Mark Hunnicutt

How Do You Usher People Into Your Life?

God is doing a work in me by revealing my need to intentional love people.  James illustrates how a usher's actions can show motive in James 2:2-4.

² For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting  dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. ³ If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, ⁴ doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

In this example you have a man that can serve your needs and a man who can’t.  The fancy man can help me network and gain earthly success.  The filthy man, not so much networking and earthly success.  If I give preferential treatment to the fancy man instead of the filthy man it reveals my ambitions and motives.  It proves that they are not of God.  James actually writes they are evil.  Why? 

In the early church people where dealing with issues of status and discrimination just like today.  Going to a religious meeting was like a modern day red carpet affair.  The religious social elite would be paraded into the meeting place while common people vied for a blessing.  The elite would be given the best seats and then the common people could stand or sit on the floor.    Jesus broke this practice by treating all people with respect and dignity.  He rolled up the red carpet and shed His blood so that everyone can walk a red, blood stained, path and become royalty in the Kingdom of God.

How we usher people into our lives either complements or competes with what Jesus has done.  I’m in competition and contradicting Jesus when I discriminate.  Complementing Jesus is when I allow Him to dominate my daily actions and activities.  I need to intentional love people just because Jesus does and not for what they can do for me. 

More application to come…

Your Sermon and Your Situation

The pastor said to a member, “If you received $1,000,000 would you give some to the Lord?”

“Yes.”

“And if you won a condo in the Caribbean, would you use it for God?”

“Sure.”

“A car?”

“Hold on a minute pastor!” protested the member. “You know I have a car!”

My prayer for you today is that you used what you have where you are to bring glory to God.  You probally don't have an opportunity today to go across the ocean.  You probally can't pull off an incredible event today.  What can you do today?  Every Christ-follower has a sermon and a situation.  Your sermon is what God has done for you and your situation is where you are right now. I’m asking you to bring glory to God where you are today by asking Him for open doors to share and show His love.  Shine!

What Does Spritual Growth Look Like?

A little 4 year old girl was once hard at study in her drawings with a crayon. Her mother asked her, "Sally, what are you doing which requires such concentration?" Sally said, "I am drawing a picture of spiritual growth." Her mother smiled and said gently, "Sally, no one knows what spiritual growth looks like." Sally responded, "Well, they will when I get through!"

Gauging growth is tough.  How can you know if you are progressing in your walk with Jesus?  What does spiritual maturity look like?  I want to concentrate on three questions that can help.  Ask yourself these questions weekly, during your Sabbath, I know that is a whole other struggle but your need to get away and get with God once a week.  It is one of the Ten Commandments.  It is right there with; thou shall not kill for a reason because if you don’t rest and take a day off you’re going to feel like killing someone. During this weekly time with God gather all the notes and thoughts from your disciplines you practiced over the past week and answer these three questions.

(1)  What is God doing in me?  What is God showing me about myself that is not Christ like? He will reveal where we’ve ignored him such as, pride, lust, greed and selfishness.  Take these revelations to the cross and leave them there.  Agree with God about the damaging effects of those activities and attitudes. 

(2)  What is God doing around me?  This question gauges your God awareness.  God is not dead and he is working in your world. This question takes our eyes off of ourselves and causes us to lift our heads up.  Note what God is doing in your family’s life, your friends life, in the life of your church.  What is God up to? 

(3)  What is God doing through me? In the past week what did God do through me to bring growth to His Kingdom and glory to His name?  Evaluate your conversation and your conduct and celebrate how God used you.

I’m sure this is not the only way to gauge growth. But, if you lay out a spiritual workout and start practicing spiritual disciplines you will start to see personal, tangible growth marks on the spiritual door frame of your life. If you don’t work out spiritually by practicing spiritual disciplines then these questions can’t be answer honestly.  Maybe you can feel in the blanks with some cliché but it’s tough to celebrate.  Mark Driscoll has some incredible information about spiritual disciplines here.  How would your answer the proposed question?  How do you gauge your growth?

Becoming Christ like involves a progressive relationship with Jesus that practices spiritual disciplines which result in a first hand faith.