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The Value of Discipleship

“And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:40–47, NKJV)

The early church was not the formalized and formatted organism that as time went on it became; in the beginning it was a very organic and “real” collection of believers who met at various places for the purpose of worshipping God.

Interestingly the “public” worship of the Lord took place at the gates of the temple and involved the preaching of the Gospel of Christ where many people flocked to sincerely worship a God they did not really know; in essence casting a Gospel net into a place where they were likely to catch the most fish – a tactic which was daily rewarded (according to v.47) with a daily “catch” of new believers; that doesn’t at all look like “church” as we know it today.

Today we expect the “fish” to come to us instead.

But what are people drawn to today? In many churches it is the small group, the discipleship group and Bible studies at various people’s homes that seem to attract the lost. In those settings they can see the church without her make-up; they see believers interacting, laughing, sharing, crying, praying and learning together – they see the church as it was meant to be.

In the early church discipleship wasn’t mandated and didn’t have to be “sold” to people. Note Luke’s description of the church in [v.42]:

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

Believers were hungry for the teaching of the Apostles – they wanted to hear about their experiences with Jesus, about His miracles – they hungered to know what the Lord said and taught.  I believe that in sharing these things the apostles could not help but to also share the character and nature of the Lord with the believers – the Apostles taught about a loving and gentle Savior and suffering Servant who gave up His life for the sake of the lost.

Before we paint too rosy a picture we must remember that the people who formed this new community of faith were still flesh and blood. They had things to overcome in their lives; even as they were coming to Christ they were being awakened by His Spirit to things in their lives that faith in Him would require them to “crucify” from their lives. If I could contemporize that community – some of them would be housewives whose husbands also spent the day away from them at their jobs or perhaps they were professional women of industry themselves; some of those men might be businessmen or blue collar workers; some might be truck drivers or salesmen; some might be soldiers spending months at a time away from all that they knew and loved.

The bottom line is this:  While each and every member of the community of faith (whether of the early church or our churches today) shares a set of core values, beliefs and experiences, each of us also has to figure out how to deal with bumps in the road specific to our individual duties or stations in life as the Word of God instructs.

What do we need when were apart from the community of faith doing that which we do day in and day out to provide for our families and to live our lives? What do we need when we are tempted to lash out in anger or shrink back in fear? What do we need when we cry out in frustration and despair? We need the Word of God and the help of His Spirit – most often that help takes the form of another believer walking with us – encouraging us, challenging us, exhorting us, praying with us; telling us that things we don’t necessarily want to hear but no less need to hear; someone to whom we can be accountable.

The Bible says in [prov. 27:17]:

“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”

This is a powerful aphorism or maxim identifying the great benefit and value of having someone to walk beside us on our journey of faith and identifies one of the most personal settings for discipleship in the Bible.

Consider the first part of this analogy – how does iron sharpen iron?

I thought at first about the tools of a blacksmith – fire, hammer and anvil. For me the fire represents the trials and various situations of life; the hammer is our brother or sister in Christ which God the Father intends to use in the process of impacting our lives and the anvil is the Word of God – His expectations, commands and expressed will.  In our day to day life sometimes we are superheated by a situation – we are tempted to act or express an attitude that is contrary to God’s plan and our friend sees us or hears us and comes along side. God brings a passage to our friends mind and he begins to challenge our attitude with the word of God – he or she “speaks the truth to us in love;” as God tries to shape us into what He’d have us be or do in that situation.

Another way to see this is the way a knife used to be sharpened to carve the Thanksgiving Turkey (before the advent of electric knives): by file and blade. “It used to be common to see the host at a table sharpening the carving knife by drawing each side of the cutting edge against a hardened steel rod with fine ridges – iron sharpening iron. Sometimes it isn’t a temptation to evil or some other stress in your life but simply a misunderstanding of a particular Biblical principal that has you ‘mis-stepping’ in your Christian walk of faith. In such a situation, the “file”aka your spiritual companion might challenge you from their own understanding of the principal in question and in a sense sharpen your understanding through conversation and even criticism with regard to the subject.  

I personally enjoy talking about the Lord and His Word – I enjoy studying it with others and listening to other preachers and speakers share their understanding of a passage; often I learn something or have my understanding of something enhanced. Sometimes it is just refreshing to know that I’m not alone in my understanding of certain biblical text, principal or doctrine and sometimes I reject the teaching out of hand as errant. In any case it is always good to be able to discuss – not debate but discuss the Word of God. I don’t get much of that these days but when I do I enjoy it.

In my own life as a Christian, over the years, I have grown but let me tell you where I grew most. it wasn’t in the preaching service, it was in the Sunday school, the discipleship and in the seminary classes where we could talk it out. I’m sure you’ll discover the same if you’ll allow yourself to be involved in the opportunities which many churches (not all but many) offer for such growth.

Max Lucado reminds his readers in a book titled “On the Anvil” what one translation of [2 Tim. 2:21 ] says; there we read, that God intends for each of us to be

“An instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.”

Lucado added the following thought:

“Ah to be your instrument O God, like Paul to the Gentiles, like Philip to the eunuch, like Jesus to the world, to be your instrument. To be like a scalpel in the gentle hands of a surgeon, healing and mending. To be like the plow in the weathered hands of the farmer, sowing and tending. To be like a scythe in the sweeping hands of the reaper, gathering and using. To be an instrument for noble purposes. To be honed and tuned, in sync with your will, to be sensitive to your touch. This my God is my prayer, draw me from the fire, form me on your anvil, shape me with your hands, let me be your tool..”

To be discipled in the larger setting of the church, the intimacy of a mentoring relationships or in a small group of believers all have one goal and purpose – so that each of us would become a useful tool in the Master’s hands.

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Alive or Just Here – How Will You Live in 2022?

Jack London once wrote, “the proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”

Think about those words for a moment.

What great thing was ever accomplished by those for whom the priority was to save their own skin? Consider for instance, Madame Currie who among other things, discovered radium and was a pioneer in the study of radioactive isotopes. Her efforts led ultimately to an illness which took her life but her discovery is still used today in the fight against cancer as an ingredient of Radon gas. Hers is one example if a life which was not wasted.

