Highly Favored by God

By Pastor Tim White

I was so inspired when I heard that the Seahawks quarterback Russel Wilson wore a bracelet which said, ‘Highly Favored by God.’ The issue came up in an interview after Wilson had thrown a last second game winning touchdown pass for the second week in a row.  The sports reporter asked him how he put up with all the criticism that he was too short to be an NFL quarterback. The reported missed the statement that Wilson was wearing right on his wrist; he was highly favored by God.

I knew Pastor Rey and I were planning on me ending his series on Flinching at scarecrows by teaching how you are so loved and highly favored by God. As I prayed for our church, I really wanted the kids to get this point. I wanted to share eight powerful verses from scripture that really drive home the point. Yes, eight in one sermon because I wanted us to be overwhelmed with how much God loves each one of us. And to know that our fear could be replaced with bold trust.

In preparation for Sunday, I asked Janette, who is such a hard working member of our staff and such a blessing, if there was any way the kids could make a simple bracelet saying ‘highly favored by God.’ Later, I returned to see a sample bracelet and wow - she hit it out of the park again!

 I am so excited to see all us wearing this bracelet and to see this become core proficiency of our church as we dare to comprehend God's mighty love for us. Mary put it this way when she was told that she was highly favored by God: “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace” (Luke 1:25 NIV).

I long for that for every one of us. The power to say and mean it - "I can do everything through him who gives me the strength". You are highly favored by God. Just like Russel Wilson, don't live by your fears of critics but live basking in God's love exercising his mountain moving faith.

Have You Ever Been Turned Down?

By Rey Diaz

 

Remember your high school dance?  The hardest part for us guys was usually asking the girl out.  The anxiety the guys felt right before they asked was so intense.  Everyone would be watching.  You would try to speak calmly but inevitably everything came out mashed together.  I remember being surrounded by a bunch of my friends and they were trying to encourage me to ask someone.  I knew that even if she said no (more often than not), I would still have these friends.  Fear of rejection was a big issue for us when we were younger and not much has changed since then.

 

For lots of adults today, fear of rejection is like a scarecrow in the melon patch.  This fear traps us and does not allow us to open up those around us.  Fear of rejection makes intimacy impossible.   Some have defined intimacy as “the joy of knowing someone fully and being known by that person with no fear of rejection.”  When we look at our model Jesus, we notice something much different about how he handled the fear of rejection.  Jesus was secure and solid in his identity.  Jesus accepted his Father’s acceptance. 

 

As a kid, I would rely on my group of friends to comfort me after being rejected.  That was all well and good but it didn’t solve the deep insecurity we have in our souls.  Only God can deal with the brokenness of our hearts.  If we follow Jesus example, we can begin to address the fear of rejection.  We have to realize that we have been adopted by our Heavenly Daddy.  We have to believe - God cannot possibly love you more.  And there is nothing you can do that will make Him love you less. That is the starting point.

 

*          *          *         

 

What about you?  Is fear of rejection something you have wrestled with?  Is it easy or hard to accept your heavenly Daddy’s acceptance? 

 

 "See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children

because they don’t know him."

1 John 3:1

Who’s Your Daddy?

By Rey Diaz

As a child, I wanted my daddy to have the coolest job in the world.  When my friends asked me what my dad did- I would make up all sorts of stuff about him.  He was in the CIA, he was an Olympic champion, an astronaut, among many other interesting occupations.  But for some reason, my friends would always trump me with even cooler jobs their dad did.  One of my friends had Batman for a dad.  How do you top that? 

Now I can top that…because I know who my daddy really is.

For the last few weeks we have been challenging our church to grow in our understanding of God as our daddy. This isn’t something that happens overnight.  But our prayer is that as you continue following Jesus, you will see God as a loving, gracious, forgiving, accepting, and inspiring daddy.  He is always with you. He was rejected so that you could be accepted.  And he is your biggest fan. 

I think one of the most crucial steps we can take in our growth is to come to a clearer understanding of who God is.  It is easy to be just as confused about who God is id you have grown up in the church as you are new to your faith.  Jesus once asked his followers: “Who do people say that I am?”  That’s an important question to answer- but not as important as the follow up question – “Who do you say that I am?” 

