Courageous Generosity (Pt.1)

(Part 1) 

“While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”-Luke 21:1-4

Generosity is showing a readiness to give more of something than is necessary or expected. However, it goes far beyond just giving. Generosity is a reflection of God’s character, a tool for bringing honor and glory to God, and a way to point people to Christ. 

Generosity has far more to do with the condition of our heart than it does the abundance of our bank accounts. That is precisely what Jesus is teaching us in Luke 21:1-4. Jesus is well aware of our giving and whether our giving was shared out of our abundance or out of our need. Jesus was careful not to associate generosity with abundance. Instead Jesus gauges generosity based not on what we have to give from, but rather what we have to give up. 

The rich, obviously, gave more numerically, however they only gave a tiny portion of their surplus. They were not going to miss a meal or have to adjust their monthly budget to make room for their gift. The widow, by comparison, gave far less, but she gave everything that she had. There was no safety net. Giving, knowing that you will have to give something else up to give it takes courage. 

The Apostle Paul recognized this in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 as he recounts the generosity of the churches in Macedonia: 

“Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.

The church were being tested by many troubles. Many of them were just trying to put food on the table and provide a roof over their family’s head. They were very poor Living paycheck to paycheck at best.  

Yet, they gave not only what they could afford, but the scripture says they gave far more. How often do we base our giving on what we can afford? Some may argue, Well, isn’t that being a good steward? Certainly, but how many things have we obligated ourselves too that have crippled our ability to be generous? 

When was the last time any of us actually sat down and said, if we give up “this” and “that” for the next month we can give towards the need of another? Here is what made them stand out to Paul. No one had to tell them to do it. They did it of their own free will. According to Paul, they did more than was even hoped. That kind of giving did not come easy. 

How many know that it cost them something? There were things that they had to give up, in order to participate in the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. What does generosity look like? It’s people in need giving generously to bless others in need.

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church 

Courageous Prayer (Pt.3)

Part 3 

“Hearing this, the king was deeply troubled, and he tried to think of a way to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day looking for a way to get Daniel out of this predicament. In the evening the men went together to the king and said, “Your Majesty, you know that according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, no law that the king signs can be changed.” So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.”A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles, so that no one could rescue Daniel. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn’t sleep at all that night. Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions’ den. When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?” Daniel answered, “Long live the king! My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.” The king was overjoyed and ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God.”-Daniel 6:14-23

King Darius, obviously, had a lot of respect for Daniel. Scripture tells us that, upon leaving the lion’s den, Darius didn’t eat or sleep that entire night and refused to be entertained. When morning dawned, he rushed out to see if Daniel’s God had rescued him. When the stone was rolled away, not a scratch was found on him, for Daniel had trusted in his God. 

The last key to a courageous prayer life is trust. Courageous prayer trusts God. Remember, that when they came and took Daniel into custody, they found him in prayer asking for God’s help.

I don’t know how he envisioned that looking, but as they were tossing him in the lion’s den it may have appeared as if God didn’t answer. When the stone was rolled over the top sealing him in, it may have appeared that the Lord didn’t answer. When the King sealed the stone with his signet ring ensuring that no one could come and save Daniel, it may have appeared that God didn’t answer. When the first lion roared and bore his teeth it may have appeared that the Lord didn’t answer. 

If it were me, my prayer life would have found new life in that moment. How many would have been throwing out every prayer you could pray? However, Daniel didn’t learn to trust God in the moment, he learned to trust God three times a day, seven days a week, in his upstairs room with the windows open toward Jerusalem. If you can’t trust Him to show up in your prayer closet, you will never trust Him to show up in the Lion’s Den. Daniel didn’t learn the value of prayer in the Lion’s den. He learned it in his prayer closet. 

Daniel, did however, experience the value of prayer in the lion’s den, because of the value he put on prayer when he was petitioning God from his upstairs chamber. 

Sometimes we stop valuing prayer because we didn’t see God show up when or how we expected. We stop trusting God, when in reality we should stop trusting our weak prayer lives. Let’s be honest, we want to experience the miracles Daniel did, but we don’t want to pay the price. We don’t want to develop the discipline of consistent prayer, we don’t want to sacrifice our comfort to make prayer a greater priority, we don’t want to learn the value of prayer in our prayer closets, we just want to experience it when we need it. 

Courageous prayer takes consistency, priority and trust. 

Pastor Scott Burr

Courageous Prayer (Pt.2)

“Then the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help.”-Daniel 6:11

They found him praying! When’s the last time someone found you praying? When was the last time your kids found you praying? Your spouse find you praying? Your co-worker find you praying? I’m not talking about praying in a way that draws attention to yourself.  I talking about giving enough time to prayer that people, without prompting, can tell that prayer is a priority in your life.