She epitomizes the phrase, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

As I write, I have another person in mind about whom it can be said that he lived and the life that he lived was not wasted. I read something about him yesterday on a marquee while travelling back from a day on the coast; the marquee read: “We use duct tape to fix everything – God used nails.” Of course the “man” the sign was referring to was Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God and points at the life of the God – man. Jesus has ALWAYS existed but not as a divine couch potato or otherwise uninvolved deity. He was born into the human race but existed before His birth; more than that He was born to die and He lived to set men free from their bondage to sin and eternal separation from God. He expended His 33 years of life for the sake of every human being. His life was not wasted and the life He lived, He lived unto God His Father. His life made an eternal difference.

London’s quote rings remarkably similar to something Jesus once said:

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24–26)

Jesus’ words here call us to a constant dying out to a way of life characterized by self-preservation at all costs and a coming alive to the will and purposes of God. In other words, He does not merely call those who follow Him to exist as Christians, He is calling them to live the life of a Christian. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs is full of what living like that can look like in the extreme. But even in the torment of the flames as some of those martyrs were burned for their faith in Jesus Christ, they looked, as Jesus did, to the joy that was set before them. As Jesus concluded His thoughts in that short passage He did so with a reminder that today’s choices carry eternal consequences.

As we enter into a New Year, it is important for each one of us to ask ourselves, “am I alive or just here?” Staring at our phones into the world of social media or watching the plethora of reality TV shows available on Netflix, YouTube, Prime or HGTV etc; are you spending more time watching others live their lives than you are living your own? Your answer will also cast light on the greater question of your life’s purpose. We have not been given life to merely be consumers of everything we see – we have been given life and especially spiritual life CHRISTIAN, to make a difference just like Jesus. Consider the words of Paul in light of his life in Christ:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

The new life that believers have is to be lived in a new way and for a new reason. Through His Holy Spirit, Jesus indwells every believer and sits on the throne of control that we once occupied and now our purpose is His plan and the accomplishing of His will. Did Paul occasionally deviate from the plan or attempt to retake control of his life? Any time we sin in essence, we are attempting to retake control of our lives and thus the need of a constant or of a daily dying out to our self-will is necessary.

Looking back on 2021, how did you do? Did you draw nearer to God or drift away a little or a lot? Much like a leaf driven by the wind on a pond’s surface is always moving, you and I are never stationary in our life of faith, we are always either drawing nearer to or moving further away from God. Has your faith become stronger in the wake of all that this last year has thrown your way or has it faltered. I ask because before we move forward we ought to take stock of where we’ve been and the lessons we learned or still need to learn for tomorrow. I have learned some hard lessons this year and still have some things to learn – God is patient. Once more, Paul offers us something to think about even as we enter into 2022, we find them in (Philippians 3:12-15):

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.”

Pressing on is the mindset which Paul expects every Christ follower to have as they set their faces to what lay ahead of them. But I invite you even now while keeping your eternal hope set firmly in your minds eye, that is the hope (or confidence) of seeing and dwelling with Jesus for eternity to live each day, one at a time for the purposes of God. Each day is as clean a slate as a New Year is and just as unknowable nevertheless press on – the prize is yet before us and the souls of friends, family, coworkers, and strangers hang in the balance. Draw nearer, press on and press into Him who has made abundant life available to you.

Happy New Year!

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God’s Best Gift

Satisfied with less…

Does that describe the hearts of people during a season which I’ve come to call the season of discontent – are they satisfied with less?

Are you?

I call it a season of discontent because when asked, rather than an “I have everything I need”” people young and old readily state what they want for Christmas. In reality, discontent rather than contentment is a problem for many people and the materialism of the season feeds that felt need for more or better.

This isn’t a rant on that but it is meant to challenge you to consider your desires. You see, I believe that the desire which God has for your life is far greater and better than what you want for and from it. I Believe that most people are simply satisfied with less than what God in Christ wants for them.

Those outside of faith in Jesus Christ are perfectly content to be in the condition I just described and that fact makes clear to me that while some people are never truly content with the things they possess – more are simply content with less.

Jesus Christ promised abundant life (John 10:10) to those who trust in Him – abundant life now and forever more but so many people are satisfied with less than that.

So many are satisfied with less because they can’t imagine a better life, a fuller life or a happier life than the one they have – they are satisfied with less because they don’t know or believe that there is more or better than what they have now or that they can have it.

God sent His Son to usher in better things – whether you know it or not, more than anything else, you really have need of those better things – of grace, mercy, forgiveness, eternal life and an eternal relationship with the Lord.

In Christ, those better things have been provided and are yours for the asking.

Click the link to listen to the full message on today’s subject. https://www.thetextmessages.org/sermons/gods-best-gift/

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Jew, Christian or Other – The Spiritual Identity of Christ

Was Jesus a Jew, a Christian or something else? Take a minute before reading on to think about the question. Seriously, take a minute…

Virtually everyone knows the name Jesus Christ; some people use that name as an expression of frustration, anger and or surprise while others recognize it as the name given to the Son of God. The name Jesus Christ is not the first and last name of God’s Son, rather they are two names given by God which describe the mission of His Son: Jesus meaning Savior (Jehovah-saved) (see Matt. 1:21) and Christ meaning anointed (see Matt. 1:16) taken together we have anointed savior or messiah.

When anti-theistic or other-theistic people want to argue with Christians about religion they will often make the statement that Jesus was a Jew; implying with that statement that the deity in whom Christians have placed their faith was not sent for them. I recently heard someone say something that I just took for granted, that Jesus was also NOT a Christian.

Let’s take a few moments to consider these arguments; first, was He a Christian or a Jew?

