Wanna live in the greatest place on Earth or stay right where you are?

  My family and I just embarked on a wonderful 2 week vacation in California. I mean it was fun and relaxing, adventurous and peaceful. Plus we visited a bunch of family (you can decide if that was fun or relaxing).
Without going into all we did and the main purpose of the trip which was dropping our 18yr old daughter off at her college.... I do want to tell you about our few days in Bakersfield, CA. Specifically the night we spent at my fathers house grillin a TriTip roast.
While there my wife picked up a magazine he had laying out titled, Bakersfield Life. More specifically the May 2013 issue and even more specifically the article titled, "Bakersfield against the World". (Link to issue, article begins on page 110)

Now let me preface what I'm about to write with the fact that I was born and grew up in the city of Bakersfield, so I know it well. I moved to Houston, Tx. when I was 26yrs old - I know the city as a child and an adult. So when I read this article I found it quite humorous.... I think you will too.
The article explains 10 reasons why Bakersfield is better than the rest of the World.
Here's a quick review:
1. Springtime - ok, I get this. Spring is nice in Bakersfield, but isnt Spring nice just about everywhere?
2. Parking - seriously you are in big trouble if you are promoting your city with 'Parking' as the 2nd rated reason why to live here.
3. Mexican Restaurants - well they do have mexican restaurants thats for sure. I would think if you're promoting the city you may want to speak to the wide variety of restaurants and styles of food rather than settling for one.... oh and FYI, the TexMex in Houston is 10 times better.
4. (are you ready for this) 99 cent stores - yep thats right, they are promoting the fact that they have a plethora of 99 cent stores to shop. I would think that would be more on the downside but maybe thats just me.
5. Central Location - this in my opinion is the absolute #1 reason why to live in Bakersfield - you are surrounded by a lot of great places and cities. My father in law says, "the greatest thing about Bakersfield is I can get there from here." How true it is. Its a short drive to the mountains or beach or an hour to Six Flags, an hour and half into Los Angeles and all that it has to offer, etc...
6. Snow - they actually never get any so the article says if you have an aversion to snow this is the place for you..... wow.
7. Tattoos - yep, you can get a tattoo in Bakersfield and in just about every other city in America.
8. National Cemetery - yeah thats nice.
9. (Oh how I love #9) No Intimidation of Mill Valley Bodies - the article says, "tired of those thin, snotty people? You'll feel right at home here. People have more meat on their bones."
It's hard not to laugh out loud I know. They are literally saying, This is a place for the overweight. Why be thin or health conscious at all? Have another burrito at one of our mexican restaurants.
10. Friendliness -  Isnt that nice? The funny part of the article is the picture here under #10 for friendliness is 3 thin girls walking with their backs turned to you.

So as good or bad as these 10 reasons are for living in Bakersfield I thought I'd add a couple of more to help them out.

11. Dense Fog - the fact that Bakersfield is in the San Joaquin Valley and barely above sea level give way to some nasty, dense fog. You cannot drive on the roads, schools postpone, even cancel due to it. The fog has been the culprit of many, many car accidents.
I don't know how they left this out of the article....
12. Smog - being hemmed in on three sides by the mountains not only creates nasty fog in the winter it allows terrible air all year long. Bonus all the oilfield work in the area creates diesel soot from the pumps. CNN places Bakersfield #1 in their Top Ten most polluted cities this year.

I could go on and on....

Obviously I'm having a good time poking fun at my hometown, but here's the point....
It really doesn't matter what city you live in, you can find a list of reasons as to why its not the best place in the world. You see the real question is, "Is this where God has placed you?" That my friends is all that matters.

You and I need to get to a certain place and that place is "contentment".

It was the Apostle Paul who wrote, "Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.  For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT)

So how about you? Are you constantly looking for something else...?
A new city, a new place to live, a new job, a new relationship, a new car, a new...whatever?
I once heard John Maxwell say, "If you're not content here, you won't be content there."
There's great truth in that statement. 