Daniel’s accusers didn’t just stumble upon him praying. The scripture says that they went looking where they knew they would find Daniel praying. If you and I are going to have a courageous prayer life we are going to have to make prayer a priority. You don’t think that something had to take a backseat three times a day when Daniel stopped to pray. You don’t think that other things had to be pushed back or left undone so that he could build that consistency in his life. 

Daniel wasn’t working a 10 a.m.-3  p.m., Monday-Friday, with weekends off kind of job:

“Darius the Mede decided to divide the kingdom into 120 provinces, and he appointed a high officer to rule over each province. The king also chose Daniel and two others as administrators to supervise the high officers and protect the king’s interests. 3 Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire.”-Daniel 6:1-3

Daniel didn’t try to fit prayer into his day, he scheduled his day around his prayer time. What you schedule your day around will become your priority. They knew that his prayer life was a priority. They knew that even if the king issued a decree declaring that anyone caught praying to any other person or god would be thrown to the lions, that Daniel would not sway in his prayer life. 

“ 11 Then the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help. 12 So they went straight to the king and reminded him about his law. “Did you not sign a law that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions?” “Yes,” the king replied, “that decision stands; it is an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.”13 Then they told the king, “That man Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, is ignoring you and your law. He still prays to his God three times a day.”- Daniel 6:11-13

When prayer is a priority, it’s going to take more than a death threat to stop you. What have you allowed to be the “decree” that has crippled your prayer life? Think about that. Darius decreed death to those who prayed to anyone else or any other god, yet Daniel was still not deterred in his prayer life. 

Some of us need to repent because we have abandoned prayer for far less. We will binge watch 16 hours of Stranger Things on Netflix while not giving a single solitary hour to prayer. We will stand in line at Universal Studios for two hours to ride the Fast & Furious, but not sit and pray for an hour with the saints of God, because it’s too long, too boring, or too uncomfortable. 

I am thinking if we can endure two hours in line to experience five minutes of fun, surely we can endure an hour prayer meeting to see people experience eternity. It is in prayer where people’s lives are changed, saved, healed, delivered, and restored.

 It takes courage to make prayer a priority. 

Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church 

 

Courageous Prayer (Pt.1)

Part 1 

“Darius the Mede decided to divide the kingdom into 120 provinces, and he appointed a high officer to rule over each province. The king also chose Daniel and two others as administrators to supervise the high officers and protect the king’s interests. Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire. Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.” So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said, “Long live King Darius! We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions. And now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.” So King Darius signed the law. But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.”-Daniel 6:1-10

The beauty of this passage is that the only grounds that these men could find to accuse Daniel was centered on the consistency of his prayer life! That single take away from this story challenged me in so many ways. It caused me to ask myself several question? 

Am I living a life that the only grounds by which to accuse me would be centered on the consistency of my prayer life? Is my prayer life so consistent that people would assume that if they were to search for me, at a given time, they would look for me in my prayer closet? 

Is my prayer life fueled by opposition or was it already an established pattern in my life. (Sometimes people only pray when they get pressed.) 

As we read these passages, we don’t get the impression that Daniel, upon hearing the decree, took on a militant tone. He didn’t organize a demonstration outside of the citadel or start a social media campaign blasting the administration. Instead, Daniel went home, knelt down as usual, and prayed as he always had done. Why?

Because courageous prayer is consistent prayer. The time to develop a solid prayer life is not at the onset of trouble. We need to begin now laying a foundation of consistent prayer that will carry us through those difficult moments. Did you notice it wasn’t the signing of the law that caused Daniel to go and pray! He was on his way to pray already. 

The biggest opposition that we face when it comes to prayer, is not external, it is ourselves. We make all kinds of excuses because we undervalue and underestimate the power of prayer. If we truly believed that prayer could shut the mouths of lions, we would be beating down the door of every prayer meeting we could find. But instead, we are either too tired, too busy, or too distracted to bother. 

It takes courage to be consistent. 

Scott Burr 

Dayspring Community Church 

Courageous Obedience (Pt.2)

Part 2

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”-Joshua 1:7-9

God instructed Joshua that courageous obedience would require him to study, meditate and obey the Word of God. First, God instructed Joshua to study this book of instruction continually. Study means to read with the intention of learning; to investigate and analyze. Would you say your level of engagement with God’s Word rises to the level of study? Paul, when writing to his apprentice Timothy, referred to study as rightly dividing God’s truth:

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”-2 Timothy 2:15

We have each been called to be diligent in our investigation and analysis of God’s Word. We cannot lean on another person’s understanding or revelation of God’s truth. We must dig into ourselves and dissect the Word and discover its’ promises. 

Then, God instructs Joshua to meditate on His Word. To meditate means to think deeply and focus one’s mind upon. This is a continual contemplation of God’s Word in the context of our current circumstance:

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”- Philippians 4:8

Mediation is the discipline of keeping God’s Word at the forefront of our hearts and minds. Meditating on God’s word helps transition us from comprehension to application, which is the final instruction God gave Joshua. 

