Created…… For What?

John and Mary have been married 3 years and are now having one of the most important conversations of their life together. Let's listen in.

John:  You know, Mary, we've done well these past 3 years. Everything is going according to our plan. We both have good jobs and we paid off our cars last year. This year we moved into our new dream house. I think it's time we get a servant to help us clean and cook.

Mary:  That's a great idea John! Let's have a child! They will obey our commands and serve us all the days of their life.

John:  We will feed, clothe and shelter them and in return, every day they will thank us and sing songs about how wonderful we are!

Mary:  We will keep track of their faults and failures and be sure to point them out, so they can improve their performance over time. Having a child will be great!

How would you like to be John and Mary's child? Born to serve. Expected to be thankful for every scrap of food, every night of shelter. Constantly examined for errors, faults and mistakes. Is this why people have children?

Think for a moment. For what reason do most people have children? If you are a parent, for what reason did you have your children? When asked this question, researchers found that the vast majority of parents responded that they had a child for joy, as an expression of their mutual love and from the desire to give life to another. Parents also look forward to being able to instill values in their children and to love and provide for them.

Anyone who has children knows that being a parent is more about giving than it is receiving. Children are expensive. They can break a parent’s heart. They are frequently frustrating and often don't appreciate the sacrifices parents make for them. Yet, in spite of this, parents find plenty to love in their children.

There is the joy of watching their children grow and develop their own skills and unique personality, and on occasion, the glimpses parents see of themselves in their children. There are those moments when they see their children imitating mommy or daddy's behaviors out of admiration. Then, of course, there are the smiles, the hugs and the laughter which lights up the room frequently.

As human parents we understand these things but, strangely, when we consider Abba God, we tend to see His motives more like John and Mary. He created us to obey and serve Him, to worship and praise Him and to be corrected by Him when we fall short. But is this really what God created us for?

Genesis 1:26 states that God created us in His image to be like Him. He wanted us to share His nature and the quality of His divine life with Him. He wanted us to prosper, to spend our life in a loving community He called family and to experience the responsibility and mastery of taking care of the rest of creation.

Revelation 4:11 tells us: “For You created all things, and they exist because You created what pleased You and what You wanted.” Bottom line, Abba God wanted you to come into being, and loving and providing for you gives Him joy!

Come join us this Sunday at 9:30 AM or 11:30 AM as we conclude our series on “Father God Really Loves You!” My sermon this week is titled “Abba God Desires to Bless His Children!”

Pastor Che

All By Myself

I can never forget that sinking feeling I had as a child every report card day. You see, my older sister excelled in academics, but as hard as I tried, I could never measure up. Clutching my report card, I'd approach my father's study with my stomach in tense knots. It was difficult to breathe around the large lump that was already closing my throat. Even before I saw his disapproving scowl, I was fighting back tears.

As my father criticized and berated me for being ignorant and lazy, I felt so utterly alone, like emotionally I was falling off a high cliff. The emptiness of nowhere to go and no one to turn to left me comfortless and deserted inside. Those intense “all by myself” moments dug a deep pit of insecurity within that followed me well into midlife.

I learned to cover up my inner vulnerability with a veneer of self-sufficiency. When I felt all by myself in a situation, I would tough it out and bluff my way through, For years I kept my sense of deep aloneness hidden from others. They looked so confident, I was sure they never experienced “all by myself” moments. After working for years as a pastor dealing with people at many crisis points in life, I now know that we all have repeated times when we feel profoundly “all by myself.”

It may have started when we were the new kid in class being introduced by the teacher, staring at all the other kids and wondering, “Who will be my friend here?” It might have been the time we missed the critical opportunity to shoot the winning hoop or kick the winning field goal, and knew that we alone had let everybody else down.

As adults it may be the moment we come home to divorce papers or have to deliver an important business presentation and don't feel we measure up. May be we are passed over and that job promotion goes to someone else. Some “all by myself” moments are universal, like before surgery when we are waiting to be wheeled into face the knife, or if as an older parent we wait for the birthday phone call that never comes.

Although they really don't work well, we all develop coping mechanisms to deal with those “all by myself” moments. We distract ourselves and try not to think about how we feel. Once the moment has passed, we push back its memory and try to bury it, but it always resurfaces eventually making us uneasy. To compensate, we become as self-sufficient as we possibly can, never realizing we are forging an armor that wards off our reception of love as well as providing protection from feeling vulnerable.

