BOTH.

 The world and especially the church is full of Dichotomies.  Dichotomy – division into two mutually exclusive, opposed, or contradictory groups   “Either/Or Thinking”

There are Divine Dichotomies. Meaning that we have a choice to make.  God clearly says it can not be both.  Life or Death. It can’t be both.

Deuteronomy 30 “I hope that you choose life.”  Either or but not both.

Matthew 6:24  Jesus said, “You can’t serve two masters.  You will love one and hate the other. You can not serve God and Money.”  Divine Dichotomy. It is either/or.

However, today we are going to talk about Dumb Dichotomies.  One truth placed against another truth.  A pressure situation. We have to deny one truth in order to accept the other.

With the world that we live in you are exposed to many different churches and truths of the Bible.  There are so many different varieties and styles.

Rather than embracing the tension, the ambiguity, the versatility and the BIGNESS of what God is doing.  You are tempted to go one way or the other.

Today, lets ponder the idea that maybe God is bigger than what you can figure out!

When we find a particular revelation and connect deeply with a particular scripture.  It is tempting to set up camp on that text or that characteristic of God.

Thinking that we are really magnifying God by sticking with this one particular attribute or characteristic of God. However, we actually shrink God down to something smaller with our dumb separations.

We create unnecessary dichotomies in methodology or theology rather than embracing the bigness of what God is doing.

God is actually bigger than we think and big enough for BOTH. God is so much bigger than what our minds can shape and conform Him into.  The box that we have put him in.  When I was a kid we even sang the Song: Little Red Box

You want to play baseball or football? BOTH Do you want to play offense or defense? BOTH Do you want meat lovers or stuff crust pizza? BOTH Do you want 15 or 20 million? BOTH

The Apostle Paul was the Deon of the NT.  He had dichotomies put in front of him all the time, and Paul picked BOTH

• Apollos or Paul? – one plants, one waters, but God gives the increase. 1 Cor 3:6
• Jews or Gentiles? he is not a jew outwardly but inwardly Romans 2:29
• Is it Law or grace? school master and but by Grace are we saved Galatians 3:24
• What is more important: Faith or works? James said I will show you my faith by my works James 2
• Do we worship on Saturday or Sunday?  (you aren’t going to trap him) Romans 14:5 Everyday is the Lord’s day
• Do we Follow Jesus or Do we Follow you? Follow me as I follow Christ 1 Cor 11:1
• Do we Honor God or Honor people  Have you ever been taught that you can not accept an congratulations or ‘thank you’ since you became a Christian? Can we encourage and honor each other? When someone compliments you, it is a perfect time to say ‘thank you’.  We don’t have to bring people down to lift God up.   Let’s be thankful that people are in the kingdom and using their talents for God.  If you honor people it doesn’t mean that you’re not honoring God.  He has chosen, predestined us, adopted, redeemed, lavished his love on us, risen us up, put all things at our feet, we are no longer strangers,  but fellow citizen, members of God’s household. Workmanship of Christ doing the works of Christ that he planned for you to do. What to do? Give a bouquet to God! Honor up. Honor Down. Honor all around.

The message today is embrace the tension of what God is doing God is big enough for different styles and methods.  Unnecessary disputes create disciples of disputes!

Our training is creating Either/Or thinking.  People have been trained to argue and if there is not an issue, we are trained to make it an issue.

It creates us to say Stupid things.  “It’s not about A!!! It’s about B!!”  Then, when you read scriptures about B….you play it off as cultural difference in that time period. Or go to the original Greek.

Is God Sovereign or do we have freewill?

Sovereign– supreme power and authority.

God in his Sovereignty has decided to limit his involvement in this world to the willingness of human beings.  God willed that we would will for his will to be done in our lives.

We cannot without God.  God will not with out us.  God is Sovereign, and our greatest power is our power to choose.   God doesn’t decide for us. We decide.  We pick our plans.  We pick our spouse. We pick our job. We decide if we worship. We decide if we bring our Bible.  God doesn’t make that happen.

In fact, we actually give the devil too much credit for our mistakes and God too much credit for our ‘spiritual’ decisions.

It is not all up to Us and it is not all up to Him.  It is BOTH.

Should our lives be Spirit-led or well planned? Natural or Intentional – Programed or Organic?

I Pray like its up to God and Work like its all up to me. Why do we have to choose between having a plan and letting God work? Spirit leads us to a plan! I don’t have to wait for Sunday to be spirit led  You don’t have to spiritually dry to be mentally intelligent.  I can be culturally relevant and Spiritually driven.

Is God 3 or 1?

No Question, he is one.  Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

No question, he represents himself in 3 distinct ways:  Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

John 14: 9 Jesus saith unto him, he that hath seen me hath seen the Father;  10 …I am in the Father, and the Father in me?

Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you

Baptism
Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Every single recorded baptism was done in the “name of the Lord Jesus Christ”.

Is God full of Goodness or Severity? Righteousness or Peaceful?

Is God loving or is God a Judge? Is He Truth or Love, Truth or Spirit, Truth or Mercy?    BOTH ALL

Romans 11:22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

 Is all this about God or Does God care about me?
Did God Die for my sin or Do I have to die to God?
Your death to God does not trump his death and resurrection for you.

Is this a White Church or Brown Church?
Is musical fast or slow, new or old? We know it is always loud.
Attractional vs  Missional? Does this church target new believers or seasoned folks?
Is this a Seeker Church or a Word Church?

OTHER DUMB DICHOTOMIES

Are the messages practical or deep? Are the sermons scriptural or topical?
Is the atmosphere Serious or Fun? Are we Casual or Reverent?
Does this church talk about people or money?

We have scripts on our hearts that dictate our personality and character. The script on our heart controls our actions and thinking.  For some the script has been written by years of loneliness or rebellion or life without God.  But for others the script has been edged deeply into our hearts through religion.  A specific doctrine that you stuck your flag into and set up camp as ‘the truth’.  And you not quite sure what to do with those other scriptures that are on a different side of your theological camp.

It is my prayer today that we all can be delivered from the claustrophobic tension that is suffocating an authentic revival in our church.

 1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

God forgive us for being small. Small attitudes. Small thinking.

The message is narrow, but the method is broad.

Help us to loose you to be the incredible, great God that you are.  Releasing you from the box that we have placed you in.