Know that God has a plan and His plan is for you to prosper. (Jeremiah 29:11)
It literally comes down to you and I accepting what "that plan" is and there, in that place we will be happy, we'll be content.
And that place folks, is a great place.

"Love the Lord Your God with ALL your Strength" - conclusion

  Well I'd like to say I'm clever enough to think to write this "ALLmost series of talks" conclusion in 2 parts like the final Harry Potter or Twilight movies but it was purely on accident....
In "Loving the Lord Your God with ALL your Strength" we began looking at Ephesians 3:14-21. In the 'introduction' we covered verses 14 & 15, today we conclude this thought and series.

Let’s keep going. Verse 16

16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

In "Loving the Lord with ALL your mind" we talked about the mind and we juxtaposed a little bit of neurology with a little bit of theology and I hope it helped you realize the importance of reading the Word of God. When you do, it recruits new nerve cells and it re-routes connections, and before you know it, in a physiological way, you begin to cultivate the mind of Christ.

So today let me go ‘SciFy Guy’ & juxtapose physics and theology for a moment. Remember w/ the mind, the battle is won or lost in the mind? And then this idea that every thing was once a thought. In a similar sense, try to wrap your mind around this if you can. At an atomic level, everything is 99.99% empty space. I am not a physicist nor the son of a physicist, but it is really an amazing thing, I don’t know if this is scientific or spiritual or what but the bottom line is this, when we look at something that appears to be solid, its not solid at all, because at an atomic level, what you have are these atoms that are really more empty space than anything else. When you break it down at that level, at a very microscopic level, the distance between the electron and nucleus and these little tiny atoms that make me up, that distance is as great as the distance from the sun to the earth. So, I know this sounds weird, but we are primarily empty space. 

So the next time somebody says to you there’s a whole lot of empty space between your ears… you can respond with, “I know, at an atomic, microscopic level the gaps between the electrons and nucleus are enormous.” as they stare at you dumbfounded.

What’s the point in telling you this?

Quantum physicists have identified four forces. You know this from classes you’ve taken, electromagnetism, strong nuclear, weak nuclear and gravitation. But what’s really interesting is that there is a fifth force that really can’t quite be pinned down, this mysterious fifth force that eludes science. I would suggest that the fifth force is the Spirit of God. 

You have to go all the way back to Genesis and it says God breathed into the dust. It was the Spirit of God that animated those molecules. Job 34:14 & 15 says that if God were to withdraw his breath, his breath that He breathed to animate creation in Genesis, if He withdrew his breath, all mankind would return to dust. We would implode because it is that Spirit of God, that fifth force that sustains us and energizes us and animates us. 

In Acts 17:28, it says in Him we live and move and have our being. The Greek word for ‘move’ is where we get our word ‘kinetic’ as in kinetic energy. In other words, God is the one who animates and energizes us. So, part of the reason I want to bring that up is that, like, I’m reading this scripture in Ephesians and its so mysterious to me. “Strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.” What? How does that work? I don’t understand that, but I know this – He is the One who spoke everything into existence and it is out of his omnipotence that we are even sustained on a physical level, but then beyond that, God wants to strengthen us and empower us. We are going to talk a little bit about how He does that.

Let me get painfully practical after getting so scientific. The word ‘strengthen’ in this passage is the same word that Jesus used in the Great Commandment, Love the Lord your God with all of your strength, and here in Ephesians it says I will strengthen you with power in your inner being. 

What does it mean to love God with all of our strength? 

Let me break it down. I think there is a parallel, in this respect, between the physical realm and the spiritual realm. How do you gain energy in the physical realm? I would suggest that you do it by expending energy. When you go work out, you are expending energy, nothing is more energizing than a good workout. The way you build up your body is you break it back down. That’s how you gain strength/muscle mass.

 the same is true spiritually. The danger is this, if we come to church just to get fed, then you are just going to get fat. And here’s where I feel like I’m your spiritual coach, because I have coaches that push me beyond the norm. This is where I feel like I want to push us a little bit, because I think some of us feel like to be a part of a church means that that is where you go to get fed, and that is part of it, but I want to be very clear, just showing up to a church service doesnt cut it. In order to "Love the Lord Your God with ALL your Strength" it takes effort. 

