THE BARBARIAN WAY: Part 4

THE REVOLT
June 25, 2006


CHARACTER: Robert the Bruce
Two thousand years ago God started a revolt against the religion He started. So don’t ever put it past God to cause a groundswell movement against churches & Christian institutions that bear His name. If He was willing to turn Judaism upside down, don’t think for a moment our institutions are safe from a divine revolt.

Violent Engagement
 There is a barbarian revolt taking place, and its command center is the kingdom of God. Everywhere the kingdom of God advances, there is a violent engagement against a dark kingdom. To be born of God is to be made a citizen in the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God is at war. Do not confuse this kingdom with paradise. Salvation is not reentry into a Paradise Lost; it is enlistment in the mission of God.
 Engage it within the church
 The sellers of goods had made access to God a business. They had made forgiveness something you could purchase. They had made the guilt and shame of others the marketplace for their profit. They had made the house of God into a den of robbers & thieves. They had become so good at religion that they had no need for God. They were so full of themselves that they had no room for God. When it came down to it, they loved their religion far more than they longed to know the God who created them. They treasured the civilization built around their religion and despised the Barbarian Faith from which it was born. They would rather have the temple than the Presence of God.
 When our faith is refined, we are no longer dangerous to the darkness.
 Engage it within the community
 The driving purpose of this Barbarian Revolt is to liberate every person who longs to find freedom in God.
 Robert the Bruce vs. His Father "Compromise vs. Charging forth with Passion."
 Too often we say, “Good needs to be done, but someone else will take care of it.” The Barbarian Revolt tolerates no such abdication of responsibility. Every citizen of the kingdom of God is brought into the heat of the conflict between good and evil. Everyone who swears allegiance to Jesus bears responsibility for humanity.
 When you enter the kingdom of God, there is no safe zone or waiting room. There really isn’t even a boot camp. It’s on-the-job, on-the-field training.
 2Corinthians 10:3-5

Love Untamed
 Barbarians measure only heart and action.
 Untamed for God
 No one has loved more deeply than God. Has anyone ever been more betrayed? God would not know suffering if He did not know love. But because He is Love, He chose to suffer on our behalf. Without love there is no glory in suffering.
 Robert the Bruce: "I Don't Want to Lose Heart!" 2Samuel 6:21-22
 2 Chronicles 16:9 God sees our hearts and looks for those in whom there is nothing false. The barbarian hides nothing before God. The revolt is led by those who are not ashamed.
 Untamed for People
 The most insulting thing that Jesus said or did was to become the friend of sinners. (Luke 5:27-32)
 Passionate heart for the world.
 The civilized Christian does what is right out of fear; the barbarian does what is right out of love. The Christian civilization is held together by rules and rituals, the Barbarian Revolt is fueled by the passion of God and guided by the mission of God.
 If you choose to live your life in this way, if you make the insane decision to live your life for the sake of others, if you choose to follow the One whose barbarian call led Him to the brutality of the Cross, and if you embrace His invitation to take up your own cross and follow Him, then it has begun. If you dare allow God to unlock your spirit, He will unleash the raw and untamed faith within. Then you will know you have chosen the barbarian way out of civilization.

CHALLENGE
 Unite us… Robert the Bruce: Although the force of one person fully committed to God is tremendous, it pales in comparison to the force of God’s people moving together.
 BEES swarms, ANTS colonies. WHALES pods. FISH schools. CATTLE herds. BIRDS flocks. LIONS pride. CROWS murders. TIGERS ambush. BUZZARDS committee. FLAMINGOS flamboyants. OWLS parliaments.
 “Crashing Rhinos.”
 We don’t have to pretend we know the future. Who cares that we can see only 30 feet ahead? Whatever’s at 31 feet needs to care that we’re coming and better get out of the way!

THE BARBARIAN WAY: Part 3

OUR TRIBE
June 18, 2006

CHARACTER (Yoda)
LUKE: Oh, no. We'll never get it out now.
YODA: So certain are you. Always with you it cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say?
LUKE: Master, moving stones around is one thing. This is totally different.
YODA: No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned.

John 3 ~
“There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. "Rabbi," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you." 3 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,* you cannot see the Kingdom of God." 4 "What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?" 5 Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.*6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.*7 So don't be surprised when I say, `You* must be born again.'8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit." 9 "How are these things possible?" Nicodemus asked. 10 Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things?11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won't believe our testimony.”

BORN OF WATER
l The entire focus of our faith has been the elimination of sin, which is important but inadequate.
l It should be about the unleashing of a unique faith: you cannot meet God and remain unchanged. When God lives in you, there is transformation… you are no longer suited for a normal life.
l Extraordinary faith: 1Peter 2:9-10
l Original faith: If you are already a follower of Jesus and have been domesticated, you have lost the power to be who God intends for you to be. You must go to a primal place, a place in the presence of the Most High God and there be changed.
l Wonderfully, untamed faith: Hearing God is not only normal, but essential proof of belonging to God (Jeremiah 31:33ff)
l STORY: “I want it to snow. (71-77)”

BORN OF SPIRIT
l Tribe of Irrational People: Noah, Elijah, David, Hosea, Moses… and these are the most popular ones.
l These people and many like them were the barbarian tribe. There stories began and ended with God. They were mystical warriors called out to advance the cause of the Creator of the universe. Every one of us is a follower of Jesus is called to join the SAME TRIBE, to live the same way.
l The civilized build shelters and invite God to stay with them: the barbarian tribe moves with God wherever He chooses to go.
l Civilized Christian has routine: Barbarian tribe has a mission.
l CC knows the letter of the law: Barbarian tribe lives the law of the Spirit
l CC loves tradition: Barbarian tribe loves challenges.
l CC is satisfied with ritual: Barbarian tribe lives and thrives in the mystical.
l CC has religious stability and certainty: Barbarian tribe has risk and mystery.
l STORY: “Hearing voices. (84-90)”

