Humans vs Animals

In Dream Works Bee Movie, boyfriend Ken is trying to kill Barry the bee (see picture). When girlfriend Vanessa objects, Ken replies "You know I’m allergic to them. This thing could kill me." Vanessa replies "Why does his life have any less value than yours?"

Q: What's the message? A: That animal life and human life have equal value.

Friends, this simply isn't true. In the creation account in Genesis one, God said the light was good. God said the land and sea were good. God said the vegetation was good. God said the sun, moon and stars were good. God said the creatures of the sea and the birds of the sky were good. God said the land creatures were good. But once God added mankind to his creation he said it was very good (v31). The Bible teaches that humans, not animals, are the pinnacle of God's creation - his masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).

That's why Jesus plainly stated that humans have greater value than animals. Jesus said in Matthew 6:26, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" I love it! We're not just a little more valuable than animals, we're much more valuable!

You see, there's a hierarchy to God's creation. From top to bottom it goes God, the angels, humans, then animals. We know this because Hebrews 2:7-8 says, "You [God] made them [humans] a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet.” "Everything" here refers to the rest of God's creation (i.e. the animals). We know this from Genesis 1:28 where God told Adam and Eve, "Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." From this verse we learn that God gave humans stewardship over the earth and everything in it (including animals) and told us to rule over it.

Anyone who knows me personally knows how much I love animals! I love watching them, catching them, owning them, and taking pictures of them. But I'm not confused over whether a kangaroo has more value than a kid. I'm not confused over whether a manatee has more value than a man. I'm not confused over whether a woodpecker has more value than a woman. 

Don't Ever Give Up

Abraham Lincoln first attempted a career in business in 1831 and failed miserably. A year later he ran for state legislature unsuccessfully. That same year he lost his job and applied to law school but was laughed out of consideration because of his miserable qualifications. Not long after that humiliating ordeal, he started another business using money he borrowed from a close friend. Before the year ended, however, that business faded and failed. Lincoln claimed bankruptcy and spent the next seventeen years paying off debt. In 1835 he fell deeply in love with Ann Rutledge, only to have his heart broken when she died soon after their engagement. The following year he had a complete nervous breakdown and spent the six months in bed recovering. In 1838 he sought to become speaker of the state legislature and was defeated. In 1840, two years later, he sought to become the elector of the state, and was defeated. Three years later he ran for Congress and lost. In 1849 he sought the job of land officer in his home state but was rejected. In 1854 he ran for the Senate of the United States. Again, he lost. In 1856 he sought the vice-presidential nomination at his party's national convention. He got less than one hundred votes, suffering yet another embarrassing defeat. In 1858 he ran for the U.S. Senate and lost again.

Finally in 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected to the presidency of the United States. And after winning the most devastating war our country has ever experienced he was reelected for a second term.

Don't ever give up! You never know what prize awaits you on the other side of your pain. 

Hope for the Best

This past Sunday I preached on the following passage:

Matthew 8:23-27, Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!” NLT

One of the many things we can take from this passage is this: Most of the things we fear will never happen. Our text tells us the reason the disciples were so afraid. They thought for sure they were going to drown. But did that happen? No! They didn’t drown - they were delivered. Let me ask you: When you’re in a storm, is your first response “I’m going to drown!” or “I’m going to be delivered!” 

Kristin and I are expecting our third child any day now. And just a couple weeks ago the midwife told my wife our baby might be breach, which is medical terminology for upside down. For those of you who don’t know, a baby can’t come out feet first - a baby has to come head first, otherwise they can’t get out without breaking bones. So this was a pretty serious concern. Now the midwife didn’t tell Kristin our baby was breach, just that he might be. Knowing that most of the things we fear don’t ever happen, I told Kristin: Let’s wait and see what the ultrasound reveals before we jump to any conclusions. I’m so glad we didn’t lose our peace over this, because as it turns out, the baby was not breach after all. 

When you're in a storm, do you respond in faith or fear? Fear makes us default to the negative, but faith makes us default to the positive. Since we often have no idea how things will actually turn out, why not hope for the best instead of assuming the worst. After all, most of the things we fear will never happen. 

There's Purpose in Your Storm

Today I preached on the following passage: 

Matthew 8:23-27, Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!” NLT 

One of the many things we can take from this passage is this: There is purpose in your storm. Matthew 8:18 reveals that it was Jesus himself who gave the orders to cross the lake. He led the disciples into this seemingly perilous storm intentionally and purposefully. So what was the purpose? It was two-fold...