Our attempts to achieve inner security through self-effort will never be successful. “All by myself” moments will always leave us vulnerable because we were not created to be alone. We were created to be loved by Father God, who wants each one of us, His children. He tells us repeatedly, “Fear not!” and assures us that He will never leave or forsake us. “I have called you by name and you are Mine.” (Deuteronomy 31:6; Isaiah 43:1)

To experience the security of His love, we must drop our false sense of self-sufficiency and let Him in. Jesus addressed the superficially self-sufficient church of Laodicea in Revelation by exposing their actual insecurity and urging them to receive His love. “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone will hear My voice and open the door, I will come into him and sup with him and he with Me.”

We are not “all by myself.” We are not orphans. But we must believe Father God's promises and let Him in.

Come join us this Sunday at 9:30 AM or 11:30 AM. We are continuing our series “Father God Really Loves You.” My sermon this week is, “You Are My Child!”

Pastor Che

Fathers Wanted!

Increasingly, the present young generation is a fatherless generation. Some fathers disappear before their child is born, and their identity is unknown. Other fathers are alienated through divorce and disappear over time. Still others are emotionally distant or unavailable due to preoccupation with careers or other personal interests. In some families, fatherlessness is 2 and 3 generations deep.

Here is the legacy of fatherlessness:

• 43% of US children live without their father
• 90% of runaway children are from fatherless homes
• 71% of pregnant teenagers lack a father
• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes
• 85% of youth with behavioral disorders are fatherless
• 71% of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes
• 85% of youth in prisons are fatherless

These are the voices of fatherless children, now adults looking back:

“My father left when I was 4 or 5. He took that walk for the cigarettes and never came back. We had to go on welfare and eat government food. You know the huge containers of Velveeta cheese.”

“I never went to the park or played games with my dad. In fact, I never did anything with him. He took me 2 weekends a month because my mom insisted, but he didn't want me. I sat in his apartment watching TV, while he was downstairs at the community pool partying with his friends.”

“You can take risks for yourself, but you don't take risks and gamble with your children. I don't think we have the right to take risks with our children.”

“This is the most important job a person can have, that of being a father. Any man lucky enough to have children has got to understand that.”

The punk band, Everclear, has captured the plight of the fatherless in their song “Father of Mine.”

Father of mine
Tell me where you have been
You know I just closed my eyes
My whole world disappeared…
You had my world inside your hand
But you did not seem to know…
Tell me what do you see
When you look back at your wasted life and you don't see me…
My dad he gave me a name
Then he walked away

The lead singer from another punk band, PennyWise, offers this advice to those men who are now fathers, but still struggle with the effects of their own fatherlessness. “If you're from a broken home, it's easy to cling to all that anger. But learn over time to take the anger and make it something positive. We can raise better kids by being more attentive fathers. Maybe that's the way we can create a better world out there, by being better fathers.”

As we celebrate Father's Day this Sunday I encourage every father to remember, no matter the age of your child, they want and need their father. Regardless of how long it's been or what may have happened between you, take the opportunity this Father's Day to reach out and make contact. If you are a fatherless child and you know where your father is, let him know how important he is to you.

Father God knows how important it is for fathers and children to be restored to each other. He tells us in Malachi 4:6 that His desire is to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers in order to save society from destruction. Fathers, you are wanted!

Come join us this Father's Day Sunday at our new service times of 9:30 AM or 11:30 AM. We are continuing our current series, “Father God Loves You,” and my sermon is entitled, “Father God Is Love.”

Pastor Che

Becoming Ourselves

Adolescence is widely recognized as a time when the young search for themselves and try to discover their identity. This process usually includes trying on different identities by changing things like dress, hair style and color, behavior, language, music, career goals, peer group etc. Some of these shifting identities are welcomed by parents, many are not, and parents often breathe a sigh of relief when “that stage is over.”

Usually by the time we reach early adulthood, we have established an identity based on factors such as gender, race, nationality, body type, career goals, religion, family loyalties etc. This identity gives us a sense of personal meaning and an understanding of our place in the world. We perform actions consistent with our identity based on our own ideas and others expectations of us. We may refine our identity over time, but seldom radically change it.

While most of us would like to change aspects of our identity, today there are an increasing number of people who are seeking total identity transformation by becoming someone else. Some people are victims of abuse by spouses, parents, family or community members, and a new identity is essential to their survival. Some people seek relief from their indebtedness, legal problems or criminal convictions. Still others like transgenders have so radically altered themselves that their old identity no longer is functional.

There are multiple sites on the Internet that provide information on how to legally obtain a name change, new Social Security number, birth certificate or driver’s license. Some sites give pointers on how to start over from scratch with a new identity by offering people strategies for how to get around difficulties like the absence of personal references, education, employment and credit information.

