Duplicity

Here's a peek at this morning's message:

David R. Mains wrote a small book for the church entitled WHEN THE TROOPS ARE TIRED
He said…
My belief is that where a strong connection is found between what happens on Sunday and who people are the rest of the week, we’ll also see great vitality within the congregation. And the less the two worlds relate, the more we will see indications of spiritual fatigue among the troops. That’s because the inability to integrate one’s Sunday identity with Monday through Saturday eventually causes Christians to quit trying or to stop caring altogether…

If the dynamics of everyday faith have been lost, if we fill the air with praises to Jesus on Sunday and hardly have time to think about him the other six days, if that kind of duplicity is more who we are than we care to admit, then it’s no wonder our faith isn’t all that alive. We’re squandering energy attempting to juggle two different lifestyles. To experience an incredible new energy source, it’s time for the Christian believer to be one person, not two, and to start experiencing how empowering that singularity of living can be…

It takes courage, determination, and practice to be decidedly Christian in every kind of setting. So let’s start with something easier. An old saying goes, “what’s learned with pleasure is learned full measure.” That’s why I’d like to get you away from duplicity through a kind of game format. The name of the game is TO, THROUGH, AND TALK ABOUT…

Here’s rule number one: Look for ways God speaks to you in settings other than Sunday mornings in church. It could be through Scripture, an answer to prayer, a helpful comment someone makes, a thought from a book you’re reading, a Christian radio program you hear, a memory, a song, a letter, a circumstance, a kind deed in your behalf, a phone call, a gift, or any other way you recognize God’s touch in your life outside of the normal church context. Each day, Monday through Saturday, write down one time God speaks to you in a special manner…
(that’s the miracle mindset again)

Rule number two: Look for ways God ministers through you during the week. Once again, this can happen in a nearly unlimited number of ways. You listen to somebody’s troubles. You help a person financially. You spend seirous time in prayer for a friend. You prepare a meal for someone in need. You call an acquaintance who is lonely. You go out of your way to be friendly to a grump. You show God’s love to a child. You care for a neighbor. You show patience with a coworker. You stay late without complaining to finish up an important job. You talk to someone about Jesus. The question you must answer is, how did Christ minister through me to someone else? Keep track of that on a daily basis as well – to and through…

What’s happening is that you’re getting used to thinking about your faith 24/7. By watching for ways God is speaking to you, you’re acknowledging the reality of his presence in your life outside of church. If he can speak to you at home or work or school, you’re saying he must be there with you. As you look for tangible evidence of his presence in your Monday through Saturday life, you’ll also be made more constantly aware of that truth. That’s going to help you with any double thinking you’re struggling to eliminate…
In the same way, God can’t speak through you to someone else unless he’s there with you. You can’t look for opportunities to allow God to speak through you if you’ve left him in the sanctuary on Sunday morning. That’s why this second part of the game is also a great way to eliminate duplicity in you day-to-day life. It’s hard to be double-minded when you’re looking for ways to share God’s words and actions with others…

Now, here’s rule number three, and you’ll have everything you need to play the TO, THROUGH, AND TALK ABOUT GAME: talk to someone else about what you’re observing. Get used to discussing with others how your faith is spilling out of Sunday into Monday through Saturday – how you delight in being the church gathered, but also how the church works when scattered…
To, Through, and talk about. Got it?

1 Peter 1:13 – 2:10