Jesus was born to a Jewish virgin who had never been with a man. He was raised by faithful Jewish parents who made sure that, as a child He was circumcised on the eighth day and the sacrifice for a first-born son was made according to the law (Lev.12:1-8, Luke 2:21, 22-24). As He matured, Jesus kept the feast days of Judaism – the Passover, the day of Unleavened bread and the feast of Tabernacles being specifically mentioned (Luke 2:42, Luke 22, Matthew 26:18-29, John 7:1-14), nevertheless because of the statement He made in (Matt. 5:17-18), that He would fulfill ALL the law of God given to the Jews, there can be no doubt that He kept every feast day ordained by His Father. To the previous point, the book of Hebrews makes the following statement about Jesus:

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

Had He not fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the law of God, including observing the high holy days of Judaism, Jesus could NEVER have saved His people from their sins.

But does having kept all the laws of Judaism imply that Jesus was a Jew? Before I answer that question we should also consider, was Jesus a Christian?

God had made it clear in (Jeremiah 31:31-33) that He would establish a “new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah;” through His blood and by His death and resurrection Jesus is the “mediator of that new covenant (Heb. 9:15). God was doing a new thing and “the church” – the ĕkklēsia or assembly of believers (see Matt. 16:16-18) would be established upon who Jesus is and what Jesus did.

Jesus did not establish Christianity, He established “the way” as it was called in (Acts 9:2), to God. Jesus made disciples and good disciples strive to be like their teacher thus when some of the disciples came before the religious leaders of the Sanhedrin in (Acts 4:1-22) and spoke, those leaders KNEW that Peter and John had been with Jesus because they spoke as He did. It was later, in Antioch (see Acts 11:26) that the disciples were first called Christian or little Christs but the term was given by wicked people to mock the followers of Christ even then. What I want you to see is that the term Christian was not a thing even as Jesus ascended back into heaven after rising again from the dead and not only that, but also that in the entire new testament, the term has only been used three times. The world has called the church which Jesus established, the Christian church and, whether a taunt or not, being a Christian is a claim of belief and a testimony of allegiance to the One who died to make the church which consists of people from every nation, tribe, people and tongue (see Rev. 7:9-10) a living thing.

But was He a Christian? Was Jesus a Jew? Listen, Jesus Christ has ONE spiritual identity – He is the SON of the LIVING God! As such He is King of Kings and Lord of lords; He is Redeemer, Savior and Messiah. He died for the sins of all who will call upon His name (Romans 10:13)! There is no other God like Him! None who has the power to save, to forgive, to heal, to reconcile and NONE who can call the Creator of all things His Father!!! He was not merely a prophet, teacher or ‘good’ man – He IS the ONLY hope for the redemption of your soul.

Who is He to you?

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Missional Christianity – Intervening for Jesus

“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.” (1 Corinthians 9:19–23, NKJV)

Evangelism is the God directed and Spirit empowered effort of lovingly conveying the gospel of grace to people with the intention of leading them to faith in Jesus Christ.

A writer for Christianity Today wrote:

“Evangelism always involves a bloody cross and an empty tomb. It always involves Jesus’ death on the cross for our sin and in our place. Those facts are a constant. Without that message, there is no evangelism since there is no good news. Evangelism is transcultural and universal, and it goes throughout every era of time.” Evangelism is every follower of the Lord Jesus Christ inviting others to trust, follow and believe in the risen Lord.

But the “how” concerning our approach to people is varied because people are not all cut from the same cultural cloth – even in America. Not only that but “different personalities communicate differently” such is true not only for the hearer but for the speaker as well.

The Apostle Paul certainly varied his approach – he took the approach of the Intellectual approach with the “Epicureans and Stoics” of Athens in (Acts 17); he took the Testimonial Approach with King Agrippa in (Acts 26:1-23) as well as with his own countrymen in (Acts 22:1-21) and often in his teaching and preaching he took a Direct and confrontational approach in communicating the gospel.

In the passage of (1 Cor. 9:19-23) we encounter Paul mid discussion begun in (chapter 8) concerning the consuming of meat offered to idols. His point was that even though believers were free to eat such meat because they understood that the Lord God was the provider of all such food and that an idol has no power not all believers had such an understanding; thus the more mature believers were to deny themselves of such meat for the sake of the weaker brother. He declared in (v.8) that their liberty might become a stumbling block to the weaker brother – a lack of concern over this issue was declared to be sin against Christ (v.12). In [v.13] we read,

“Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”

The principal of self denial concerning food which Paul taught in that section led to a personal illustration concerning self denial in his ministry for the sake of those he was trying to reach. The attitude he details in the following verses should be our approach to everything we do in our lives – esteeming others as better than ourselves requires self-denial.

In (Chapter 9) Paul reflects on his “rights” as an apostle to share in the material blessing of those to whom he ministers (v.11-12) declaring in the second half of (v.12):

“Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.”

Paul had the right to compensation for his service as an Apostle, He had the right to expect to be cared for by the people to whom he ministered but for their sake and the gospel he refused to demand those rights. Instead he who was already a doulos (bondservant) of the Lord became a dŏulŏō (a servant) to all men. He saw himself as a “debtor to all men, to Greeks and Barbarians, to the wise and the unwise” (Romans 1:15); he was eager to share the gospel with everyone. His purpose in denying himself was to lead more people to a life saving and changing relationship with Jesus Christ.

 Paul did not give up His freedom in Christ to become a slave to those he was trying to reach but in his freedom he gave up His rights for their sake and the gospel.

A Missional Mentality…

(v. 22) “I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some.”

In his missionary journeys, Paul met many people from many different backgrounds – but he found common ground with them. He made it his effort not to deliberately insult them in his efforts to reach them but that does not mean he compromised his beliefs, forsook his moral convictions or sacrificed a biblical doctrine in his efforts to bring them to Jesus.

Paul met people where they were just like Jesus did; this needs to be more than something we say and nod our heads at today – it needs to be something believers practice in their efforts to reach people for Christ.

Four groups are listed in the previous verses:

  • Jews in general (His Countrymen). (v.20a)

The word translated “Jew” in (v.20) referred to the national distinction of being from the region of the Jews. I think that to a point Paul, in trying to reach the Jews drew from the undeniable fact that he was one of them. He had things in common with them, in (Philippians 3:4-6) we read that Paul was “circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin and a Hebrew of the Hebrews.”

