Got Questions Week 2
Got Questions Week 2
Welcome to week two of God questions where we look at the questions that you as a church have and answer them from the Word of God.
The intention of this series is to show that we serve a true God who is the foundation of all things and therefor a faith in Him is not against that which is reasonable.
Tonight we will see that it might be against the culture we find ourselves in however this is not against the reality of the world we find ourselves in.
This week we will be looking at:
Are people born gay? Do people choose to be gay to try something new or because of a gap that they are trying to fill? Why does the church say all are welcome, yet frowns on gay people?
Why is it so difficult to have real faith when things are tough? Why do Christians suffer having double minds?
Why does God bring two people together in a relationship then make it hell.
Was there a second creation - was the earth destroyed and a second earth created?
Is it okay to watch fantasy/supernatural movies like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings; or read books like this?
So lets get strait into it:
Are people born gay? Do people choose to be gay to try something new or because of a gap that they are trying to fill? Why does the church say all are welcome, yet frowns on gay people?
So essentially we are asking two questions here; is being gay a choice and secondly how should the church respond to gay people.
This is a complex and deeply emotive question; why because it is so culturally relevant now.
However in saying this Most researchers have concluded that sexual orientation is a complex, multifactorial issue in which biological, social and psychological factors combine to play a role in the ultimate sexual orientation of an individual. And to date the totality of the scholastic research has concluded that gayness is more socio-cultural than biological.
So then it's simply a choice then. Well to day that is to completely discredit the complexity of choice. Your choices are a product of all that you are and all that you have experienced.
Tell anyone who has tried to go on a diet that they simply need to just eat less will show you how complex choice is.
So is homosexuality a choice, simply yes; is it complicated to change that most definitely.
In saying that how should the church respond? Like every other person that walks in its doors.
With love. But real love.
Can I just say that all of us are sinners, we have all fallen short of the glory of God. But God so loved us that He gave us His son so that whoever believes would have eternal life (John 3:16).
But God comes to call the sick (sinners) to health (repentance). The whole point of choice is not to have a bunch of perfect people huddling together; but to have a whole bunch of needy people learning to love one another in such a way that we change!
The call of the Gospel of Christ and of the church should be come sinners find rest from your sins.
There have been people who have been willing to walk a road with me, filling my needs with the love of God and the grace of Christ and because of that I have grown out of many of the sin struggles that I had when I was growing up.
The church should be that to the world. I hope that this church is. We exist to help sinners find God's love, a love that is so profound it changes us in our deepest core of who we are. And we find that our choices now are conformed into who He is and what He desires.
The problem is that so many church's want people to stop being gay before they come to the church. This is in fact a disregard to the gospel. The Gospel is come as you are and God will forgive you and bring healing. What we are saying when we say people have to not be gay before they can come to the gospel is that the gospel requires us to be something before we find forgiveness.
Let us remember that church's are filled with people who bring their own brokenness to the fore, and in that brokenness can even compromise the truth of the gospel.
The simple truth is we come as we are; broken (all of us); in need and in that place of humility we find grace and love that heals us in the deepest of ways.
Can I just say that God loves you as you are, but He loves you so much that He want you to be the real you the you He created you to be that is why when we believe He imparts His Spirit to start the process of us becoming more like Him.
So in conclusion; Are people born gay? No. What should the church's response to be to gay people; love a love that desires their best.
Why is it so difficult to have real faith when things are tough? Why do Christians suffer having double minds?
I say in love that real faith endures though times, it is when our faith is not settled in the God of Scripture that it fails us. And a Christian who is double minded is not settled in in the things of faith revealed to us in Scripture(James 1:6).
No-one has been disappointed by the God of Scripture; many have been disappointed by the god of their own creation.
We can see when we have created a god when we are saying "The god I believe could never..."
What does the Bible say about our situations or problems?
Scripture gives us a clear view of the God of the universe and the more I discover that God the more my hope is secure, the more my faith is secured.
If your faith is struggling in tough times, you might need to journey with God more to discover who He truly is.
The thing that gives me most hope is that so often God guides us in those tough times to discover more deeply who he truly is.
So to conclude; why is it difficult to have real faith in tough times and why are Christians double minded; they have not truly understood who God is. But there is grace in that; God has given us His word to reveal Himself to those who seek, and He has given us each other in the church to walk with each other and build up each other until we are fully mature in the faith.
That is why we have church - so we can be mature and our faith will and can endure all things
8For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Rom 8:39
Why does God bring two people together in a relationship then make it hell?
Is God the originator of evil? No. So does God make it hell? No. Again lets be honest here; we are all broken people carrying aspects of that brokenness; and if you don't believe me get yourself into a relationship - it shows you definitively that you are broken.
Our problem is we are unwilling to humble ourselves and recognise our own brokenness and therefore are unwilling to accept the brokenness of others and that is what makes relationships hell.
Can I let you in on a secret tonight; Christians fight -even in Christian marriages. But what has caused me to find a wonder within my own marriage - understanding my own brokenness and giving allowances to the brokenness of my wife and through the grace that we have received from Christ to love each other undeservingly.
Why does God bring people together in a relationship and then make it hell? God didn't make that relationship hell - we did; but by His grace we can through humility accept our part in the brokenness of our relationships and find something amazing.
Was there a second creation - was the earth destroyed and a second earth created?
No - there is no scriptural allowances for that. We are on the first creation that God made; He will destroy this creation and make another which will be perfect and on that He will dwell with His people. (See Rev)
Is it okay to watch fantasy/supernatural movies like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings; or read books like this?
What we must do as Christians is lock ourselves away and not indulge in moves or any fun at all.
Now I joke; but that is what some people have as a view of Christians. Which is totally against Christianity we are free in Christ - but we are free to live lives that honour God.
Can we watch supernatural or fantasy? Can I ask a deeper and more pertinent question; should we do anything that is not beneficial to us?
Paul in 1 Corinthians emphasises this principle twice in 6:12 and 10:23
Both times he says I can do anything; but not all things are beneficial to me, I can do anything but i will not be mastered by anything.
Would you drink paint - no because it is poisonous and you don't want to end up in hospital - well ja you can but it would be stupid.
That is the same principle that we apply when analysing what we allow into our lives.
I always ask the question does this give me life or does it take it away from me? So why do it?
So when looking at it in the context of personal decisions the principle on all things is simple; does doing this actually benefit me and is this mastering me - both end in death so why do it if it does?
There is another and on some level deeper question we ask - will my freedom destroy others? Paul says in 1 Cor 8:13
if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.
This is a higher principle because it asks of the doer is my freedom killing others? If it can I will deny myself because I love others.
To give you an illustration; do I think drinking alcohol is bad; in no way, can I yes! Do i? No! Why; because when Nats and I started out in the ministry we were ministering to young people and we did not want to become a stumbling block to them.
They could never say our youth Pastor drinks therefor I can.
We denied our freedom because we loved the people we ministered to; does this mean I go around saying drinking is of the devil; no.
I live free; but my freedom is for my good; and it is acted in love for all people.
So to conclude is it okay to watch supernatural/ fantasy movies? Yes; but is what you are watching in danger of destroying you or others and are you in danger of being mastered by it?
This concludes week two again I challenge you to live with a mind that is willing to challenge it's own questions and to seek the answers; I want to again challenge you to find your answers in Scripture because in it is the answer for our lives.
[PRAY]