CHALLENGE
l The barbarian call confronts us with all we love and all we fear. We resist love to avid pain and squelch our dream out of fear of failure. For the Spirit of God to unleash dreams and visions within our souls, we must become free to risk and to fail. Every dream born of God is fueled by love. Every conversation to be had with God challenges the boundaries of our imagination. When we turn to God, His love transforms us and ignites a new passion within us. All that we have loved is consumed by the passion of a new heart. We discover the power and force of love in its purest form. At the same time, when we turn our hearts toward God, all of our fears are consumed by one fear. We are called to fear God only. There is an important reason for this. What we fear is what we’re subject to; our fears define our master. Where there is no fear, there is no control. When we fear God and God only, we are no longer bound by all of the other fears that would hold us captive. God will not hold us captive by fear though, but by love. Join the TRIBE that allows for us to live out dreams greater than ourselves. A place to have our dreams nurtured, developed and unleashed.
l SEE the invisible.
l HEAR the inaudible.
l Baptism & Recommitment…

YODA REWRITE:
YOU: Oh, no. I can’t change the way I live my life.
Jesus: So certain are you. Always with you it cannot be done. Haven’t you heard what I said?
YOU: Master, going to church is one thing… This is totally different.
Jesus: No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned and follow me.

THE BARBARIAN WAY: Part 2

THE CALL
June 11, 2006

OPENING:
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off too. Do you realize that this is the very path that goes through Mirkwood, and that if you let it, it might take you to the Lonely Mountain or even further and to worse places?”

DANGEROUS INVITATION: Mushroom Eaters
l The men and women closest to God will most powerfully live out the raw and untamed spirit of faith.
l Versions of the Invitation
Civilized Version: Jesus died & rose, so that you can life a life of comfort, security and indulgence. (Diminishes life after death)
Simple-Minded Version: simply confess & believe and you’ll be saved from hellfire & torture, then you’ll go to heaven when you die. (Diminishes life on earth)
Jesus Version: Deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me. (the real call)
l Hebrews 11 folk: The were not disappointed, understood their call, and chose it willingly. For them love & sacrifice were inseparable.
l CRUX: A world without God cannot wait for us to choose the safe path.

RISKY BUSINESS: If you’re hungry enough you’ll eat.
l Jesus never lied about the danger or cost (Matthew 10 or 2 Corinthians 11), but invites us to a life of uncertainty, mystery and risk.
l John 21: Peter argues with Jesus that it’s not fair that not everyone is given the same life.
l CRUX: To walk in the character of Christ is always the right choice, regardless of the outcome (Betsie and Corrie ten Boom). Instead of finding confidence to live as we should regardless of our circumstances, we have used it as justification to choose the path of least resistance, least difficulty, least sacrifice. Instead of concluding it is best to be wherever God wants us to be, we have decided that wherever it is best for us to be is where God wants us. Actually, God’s will for us is less about our comfort than it is about our contribution. God would never choose for us safety at the cost of significance. God created you so that your life would count, not so that you could count the days of your life.


CHALLENGE
l “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” (Matthew 11)
l It’s time to rediscover the Call of Christ.
l John the Baptist: Defied anyone who would deny the legitimacy of Jesus. He declared his subservience to (banner) the purpose and person of Jesus Christ.
l CLOSE: pages 53-55 of "The Barbarian Way"
l BAGGINS REWRITE: “It’s a dangerous business, friends, going out your door. You walk by faith, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where the Holy Spirit might sweep you off too. Do you realize that “The Barbarian Call” is the very path that Christ took, and that if you let it, it might take you on lonely journeys, or even further or to harder places?”

THE BARBARIAN WAY: Part 1

INVASION
June 4, 2006

OPENING:
v William Wallace: Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you'll live…at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!
v This is NOT a male only series.
v This is about getting you to choose a dangerous path of FAITH.
v Robert the Bruce says of William Wallace: “Uncompromising men are easy to admire.”
v The Barbarian Way is the way of UNCOMPROMISING Christians.

Unleash Your Faith
l Erwin’s Daughter
l Who in this room has faith in God?
l Hebrews 11:1-2 “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot see. God gave His approval to people in days of old because of their faith.”
l Hebrews 11:33-38 By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. Women received their loved ones back again from death. But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
l Hebrews 11:38 (NIV) ~ The world was not worthy of them!

Untamed Faith
l Tragedy to civilize our faith. (Rev 2:1-5)
l John the baptizer tells of Jesus’ different kind of life: Holy Spirit and with fire is in all four gospels (Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3, John 1, Acts 2).
l Jesus’ Invitation: the call is not to ‘come and listen’ but to “Come and Follow Me!” The BW is about love, intimacy, passion and sacrifice

Challenge
l Hebrews 12:1-4 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;* then you won't become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.
l The BW risks life itself for the freedom of others.
l CHALLENGE: compromised/complacent sheets
] REWRITING WALLACE: Yes, live the Barbarian Way and you may lose friends, respect or even your job. Sit still and you'll be comfortable…at least for a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance to start over and tell our enemies, our family and our friends that they may have good lives, but there will never, ever be anything like the freedom we have in Jesus!