Beyond the commonality of nationality Paul, in his effort to gain a hearing among the Jews he allowed Timothy to be circumcised in [Acts 16:1-3] “Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.” Had Timothy not been circumcised the Jews in the region where they were going would have been insulted and likely would never have listened to Paul’s gospel message.

  • Those “Under the Law.” (The Religious) (v.20b)

Not every Jew was a practicing believer thus the distinction between “Jew” in (v.20) and “those under the Law” in (v.21). Paul was formerly a well trained Pharisee and blameless with regard to keeping the Law of Moses (Phil. 3:6) so in his efforts to reach those of this group he was careful – he did nothing to compromise the truth that justification came through Jesus Christ.

Even so, when among them, Paul “behaved as a Jew in matters of moral indifference. For instance, he ate the foods which the Jewish people ate and refrained from eating such things as pork which were forbidden to them (see I Cor. 8). Perhaps Paul also refrained from working on the Sabbath day, realizing that if he did this, the gospel might gain a more ready hearing from the people.” [i]

  • Those “Without the Law.” (The Irreligious) (v.21)

Those without the law is not a reference to “outlaws” – Paul didn’t become a bank robber so that he could reach bank robbers; “those without the law” is a reference to gentiles or simply those who were not Jews or Jewish proselytes. In true missionary fashion Paul, when he was with this group of people adapted to the culture and customs to the degree that the Lord would allow. Paul specified a caveat or limitation to how far he would go in honoring and keeping the customs of the people with the words in parenthesis in (v.21): “(not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ).” He recognized a responsibility to honor, serve and obey the Lord Jesus before the gentiles – because of His love for the Savior.

  • The spiritually weak. (V.22)

Paul was also patient with immature believers such as those he mentions may have been offended by the food that more spiritually mature believers understand they are free to eat. The goal with regards to the weaker brother was not justification – Paul was most likely not trying to “win” them in the sense of salvation but rather the goal was the sanctification and maturing of the weaker brother or sister.

In each instance Paul spent his effort doing whatever he could to gain some for Jesus – that is what a good witness does: “A good witness tries to build bridges, not walls” [ii]towards those he or she is trying to reach. In the past many efforts have been made to reach people for the Lord – radio evangelism used to be popular and still has its place, the “bus ministry” of the seventies was another as was meeting based evangelism such as tent revivals and the large meetings like those of Billy Graham but today the trend is toward home based evangelism but as important as these strategies are for large group evangelism souls are still reached one at a time. Every believer carries the personal responsibility to by all means strive to gain people for Jesus.

This responsibility causes certain fear and anxiety in the hearts of some believers today so as I conclude today I would like to briefly direct your attention to Six Approaches to Evangelism taken from a book by Bill Hybels titled “Becoming a contagious Christian:”

1. Direct Approach (Confrontational)

This is the Apostle Peter’s approach in Acts 2, boldly proclaiming the Gospel to whoever would hear. Evangelists who use the direct approach are often equipped with Gospel tracts and ask questions like, “If you were to die tonight, are you 100% sure that you would go to heaven?”

Direct evangelists get straight to the point, preach Christ, and seek a response.

2. Intellectual Approach

The intellectual approach to evangelism is what Paul modeled in Acts 17 when he reasoned with philosophers and the deep thinkers of Athens and is today practiced by apologists and other logical thinkers.

If you are a person who likes ideas, evidence, logical thinking, and Christian Apologetics, you might be an intellectual evangelist.

3. Testimonial Approach

Personal stories of transformation carry a unique weight and often do things that facts alone cannot do. Evangelists who thrive with the testimonial approach tell powerful stories of Christ’s saving work in their lives.

This is clearly seen in the blind man of (John 9) who was healed by Jesus and then testified about Christ, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see!”

4. Interpersonal Approach

Not everybody is drawn to knowing apologetics or sharing their Christian testimony. For those who have the natural ability to relate to people and love being with others, the interpersonal approach to evangelism is a natural way to share Christ. You know you can be effective with the interpersonal approach when you are able to share your faith with others out of a growing friendship.

5. Invitational Approach

The invitational approach is similar to the interpersonal approach, but as its name suggests, thrives on inviting people to events like a church service, a retreat, or a Bible study. This is one of the most natural ways newer believers are able to reach out to others even if they may not have the right words to say.

(ex) The Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well in John 4.

6. Service Approach

If you naturally notice the needs of others and enjoy serving them, you might prefer the service approach to evangelism. People who prefer this approach often enjoy sharing the love of Christ through deed over word. People with the gift of hospitality often fall into this approach.

The biblical example of this approach is Tabitha (also known as Dorcas) in Acts 9:36-42. She is described as “full of good works and acts of charity,” which used her gift of making clothing for God’s glory.

I suggest that none of these is based so much on your comfort in the moment as it is on the situation in which you find yourself.

This morning I mentioned that because people are different, we can “be as creative as the Lord leads us to be in reaching them.”  What works for one may not work for the next one but there is nevertheless a common thread running through whatever way you attempt to “win” a person to Christ and that thread is the word of God.

We should never forget that “the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to ALL who believe!” (Romans 1:16) and that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) However you begin your effort to reach an unbeliever it MUST involve the word of God about the Word of God – the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Intervention is necessary to reach others for Christ. Unless a Christian cares enough to take a chance in sharing the Gospel of Christ, the lost will likely die without hope, separated from God. There is always risk involved when you share Jesus. But agape love and trust in the Holy Spirit will enable the Christian to exercise the intervention of personal witnessing.

I’ll never forget what an emergency nurse told me one day: “I want to thank you for teaching me how to share Jesus. Reaching those who don’t know Christ reminds me of doing CPR in the emergency room. My ER training tells me that when they bring in a patient who’s not breathing and whose heart isn’t beating, Do something! Even if you don’t know what to do. Do something! If you don’t, they’re gone.”

Even when we’re not sure of what to do, we must trust the Holy Spirit and love enough to intervene. Sharing Christ is vital to those around us.” Darrell W. Robinson, People Sharing Jesus, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), pp. 86-8[iii]

[i] MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 1778). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[ii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 601). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[iii] Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.

