A good way to cap off Incomplete

We just finished our first series entitled "Incomplete", a series on the 6 things that God has lead us to focus on here at the Bay West Campus.

The tough thing about a series like that, as I've expressed, is moving away from the sort of "checklist" mentality in dealing with Christ. If I do these things, then I'm good. The problem is that's already been done, it's called the Law, that God gave, and it was created, not for us to find righteousness in it, but to highlight the fact and make it easier for us to see that we CAN'T keep it, thereby making it easier for us to turn to God...still, when you say, "Hey, look at these 6 things!", people tend to look at this as the definitive list...but it isn't...hence the name of the series "Incomplete", because just any compilation existing of only our efforts to save ourselves from the punishment that sin brings would be just that....Incomplete.

Throughout the series, we've said, time and time again, that Jesus is the thing that connects everything. Our relationship with Christ and the faith in Him is what leads us to salvation, because He is the only source of that saving.

Katye sent me an email the other day about a verse she found in her reading that really kind of capped off the sentiment from this series on "The 6"...

James 2:22- "You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith COMPLETE." (NLT)

Pretty cool, huh? See you Sunday, when we examine a perspective on something that we all do every day...

Sooooo....love it is or is it?

One thing I noticed as I prepared for the love component of the Incomplete series at Bay West Church is what secularly we associate with love and exactly how it changes the focus of love. I'm not really talking love and lust, but just in the foundational aspects that make you really understand what's involved in the endeavor...I'm going to spend some time on that on Sunday...

When you think about it...everywhere you look, love's all wrong, as far as the definitions go...people say the right things, then send you on a wild goose chase, philosophically...what you look for, what you think you're in for...no wonder people seem to fail at love so much, when everything around us at times works to re-focus in another direction...

The dichotomy is really interesting...

Dangerous series...incomplete

We started off at Bay West Church in West Palm Bay with our series "Incomplete" last Sunday. It had an interesting germination. In the development of the vision of Bay West, we wanted to identify some things that we would like to be core values to our campus. In meeting and praying with some of the couples on the launch team, we came up with what we call, "The Big 6". It's a list of 6 habits, characteristics, behaviors that we'd like to be known for at Bay West. In developing this list, I really felt God's leading to begin Bay West by preaching on these foundations of Bay West...hence the six-week series we are starting out with.

I was at Sun Shoppe in Melbourne, meeting with Elliott Davis, one of our worship leaders about a month or two ago. I shared what the first series was and he said "Hey, that would be a good thing to call this series, Incomplete" Of course, I was like...wha???? He went on to explain his thinking that 7 was the perfect number and this was one short, leaving it incomplete. Of course, we went to the same place....that the 7th and complete picture was Jesus that made it all relevant. Great! Incomplete was complete.

You know when you preach a series like this...that lists some good things to focus on in your life...there's always a danger. It's called the "holy checklist syndrome". The danger is that someone might think that if they do these 6 things, the "holy checklist", they'll be fine.

Nothing could be further from the truth....and it's part of the reason that the name of the series, "Incomplete", fits so well.

In the Bible, Matthew 7 says...
22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’
23 But I [Jesus] will reply, ‘I never knew you....

Hence the danger...there are loads of people, all across the planet, that think if they just can "do" enough stuff and put Jesus' name on it...even in a well-meaning, honest, trying-my-best, in-church-ever-Sunday sort of way, that this will be enough...but not so much.

Christ, right there in Matthew, puts it in black and white. The biggest thing, the foundation of our judgment, before all the "you did WHAT????? You mean I have to forgive THAT???" starts (just kidding - :-) ), the requirement will be if He knew you or not...did you have a relationship with Christ? Did you spend time with Him? Did you follow Him daily? Did you get to know Him in the ways He left for you to? It won't be because you did a bunch of stuff that impressed Him enough to make Him think you deserved it...just the opposite. We CAN'T accomplish that at all...impossible.

The Big 6 aren't your salvation...they are just good things that can help you understand, live, grasp, emulate what already exists in your heart...a relationship with Christ. So let's not get the cart before the horse, the ".com" before the "http:" so to speak...remember the foundational non-negotiable here...that's you...Jesus...healthy relationship...the rest will work itself out.