FROM PASTOR BEN:
The Weekly
I'm so glad you're here and look forward to connecting with you and sharing what God is teaching me each week. 

07

Epic Family, 

 

There is so much in our world that feels heavy right now, but we cannot run away from the things that make us feel uncomfortable. Our vision is clear: The vision of Epic Church is to see an increasing number of people in San Francisco orient their entire lives around Jesus.

 

We cannot orient our lives around Jesus if we aren’t for every human being on this planet. We must be against racism. We are against racism because it doesn’t have any place with the life God has called us to. Let me be clear that this is a spiritual issue:

  • Every human being is created in the image of God.(Genesis 1:27)
  • There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
  • We’ve been called to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (Matthew 22:39) And we don’t get to choose who our “neighbor” is going to be. Read the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.
  • We must remove all thoughts and feelings of superiority over any human, because we know God always opposes pride. (James 4:6)

It is so easy for us all to have assumptions about what is true in our world and what is true in our own hearts. I want to invite you to examine what’s in your heart and I promise to do the same. This is a good practice for all of us who want to orient our entire lives around Jesus. There are 4 parts to this Examining Prayer and it comes straight from Psalm 139:23-24:

 

Search me, God, and know my heart.

Let’s ask God to search our hearts. Why is the heart the place to begin? Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for EVERYTHING you do flows from it.” In Luke 6, Jesus teaches that whatever is in our hearts (good or bad), eventually comes out in our lives. Allow God to probe your heart and expose what is there. It’s so easy to project an appearance, but it’s way more important to focus on what’s in our hearts. 1 Samuel 16:7 says this - “People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Ask God to help you see what He sees.

 

Test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Because of our current circumstances, there are plenty of things for us to be anxious about. We must invite God into that space. We must allow Him to bring His peace and calm into the midst of our fearful hearts. But we must also pray for people in our church, city, and world who are experiencing great pain, fear, and anxiety. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” As you ask God to be near you, pray that same prayer for others.

 

See if there is any offensive way in me.

It is easy to defend ourselves or justify ourselves. We would love to think that we have nothing in our lives that offends God or others. Join me in asking God to show us if there’s any place where we are out of alignment with His ways. As God shows these things to us, I want to remind you of something. It is not God’s harshness that leads us to repentance, but his kindness (Romans 2:4). God doesn’t expose our sin to shame us or kick us out. He exposes our sin so that He might cover us. This is the central message of Christianity.

 

Lead me in the way everlasting.

Let’s rally around this idea. What if we could lead the way in showing God’s heart for the world? What if we could stand together? What if we could be the church that values every single human being? What if we could be the answer to Jesus’s prayer for unity? (John 17:21)  

 

Change begins in our hearts. Let’s make this examining prayer a habit that allows God’s word and His Spirit to probe our hearts. It might make us feel uncomfortable, but we owe it to ourselves and to the world.  

 

Much Love,

Pastor Ben

PS - I want to invite you to join us for prayer Wednesday morning at 8am. We’ll be praying about what is happening in our country in regards to race and the role that we can play as a church community.

 

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