1. To teach them 

Every storm teaches us something. Through this storm the disciples learned to trust. In the Old Testament, a fellow named Jonah experienced a storm of his own that taught him to obey. Also in the Old Testament was a man named Job who went through a non-aquatic storm. He lost his health and wealth (not to mention his kids). Through this storm he learned that we will not always have an answer to the question "Why?" on this side of eternity. I could keep going, but I think you get the point. Whether God brings about the storm himself or simply allows the storm to occur, there is purpose in the storm and every storm teaches us something. 

2. To test them 

The storms we experience not only teach us something, they also test our faith. I believe Jesus stayed asleep during the storm so he could test the disciples faith. This was an opportunity to respond fear-full or faith-filled. And unfortunately, the disciples failed this test miserably. They cried out to Jesus in fear, saying "We're going to drown!" Did you know that Jesus measures our spiritual maturity in part by how we respond when we're in a storm? When we respond in fear we show our lack of faith. When we respond in faith, we show God that we trust him, which pleases God very much (Hebrews 11:6). 

Have you ever felt like Jesus was asleep during your storm? It might seem that way, but nothing could be further from the truth. He is trying to teach you something and he is testing your faith. 

God at the Box Office

In this post I wanted to share the biblical basis for our new teaching series "God at the Box Office". No one has complained or anything, I just think it's good for you to understand the inspiration for doing a series like this. 

In Acts 17 Paul is speaking with the unchurched Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. This lands him a speaking engagement with the Council of Philosophers. Paul begins his sermon with a reference to something in their culture; an altar to a pagan idol, with the inscription “To an Unknown God” written on it. Then, during his message, he quotes one of their pagan poets, to illustrate his point. You see, Paul is a missionary and he uses culture to teach spiritual truths to unchurched people. They might not understand the Bible, but they understand culture, so he uses cultural references to help them understand something they're unfamiliar with. 

Similarly, at New Day we consider ourselves missionaries to the unchurched people of New England. So we love following the biblical example of using culture to communicate spiritual truths to the unchurched. They might not understand the Bible, but they understand culture, so we use it to help them understand something they are by and large unfamiliar with. That's why in this series we're uncovering the spiritual themes in some of Hollywood's biggest summer blockbusters (at least the ones we're comfortable covering in church), and then sharing what the Bible teaches on these subjects. 

Fathers Matter

A while back I was listening to a teaching series by Perry Noble called Adam & Eve and he shared some statistics in one of his messages that I now want to share with you as we approach Father's Day. 

• 90% of the inmates in prison did not ever have a relationship with their father 

• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes 

• 90% of all runaways are from fatherless homes 

• 85% of all children with behavior disorders are from fatherless homes 

• 80% of all rapists are from fatherless homes 

• 71% of all high school drop outs are from fatherless homes 

• 71% of teenage pregnancies are taking place in fatherless homes 

And Dave Ramsey recently tweeted "Children without a father in the home are 2x more likely to be poor." 

What am I trying to say? Despite what you may have heard from culture, fathers matter. You see...

In our culture a man is often portrayed as an idiot, which is partly why so many women think they and their children will do just fine without one...

Our culture encourages women who haven't found a husband yet, but who want to have a baby, to just go ahead and get pregnant via artificial insemination, as if the baby will do just as fine without a dad as with a dad...

It's considered "cool" in our culture for a lesbian couple to adopt children, as if the children will do just as well with two moms as they will with a mom and a dad...

In other words, culture says dads don't matter. But this is a lie of Satanic origin that Christians should be careful not to buy into. Focus on the Family says "There is no mistaking the majority of more than 30 years of social science research that indicates children do best on every measure of well-being when raised by their married mother and father. These studies show this is the best possible environment for children to grow and thrive." 

Fathers...YOU MATTER. And we can best learn to be a good earthly father as we follow the loving example of our Heavenly Father. I hope you'll make the decision to do that if you haven't already this Father's Day. If you need help with that I'd encourage you to listen to a message I once preached entitled: Today You'll Be With Me In Paradise. 

Three Rules for Building Wealth

Today we watched an excellent video message by founding and lead pastor of Lifechurch.tv Craig Groeschel on saving and investing. Here's his three rules of investing wisely:

1. Don't invest in things you don't understand. Proverbs 24:3-4 says "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." NIV

2. Don't put all your eggs into one basket. Ecclesiastes 11:2 says "Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land." NIV

3. Don't try to get rich quick. Proverbs 13:11 says "Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time." NLT

Read any book on investing and it will only tell you exactly what the Bible has said all along! And remember: You don't benefit from the parts of Scripture you read, only the ones you apply!

