The Art of Living.

This Sunday's KAMP's Gathering was a wonderful coming together of community and Kingdom.

The Art of Living

John 10:10 says,
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
I came so they might have life, a great full life.
I have come so they can have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way.
I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”

Jesus is saying - I came that they may have the Best possible life
Living the way, in the flow of Jesus is the best possible way to live
A community (a church) of Jesus followers would be a group of people learning to AND living the best possible kind of life.

A church – those people know how to really live OR learning how to really live.

If you are following someone that claims to bring the best possible way to live then a follower of Christ, a disciple, is Serious about learning to live well .

If we miss this we are missing something core about what it means to be Christian.

The best possible way does not mean the easiest, painless, clear (last thing Jesus says is a question to god / wrestles, tough, friends desert him).

Matthew 28:18 says, “18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

If we miss verse 20 we miss a lot.

Jesus commanded how to live as God created them to live and then to go and teach others how to live. Master teacher talking to his students/disciples to go and teach. The master is teaching us to do what the master does. What is Jesus the master of? LIVING

I went to my 10th high school reunion this summer…full of recalling the past…Remember when we went here…remember that…remember when that happened…the best encounters I had were with those that had moved forward…those with whom I could celebrate today, now with.

Matthew 6:34 says, “34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Jesus is wrapping up a long chapter about all sorts of things…giving to the needy, prayer, fasting, money, worry and he says, each day has enough trouble of its own. You have today and today has its own issues and baggage. Tomorrow will bring its own stuff, issues and hassles. We don’t’ have tomorrow, we have today.

James 4:14 says, “14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

Talking about people who boast about what they will accomplish tomorrow. You don’t have tomorrow, no guarantees, you have today, let today be enough. Be here in this day, because tomorrow will bring its own stuff and you don’t even know if you’ll have a tomorrow.

Its not just that my head gets filled with tomorrow, my head gets filled with yesterday. Regrets, work that didn’t get done from yesterday waiting for me tomorrow, relationship or discussion, conversations that turned bad, things left undone.

What’s on your palm pilot, in your phone, planner, on the fridge, calendar, to do list, on the back of your hand (Alan), what’s facing you tomorrow, what’s in your head right now? What’s still following you from behind, what do you need to fix, what didn’t get your best, what have you avoided, blown off that’s coming back around? What’s coming or what’s already been?

Today has it’s own issues, we have enough here, now, today. Today is enough for today.

Being Fully Present

Teaching his followers to be fully present. Jim Elliott said, “Wherever you are – be all there”…not somewhere else.

Kids when they talk to parents repeat themselves like crazy, saying it several times in a row
Kids have grown up learning that when you talk to dad you have to say things several times because dad is someplace else. They sense it, when they are safe, loved, when dad is here…
And all they have ever known is a dad who is working or thinking about work. They have learned to say it several times because that’s what it will take to get dad dialed in here.

The work is never done, now is filled with tomorrow and yesterday.

How often are we fully present, here, now in this place with these people thinking about this?

Jesus says let today be enough for today.

Exodus 24:12 says, “12 The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction."

We miss this in English but get it in Hebrew, original language. “Stay here” – to be or exist / be here. Climb the mountain and BE here. God understands that we will set out to climb the mountain and we will immediately start thinking about going back down and that we will never Be on the top of the mountain. We miss the whole point of the journey. We go and go and go and when we reach what we want we’ll find something else to strive for. Not on your way here or down, but here, now, fully present.

How often are you fully present?
And what in our modern culture keeps us from ?
Take the cell phone for example.

Ten years ago just over 30 million people used cell phones. Today just over 200 million people use cell phones.

Worldwide, there are more than 2.4 billion cell phone users, with more than 1,000 new customers added every minute.

According to a 2004 MIT survey, the cell phone is the invention people hate the most but can't live without.

In a 2005 University of Michigan study, 83 percent said cell phones have made life easier, choosing it over the Internet (76 percent). But an additional 60 percent said they find cell phones somewhat irritating when used in public.

15 percent of Americans have interrupted sex to answer a cell phone (whereas 0
percent have interrupted a cell phone call to have sex).

38 percent of 2,119 people (names available on request) said it was fine to use the cell phone in the bathroom.

The BBDO survey found that 75 percent of cell phone owners had it turned on and within reach during their waking hours, 59 percent wouldn't think of lending their cell phone to a friend for a day, 26 percent said it was more important to go home to retrieve a cell phone than a wallet.

A study by Telephia, a mobile industry tracker, found that Americans averaged 13 hours a month - with users ages 18 to 24 racking up close to 22 hours.

Technology is wonderful and allows us to accomplish things BUT It also affects our ability to be fully present. We have more ways to connect and get a hold of each other and we are as lonely and isolated as ever.

The Sabbath is a good beginning to a life, fully present.

Exodus 20 – God is forming a community of people that will live in his flow and he gives them some basic ideas on how to live in the flow of God.

Looking around not ahead or behind.
24 hour period where nothing is urgent…my cell phone has an off button…I use it…when are you unavailable…fully present and uninterpretable…what day of the week do…your worth does not come from work, school…regardless of the messages you are sent…what day of the week do you no go to the office…not just checking your calls...remind yourself that God made the world not you…the world keeps going because of God’s work not mine…

A day all of our work is done even if it isn’t …blow some things off in the name of Jesus
A day busy being…blocked out 2 hours staring out the window…we BE…we enjoy…reminded that God made the world to enjoy…busy being…more than a day…concepts…ways of living…the Sabbath bleeds and overflows…it’s not a day its an understanding…a way to live…present on one day…you find it affects you…come more alive…that day spills into others…There is a God and I am not He…

Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath. We are not trying to cram man into religion, but the best possible way of life.

QUESTIONS
When you think of your life, what was the best time?

Have you ever tried to make anything in your life how it used to be, only to find out that you really couldn’t?

Does your life today look like you would’ve imagined it five, ten, or twenty years ago? If not, what are some things that you would never have imagined? Are there things in your life now that make you long for certain times in your past when things were different?

Do you believe God has provided us with everything we need in our lives today? If so, why do you think so many of us still tend to look to the past for how we would like things to be?

Are there things in your past you haven’t thoroughly dealt with in order to move on?

Do you think we can live our lives today to the fullest if we’re in some way still stuck in the past?
What does it mean for you to be fully present?

If you’re in any way stuck in the past, are there people around you who might suffer from you not being fully present?

Who do you need to make amends with? Who have you missed?

Is there anything in your life that needs to be dropped and let go?

What part do you think you’re supposed to play today? Is your life in a place where you can fully embrace today and play your part?

Take a minute of silence to be fully present.