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The Standing Order of the Savior

There is a song which declares,

“These are the days of Elijah declaring the word of the Lord

and these are the days of Your servant Moses righteousness being restored. And though these are days of great trial, of famine and darkness and sword” how does the rest go; anyone know?

“Still, we are the voice in the desert crying, ‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord!’”

Why?  Because He is coming and His coming is nearer than it has ever been before.

There is no need to rewind and review the news reels of recent weeks, the contents of those reels present clear evidence of the moral, spiritual and social decline of our world. They reveal the abounding iniquity or lawlessness of our day, lawlessness which is producing in some people, even some of God’s people a dying love, a lack of compassion, mercy, empathy and replacing it with a seething bitterness.

When Jesus declared in [Matt. 24:12] that “the love of many will grow cold” in the last days He was making a statement of fact rather than approval. Jesus saw that such a departure from the love which His followers ought to have for friends and enemies alike was actually a departure from the mission He set every one who believes in Him out to accomplish. What is that mission?

Look in [Matt 28:19-20]; the great commission has we have it here was first given to the remaining eleven disciples (apostles) and it reads as follows:

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

From those days to these days that commission has been applied to every Christ follower from every age as our mission both in a global sense and more importantly in a local sense; it is our standing order from Jesus. We can be as creative as the Lord leads us to be in the accomplishing of our part in the mission but we no less must be constantly engaged with the goal of accomplishing it as doing so hastens (Peter declared in 2 Peter 3:12) “the coming of the day of the Lord.”

In our remaining time today, I’d like for us to review this well-known passage of scripture as we consider that in the “post covid,” “postmodern,” and anti-Christian world in which we live today, our part in the mission is not yet finished. In fact, it has arguably never been more essential as we truly near, in my mind at least, the conclusion of this age and the coming of our King, Jesus Christ.

We Never Go Alone

First of all, Jesus wrapped His marching orders between the two matching book ends of power and presence.  He said, “all authority is given to Me in Heaven and on earth” and “I will be with you always;” in so saying, He reminds us all that He has all power to send us. This was the risen Savior of the world speaking. He had conquered death. He had defeated the power of Satan. He had made the way of escape from the power of sin as well as the forgiveness for sin available to all who turn to Him in faith. The One who was sending them was no longer the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world only: He was and is the risen and conquering King of kings and Lord of lords. The authority by which He commands us comes from His Father – and it was by that authority that we are to go.

Along with a reminder of His authority, Jesus Christ gave those who undertake the mission an assurance that He would always be with them; not in the physical sense that they had come to enjoy for the previous three and a half years nevertheless in an unmistakable and new way. His promise finds fulfillment (in Acts 2) at Pentecost when, after He had returned to Heaven and to His Father, the Holy Spirit came to ignite a fire in both those who preach the gospel and those who hear it. That same Spirit which overshadowed Mary the day she conceived within her the Holy Son of God at that moment overshadowed a group of men and birthed the body of Christ. I suggest to you that when you and I undertake the commission the Lord has left us we too go in the power and presence of the Lord – we never go alone.

We Are to Go to All People

The (Greek) word pŏrĕuŏmai and translated to the English word “go” implies more than one might think. When Jesus said, “go therefore and make disciples of all nations” He was not speaking of the one-time act of going from their meeting on that mountain in Galilee back to their homes, rather the word is a command to return to their journey of life with a deliberate purpose – making disciples was to be their life’s work. On this point my mind goes back to the instruction which Moses left to the people of Israel before he died [Deuteronomy 6:6-9]:

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

In the same way that the father figure in that OT passage was to be diligent about teaching his children, no matter what they might be do, where they may be or who they might meet along the way (the word ethnos here translated nations meaning all people) those on mission for Jesus we’re to be about making disciples. With this understanding as a guideline, we will never pick and choose who to be Christ to, in fact, if we are modeling Christ well in our own lives, we won’t even have to choose them, they will choose us. Recall if you will the words Jesus spoke in His sermon on the mount, specifically these found in [Matt. 5:16]:

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Over and over, we are instructed in the scriptures, as one man said, to be “the perceptible presence of Christ in our world, appealing to every sense – sight, taste, smell, hearing and touch.” We are to be the “salt of the earth” (Matt 5:18) which changes the taste of the world around us. We are to be the “light of the world” (Matt. 5:14) lighting the way to Christ by declaring and modeling His truth. We are not only to be “the fragrance of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:15) with regard to our worship towards God but also with regard to our dealing with all people (v17) “for we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God.” We are “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:20) pleading with those we meet: “be reconciled to God!” To be frank, our mission requires us to earn the right to be heard through a lifestyle that preaches Christ to those around us even before we open our mouths. It does not require perfection – it requires authenticity and integrity and submission to the Holy Spirit of God who indwells EVERY follower of Christ. [Acts 2:44-47] concerning the growth of the body of Christ from its earliest days makes my point:

“Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,

…praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

As believers practiced their new found faith, like a light to moths, their practices and their message drew others to the One who had saved them and “the Lord” added to their numbers daily.

Since our journey through life involves more than the time we spend in fellowship and worship together in God’s house it should also be clear to us that our mission is more about us going to “them” than it is expecting them to come to us. Philip went to Nathanael (John 1:45-46) and invited him to come and see the One about whom Moses and the prophets wrote. Later, Philip went to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26>>) and explained the word of God to him which led to the man’s conversion to faith in Jesus Christ; likewise, Andrew went to his brother, Simon Peter (John 1:40-42) and told him that they had “found the Messiah” and then he brought his brother to Jesus. The Samaritan woman at the well went to her neighbors after having met Jesus and invited them to “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”” (John 4:29) I dare say that since most of us live out our lives away from the church building that our greatest opportunities to lead others to faith in Jesus Christ and then to disciple them will also occur on the outside of these four walls; again, our mission is to go.