Recommended Resource: Wealth to Last by Larry Burkett and Ron Blue

In the House of the Wise

Proverbs 21:20 says "In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil. But the fool devours everything he has." Today we'd call devouring everything we have "living paycheck to paycheck." Here's the danger in doing that. If we have no reserves we'll be unprepared for when emergencies arise.

Let me be transparent. This past April (2013) when I talked with my tax guy, I found out he had estimated what tax I would owe based on someone else's salary! Long story short, I had $15,000 of income that hadn't been taxed!!! So I unexpectedly had to catch up on over $1,600 of federal and state tax. About the same time this happened I had another unexpected bill that set me back another $2,000!!! Then last month (May) just as it started heating up, the condenser unit for my AC blew up! Replacing it cost another $2,800!!! Let's do some math real quick...

    $1,600
    $2,000
+  $2,800
    $6,400 of unexpected expenses!!!

If I was living paycheck to paycheck this would've been disastrous!!! But thank God, Kristin and I had some reserves and paid for everything cash. No debt. No credit cards (we don't have any). We paid cash. The Bible is clear: We're to live below our means so we can build reserves for 1) emergencies, 2) purchases and 3) the future. 

Debt is the opposite of reserves. When we live below our means we have reserves. When we live above our means, we have debt. Are you living below your means or above? Don't be like the average American who spends $1.36 for every dollar he/she earns. What baby step can you take today to begin growing your reserves? 

Recommended resource: The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. I'd also recommend you listen to our Financial Fitness teaching series online at www.newdaychurch.cc/financialfitness 

Grace: A Higher Standard Than Law

Living in the New Testament era of grace isn’t an excuse to ignore or drop below the standard of the tithe set in the Old Testament era of law. You see, when Jesus taught on the Old Testament law he always took the baseline standard the law set and raised it. He never lowered it. Here’s just two quick examples. In Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus said: Never mind murder! Don’t even be angry with someone! And in Matthew 5:27-28 Jesus said: Forget adultery! I’m telling you don’t even lust! In both these instances Jesus took the base line standard set by the law and raised the bar. So According to Jesus, God set the foundation of the law for us to build on, not shrink back from. We’re to move forward in our giving, not backwards. We’re to look at the example set in the law of the tithe and raise the bar, not lower it.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - Do those of us who live in the New Testament era of grace have to give exactly 10%. NO!!! We are free to give MORE! You can give 12%, 15%, 20% or more if you want. I know some pastors who give 90% and live off only 10%. Living in the era of grace is an invitation to live at an even higher standard than the law, not a lower one. That’s why Kristin and I give 15% of our income to the Lord’s work. We give our tithe, which is 10%, then we give another 5% as an offering, above and beyond the tithe. Like Jesus taught, we’ve taken the baseline standard of the law (the tithe) and built on it. 

A Tithe vs An Offering

There was at least three differences between a tithe and an offering for an Old Testament Israelite...

1. The tithe was 10%. The offering was any amount given above and beyond the tithe. Here’s an example...In the book of Ezra, when the Temple needed to be rebuilt (because it had been destroyed by Israel’s enemies) the Israelites were asked to give freewill offerings (Ezra 1:4,6; 3:5; 7:16; 8:28). These offerings were to be given above and beyond their tithe. 

Application: Returning the tithe is where we start. Once we have the tithe down, we are free to give an offering above and beyond the tithe. If we aren't tithing, we have no business giving an offering. The tithe comes first, then the offering as we're able.

2. The tithe was mandatory, an offering was not (unless God prompted them to give one). When it came to offerings the Israelites could give or not give as they felt led by God, but not so with the tithe. The tithe was required whether they felt like returning it or not. 

Application: We don't have to feel led to return the tithe. We should return it whether we feel like it or not. We give offerings as we feel led, but not so with the tithe.

3. The Israelites could not designate their tithe (i.e. I would like my tithe to go towards missions, or the building fund, or kids church, etc.) The tithe belonged to God so only he could designate its use, and he said the tithe was earmarked for funding the local church. But an offering was different. The offering didn't come out of the 10% that belonged to God, but out of the 90% God let them steward. That belonged to God too, but God allowed some freedom in how it was used. They were free to designate an offering, but not the tithe. 

Application: We're to return the tithe, undesignated, to our local church. God has already designated the tithe to meet the basic needs of the local church (i.e. The tithe funds the various programs of the local church, and provides for the pastors who lead the church spiritually and minister to the needs of the people).

