Tah-oo-moo Or-oo Kee Tov Adonai

   The Pharisees and crowds were always asking Jesus this or that.  According to one of Jesus’ students named John, Jesus had a run in with some inquisitors just after a miraculous dinner for 5,000 hungry guests.  I love how John records this scene.  Jesus feeds 5,000 people fish and bread out nothing.  Upon hearing or seeing this miracle, people question whether or not Jesus can really do what had just been done. 

   I suppose for them it may have been similar to when we are watching modern day illusionists like David Blaine or Chris Angel.  You watch Chris Angel fly or David Blaine pull a card out of your ear and think, “Did you really just do that?!” 

   Why food?  Why feed 5,000 people dinner?  He would be no less of a teacher or leader if He had sent them to the nearest town to eat.  Why give them food?  Perhaps the best answer is the nature of God and the nature of man. 

   The human body is the most complicated machine of parts, organization of chemical reactions, arrangement of redundancy systems, coordination of defensive mechanisms, and self-sustaining-maintenance structure on the planet.  Did you know that you breathe in over 100,000 harmful bacteria every day?  Your body takes it on and beats most of them without breaking a sweat.  That is just from breathing.

   Despite all this awesomeness… it will wither and die without food.  Food is not just the fuel to keep it going.  Food actually transforms from fruit, meat, grains, and starches in our stomachs into nutrients, vitamins, sugars, and eventually on down the line, into US!  That is right.  When you eat, you are actually providing what your body needs to make itself exist as you are.  In other words… You really ARE what you eat!  Your body can do nothing and cannot “be” without food.

   The nature of man is to eat.  I know this well.  In the past two months I have lost 40 pounds.  This was NO EASY TASK I assure you.  During this time I realized some things I had not realized before.  When you deprive your body of food, it aches and weakens.  You lose your ability to fight off illnesses efficiently, you aren’t as mobile, you get cranky, and you just aren’t who you used to be.  When you lose weight you are actually eliminating part of yourself.  Besides all of that, you are constantly remembering that food is so good!    

I was Made to do it New Species, New Kingdom

People who follow Jesus are strange.  They are!  Nathan Barlow was a medical doctor who spent more than 60 years in Ethiopia treating Mossy Foot.  Mossy foot is a disease that affects people who work barefoot on soil of volcanic origin.  It causes the feet to swell, ulcers and deformities appear, and the legs swell to about the size of a telephone pole.  Secondary infections usually cause this disease to become completely debilitating and the people who get mossy foot are social outcasts. 

One time Nathan got a severe toothache that required him to leave the Mission field to get medical attention.  He insisted then and there that the dentist pull all of his teeth and give him false teeth so he wouldn’t have to leave the mission field for a toothache again.  He died in 2004 in Ethiopia, still serving the people, at 91 years old. 

Jamie Lang flew to Tanzania at 23 years old with $2000 in her bank account.  Her plan, for all you parents out there, was to stay until her money ran out.  She saw the needy around her and asked God to help her make a huge difference in just one person’s life.  After six months she met a woman dying of AIDS who had just given birth to a little boy she could no longer care for.  Jamie starting buying formula for the little boy to get him the nutrients he needed.  Junio was half the size of a healthy baby, but Jamie wanted to adopt him anyway.  Unfortunately, Tanzania did not allow international adoptions.  Fortunately, because she had lived in Tanzania for six months she discovered that she could establish residence. 

Just before Junio’s mother died she gave her life to Jesus.  Eventually Junio was granted a visa and made his way to the United States with his new mom.  He is now nine years old, and is HIV negative.  You see, when his birth mother was pregnant with him, she took a “morning-after pill” late in her pregnancy in an attempt to kill little Junio.  Instead, the pill caused Junio to be born prematurely and because he was so small, there was no bleeding during his birth.  Because there was no blood, he didn’t contract HIV from his mother.  What Junio’s birth mother meant for harm, God used to save him; and because of Jamie’s ministry save her as well.

Jamie is now married to Jeremy in Colorado and they have had two little girls since.

Can’t Christians just be normal people?  Can’t we be Christians without going to the African continent or China?  Sure.  We can call ourselves followers of Jesus and pay our mortgage, work at our job, and go to our child’s sporting events, but I would make the argument that you cannot be a “Just Enough” Christian.  A “Just Enough Christian” is a person who wants enough God in their life to feel like they are going to heaven when they die.  A “Just Enough Christian” will say things like, “I’m a good person, I sing in church, I pay money to the church, I don’t steal, I pay my taxes… etc.”  But if you have heard someone say that or have said those kind of things before, you might be interested to know that it has been said before.