We Are to Baptize and Instruct

This may startle some of you but I’m not sure that a person’s baptism after conversion MUST take place within a house of worship and I’d again like to refer to the exchange between Philip and the eunuch of (Acts 8) in [v.36] the eunuch asks after believing, “what now hinders me from being baptized?” Alone, in the desert, far from the eyes of anyone but God and Philip the man was baptized. We have made baptism a public spectacle because it illustrates the exchange made upon our conversion: our death with Christ and our resurrection to new life in Him and often churches use the ordinance of baptism to bring the new believer into fellowship with that local assembly but I would suggest that as believers we may baptize a new believer anywhere and at any time after they have believed. If a fellowship of believers is baptizing a new believer, then by all means, the pastor or other ordained minister should be the one to baptize the person but if, as the situation was for Philip and the eunuch the need for baptism arises away from the local fellowship then I think we have some precedent to baptize as the need presents itself and frankly anything else seems to be leaning more on ritual than on the redeemer.

We have seen that the making of a disciple does not always begin or continue within the four walls of the local church in fact the commission of Jesus in our passage implies the exact opposite; that far from being a corporate thing to start off with it is a personal, one on one thing. Likewise, while the only setting suitable for baptism may not be limited to the structure of a local fellowships meeting place, the ultimate goal after a person becomes a Christian is to bring him or her into the larger fellowship of believers found in the local church. There they will continue to be instructed through sound preaching and teaching from the word of God while also coming to learn how to do life as a follower of Christ. So, this work of evangelism is not one or the other: either done by the church in the church or by believers away from the church, rather God uses both means to accomplish His ends and mission in the lives of people.

As I wrap it up, I must stress that the end game of evangelism is not getting them into the church, rather, the endgame of evangelism is to take the gospel message to all people.  The words of Jesus found in the great commission are His standing orders to every Christian man, woman and child; in a word the order is to go and do. The reaction of our society as a whole has had a impact on the church as well. “Staying home and staying safe” has made some believers and churches less impactful and more willing to relax our efforts with regard not only to our fellowship and worship as believers but to evangelism as well. Let the words of the Lord in this familiar passage challenge you to press in and continue the mission – the work is not yet finished.

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By the Grace of God Go I

God is faithful, but this isn’t a story about His faithfulness.  You see faithfulness involves a promise but God did NOT promise me as a believer in Jesus Christ that my days would be pain or trouble free; in fact, because I believe in Him, I can expect my days to be more challenging because His enemy is now mine as well. This story is a testimony instead to the mercy and grace of God and involves the events which unfolded one Saturday morning.

Two o’clock in the morning can’t come soon enough when you’re nearing the end of another night shift and in the wee hours of the morning my thoughts had already turned to the afternoon of fishing that I had planned with my wife for later that day. I should tell you that I also drive an eighteen wheeler for a living and was making final preparations to drive the short 144 miles home and begin the weekend. After hooking up my two trailers and completing my pretrip safety inspection I departed for what I assumed would be another routine trip into the south Texas countryside.

Thirty five miles south of my location someone else was getting ready to go home as well – too much to drink, not enough rest, more problems than power in his life. He headed out from wherever he had been and entered a 4 lane toll road going the wrong way. It was ten miles travelling northbound in southbound lanes on a road limited to 85mph before he met anyone else on that road. He could have hit a carload of kids, a family headed on a vacation trip, a bus or any number of big trucks but he didn’t, at least not until he met me.

At night, headlights breaking from a right curve all look like they belong to vehicles on your side of the road and eventually it becomes clear that they are actually where they belong, so when I saw the headlights of this mans pickup truck rounding the curve ahead of me I thought nothing of it for a few seconds and then I realized he was in my lane. Closing the distance rapidly between us, the driver left me only two choices: veer to the right and meet him driver side to driver side or attempt to escape by heading to the left lane and hoping the man would realize that he was on the wrong side of the road and stay where he was until he passed me…but he didn’t. He followed me across the center stripe and collided with the right front side of my truck, knocking my steering axle under the cab and folding the wheels underneath. The collision ruptured my fuel tank, dislodged my single rear axle and turned the single axle on my first trailer side ways ending with me jackknifed half on and half off off the fast lane of the road and the opposing driver coming to rest in the ditch, trapped in his pickup. Within a minute, two more vehicles passed through the debris field and kept going and then, climbing out of my driver side window, I got out of my truck.

Upon arriving, first responders attention was on the driver in the pick up and using hydraulics they were able to pry the door open and get the man out. The man stepped out of his truck and walked with firefighters to a pumper truck 30 yards away and after a few minutes left the scene talking with EMS first responders.

I share this story with you not for the dramatics but to give God glory for His mercy and grace, you see it’s not every day that people walk away from a head-on wreck. God was with that man as he drove the wrong way, protecting him and others from a terrible outcome. Had we met, driver side to driver side there is no doubt that he would have been killed. Had we met on that side his still occupied pickup would have remained in the road and the two vehicles passing through the debris field would have struck his vehicle leading to what would have become a chain reaction wreck.

Finally, a number of people from my company have reviewed the video commenting that my ability to correct my jackknifing truck and trailers kept them from laying over. They say that it is apparent that I was steering to avoid the layover which I no doubt was doing. But what they forget and what I didn’t know was that my steering wheel linkage was no longer connected after impact and that my front axle was dislodged….I didn’t do anything!!! It was God’s hands that kept my equipment up right!!! His hands that shielded the wrong way driver at impact and His hands that kept me from suffering even the slightest ache, pain, bump or bruise in this wreck!!!

God IS merciful! He has a plan for your life, for the drunk driver’s life and for my life! God is also persistent, sometimes going to great lengths to get our attention and to turn us in the right direction. Have you believed in His Son whom God sent to redeem your soul and give you a forever place with Him in Heaven? My hope is that your “come to Jesus” moment isn’t this drastic and severe but that you hear the words which declare that “God so loved the world,” including you, “that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever (you) believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” If you have not yet believed, having heard the word, how far will God have to go to get your attention?

