Presumptious

Romans 2:3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

In the last two posts, I have described the dark sin of voodoo that has permeated Togoville, Togo for centuries. Let me tell you that where darkness is thick, the light of Christ burns hotter and brighter and with urgency. I learned so much from my young brothers in Christ that I can not put them all down on paper. One thing that I want to share is their approach to God. Corporate worship in Togo is provocatively addictive. It is a massive celebration of dancing and singing before the Lord that produces a sweat. Even in the mornings as I taught the men of the blossoming small Church, they wouldn't think of starting a bible study without about 20 minutes of dancing,singing and worshipping before the Lord, followed by a quiet time of confession in preparation to receive God's presence and Word. Just as we in America expect a bulletin, they expect to workup a celebratory sweat of joy and then quietly prepare their hearts for the Glory of the Lord. I would describe it as joy, reverent, passionate, respectful and honoring.

After I got done teaching each day, I had a short walk down a dirt road to meet the rest of the team. It provided me a great time of reflection and praise for what God was doing among my new brothers in Togoville. The walk home on Thursday was a little different. Yes I was praising God and in a deep communion with the Spirit, but I felt like God was also trying to shape me with something. As I walked along the dusty road, God began to show me all of the ways that I can presume upon the riches in Christ Jesus. He began to unveil to me that I live in a society that is probably the most presumptuous society ever. Entitlement and self serving motives define America 2011. Below is a non-exhaustive list of what God is showing me, as you read it ask yourself how you approach them:

Morning quiet time / bible reading (we can approach it as okay I did it now God must honor that)
Giving money (we've been sold a bill of goods that puts God in a box where He must produce and ROI -His focus is our souls)
Attending small group or corporate worship (is 100% of your purpose to worship God or to get something for you)
Mission Trips (this is for the spiritual elite right? We can think this is a trump card for our faith {in place of Christ})
Scripture memorization (remember the Devil knows some, he just uses it for self advancement)

There is simply not enough time to flush out all of my thoughts here. Verse 8 of Romans chapter two reveals the markers of presumptuous worship: self seeking and disobedient. Verse 5 reveals the cause of it: A hard and impenitent heart. The end result is a lack of submission to Christ and wrath for those outside of Christ and a shrivelling of communion for those in Christ.

So how do you approach God. Casually, on your schedule looking for a benefit? Doesn't that mean you actually go to worship yourself and not God? think it through and pray!