Rich Kao

When John the Baptist uttered his nine words of clarity, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (Mt. 3:2)," it ushered in one of the most remarkable shifts in history.  Never before had the phrase "Kingdom of God" been uttered.  New vocabulary had to be created to capture the new revelation dawning on Israel, and ultimately the world.  The purpose of the shift?  To create and establish a new ethos, a new way of living and relating to God.  A new DNA was being created, and all who accepted Jesus Christ as their savior would receive this new DNA.

What was the value of this new ethos, new kingdom? Jesus gave us a glimpse in his parable, the Pearl of Great Price (Mt. 13:45-46).  It was worth EVERYTHING.  Once you touch it, you want to cash in everything to get it.  It's that exciting and amazing and desirable.  Nothing compares to it.   And in experiencing the Pearl of Great Price you imbibe of one of the great qualities of the Kingdom:  GENEROSITY.     God giving Jesus to us was the greatest expression of generosity.

Out of that comes something transformational...greed, selfishness, coveteousness have the opportunity to be broken as we learn to become big-hearted, generous and giving like God.  The more you give (and give away) the more the grip of materialism and selfish living is broken.  Lifestyle changes.   Tithing and giving is a joy.   You want others around you to succeed because you are a kingdom person.    You want other churches to suceed because they are part of the family.  You share, and spread you knowledge around freely, because Jesus said "Freely you have received, freely give (Mt. 10:8).

And this is just the beginning.  As the new ethos has its way in us, we will flourish like the mustard seed (Mk 4:30-32).  We will grow from hiddenness to prominence, from obscurity to "preferred status (birds will love to come and nest in our tree)."    Success and favor, and dare we say greatness, can't be stopped because its in the DNA.

This is what God has in mind for the church.  Embrace the shift.  Embrace the new ethos.  For entire message, click here.

Lessons from Malachi

The Israelites, having returned to the Promise Land from their Babylonian captivity, had slid into spiritual lethargy and malaise.  Thinking they were still sharp in the spirit, God had to send Malachi to wake them up. Here are six questions that God spoke to that betrayed Israel's cluelessness.

Q1:  How have you loved us? (Mal. 1:2).  Ans:  Puhleeze see the big picture...where is Esau?  (Mal. 1:2-4).

Application: Because things weren't "going well" for the Israelites, they started wondering about "God's love." They were focused on the trees and not the forest.  Such is human nature?  We focus on the minutae..."I'm hungry.  My boss is a terrible.  I didn't get my raise."  But are you in famine?  Do you not have a job?  Do you not have money to support your family?  See the big picture!  Lift up your eyes!

Q2: How have we despised your name? (Mal. 1:6d).  Ans: By presenting spoiled food on the altar (Mal 1:7-14).

Application: Do we give God our best, or our second best?  Do we give God our first portion or the left over portion?  Do we give ourselves the best first, and if then the remaining to God?  Where is our heart for God?

Q3: For what reason do you not listen to our prayers and see our tears and weeping?  (Mal 2:13-14)  Ans:  Because you're not taking care of your wife properly.  (Mal. 2:14 - 16). 

Application:  In effect God is saying how can I show covenant blessings to you if you don't know how to keep covenant with your wife - you hypocrite!  (see 1 Peter 3:7).  Start loving your wife and laying your life down for her.

Q4: How have we wearied you? (Mal. 2:17).  Ans:  Commending those who do evil as if it's ok.  (Mal. 2:17).

Application:  Are we putting a seal of approval on things that God doesn't?  Are we lending the Lord's name to things we shouldn't?  Are we granting permission to things we shouldn't?  Are we measuring things by God's word, or the world's standard?  Are we in compromise?

Q5: If our hearts are far away from You, how do we return to you? (Mal 3:7)  Ans:  Very practically, with your money (Mal. 3:8-10).

Application:  How do we practically show our hearts are back with God?  See Matt 6:21.  Money is tied to our heart.  One of the key signs our love for God is real is when we give our tithes to Him.  Not just some money...but the WHOLE tithe (Mal 3:10).  Can you pull the trigger?