Other sites urge identity changers to “practice lies” such as using their new name when introducing themselves, and reciting confabulated family, personal and employment histories. They instruct identity changers to adopt new styles of dress, mannerisms, hair color, eye color, engage in a new field of work, cut off all contacts with family and friends, and move to a distant location.

These strategies are time-consuming and costly, requiring intense and sustained effort. Frequently they are only marginally successful, because changing identity is more than an external process. It requires that we become someone new, that is, we change the definition of ourselves and our beliefs about who we are. This inward, psychological change is much more difficult to achieve.

If you are unhappy with aspects of your current identity, Father God has an identity transformation process that is free, complete and doesn't require you to move, abandon your employment or give up contact with those you love. Best of all, it's not a rearranging of external information, but an unveiling of your true identity. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “Everyone who is in Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone: a new life has begun!”

Father God offers each of us the opportunity to become ourselves by accepting His invitation to receive His love and become a member of His eternal family. He longs to give us our true identity that He established for us from eternity past, before anything else existed!

Please join us this Sunday at our new service times of 9:30 AM or 11:30 AM. Our Special Guest, Jerame Nelson will be speaking on The Baptism of The Fire of God’s Love.

Pastor Che

Odd Ducks

Within the past few weeks, an unusual video about a cat and some ducklings has gone viral. It tells the story of a young couple on a small farm in Ireland who wanted to add some ducks to their other animals. They purchased several fertilized duck eggs, but when they hatched, after searching extensively, they couldn't find the ducklings.

Finally after six hours, they saw a duckling in the mouth of their cat. Assuming the cat was going to eat the duckling, they tried to chase it down, but then they noticed that the cat was very carefully holding the duckling, not hurting it. As they watched, the cat took the duckling to its bed in the barn and deposited it with two other ducklings that were already there. Then the cat protectively surrounded the ducklings, covering them with her paws and nestled with them, purring contentedly.

The couple discovered that there were three tiny kittens sharing the cat bed with the ducklings. The mother cat had apparently just given birth to a small litter, when she discovered the ducklings. With the surge of mothering hormones following the birth of her own kittens, the mother cat’s instincts told her to nestle and protect any small, warm furry creatures. So she adopted the ducklings.

What was even more amazing, the couple discovered that the ducklings had latched on to the mother cat’s nipples and were actually nursing. Since ducklings are born ready to be independent and forage for food, and mother ducks do not nurse their young, this behavior was most unusual. It can only be assumed, that in nestling with the mother cat, the ducklings found a new food source and adapted to it.

The mother cat was not ready for the more independent behaviors of her precocious “yellow kittens.” She was constantly chasing after them, holding them in her mouth and bringing them back to her bed to take care of them. After several weeks, the ducklings were half-grown, but still following their adopted mother cat everywhere.

As I watched this beautiful story of an unusual love bonding between animals that normally have an antagonistic relationship, I realized that it is a powerful parable of how God calls us to love one another. At the Last Supper with His disciples, Jesus told them: “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people are to know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34–35)

 Father God does not expect us to manufacture this type of love on our own. Scripture assures us that the love of Father God has been shed abroad in our hearts (Romans 5:5), and we have a supernatural ability to love others, even the “odd ducks” we find in our midst. We are reminded that in loving one another, we are to bear each other's burdens. (Galatians 6:2) That is, we are to be patient with the faults we find in others, not judgmental.

They may differ from us in dress, hairstyle, the way they worship or the type of music they like. They may have doctrinal differences or hold political views we feel are wrong. They may be struggling with various forms of addiction, engaging in sexual immorality or struggling with broken relationships. Like the mother cat patiently loving her “odd yellow kittens,” we are to love these “odd ducks,” and allow the power of God's love to produce Christlike changes in their hearts and in ours as well.

Please join us this Sunday at 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM or 1:00 PM. We are beginning a new series entitled, “Father God Loves You!” My sermon this week is, “The Call to Love.”

Pastor Che

Shadow Christians

I was fascinated by my shadow when I was young. No matter how hard I chased it, I could never catch it. Throughout the day it changed shape from being long and stretched out to being short and squat, and then became tall again. And of course it disappeared when the clouds came out. My shadow’s behavior was unpredictable and mysterious, very different from a real person.

It had the general outline of my body, but if you took a picture of my shadow you would never know it was me. You couldn't identify my face or see any details because on my shadow they were obscured by darkness. I often played with my shadow, but there was no way I could ever know or touch it, for it had no substance.

