IT’S NOT “EITHER” VS. “OR.”

~ Tommy Ham ~ Leave a comment

I condemn in the strongest possible terms the murder of George Floyd. I also condemn racism in all its forms. The church must stand against injustice and racism. And our voices have not been loud enough in doing so.

Can we condemn this murder…and racism…and still support our law enforcement officers? WE MUST! The actions of the officers in this heinous act are indefensible. But they do not reflect the actions and attitudes of all officers. We are blessed in this country with amazing and selfless servants who protect us every day. We are indebted to them.

Thank you to our law enforcement officers!

We grieve over the death of George Floyd and others who have died in our country under similar circumstances.

Let us stand together as a church and as a nation to condemn criminal action and racism…and to require justice in our country. May God heal our nation.

Waiting…

~ Tommy Ham ~ Leave a comment

There is no need for us to wait, as the one hundred and twenty had to wait (Acts 1) for the Spirit to come. For the Holy Spirit did come on the day of Pentecost, and has never left His church. Our responsibility is to humble ourselves before His sovereign authority, to determine not to quench Him, but to allow Him his freedom. For then our churches will again manifest those marks of the Spirit’s presence which many young people are especially looking for, namely biblical teaching, loving fellowship, living worship, and an ongoing, outgoing evangelism.

–John R. W. Stott

“Supernatural”

~ Tommy Ham ~ 1 Comment

To study the life of Elijah is to study prayer. When he prayed, crazy things happened. It stopped raining. A dead boy came back to life. Fire fell from heaven. It started raining again. Another word for crazy might be supernatural. When Elijah prayed, the supernatural resulted. But that is what prayer is. When we pray we ask God to do what only He can do. Prayer defies the laws of physics and common sense. We ask God to intervene in our world. That is supernatural. That is prayer.

The writer of James wants to make sure that we understand that all of us can pray like Elijah. We, too, can see supernatural consequences to our prayer. So we should take lessons from Elijah and learn to pray like him.

When God speaks, take a stand on what he says.  Elijah heard the sound of heavy rain. He knew that sound was God telling him to pray for rain. His faith demanded that he proclaim to the king that rain was on the way. No playing it safe. No keeping it to himself. He publicly and boldly stood on God’s word.

Invest yourself in prayer. Assume the posture. Spend the time. Humble yourself. Continue in prayer. Do the work. Though we can pray our way throughout ever day…as we live it, there are times prayer requires deep personal investment. Engagement. Not casual, drive-by prayer.

Pray for as long as it takes.  Who can predict how long it will be until the answer comes? But if God has promised, the answer will come. Six times, Elijah sent his servant to look for rain clouds. Six times the servant reported nothing. But Elijah did not quit praying.

Watch closely for God to move. The answer to prayer may come initially in the smallest of beginnings. For Elijah, it was a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising out of the sea. How many people even noticed? Only those paying attention…only those watching…will see the initial stirrings of God’s Spirit. But notice we must and act we must!

(These are the teaching notes from 8/19/12 based on 1 Kings 18:41-46.)

“Confronting the Casual”

~ Tommy Ham ~ Leave a comment

George Barna describes a “tribe” of religious people in American today:

Casual Christianity is faith in moderation. It allows them to feel religious without having to prioritize their faith. Christianity is a low-risk, predictable proposition for this tribe, providing a faith perspective that is not demanding. A Casual Christian can be all the things that they esteem: a nice human being, a family person, religious, an exemplary citizen, a reliable employee – and never have to publicly defend or represent difficult moral or social positions or even lose much sleep over their private choices as long as they mean well and generally do their best. From their perspective, their brand of faith practice is genuine, realistic and practical. To them, Casual Christianity is the best of all worlds; it encourages them to be a better person than if they had been irreligious, yet it is not a faith into which they feel compelled to heavily invest themselves.

People much like this are confronted by Elijah in 1 Kings 18. We learn:

  • Casual Christians do not like risk. They love undisturbed lives. They attempt to blend in rather than stick out. Elijah was unfazed by risk. He left himself no “fall-back” position. If God did come through, he was sunk.
  • Casual Christians value tolerance. They accept every belief system.
  • Casual Christians equate activity with spirituality. Stay busy. More about doing than being.
  • Casual Christians pray bland prayers. They pray generically and ambiguously rather than specifically. Their prayers are almost always answered this way…even if nothing really happens.
  • Casual Christians do not expect or want to see God’s power. The supernatural makes them uncomfortable. They value the predictable and the safe.

How many of  these casual characteristics do you see in yourself? Enough to make you uncomfortable?

“Singular Devotion”

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Week Four of “Elijah” deals with 1 Kings 18:20-21. Elijah challenges the people with this statement:

If the Lord is God, follow him…”

Many people have made a rather casual “commitment” to follow God. This text challenges us to make a singular commitment — an overwhelming, passionate, life-altering, shocking devotion to Him.

  • God doesn’t want to be your first thing but your everything. Many claim to put God first. The problem is that we often have several “close seconds.” God want to be your first, second, third… He wants to be the center of your life from which all else flows.
  • Indecision is a costly thing. Don’t delay in making your life-choices.
  • God will not share your devotion. Understand: God brooks no rivals. None.
  • Following is more than mental assent but requires intensive action. It is behavior and not words. To be sure, words are important. But, as I grow older I learn that talk is cheap. Action costs. Action counts.

“Praying Like Crazy”

~ Tommy Ham ~ Leave a comment

Week three of our Elijah story… 1 Kings 17:17-24. The prophet prayed that God would return life to the widow’s son. This is the first time in the Biblical story that someone has been brought back from death.

My question: how does someone even think to pray for something without precedent? The answer to that question will alter how we pray and change our lives.

  • Be lead by the Spirit. Even though this is an old testament story, Elijah embodies what this means. The text repeatedly tells us that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, told him where to go and what to do, and he obeyed. That is Spirit-lead living.
  • Pray passionately and not casually. Elijah did not just pray. He “cried out to the Lord” (1 Kings 17:21). Casual prayer does not produce audacious results.
  • Creatively solve problems through prayer. The normal rules of the natural world do not limit God. They should not limit what we ask in prayer. Ask the Spirit of God to open your eyes to what is possible…through him.

How can you pray like crazy? I bet we all have room to pray some crazy prayers. In fact, we need to stretch our faith with a little crazy.

“RELIANCE”

~ Tommy Ham ~ Leave a comment

Week two of “Elijah” looked at 1 Kings 17:7-16. There are some lessons we must learn in order to live Spirit-dominated lives:

  • Don’t interpret hard times as God’s unfaithfulness.
  • When one source of provision dries up, God always provides another.
  • God’s provision often violates the laws of common sense.
  • Beginning the faith adventure may be the hardest part of the journey.
  • In God’s economy, we have more than we realize.
  • Thank God for his capacity to make much out of little.

“THROWDOWN”

~ Tommy Ham ~ Leave a comment

Our current teaching series at HBC is a study of Elijah. His life was so in tune with the Spirit of God, that his successor Elisha asked for a “double portion” of the Spirit just to carry on the work. Elijah’s story is amazing but we must remember that he was a “man just like us” (James 5:17). The reason that Elijah accomplished all that he did is that his life was surrendered to and dominated by the Holy Spirit of God.

The first week we studied Elijah’s arrival in the public life of Israel found in 1 Kings 17:1-6. He challenged the king of Israel…warning him of God’s coming judgment.

We see what a life dominated by the Holy Spirit looks like:

  • Adventurous Direction.
  • Risky Obedience.
  • Supernatural Provision.