That takes lots of different forms. I tell you what, sometimes I think about the body of Christ, and I’m just overwhelmed by the collective potential that we have to make a difference. But that means each one of us stepping up, stepping in and doing it. So, there are lots of ways to do that and the bottom line is we must get plugged in and serve!

Listen folks, Get some sweat equity in the kingdom of God.

Let’s keep going.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Let me ask you a question, what is your relationship with God rooted in? For some folks, it is not rooted in love, which is described in this passage. It says rooted and established in love. I think for some of you, this is going to be a revelation that could totally change your relationship with God because, if you are honest, you would admit that your relationship with God is rooted in fear, and in legalism, and in knowledge, it is rooted in works, but listen, if your relationship with God is rooted in those things, then you are not going to experience spiritual growth in the way God intended it to happen. You’ve got make sure your relationship with God is rooted in love. Here’s some good news, God loves you unconditionally. There is nothing you can do to make God love you more or less. Why? Because He loves you perfectly, He loves you unconditionally. 

Where are you rooted in God’s love for you?

Last verse, 20

20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

Isn’t that one of the most exciting verses in the Bible? That’s exciting. You want to know what I love about following Christ, about living a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led life? This, the best I can do is no longer the best I can do. The best I can do is the best God can do. He can do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine. How? According to his power that is at work within us. There is not a person here that would say, ‘I have fully exhausted my potential spiritually.’ I’m living at a level that you really wouldn’t believe. The things I do, my back is sore from patting it. 

 I need more in here (inside of me), I need more internal pressure from the Spirit of God filling me so that that is what’s coming out of me, and we want to do things that we can’t even ask or imagine. I just think this speaks to a deep, deep human longing. The way I thought about it this week, the longer I live, the more bored I am with things that I’m able to do in my own strength, the natural things, and the more I crave the supernatural. The more I want to see God move in my life in a way that there is no way I can take credit for that. I want to experience the miraculous, I want to experience the supernatural and that means the Spirit of God filling us and empowering us.

Now, spiritually speaking, I think what Paul is getting at here is that we need to keep pushing our boundaries. I think at some point, most of us just settle for where we are spiritually, for the level or knowledge or revelation that we have, for the level of experience or power that we have, and we become comfortable. This is where I am, this is my limit or boundary.  What I’m suggesting is that God wants to continue to expand our spiritual horizons so that He begins to do things that are beyond what we can even ask or imagine. I believe that, and I believe that for each one of us.

How does it happen? Let’s go full circle. How does this passage begin? Kneeling before the Lord. I don’t have a formula for you today, it’s not that there aren’t things you can do and ways to prepare for it, there are steps we see in this passage of scripture which I will review but what I would suggest is that God wants to do it in you more than you want Him to do it. One way that we love God is with all of our strength, and with all of his strength working in us. The whole end of this passage v.21, the whole goal is that God would be glorified. How is God glorified? One way is, When you do things that are beyond your ability. When you allow God to work in your life in a way that is wow! That’s how we glorify God. That’s how we grow in our love for God.

So what steps have we seen: humbling ourselves before the Lord, expanding spiritual energy and getting involved in ministry vs. Sitting at the table just getting fed, pushing our limits getting out of the comfort zone so many people find themselves in spiritually and love God with ALL your strength and watch what He does in and through you - it will amaze you and others and thats vs. 20 happening in real life.

I think of my friends Jason and Denise Cummins as great examples of this passage and all those things I just listed I have watched happened in their lives and they are literally on the cusp of ‘amazing’ - its really cool. 

Here's a link to their story: "Let Go of the Norm"

So, some folks have never flipped the switch. I really think it is that simple. Some of you have never flipped the switch and said, ‘God, empower me and fill me with your Spirit.’ Some of us have done it once or twice, then we stop doing it. Ephesians 5:18 says be filled with the Spirit. The verb tense is keep on being filled. If we keep on being filled with the Spirit of God, then is strength is at work within us and there is nothing that God can’t do in us and through us.