Q6:  How have we spoken against you? (Mal 3:13).  Ans:  You tell people it's no use to serve God, live righteously and be holy. (Mal 3:14).

Application:  We speak against God by spreading cynicisum, disbelief and subtle scorn about the value of our service to God.  Our words have a dissuading effect, maybe even withering effect, and cause people to leave the ranks of service and worship to God. (Mal. 3:14).

The prophet Malachi spoke to a people that had become clueless about their spiritual condition.  They weren't even aware of how they were transgressing God.  They thought they were ok.  Malachi came to strip away the fog and bring clarity to their stupor.    Happily, the people responded positively (Mal 3:16) and they got back on track.  If you're off track, use these questions to shake yourself up and throw off spiritual lethargy.

According to James, here are the top 12 weaknesses of Christians.

1. Lack of perseverance. (James 1:1-12). Jesus said "In this world you shall have tribulation, but I courage, I have overcome (Jn 16:33)."  One of the greatest needs is for Christians to be strong, learn perseverance and become hearty and robust.  This side of heaven, we will not escape difficulties and troubles, so we must learn to be enduring, not just for enduring sake, but realizing God is using our difficulties to perfect us and mold us into his Son's image.  Maturity is what God is after (Jas 1:5).

2. Blaming God for our temptations / difficulties (Jas 1:13-18).  Blame shifting is as old as Adam.  When  things go well, do we give all the glory to God?  Lotsa times we forget.  But when things go wrong, isn't it automatic, "Where are you God?  Why did you put me in this situation?" 

3. Talking too quickly, too soon, out of turn.  (Jas 1:19a).  The propensity to want to hear ourselves talk and not others is so innate, especially if we're being accused of something unfair.   Like the countdown rule says, count to ten before you say anything.  Or as Stephen Covey says, seek to understand before you speak.

4. Getting angry. (Jas 1:19b-21).  Unfortunately, Cain is in all of us (Gen.4:4-6).  When sin entered, our life reversed and starting revolving around us and not God.  Now we have anger to contend with because of our self-centered life.

5. Listening, but not doing. (Jas. 1:22-27).  Ahhh, so easy to take it all in.  Enjoy the preacher.  Read a great book.  Grow in knowledge.  But how about growing in doing.  Activation is never easy.   So much inertia...time, money, schedule, and, oh the flesh.  Further expanded in Jas. 2:14-26.  James is perfectly clear: doing / works is an outflow of faith.  If there is no outflow, is there faith?

6. Showing partiality / hidden favoritism / racism. (Jas 2:1-13).  It's never easy to conquer our bias, particularly how James develops this point - bias based on looks.  Favoring people easy on the eye is a well documented, well researched phenomenom.  James' expansion on this point also hits on cultivating relationships based on calculations of what we might get from the relationship, in particular from wealthy people.  Beware!  

7.  Unable to properly control our tongue. (Jas. 3:1-12).  Expands on pt. 3.  Not only do we sometimes talk before listening, we may also engage in wrongful speaking, cursing, slandering, gossip, spewing negativity.  Also Jas 4:11-12.  Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Mt. 12:34).  So the root of this problem is a heart problem.

8. Living by own wisdom / man's wisdom, not God's.  (Jas 3:13-18).  It takes discipline to seek God's heart, mind and will.  It's easy to just move out of our own instincts.  But Jeremiah says our heart is wicked and deceitful (Jer. 17:9).  Hence it's necessary to put our motives under the light of God's word and spirit so we can move by His guidance, not our own.  See Jas 4:13-17 as an example of living in our own strength.

9. Quarreling & arguing. (Jas 4:1-10).  Another sancfication issue.  Are we just fending and looking out for ourselves, or are we preferring others (Phil. 2:3-4)?  The former leads to fights, strife, divorces and wars.  The latter leads to peace, harmony and unity.

10. Greediness. (Jas. 5:1-6).  Funny how we can spend so generously on ourselves, but when it comes to others, it comes to a screeching halt.   Squeezing money wherever we can to help our bottom line.  Paying workers less or late.   Cheating on our taxes.    Cooking the books.   Too much debt.   And on it goes.