If you have your Bible open it up to Mark chapter 10 starting in verse 17.  “As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him.  “Good Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

Isn’t that the question we all want to know?  What do I need to do?  Jesus came and lived a perfect life, sacrificed His life on the cross, paid for sin’s debt, and rose from the dead to defeat death forever!  What is my part?  Here is what Jesus says to the man.

“Why do you call me good?”  Jesus answered.  “No one is good—except God alone.  You know the commandments:  ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”

People would go their entire lives without a rabbi challenging what was previously understood about the Torah (those first 5 major books) or the Bible in general.  When Jesus, a new radical rabbi in Judea, starts saying, “you have heard it said…, but I say to you…” crowds of people would come to hear what was being said.  Jesus was interpreting the Bible in a new way that rabbis before Him had not done.  But in this case, and a clever twist I might add, Jesus, the Radical Rabbi, gives the man the same answer that every other rabbi had ever given him.  (It is also important to remember that the Jewish people saw wealth as a sign that you were blessed by God.  If you had wealth, you MUST be favored by God.)  But this man knew that Jesus was no ordinary rabbi and wanted more than Jesus’ answer. 

“Rabbi,” he declared, “all these (commandments) I have kept since I was a boy.”  Isn’t that what a lot of people who follow Jesus think?!  I pay my taxes, I don’t steal, I attend Sunday school, I give %10 of my income to the church, I help with Vacation Bible School.  “Jesus,” they might say, “I have done all these things since I was a child.”

“Jesus looked at him and loved him.”  I love that part!  This is not just a man on the street who Jesus doesn’t care about.  He isn’t a man Jesus is angry with.  He was a human being who was engaged with Jesus the Savior.  And Jesus loves this man.  And Jesus continues loving the man with His next statement.

“One thing you lack,” he said.  “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”  What?!  That isn’t in the Ten Commandments!  That was never written anywhere in the Law!  That is the ONE thing that he lacks?!  Why would Jesus say this to the man whom he loved?

Verse 22:  “At this the man’s face fell.  He went away sad, because he had great wealth.  Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!”  The disciples were amazed at his words.  But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 

The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “who can be saved?”  Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

The people listening to Jesus sat a little dumbfounded.  A man who was thought to be blessed, who was a good person, who kept the commandments, is asked to do something nearly impossible (see following verses and the disciples comments)!  It is important to stop here and clear up some phrases.  Jesus used a phrase that the rich man did not use.  The rich man asked Jesus what it takes to get eternal life… Jesus told the man what it takes to get into the Kingdom of God.  Some of you might be saying, “What is the difference?”  There is actually quite a difference.  And that is one thing this new Rabbi Jesus was getting at.

The man was asking Jesus what it would take in this life to get a reward of living forever in the next life.  But Jesus is not talking about what happens when you die.  One of the most radical teachings that Jesus brought to the people of Israel was His unique teaching about God’s Kingdom and how it is different from the previously understood idea of “Eternal Life.”  I’ll tell you what I mean.  The beginning of Jesus’ teaching begins in Matthew 4:17 right after He is tempted by Satan and rejected by His hometown of Nazareth.

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”  In Matthew 12:28 Jesus is arguing with Pharisees about God’s power working through Him and says, “But If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.”  Kingdom of Heaven/God is “near, come upon you?”

Jesus gets into a conversation with another rabbi in Mark 12 and the rabbi tells Jesus that to “Love God with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love you neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.  When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” 

Was Jesus saying, “You aren’t far from dying and then you’ll have Eternal Life?”  NO!  Jesus is saying that the Kingdom of God is something that we become here on earth right now! 

Everyone was always asking Jesus questions to hear His perspective on the Torah and this new idea about the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God.  Jesus would try and help them understand by saying things like, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a pinch of yeast that works through the whole dough…the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that grows into a large tree… The kingdom of heaven is like a pearl that you sell everything you own to buy that pearl.”   With each of these comparisons the people might have pondered, “how is Eternal Life like that?”

 The people of Jesus’ day were confused.  They thought, “You be a good person, you read the Torah, and give to the Temple and do your sacrifices and you get Eternal Life as a reward.”  Jesus comes on the scene and says, if you don’t get into this new Kingdom of God then worrying about how to get Eternal Life after you die is pointless.  You have to be different than you thought. 