How do we continue to grow in our understanding of God?  Paul made this his mission, saying “I want to know Christ…”  Paul was adamant about pressing on in his knowledge of God.  I want us as a church to do the same.  Whether this means memorizing more verses like Isaiah 41:10, plugging into a small group to be surrounded by people who constantly remind us about who God is, or simply committing to come to church on a weekly basis so that we keep hearing this message, I hope we decide to do something to help us to better understand God. 

Where are you at in this journey?  Do you see God as father who demands obedience or a father who lovingly provides us with an identity?  Do you see God as kind or fierce?  Forgiving or judging?  How can you grow in your understanding of God?

"Father, may your name be kept holy.
    May your Kingdom come soon.
Give us each day the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
    as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation."

Luke 11:2-4

The Problem with Fear

By Rey Diaz

Whenever I first would go up to the garbage dump, I was always sacred for my life.  I was going into a place where half the people carried machetes on their side and the other half carried guns. I was going into a place where even the police would not come.  I was going into a place outside the law.  But as long as I was with Pastor Jeony, I felt safe.  The people loved him because he loved them.  So as long as Pastor Jeony was in the garbage dump with me, I knew the people would do me no harm. 

One of the few times I had an incident in the garbage dump, was when pastor Jeony was unable to come with me to the dump. 

How much more should I feel safe because my heavenly father is with me.  There have been times in my life when I have allowed fear to take control and lead me, define me, and mold me.  Since we are human we will all experience fear at some point.  Fear is not a sin.  Fear is an opportunity to run to God or run away. 

The most frequently mentioned command in the bible is “Do not be afraid.”  Usually that commands comes with the phrase “Because I will be with you.”   It’s not a command but an invitation.  God is inviting us into a different type of life.  A life where we don’t have to let fear define us, restrict us or hinder us.  Fear is trying to distract us from who God really is.  Because when fear comes, we tend to forget God.  Don’t let that happen. 

I am asking everyone to memorize Isaiah 41:10.  To repeat it throughout the day.  To let this truth sink in deep.  So that when you do face fear, you wont flinch but will look at God standing next to you. 

Isaiah 41:10 - Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. 

All In for the Game

by Pastor Tim White

In our turbulent times we wonder how the economy is changing. Rachel Botsman provided a thought-provoking idea in her lecture, “TheCurrency of the New Economy: Trust.” Botsman argues that in the past everything was sold so that we could “keep up with the Joneses,” or maybe even get ahead of the Joneses.  Now, however, the most powerful marketing occurs so that we might build friendship with the Joneses. This new collaborative consumption is powered by the web and product, service, and swapping sites (craigslist, ebay and zipcar and just a few examples). These sorts of sites are exploding and Botsman wisely predicts that in the future, your “trust” score (as a seller or sharer with integrity) will become more important than your credit score! The most significant number will be how many people trust you. As people scramble to get out of anonymity to a position of power in their community (where people know them and are known by them), trust becomes the most valuable commodity. 

The church is in a favored position as trust becomes the most valuable commodity. With Jesus’ help we are able to break through social barriers to form communities of trust. Different cultures, diverse ethnicities, and various economic levels do not hold us back from forming communities of trust! We are able to overcome loneliness, powerlessness, and disappointment. We are able to tie our hearts deeply to one another in a fractured world. Perhaps this is why Jesus’ last words to his disciples were to be unified (John 17), because when a team forms and each participant is “all in,” the world better watch out!

We’ve seen this a little bit this football season (well, I haven’t…since I have given up watching football as part of the Daniel Fast). But I have heard about the amazing feats: the Seahawk's greatest game in history against the Packers….the Huskies’ upset of Stanford. Isn’t it amazing what a team can do when they all get on the same page? No wonder Jesus said: “the gates of Hell will not prevail against my church!” (Matthew 16:18).

I don’t know about you, but I want to be remembered by my family and those I love as a follower of Jesus Christ that was all in: all in for the great commission to take the good news to every ethnic group, to baptize and disciple in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Would you join me?

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them. He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very end." (Matthew 28:20)