I want to pray for us and pray that God, as we humble ourselves, would do something in our inner being, some of you need strength from the Lord today, you need emotional strength, you need physical strength, you need spiritual strength. He wants to strengthen you in your inner being. Let’s ask Him for it. 

Will you do that with me?

watch or listen online: ALLmost 4 

"Love the Lord your God with ALL your Strength" - ALLmost series of talks

 2,000 years ago, Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind and all of your strength.” We call it the Great Commandment and this series is really all about being great at the Great Commandment. It starts with the heart. When you give your heart to Christ, He gives his heart to you and your heart begins to break for the things that break the heart of God. Then you recapture that childlike wonder. We talked about that and we talked about the soul of love, in order for us to love God w/all our soul it cannot be empty…. and last week we talked about loving God with all of our minds, today were talking about strength. This is really the final frontier. This is where the rubber meets the road. If we miss this, we have not loved God the way that He wants us to. However today I’m just gonna give you guys a little teaser trying my best to draw you back next week for the conclusion of this message.

 Ephesians 3:14-21

For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

What a passage of Scripture, what a prayer! Can I say up front that when Paul is praying this, he is not just praying for the people that this letter was intended for, for the Church of Ephesus, he was praying for you, he was praying for Focus Church. I want to unpack this passage together, but today we’re just gonna look at verses 14 & 15

For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

 I had this thought: sometimes our shoulders ought to be sore in raising them in worship to the Lord. The reason I thinking that is because my shoulders are sore. We were singing about glory to God, and the Lord reigns, and when we sing those songs, the bible talks a lot about body posture, and as I lift my spirit to the Lord in worship, sometimes I want to lift my hands to the Lord so that my outer physical body represents what’s happening in here…. And that’s one definition of the ‘raising of hands in worship’

Maybe you’ve heard some of the others… raise hands in surrender to great and mighty God. Like raising hands if a gun is pointed at you “I surrender”, a form of submission. How about the little toddler child who wants to be held, “hold me, hold me” our girls, Alli said “Hold you, hold you” which meant she wanted to be held, Jess said “hold to me, hold to me” sometimes we raise our hands in worship as a form of saying, Daddy, Abba Father God hold me. It’s a sense of being held or longing to be embrace the One who loves you more anybody or anything ever can.

So raising our hands in worship can represent:

Outer expression of inward emotion

Form of surrender

Longing to embrace

I have a video to show you, some of you have seen it before, others havent but its a Focus favorite - A Beginners Guide to Interactive Worship.

Let me share a related thought, if you will, because it has to do with body posture and that’s what this passage is speaking of. Listen, sometimes our knees ought to be sore from humbling ourselves before the Lord. I think we need to look at this passage literally. For this reason, I kneel before the Lord. I want to suggest that this may be the most important posture in the entire Bible, because I’m absolutely convinced that if you stay humble, then there is nothing that God cannot do in you and through you. The Bible says that God opposes the proud. That is scary to me, I do not want God opposing me. Let me say this, even as a pastor who is trying to serve the Lord, if I’m doing it with pride, then here is the crazy thing, God will oppose the very thing He called me to do, because God doesn’t bless, He doesn’t grace or favor pride. But if you find a way to humble yourself and stay humble before the Lord, oh, I have never once knelt in prayer and gotten up and not felt better. And very specifically, what happens is this, a lot of anxiety is alleviated. It is lifted off of my shoulders, and when I get up after kneeling, there is a confidence, but it is not self-confidence, like I can do it, because I can’t do it, but there is a God confidence, that He is in control and that I’m back in alignment with who He is and what He wants to do and I’m doing this for the glory of God. When you are in that posture, it is a powerful position. If you want to move forward spiritually, you better get on your knees. I’m going to challenge right here, when was the last time you spent some time on your knees before the Lord?

So here is your homework, spend some time today & this upcoming week kneeling before the Lord and humbling yourself before Him again. And hear me folks, you will be strengthened.

entire video and/or audio of this message: ALLmost 4 - the introduction