The disciples who were following Jesus were confused also.  They did not always understand what Jesus was talking about when He taught about the Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven.  In Mark 4:10 the disciples get Jesus alone in a huddle.  It was almost like they pretended to understand what Jesus was talking about when they were in front of the crowd, but really had no clue!  Has that ever happened to you?  Have you ever pretended to understand what someone was talking about and then when you went home and got out a dictionary? 

I went to National Trail Raceway recently.  Now I have to admit I know 3 things and 3 things only about cars.  You need gas in it.  You need oil in it.  You need to take it someone when those lights on the dashboard start flashing.  When I arrived at National Trail Raceway just down Rt. 40 I came upon a small crowd gathered to watch our very own Rob Stilwell race his cars down the track.  They were talking about Fuel Injection headers, and slicks, and words that I had never heard of.  I would smile and laugh when others laughed.  You know what I am talking about right?!  Laughing about stuff and you have NO clue!  That was me this past week. 

Read what it says in Mark 4:10, “When He was alone, the twelve and the others around Him asked Him about the parables.  He told them, “The secret of the Kingdom of God has been given to you.  But those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding…”  Basically, Jesus says, “Okay, I’ll tell you what my secret of the Kingdom of God is, but I won’t tell everyone else.”  Why Jesus did this is for another Sunday. 

Do you want the secret?  Do you?  Jesus, speaking to His disciples just before being betrayed and going to the cross, says, “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am IN you.”  John 14:20

A later disciple of Jesus and teacher in the church named Paul says this, “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints…the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ IN you, the hope of glory.” 

The secret to the new Kingdom of God/Heaven is Christ getting IN you, and then you start living so differently it is like becoming a different species.  Paul says it this way to the Corinthian church, “Therefore if anyone is IN Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 

In simple terms, following the commandments is no longer what it is all about, doing what we think is Just Enough to get us everlasting life after we die is not enough!  We can’t be Just Enough Christians.  I am not excluding myself, WE as a church must all look into the mirror and say, “Am I a Just Enough Christian?  Am I like the man who asked Jesus about what does it take to get Eternal Life?”  Or will I make sure that Christ is living IN me and I am living like a new species of human. 

What does this look like to be a new creature?  You are re-created IN Jesus to be like the King of the Kingdom of God. 

You were created to be merciful

You were created to be generous

You were created to love 

You were created to forgive…think about that…Created to Forgive.  Have you ever thought that perhaps the person who has offended you recently was put in your life show that you can show them what forgiveness looks like?  You were made by Jesus to be a forgiver so you need to demonstrate it by having people to forgive!  I know that may not be what you want to hear, but it is true!

You were made IN Jesus to do it! Paul said to the church in Ephesus, “(You were) created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”—Ephesians 2:10

People will look at you and say, “I offended you Christian and you have forgiven me.  Why Christian?  Why have you done this?!”  And you’ll say, “I was made to do it!”

You are not buying a new car and are going to give more money to your church…  Why Christian?  Why would you do this?!  And you’ll say, “I was made to do it!”

You know I haven’t earned your trust, but you are being vulnerable and trusting me…  Why Christian?

You are selling some things and are using the money to buy toys for strangers this Christmas… Why Christian?

You refuse to spread gossip and instead speak goodness and love to all…  Why Christian?

You are inviting and serving dinner to people in your home who won’t return the favor…  Why Christian?

Because when you make it into the Kingdom of God/Heaven and you are IN Christ Jesus… You were Made to do it!

Looking at the heart.

Yesterday was a surprise.  My cousin Heather had passed away last week and this week was to be her funeral.  My cousin Zach (whom the church had been praying for with the hole in his heart and two strokes) was put in charge of his sister's arrangements.  I had asked him to call me during the planning stage...  I was hoping to talk things over with them so that my first funeral service (as conductor) would go smoothly and be a ministry to my family.  With all that he and his family were going through he forgot to call me when they made plans.  I got the call at 10:30 a.m. that I was conducting my first funeral, for my cousin, at 7:30 p.m. with calling hours just prior.  I was forced to prepare a message about my cousin in less than ideal prep-time. 

Some may have seen Heather's death (an accidental overdose of her prescribed medications) simply the inevitable sad end to a fast paced life.  She certainly had made many mistakes in her life that brought about sorrow and pain.  But Heather was a girl whose heart was always in the right place.  Her heart was full of joy and love for all.  She served her friends and family as much as she knew how.  Her laughter and humor made even the saddest soul happy.  No one who really knew Heather could question her heart.  She knew that the mercy and forgiveness of God is the only thing that matters in life. She knew it and lived it as best she was able.  I will certainly miss her and I pray that my words to family and friends were authentic and comforting. 

