The statement above is wisdom given to the world by Carlo Collodi in the 1880’s. He wrote The Adventures of Pinocchio, the story of a wooden puppet who becomes a real boy. The struggles of life often call for great wisdom and courage. The conscience can be a good guide, if the conscience is morally trained by the knowledge of God…head knowledge and heart knowledge.

 

Someone once said ours is a battle of the heart and mind. This is a true statement, especially concerning the battle of the mind. Knowledge is Spiritual Power. You will seek out what your heart loves. For those who love God, we seek knowledge from the Scripture which communicates to us the Mind of God.

 

In 2 Peter 1:5-7, Peter encourages a type of faith that is constantly growing and changing. Once we come to faith, however difficult that process may be, we have only just begun. God puts within us the desire to do good with our lives, but good has to be directed by knowledge that comes from above.

 

This is perhaps the most foundational confession about God in our day. God is good. When we see it clearly, believers live courageous lives. They reflect the love and grace of God around them. But when they don't, they become a distortion of the divine image. This morning we will be reminded about the goodness of God.

 

No matter how put together anyone looks, we are all a work in progress. Nobody has arrived. Paul puts it this way: "Only let us live up to what we have already attained" (Philippians 3:16). It's true of our careers, our families, our faith, and it's even true of Lakeview, as a church. This morning we will appoint some additional leaders. An exciting moment in any church! But the task ahead is huge: to help our deacons and elders build up the church and improve our witness to our community.

 

Guest Speaker: Bob Stump is a graduate of Bear Valley School of Preaching (1976) and the Sunset School of Preaching, Missions School (1977). He preached 15 years for the Springbrook church of Christ, Renton, WA (1977-1991). He served as a missionary for more than 21 years in Slovakia (1992-2013). He is now Director of Sunset International Bible Institute Northwest, Puyallup, WA.

 

The church has been talking about discipleship for thousands of years. When I was growing up, "Discipleship" was packaged as "growing stronger in your faith" and most of us knew that it could be measured by church attendance and giving. When I was in college, "Discipleship" became relational. after all, relational definitions sound more spiritual than attendance numbers. Everyone wanted to be discipled, the way Paul discipled Timothy. And therein lies the rub. For decades, the church has largely misdirected the conversation about discipleship. It is not a friendship building exercise. Being a disciple is not a crowdfunding project. It will not give you a larger twitter following. It will not draw a crowd to your church. It will radically transform you. Want a new you for 2016? Take your eyes off you. Fix them on Jesus. And become a disciple.