I have since returned to my night run into Austin, returning to work the next business day and praising Him who is merciful; acknowledging out loud what I KNOW in my heart to be true: it has been by His grace that I have come thus far and in that same grace that I will continue to go.

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Remembering the Unforgettable

    

It takes a special person to be a soldier – they leave everything behind to fight for others…they risk their very lives for the cause of freedom, hope and ultimately peace.  Memorial Day commemorates those who fought and fell paying the greatest price for freedom that anyone will ever pay – on this day we remember the sacrifice, we remember the blood.  We remember the faces and the lives of people who were not only prepared to give all for their country but who also did give all.

You know, when I think about it, those who paid the ultimate price for the freedom we enjoy as Americans are in certain ways much like Christ.  They left their homes like Jesus did, for a strange place. They traded their normal attire for a uniform – Jesus traded heavenly perfection for a human body. They gave their lives for a just cause: the deliverance of those in bondage – our troops delivered men from the bondage of men; Jesus delivered men from the bondage of sin; both paid the price of freedom with their lives. 

Y’all forgive me but Memorial Day commemorates the death of those who died to obtain and preserve the life, liberty and happiness of others.  It is honestly hard for me to say “Happy Memorial Day” because the joy that we now experience came at such a great price and it is the price that we must remember today.  Look at what is emphasized on Memorial Day weekend: great deals on new cars, building supplies, barbeque pits – great deals on all the makings of a great family picnic; we focus on summer vacation, graduation, some even focus on inebriation but in our celebration we forgot to remember who we have to thank for our liberation both as Americans and as Christians – fields of uniform monuments in our national cemeteries mark one group the other is marked by a single cross on a high hill just outside of Jerusalem called Golgotha and a single tomb no longer shut but wide open to reveal that it is empty;  the hero that it contained lives again and forevermore. 

Having said that, I’d like to spend some time considering the importance of milestones in our lives.

“And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ” Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever. ” (Joshua 4:1-7)

[v.6] “What do these Stones Mean to You…?”

     Forty years of wandering; forty years from the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea; forty years from their deliverance from the strong hand of bondage that they had been held by in Egypt by an even stronger hand; forty years of wandering until all those who were of a generation of doubt concerning God and His goodness had died; forty years to get to this moment in time.  And now, the people of God, a new generation, and a generation that had not doubted Him stood on the banks of the Jordan River standing for the first time in the land of promise.  The people had crossed over; [v.1] says “And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua” – the people did not cross over in boats, they did not cross over on a bridge; and they did not wade across the river as it was well out of its banks [see Josh.3:15-17] – the Bible says that they crossed on the river bottom:

“Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.”  (Joshua 3:17)

The moment the feet of the  priests bearing the ark of the covenant touched the flood swollen river it stopped flowing, piling up in a heap – God miraculously lead Israel into the land of promise on dry ground.  To commemorate the occasion God commanded that a representative of each of the twelve tribes of Israel return to the place where the priests stood, each was to take a stone from there which would be used to memorialize the event.  The memorial was to be a lasting reminder to future generations of their crossing of the Jordan into the Promised Land on dry ground. 

What did those stones mean? 

  1. The stones were a reminder that God is faithful.  The stones memorialized the faithfulness of God to keep His promises.  [Num. 14:28-31] “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised.
  2. The stones were a reminder that God had been and would be present.
  3. The stones were a reminder that God is mighty [see Josh. 4:24].
  4. The stones would be a source of encouragement to all people.  Set up in the next camp in which the people stayed; the camp at Gilgal [Josh. 4:20], the stones would serve as a source of hope during the difficult days ahead.  How?  Biblical history bears out that the Israelites faced many challenges during their journey – even in the context of topography, until now the people had wandered largely in the valleys of wilderness and in the desert, but now, after having crossed the flood swollen Jordan all that they could see past the plains of Jericho were the mountains of Canaan.  Their journey would be difficult but the memorial and others like erected throughout the land would serve to remind them during times of doubt and fear that, as David later wrote in [psl.60:12], “Through God we shall do valiantly.”  The monument would serve to remind them that [Rom.8:31] “If God is for us, who can be (who can stand) against us.” 

But there is something else to which these stones point not so much contextually, but rather by application; the Bible says that not only did the twelve men of Israel take up stones for the camp, but Joshua also returned to the place where the priests stood and there he erected a memorial [Josh. 4:9] which upon the final steps of the priests from the river would again be covered by the waters leaving them only evident to God; this he did before all of the people. 

What do those stones point to?

  1. Those stones marked the end of one journey…The stones in the river point to and mark not only the place where God met them and provided for the people; but it also marked the place where their old way of life ended – their life of wilderness wandering ended with that river crossing.
  2. …and the beginning of another journey.  The stones on the west side of the river, in the land of Promise, erected in Gilgal pointed to new life – a resurrection of sorts.
  3. Together these memorials point to what happens in a person’s life when they come to faith in Jesus, as illustrated by believers baptism: [Rom.6:3-8].  By the working of God through the blood of His Son and the power of His Spirit, the old sinful, carnal man dies and the new man in Christ lives.

A greater than these…What does the cross of Christ mean to you?

There is a greater memorial than the twelve stones in the Jordan and at Gilgal, and that memorial is the cross of Jesus Christ.  When a believer looks at the cross they should remember the place from which they were taken and the destiny they were bound to because of their sinful ways before they believed.  When a believer looks upon the cross he or she should remember all of the miracles of God that went into their redemption – the virgin birth of Christ, the terrible suffering of Christ, and again, the blood of Jesus.  Remember what God said in [Exod. 12:13], “When I see the blood…” today as then, the blood of Jesus reminds God of His promise to forgive.  The empty cross, not an occupied crucifix, but the plain, empty cross along with a totally vacant tomb remind us that Jesus is not dead – we serve a risen Savior! 