Note: They Israelites were never to take their tithe and use it as an offering. For example, when the Israelites were asked in the book of Ezra to give free will offerings to help rebuild the Temple, that was not an invitation to start using their tithes to do it. They were to tithe first, then give a free will offering, as they felt led, above and beyond the tithe. 

Application: We want you to give to our missions fund, our building fund, our New Day Ministry Endowment Fund and our annual Special Christmas Offering. But not if you can't do so above and beyond the tithe. You tithe first, then give an offering above and beyond the tithe as you're able to do so. 

5 Objections to Tithing & 5 Biblical Responses

Even though the Old Testament gives us the pattern and example of tithing and even though Jesus affirms the practice of tithing in the New Testament, The average American Christian gives away only 2.5% of their income. 30-50% give nothing at all, but for those who do the average is 2.5%. Why do so few tithe? Here’s four common objections and four biblical responses. 

Objection #1: Tithing is legalistic!
Biblical response: Legalism is trying to earn your salvation by keeping the law. Legalism is NOT following the clear example set in the Old Testament that 1 Corinthians 10:11 says we should follow. Therefore, tithing is obedience, not legalism.

Objection #2: We don't have to give exactly 10%!
Biblical response: When the Bible talks about a tithe, in every single case it means “a tenth part” or 10%. And in regards to that tenth part God says in Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe...” The fact that the average American Christian gives away only 2.5% of their income shows the problem is not that we're being too rigid about the tithe, rather too flexible.

Note: While we aren’t free to give less than 10%, we are free to give more. You see, when Jesus taught on the Old Testament law he always took the baseline standard the law set and raised it. He never lowered it. Here’s just two quick examples. In Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus said: Never mind murder! Don’t even be angry with someone! And in Matthew 5:27-28 Jesus said: Forget adultery! I’m telling you don’t even lust! In both these instances Jesus took the base line standard set by the law and raised the bar. So According to Jesus, God set the foundation of the law for us to build on, not shrink back from. We’re to move forward in our giving, not backwards. We’re to look at the example set in the law of the tithe and raise the bar, not lower it. That’s why Kristin and I give 15% of our income to the Lord’s work. We give our tithe, which is 10%, then we give another 5% as an offering to missions. Like Jesus taught, we’ve taken the baseline standard of the law (the tithe) and built on it (by giving offerings above and beyond the tithe). 

Objection #3: I will start tithing when I make more!
Biblical response: According to Jesus in Luke 16:10 only those who have been faithful with little will be faithful with much. As John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men in history once said "I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week.”

Objection #4: The Old Testament teaches to sacrifice animals and not to eat shrimp. Why should we follow the Old Testament teaching on tithing but not the ceremonial laws on sacrifice or the dietary laws about not eating shrimp?!
Biblical response: There are certain laws in the Old Testament that are repealed in the New Testament. They still have teaching value, but we don't have to practice them because they've been repealed. Other laws in the Old Testament have been repeated. The laws that have been specifically repealed are no longer binding, but the ones repeated are. The system of animal sacrifice was repealed according to Hebrews chapter 8, as were the dietary laws according to Acts chapter 15. The tithe on the other hand wasn't repealed, it was repeated (Matthew 23:23) and therefore is still binding.

Objection #5: We live in the era of grace, not law! 

Biblical response: Living in the era of grace isn’t an excuse to ignore or drop below the standard of the tithe set in the Old Testament. You see, when Jesus taught on the Old Testament law he always took the baseline standard the law set and raised it. He never lowered it. Here’s just two quick examples. In Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus said: Never mind murder! Don’t even be angry with someone! And in Matthew 5:27-28 Jesus said: Forget adultery! I’m telling you don’t even lust! In both these instances Jesus took the base line standard set by the law and raised the bar. So According to Jesus, God set the foundation of the law for us to build on, not shrink back from. We’re to move forward in our giving, not backwards. We’re to look at the example set in the law of the tithe and raise the bar, not lower it.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - Do we have to give exactly 10%. NO!!! We are free to give MORE! You can give 12%, 15%, 20% or more if you want. I know some pastors who give 90% and live off only 10%. Living in the era of grace is an invitation to live at an even higher standard than the law, not a lower one. That’s why Kristin and I give 15% of our income to the Lord’s work. We give our tithe, which is 10%, then we give another 5% as an offering to missions. Like Jesus taught, we’ve taken the baseline standard of the law (the tithe) and built on it.

I'd like to encourage you today to stop objecting to the tithe and starting observing it. God promises to bless us when we do! (Malachi 3:10)