Sadly today, many believers in the body of Christ are “shadow Christians.” Like shadows, they are hard to chase down, and virtually impossible to intimately know. It's difficult to understand what they believe, because they seem torn between opposing views and uncertainty. Their theology can change depending upon what group they are part of. You rarely hear them speak with boldness and conviction about their beliefs, and when faced with adversity their faith seems to evaporate.

If you attempt to really know them, you frequently run into a wall of spiritual platitudes, words that sound right, but seem to lack real conviction. If you remind them of a promise in God’s word, they're likely to smile and say, “I hope so.” They often seem doubtful, but seldom discuss their difficulties candidly with anyone. Apparently keeping up appearances is all-important, and admitting any vulnerability is just too threatening.

Some of them are event attenders and conference hoppers, constantly seeking “the deeper things of the Lord.” They frequently return excited, but their enthusiasm rapidly drains until they find another opportunity to sit under a new anointing. Others seem content with the status quo and may actually resist a fresh wind of God's Spirit. It's as if any type of change threatens their spiritual equilibrium.

It would be easy to dismiss these “shadow Christians” as nominal believers, but I think that would be a mistake. Most of them are sincere believers who have made a true decision for Christ and want to do the works Christ said would follow believers, but it isn't happening in their lives.

What is hindering them? I think for many it is a deep sense of unworthiness, often fed by guilt and shame. They trust these negative feelings more strongly than they believe what Father God tells them about their identity. He wants to give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Himself. He longs to enlighten the eyes of their hearts so that they can know the hope to which He has called them, and what are the riches of their glorious inheritance in the saints. He wants them to know the immeasurable greatness of His power to them if they will only believe His word... (Ephesians 1:18–19)

James 1:17 assures us: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shifting shadows.” Father God is not a “shadow God.” He means exactly what He says and He values you so much that He has reserved a glorious inheritance just for you!

Come join us this Sunday at 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM or 1:00 PM. Our own Pastor Sue Ahn will be discussing our true identity in Christ. Her message is entitled, “Remember Who You Are.”

Pastor Che

The Invisible Homeless

Every year the US department of Housing and Urban Development puts out a report on the state of homelessness in our nation.  We have all seen the homeless, those living on the street who have fallen on hard times, lost their jobs and homes, or are chronic drug addicts, alcoholics and the mentally ill. There has been a small decrease in the incidence of homelessness since 2007, but still well over half a million Americans are homeless, and a quarter of them are children under the age of 18.

But there is another type of homelessness that is increasing in epidemic proportions. I call it “the invisible homeless.” You can't pick them out in a crowd. In fact they may have all the signatures of success: a luxury car, the right address and clothes labels, the most up-to-date tech toys. But deep inside they are wandering, feeling alienated and alone. They can't identify “home”; people and a place where they know they are accepted, welcomed and wanted, not for what they can perform or produce, but simply for themselves alone.

Many are young and unmarried, carrying painful memories of their own parents’ divorce and fearful that marriage commitment will expose them to the risk of another home evaporating. Many are single again, separated or divorced, returning every evening to an empty dwelling full of bittersweet memories. All their hopes for a true home have disintegrated. Still others are estranged from family members, trapped in an impenetrable emotional wall reinforced by years of silence. Some are old or ill, and have been shoved aside to live their lonely lives outside of the community's collective awareness.

All of them struggle within their internal void longing to see a familiar face light up when they enter a room and hear warm words welcoming them. Their invisible homelessness is a daily reality that they deal with in quiet desperation. They see no hope for a true home, but they can't stop longing for it either.

We were created to find our identity and purpose within the context of home and family. The Godhead itself is a family: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God's intention in creating the human race was to extend His family infinitely. We were created in God’s image as a family and told to multiply and fill the earth with family. (Genesis 1:27–28; 2:24)

We can never stop the longing inside to be family for it is encoded into our very spiritual DNA. And Father God feels the alienation and pain of our invisible homelessness, for He longs to see His fragmented family restored and whole. His whole purpose in sending His son Jesus Christ to live among us and die for us on the cross, was to provide an avenue of reconciliation that enables us to join our spiritual family and rediscover our eternal home.

“God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do and it gave Him great pleasure.” (Ephesians 1:5) Father God never intended for you to be homeless. Receive His gift of reconciliation and become His adopted child today!

Please join us for services this Sunday at 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM or 1:00 PM. Our guest speaker at all 3 services is Dawna DeSilva, who is highly experienced in the Sozo deliverance and inner healing ministry.

Pastor Che