He told Joshua that the final key to courageous obedience is put into practice those things we’ve have studied and learned: 

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”-James 1:22

Obedience isn’t fully realized until what we have studied and meditated on has been applied to our lives and lived out. When it comes to courageous obedience remember these three simple truths: 

Courageous obedience means living according to God’s Word rather than our own fleshly passions and pursuits.  

Courageous obedience means living according to God’s Word in the face of societal norms. 

Courageous obedience means living according to God’s Word although we may have to sacrifice comfort for the sake of obedience. 

Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church 

Courageous Obedience (Pt.1)

(Part 1)

As we began drawing to the close of 2020, I felt the Lord speak to me about 2021. As many people and churches are limping out of 2020 just happy to survive, I felt God say it is going to take tremendous courage to go where He wants to lead us over the next several months. 

He wants to move us beyond simple obedience to courageous living. If there were a theme word for the coming year for our church it would be the word Courageous. Courage, although often used interchangeably with the word brave, does carry a slightly different connotation. 

Bravery is having the strength to face danger, but courage is the ability to do something that frightens us. As I read that I knew that God was calling us deeper in life, service and worship to Him, but in order to do that we are going to have to be courageous. We are going to have to do some things that frighten us. God wants to take us to a new level of obedience, prayer, generosity, witnessing, and worship. Greater than we’ve ever experienced. However, that means we are going to have to leave behind what is familiar to experience what God has in store for us. That begins with obedience. Courageous Obedience! 

“After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. 3 I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you— 4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. 6 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.”- Joshua 1:1-6

God told Joshua, that Moses was dead and now the responsibility of leading the people was about to fall on him. He was certainly going to be facing some things he had never faced before. He was about to leave a wilderness he had spent 40 years accustomed to living in. Regardless of whether or not the conditions were ideal, he had grown accustomed to the nuances of living in the wilderness. 

He would be entering into a land, he had never lived in. He had visited it (spied it out) and believed God would give it to them, but now the reality of crossing the Jordan was on the table. I am sure there was some apprehension. Why? Because God had to reaffirm to Joshua to be strong and courageous several times. Truth is, Joshua had lots of experience assisting Moses, but never leading. He was about to step into a level of leadership that he had never experienced. That is when God makes him a promise. He promised Joshua that He would be with him as He was with Moses. 

That is where our courage finds its foundation. It is found in the promise that God will be “with us.” God never promised Joshua that he’d do everything Moses did. Nor did he promise that He’d give Joshua the same relationship with the people or the same skill sets as Moses. He promised Joshua that if he was careful to obey God’s instruction, that he would prosper and succeed in all he did. God was calling Joshua to courageous obedience.

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church A/G

A Divine Interruption (Pt.2)

 “Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.”-Matthew 9:35 

Jesus’ birth was a divine interruption in the lives of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and wisemen; however they would not be the last people’s lives that Jesus would interrupt. Another thing that Jesus was notorious for interrupting was the cycle of sickness in people’s lives. 

 

Remember, if the Good News isn’t interrupting anything it’s not transforming anything! Healing every much part of the Good News message as salvation:

 

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” 3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.[a] The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!”-John 9:1-7

 

The healing, that this man received is part of God’s plan to seek and save the lost. His healing was a divine interruption to the cycle of sickness he had been living with for years, decades in fact! However, it is a foreshadow of a greater healing God intended for us. Ultimately, Jesus came to interrupt our sinful condition! 

 

The Gospel is about transforming lives, meaning that the continuity of our sinful lives has to be interrupted if we are going to experience the new life that God has in store for us. Romans 3:23 declares that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God and Romans 6:23 goes on to confirm that the wages of sin is death.

 

We were born into a cycle of sinfulness: 

 

“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”-Romans 5:12 

 

However, God’s gift to mankind was Jesus. Romans 5:8 declares that while were were yet sinners Christ died for us. He took the penalty of our sin upon himself and broke the continuity of sin. 1 Corinthians 15:21 tells us that just as sin entered the world through one man, resurrection unto eternal life comes through one man-Jesus!

 

Jesus didn’t free us to sin, He saved us from sin. That is why He told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more. He instructed her not to return to continuity of sin that He died to deliver us from:

 

“For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!”-Ephesians 5:8

 

Christmas was designed to interrupt us! The Good News that we declare, when received, will interrupt our lives in so many ways. Jesus wants to interrupt your misery with joy, your internal conflict with peace, your mourning with laughter, your fear with faith. Jesus came to break the continuity of pain that you are experiencing with His love and purpose. He came to interrupt your journey on the road that leads to destruction with access to a path that leads to eternal life. 

 

Who is ready for a divine interruption in their life?

 

Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church