today where you’re questioning who you are. You’re searching for an identity. You want to leave a legacy and do something worth while, but you don’t know who you are and you don’t know where to start. You probably clicked on this link because you’re curious about what someone would have to say about uncovering you’re identity. I’m glad you’re searching. 

First of all. God can’t be left out of the equation when you’re looking for the purpose behind your life, and here’s why: Without God, you have no purpose. Nothing truly great will ever be accomplished without God, your life is meaningless without God, and there are no answers without God. You cannot negotiate with this reality. Because if God does not exist, then you find yourself living in a world without truth where everything is subjective. There is no right or wrong, no black or white, no good or evil. Yet deep down, we know that truth exists, and our souls cry out for it. We demand truth, and we search to find that someone (or something) has set truth in our hearts  and we experience part of this in our conscience. We have a sense of justice and right and wrong instilled into us by God. So if God does exist (and He does), and He brought you into existence for His glory, then you owe Him your life because He created it. It is God that defines right and wrong, black and white, good and evil. Once you understand this, then you have a foundation for uncovering who you are. There is truth. There is God. Your life has a purpose. 

The next thing to grasp is who you are in the sight of this God. This is where your purpose begins to be established. I already mentioned that if you believe in God, then you must believe that He created you because He wanted to bring Himself glory. It seems unlikely and strange that He would create you to bring Himself constant grief and torture. No. He created you as the prime of His creation and wishes to delight Himself as the result of your existence when you glorify Him. Hold on to that last statement because it’s important.

Nehemiah 8:9 “And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.”

In the book of Nehemiah, we see that the city of Jerusalem has been restored and the walls that were broken down by it’s enemies have been rebuilt as the result of many miracles orchestrated by God. Nehemiah and Ezra the priest gather the people together and begin to read the Word of God to everyone in the city. As they are reading through the Word, the people begin to grasp who they are as sinners  before a holy God, and begin to weep. You see, these people were beginning to understand just how far they had flown shy of God’s standards. This is the start of something beautiful. And it gets better.

Nehemiah 8:12 “And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and make great rejoicing, because they had understood words that were declared to them.”

Once you begin to understand who you are in the sight of a holy God, you begin to understand your desperate position. Even after your conversion to Christianity, you need a proper grasp of just how far you’ve missed the mark. The more you understand your own sinfulness, the more you realize how dependent you are on God, the more you understand God’s mercy and grace towards a sinner such as yourself. THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR DISCOVERING YOUR PURPOSE. After all, thats what you’re looking for, and this is where the beauty of the gospel comes in. So you’re a sinner, you could never earn your own salvation through works, but by God’s grace and mercy, and by the blood of His son Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross for you, you’ve been justified, should you choose to accept it. Take a moment to think about this:

Jesus is praying in the garden the night that He’s going to be taken away to be whipped, and beaten to the point that He’s unrecognizable, and finally nailed to a cross. All for You. This is His moment. But He dreads it. Not just the crucifixion that is to come, but the fact that He is about to take on the sin of murderers, rapists, liars, thieves and everything in between, and the sins of you and I. He digs His fingers in the dirt and cries out to God with blood running down his forehead between His eyes. He dreads what is to come, He asks for the task to be excused from Him, but He’s willing to do it if it’s the will of God. And it is. And it is for you. 

Understand that this is the most monumental act performed in the history of mankind. Every wrong committed by you in the past, present, and future are charged not against you, but against a perfect man. And He took the cup of your sin, and drank it to the last drop- hating ever moment of it, but doing out of a love that escapes definition. 

Knowing this changes everything for us. For God to love you so much that He would sacrifice to the extent that He has, must mean that you are truly worth just that much to Him. God is no fool. He didn’t make a mistake when He died for you. And because He loves this much, would He forget about you? Would He exclude you from His great plans? Absolutely not. Once you are able to grasp who you are, and what Christ has done for you, this will change your life. You will begin to find your value in the fact that the God of the universe values you that much. And he plans to do great things through you for His glory.   And as you glorify God with your life, He delights in your very existence as the result of the glory you bring Him. This is incredible. The answers to who you are and why you’re hear, is found at the cross.