11. Impatience. (Jas 5:7-11).  In our microwave, have-it-now, customer-is-king age, embracing patience is tough. We're not used to process, time, incubation, rumination.  We want it now.  Sorry, the kingdom won't bend to us.  God's ways for transforming us and orchestrating things is still the same...never take the cake out until it's ready.

12.  False promises & committments. (Jas 5:12).   We sure mean well, but pronoucing we'll do this and that is better served by just doing it and letting it prove itself.  Underpromise, overdelivery.

I know this may seem like a depressing way of looking at the Book of James, seeing it through a lens of our weaknesses,  but it does get at a diagnosis we need.  Before we can cure the disease, we need the doctor's assessent.  Then it's onto the cure.  These 12 points are meant to spurn us on in our personal walks, or provide a seed outline for preachers.  It could be a series.   The part that will bear great fruit is going back over each weakness and coming up with the solution based from scripture.  Part 2 could be Top 12 Solutions for Christians!

Tom Peters wrote a wonderful & substantive piece by the said title, blending history, biography, and an interpersonal relations story about General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower to make one great point:

"Why must we constantly pursue “breakthrough thinking,” why must we leap “out of the box,” when the secrets to success and, conversely, the causes of failure—in the sense of persuading or failing to persuade groups of all sizes to pursue and achieve excellence in any and all endeavors—are almost wholly dependent upon character traits and personal characteristics that are in fact more or less eternal and which unequivocally transcend cultures of every flavor?"

Point:  Sometimes the same thing of the same thing is exactly is what is called for because there are eternal values and convictions and traits when acted upon always beget the same results - favor, influence, following, respect and yes, success.

This is exactly why God gave us His word.  No need to reinvent the wheel (yes, fresh application in every generation is good, but no need to rediscover the essence of things).  Just follow how God invented the wheel.  Imitate him.  Be like him.  Discern his patterns and ways.  And above all, strive to be like Jesus.   It'll get you killed, but you'll save the world in the process.  And isn't that what we all want?  To change the world.

So here's to "And now for something completely the same.  (Tom's complete article here.)

Not facing the truth.  Not wanting to open a bill.  Not saying what you should.   Refusing to go to the doctor despite obvious signs you should.  Avoiding circumstance and people you should face.  These are all forms of living in denial.  It's as innate to us as breathing.  It's reflexive.   And it's harmful to us.  We regularly tell our friends and family to "be strong," "face the music," "be a man."  These are all exhortations to step into reality and out of denial.

But there is a form of living in denial that is good and healthy and sound.  It comes from Luke 9:23 where Jesus said "take up your cross daily and follow me."  Saying no to the extra piece of chocolate cake.  Saying no to a pair of shoes you don't need.  Saying no to a lustful glance.  Saying no to toxic relationships.  Saying no revenge and spite.  No to gossip, and no to quiet delight over a enemy's demise.   Every one of these examples and millions more are behavioral expressions that when acted upon in the "denial" mode show what a true disciple of Jesus is, i.e. someone who has "mastered" the flesh, subdued the old man (Gal. 5:24), and is in synchronization with the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:16).  It's someone who's lifestyle (i.e. regular behavior patterns) is marked by an absence or decline of flesh habits because of the Holy Spirit's governing power.  In place of these "flesh habits" are love, joy, peace, patience...(Gal.5:22-23).

Another way of saying it is this:  Those who are walking in the Spirit and growing in Jesus become acquainted (and comfortable) with the pain of saying no to the flesh, and do not turn from its pain (it's not easy to say no to the extra piece of chocolate; it's painful to our flesh) but rather use it for good.  Gal. 6:8 says it best, "those who sow to the flesh reap corruption, those who sow to the Spirit reap eternal life."

An acute awareness of the "pain dynamic" is crucial to understanding "cross living." "Oh, so that's what it look likes and feels like."  It's ok if there a little pain, a little stinging; that's the nature of it.  Understanding comes, confusion is dispelled.  We know what the sweet spot looks like, and we embrace it unto a harvest of righteousness (Hosea 10:12).  Live in denial.  Be a disciple.