What's Your Reward?

In our current series, we've been looking at the things that you constantly hear people refer to when they talk about how God has grown & stretched their faith in Him. One of the things that you inevitably hear people refer to is the moment in their faith where they began to take some personal responsibility. They began to cultivate private spiritual disciplines like prayer, giving, Bible study, or fasting. There's no doubt that these disciplines play a powerful role in our spiritual growth, but they can also be dangerous. After all, if our faith somehow moves from being in Jesus to being in our faithfulness to practice these disciplines, our faith has shifted to something that has no power on its own. Even Jesus scolded the Pharisees for their diligent study of God's word, not because of their study but because they assumed their faithfulness to study would somehow save them. The opposite was the case. God's word was given to reveal His character & nature while pointing to the coming of Jesus, & somehow in the middle of all that studying they still missed the Messiah. So in Matthew 6, Jesus gives us a stern warning about the dangerous nature of misplaced faith in one's spiritual disciplines.

The funny thing is that when Jesus starts talking about this issue, He starts by talking about rewards. His warnings all center around the fact that if our spiritual disciplines are about being seen or recognized by others, we'll miss the real reward that God wants to give us. We'll get the reward we want: people's recognition, but we'll miss the reward God offers: Himself. You see, when we come before God in prayer or in His word, our goal shouldn't be that we can then share with everybody about our incredible prayer time or Bible study. Instead it should be an opportunity for us to spend some time with our Father. The reward when we're faithful to give & invest in God's Kingdom isn't that we're "sowing a seed" & that somehow God will send us payback. Instead it's a personal, private declaration of trust in our Father, & our reward is His presence & the assurance that our Father provides for us. God's presence is the reward, & it's infinitely better than any pat on the back from someone who only sees what we let them see.

"It's Better To Get God, Than To Get Anything Else We Want."

There's no doubt we want to be recognized. We want people to approve of us, maybe even to admire us. However, if that becomes a driving motivation, we've made that need for approval our god. Instead we should utilize prayer, personal Bible study, giving, & fasting as spiritual disciplines or habits that bring us into God's presence & declare our trust & reliance on Him as our Heavenly Father. Spend some time over the next few days to read Matthew 6:1-18 & take a hard look at your private spiritual disciplines & your heart. Why do you pray? Is prayer how you bring God your "to do" list? Do you only pray when other people are around so they can hear you? When you give are you hoping someone notices & gives you credit? If you stopped getting a tax write off would you stop giving? Examine your heart, examine your motives. What reward are you really after when you practice these spiritual disciplines? Are you looking for approval from people, or are you simply looking for God?

Not Just What, But What To Do

I remember the first time I heard the Bible taught in a way that I not only understood what God's word said, but I also know what to do with what God's word said. I was at a BigStuf Conference at Union University, & this skinny youth pastor from First Baptist Church in Atlanta walked on stage. From the moment he began sharing from God's word I was drawn in & hooked. He happened to be teaching on sex & purity so he had every teenage boy's attention for a little longer than he might normally, but the hook was set. And he didn't set the hook with something flashy; he set the hook with the truth from God's word. I remember one phrase to this day, "Purity paves the way to intimacy." The point he was making we don't abstain from sexual sin simply out of fear or religious duty. Instead we pursue purity because it leads us to the thing that sexual sin promises but never can deliver: real intimacy, an authentic relationship with someone else that is unlike any other.

Well, that youth pastor was a guy you probably have heard of. His name is Andy Stanley, & those messages that night at the conference are a sort of spiritual mile marker for me. It showed me God's word could be understood & acted upon. It wasn't just another subject to memorize like math equations or historical dates. That practical biblical teaching stirred a hunger in me for God's word that I had never had. Thankfully, I also had a new youth pastor at our church who taught in the same way. He didn't just teach us the Bible; he taught us what to do with the Bible. 

As I've grown up, gone into ministry myself, & taught God's word more times than I can count I've learned an irrefutable truth:

"Application, Not Information, Leads To Transformation."

This truth explains so many of our experiences. It explains why we know people who've only been in church a few months who seem to be growing at warp speed & why we know people who've been in church for decades who still seem to be cold & detached from God & His will. It's because it doesn't matter how often you go to church or how many sermons you hear. It's about what you do with what you hear in those sermons. If you put God's word into practice, it transforms you. If you simply store it away in your memory banks, you will never experience Christ-like transformation. 

That means that guys like me have a huge responsibility. We have to make sure that our teaching is not only biblical but that it's also practical. Biblical teaching & preaching teaches us the Bible, but practical biblical teaching & preaching teaches us the Bible & what to do with the Bible. It asks hard questions. It forces us to wrestle with God's truth & whether it's being trusted in the way we live our lives. Practical biblical teaching removes the excuses of "I don't understand it," or "It's boring" & instead makes the issue a trust issue, a faith issue. It's at that point that our faith can be stretched & therefore strengthened as we surrender new parts of our lives to Christ as we're challenged by His will as revealed in His word. That's why it's so crucial that we not simply teach what God's word says but also help each other understand what to do with it.

Strong Faith Doesn't Really Matter

Ok, now that I got you to click the link with my provocative title. Let me explain where I'm going with this. We just started a new series of messages focusing on growing our faith. Lots of people start the new year wanting to get closer to God or grow in their faith. So they dive into church & religious activity, but it usually lasts about as long as their diet plan, & before they realize it, they've slipped back into the previous year's rut. Why does that happen if they sincerely want to grow in their faith? Why doesn't jumping back into churchy & religious things not automatically grow your faith? Here's my thought: Perhaps this happens because we're putting our faith in the wrong things. Perhaps we put our faith in our religious activity or in simply showing up to church. We think that's what makes us closer to God. We're not putting our faith in Christ. We're really still putting our faith in ourselves & our attempts to draw near to God. The Bible clearly tells us that doesn't work, but we fall into that trap over & over again, especially when the trap is baited with nice, religious stuff. Here's an important truth that we have to grasp first before trying to "grow" our faith.

"The Object Of Your Faith Is More Important

Than The Strength Of Your Faith."

If your faith is in the wrong place, it doesn't really matter how strong your faith is. In fact, if you have strong faith in the wrong thing, you actually become more hopeless. Simple faith in Jesus that says, "Lord I believe, help my unbelief," is still infinitely more powerful than ardent faith in something other than Jesus. So as you or someone you know enters 2015 looking to grow in their faith or to get closer to God, make sure your pursuing the right thing & that your faith is in the right person: Jesus Christ. Start there. Then you can begin to take advantage of the things God uses to grow your faith in Him.