It reminded me of an important Bible story.  The people had desired a King who "looked the part."  Saul was tall and impressive.  He probably had a commanding voice and presence.  He was successful in battle and could be described as a very spiritual leader.  But his heart was far from in love with God.  The prophet Samuel soon realized that his nation was being run by a man who "looked like he cared" about God's wants and desires (see King Saul's sacrifice before battle 1 Sam. 13), but was more interested in the benefits of success.  He was led to choose another for King of Israel. 

Solomon wrote, "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth.  Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them."  That would have well described Solomon's grandfather Jesse.  He had an impressive set of sons.  Eight boys were brought before Samuel.  The first few looked the part... but God said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look a the the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 

The words of this passage were never more real to me than yesterday. People might look at me and say, "He went to Bible college and has three degrees.  His parents are still married.  He is a Pastor at a church.  He this, he that, etc."  But what is that to God?  He doesn't see what man sees.  He looks at the heart. 

"Looking at the heart" of someone takes time and interaction for us humans.  We aren't able to look at someone and instantly find out what their hopes, dreams, intentions, perceptions, or fears are.  It is much harder for us to uncover the true heart condition of another human than it is for an all-knowing God.  This is why consistent meetings or gatherings with other Jesus followers is such an essential part in following Jesus.  Close proximity, frequency, and sharing all aid in the discovery of someone's heart.  Occasional or casual interaction with a person limits us to Samuel's perspective on Saul and Jesse's older 
sons. 

As followers of Jesus' new Kingdom way of living, we should be people who look at the hearts of others before passing judgment.  This means that when people make mistakes or do wrong you mustn't judge their heart without first having been in close proximity to them, having frequently spent time with them, and shared life with them. 

The church has often been accused of missing out on this truth.  Christ's church must be the first one's to set the bar at "adequate heart knowledge".  If someone you know who claims to be following Jesus' way of living life is judging others, then it is your responsibility to gently instruct that brother or sister in how followers of Jesus Christ should behave.  If you know someone who has been victimized by such judging, spend time in prayer about it with them.  This is how we look at the heart.

It's about us.

It is about us.  At least in one way it is.  Rick Warren, an excellent Pastor at Saddleback Church in California, began his best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life with the words, “It’s not about you.”  I agree with him.  The purpose in life is not to serve or promote one’s self. Life’s purpose is to love and trust the God who loves and rescues you.  This cannot be accomplished with you, but it is accomplished with us. 

In his letter to the church meeting in the city of Corinth, Paul wrote concerning secret wisdom of God. 

"No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.  None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  However, as it is written:  “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit…We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us".—1 Corinthians 2:7-12 NIV 

But what is Paul talking about?  What is the great secret that God has kept hidden?  What is it that these believers should be grasping that other people fail to understand or experience?  The believers at Corinth had not quite captured the overwhelming message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Do you know what it is?  Does your church or gathering? 

The Corinthian believers had understood the gospel as a powerful message, but their loyalty was given to the messenger who delivered it.  One said, “I follow Paul and his message,” while another said, “I follow Apollos and his message.”  In essence, the Corinthians had missed two major truths about the gospel.  First, they were uncertain of the secret wisdom God had delivered.  Second, they were giving the men and women who delivered the message more credit than they deserved. 

Paul clarifies the secret wisdom that was hidden for ages, but is now the bold declaration and understanding of true believers and followers of Jesus Christ. 

"Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple…So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.  Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful."—1 Corinthians 3:16-4:2 NIV 

Paul tells the church in Corinth that we are the temple that houses the Spirit of God.  In ancient Judaism the Tabernacle which Moses built was God’s house on earth.  When Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, it became God’s new house on earth. God has moved into different real estate once more.  His new house has begun its construction. 

Unfortunately, the English translations do not explain fully what Paul said to the church nestled less than 100 miles from Athens.  The truth is Paul did not say that you were the temple of God’s Spirit.  He technically said, “Y’all” is the temple of God’s Spirit.  The set of verses are in 2nd person plural.  Verses 16-17 should read closer to: Don’t all you believers know that you all together are God’s new temple and that God’s Spirit lives in all of you together?  If anyone destroys God’s new temple (all you people together), God will destroy him; for God’s new temple is sacred (special to God), and you together are that temple. 

This is the secret wisdom of God.  God now lives in the people who believe and exercise faith—“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”  In other words, you cannot be the temple of God’s Spirit alone.  You can only be the temple of God when you act faithfully as a group.  This is why Small Groups are so important for the American church!  The church has lasted for many years of peace and prosperity in the United States.  In several ways that is good. In several ways it is bad. 

With no threat of persecution or drive to be different than our prosperous neighbors, churches are full of people who haven't committed their whole selves to God and the new way of the Kingdom.  They know Christian words, phrases, and ideas, but have not been experiencing what it means to be the temple of God.  The only way to discover what it means to be the temple of God is to be together regularly.  The longer we spend in regular contact, service, prayer, etc. with one another, the more we will discover those who have longed to be a part of God’s temple and those who are not quite there yet.  We will discover that true joy and true deliverance comes when a group of people are serving each other and the lost/neglected/oppressed.  We will 
also find that no matter what storms come and go, the temple of true "faithers" will endure.  The God of the temple is mighty indeed. 

Perhaps we should revisit the idea of the “temple” in our churches.  What took place in the temple?  Worship, sacrifice, 
confession, cleansing, celebrations, etc!  Our churches and gatherings (Small Groups) should look similar?  Right? 

May God be your peace, hope, and joy.

Spoken and Heard

It is clear that God has spoken many words to humanity.  The stars pour speech to our attentive senses and the mountains proclaim it. The trees play His tune and the waves are His base drum.  The Bible offers us clear statements from God that encourage us to be just as He is.  He speaks words of life and goodness.  Life cannot marry with death nor can goodness mix with wickedness.  But what can we do to be just like God in the flesh (Jn. 13:34, 14:12)? 

The Jewish people are a people captivated by listening.  Their story, and because of the Spirit our story, begins with a man named Abram who listened to the words of God.  Abram and his lineage were known for listening to God.  When Moses arrives as the Jewish deliverer, he commands the people to, "Hear (listen) O Israel..." - Deut. 6:4  For centuries following Moses there were prophets, kings, and priests who sought with all their being to be "listeners."  The people, however, never made it past hearing.  A prophet named Ezekiel wrote about God's chosen, "They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do 
not hear, for they are a rebellious people." 

Now the Church (big C-meaning "faithers") is the new chosen people of God.  Those who give their whole life (relationships, time, money, families) toward listening and believing God's words.  The most difficult challenge for humanity is not understanding what God has said, but instead, the greatest challenge has been believing what God says and acting on those beliefs.  It is rare that one would say, "I don't really understand what God means when He says, 'Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.'"  Most people would agree that what Jesus means is that the eternal matters in life are the only thing worth working for.  The issue is not understanding, but instead, belief and action. 

When God says that He is love...do you believe Him?  When life is beginning to fall apart, do you believe He loves you?  When your church is struggling and in turmoil, do you believe that He loves everyone in the pews or seats?  When God says that He is strong...do you believe Him?  When the economy where you live is being pinched, do you still believe that God will carry you with strong arms of bounty? When your spouse is not who you thought they were, do you believe that God is stronger than your marriage troubles?  When God asks you to do what is right and good for the gospel even though it places you on the field of faith with no compass, do you trust that His strong arm of love will guide you? 

"One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard:  that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.  Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done."  Psalm 62:11-12 

The people and teachers of the Law surrounded Jesus after He fed 5,000 hungry bellies from two fish and five loaves of bread.  His warning to them was to not work for their own bellies, but for the bellies and eternal state of others.  They asked Him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"  His response to them was simple...  Just believe what I say.  Here Jesus refused to "explain" what He meant because He knew they already "understood."  His word to them was basically believe and act in the way I tell you.  Do we believe that it will be better for us in this life and the next to "believe and act in the way He tells us to"? 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.  Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."  Matthew 5:3-12 

I guess the best way to answer my first question, "what can we do to be God in the flesh?" is a check-up on what we believe and act on...not what we simply understand.  Do I believe and act on the truth that God is strong and loving?  Do I believe that it is better for me to live the blessed life Jesus describes in the gospel of Matthew? 

I am the first to align myself with the man who had a son plagued by a demon as he stood before Jesus saying, "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!"  I know that we can grow more and more into the likeness of Jesus Christ when we believe in His strength and love.  I know we can authentically grow in numbers as a church when we believe that doing what Jesus said is best for us.