To me, the two strongest and most striking memorial icons on earth are the tomb stone and the cross of Jesus Christ… – one points to the expected end of every human ever born and the other to the only hope of eternal life with God:

  1. The tomb stone reminds each one of us that every one of us will eventually taste death [Heb. 9:27]; it reminds us of the brevity of life [James 4:14].
  2. The cross reminds us that death doesn’t have to have the last laugh. 
  3. It reminds us of the life given so that we might have everlasting life [John 3:16].
  4. It reminds us that our freedom and forgiveness came at a great cost [1 Cor. 6:20].
  5. It reminds us that even when times are their worst – the one who believes in the risen Savior is never without hope [John 16:33].
  6. [v.7] And like the stones at Gilgal, the cross stands as “a memorial to the children of Israel (and to the world) forever” – a testimony to the love of God, to the mercy of God, to the forgiveness of God, to the hope found in Jesus Christ, to God’s great grace; to the seriousness of sin and the price paid to redeem us from it.

The stones of memorial in our lives point to what God has done.

Finally, the stones of memorial in our lives point to what God has done.  God had led Israel through the wilderness and across both sea and river on dry ground; He had looked after their every need to get them where they were, and He has done the same for us – the cross being the greatest reminder of that fact in our lives and in our world today.  But not all stones of remembrance are made of rock:

  1. They may take the form of the Bible of a loved one, now gone on to be with the Lord – the lasting reminder of their love and faith toward God; holding it brings you added peace.
  2. It may take the form of a picture of your kids or spouse as they were or as they are.
  3. Your stone of remembrance might be the very child you hold in your arms.

Whatever your stone, it should remind you of the goodness of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God and of the faithfulness of God . It should remind you of the love of God and the extreme lengths that He went to in order to make redemption, forgiveness and eternal life possible for sinners like you and me.

The memorial stones of Joshua’s day were to remind the people of certain qualities of God, memorializing a great day of deliverance in their nations history; likewise the memorials to our fallen heroes are to remind us of the sacrifice of people who gave their lives, over a million strong from the beginning of our nation’s history till now, memorializing their commitment to God, country and family – remembering their sacrifice for the freedoms we hold dear. Above all, the most common memorial to Christ: His cross, reminds us that we are loved and that Christ went to great lengths to prove it, that there is hope for tomorrow, and life everlasting for all who will trust in His name. 

What do these stones mean to you?

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Only One Way

Nearly 20 years ago, my wife and I traveled to Corpus Christi Texas for a weekend stay. After checking into our hotel room near the waterfront we set out for the flagship store of our favorite burger joint – Whataburger. It was already dark when, after settling in that we set out to fill our bellies at what is known as a Texas tradition. The streets around the hotel were under construction that year (probably still are) and it wasn’t long till I found myself going the wrong way on a one-way street. Thankfully, I wasn’t stopped and cited by the city police and more importantly I did not have a life altering meeting with someone actually going the right way on that street. As you might imagine, I quickly found my way out of that mess and headed in the right direction all the while singing to my wife (who was a little put out by my cavalier and seemingly careless driving) the words to a very famous Frank Sinatra song, you guessed it, “I did it my way!”

Believe it or not, life in this world is a lot like the layout of most city’s streets which have been designed with regard to the flow of traffic into and out of the city. Just as there is a deliberate right way and a wrong way to navigate those streets there is a right way and a wrong way to navigate life and that way has been determined by someone with far greater authority in this world – God.

My motive for this article is not to point out the right and wrong associated so much with the life style choices you and I make (that is for another time) but to point the reader in the right direction with regards to a proper relationship with our Creator. This past week, I had a conversation with a man who asked the following question: “Which religion is right, just tell me which one’s Jesus or God is the right one and I will believe in Him.”  Perhaps part of the reason for his confusion is the simple fact that the church with its many doctrines and denominations have so muddied the waters that people on the outside don’t know which way is the right way; or perhaps too many in the church have stopped pointing out the right direction altogether. When was the last time someone invited you to church instead of to Jesus?

My answer to the man was simple and straight from the Bible, I quoted Jesus’ words as found in (John 14:6): “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” He responded, “Yeah, but which Jesus?” He meant (for example), the Jesus of the Mormons, the Jesus of the Jehovah Witnesses or the Jesus of Islam. Each of these faith groups view Jesus differently and from the perspective of the Bible, erroneously. It became clear however, from our conversation that this man’s concept of Christianity itself may be incorrect. Biblically speaking there is but one way to God and that way is through His Son Jesus Christ as the words in John 14:6 make clear and yet people attempt to come into that relationship or to gain the grace of God in other ways – they are in essence in pursuit of grace but traveling in the wrong direction on an established one-way street.

For instance, Paul the Apostle made it clear in (Romans 3:20) that “by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His (God’s) sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” To be justified is to be declared righteous or good by God Who has already decreed through His word that (Luke 18:19) “no man is good, no not one” and that in fact (Genesis 6:5) “the thoughts and intentions of a man’s heart are evil only always.” We become justified through faith in Jesus Christ Whose righteousness God exchanges with our sin; the Bible says in (1 Cor. 5:21):

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

This justification was made available through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross and apart from faith in Him it is impossible to receive it (Romans 4:5):

“But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.”

The Bible clearly says, “By grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God NOT of works lest any man should boast…” (see Ephesians 2:8-10) yet today people try to earn the grace of God. They are in pursuit of grace through their “good works” but like my wife and I that night in Corpus Christi in pursuit of the world’s best burger they are going the wrong way on a one-way street to find that grace.

Not only does the Bible declare we cannot gain the grace of God and be saved by good works, it also states clearly that salvation is not a determination of our will (John 1:12-13):

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

This is in part where the man I was speaking to was stuck – salvation is not an act of our will alone. You might be thinking “Rich, what do you mean by that because it sounds like it contradicts the Bible?” There is a doctrine that teaches that man is so totally depraved that he would not nor could not ever choose to be saved. I agree and disagree with that position from Calvinistic theology. While I do agree that, like myself prior to my salvation, people do not care to know God let alone to be saved but are content to do whatever their flesh desires; I also believe that once the Spirit of God begins to intervene in a person’s life that mindset changes. Jesus said in (John 6:44):

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

That drawing comes through in two ways which work together, the Word of God – “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17) and the Spirit of God who “when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John 16:8) The reality is that once the word of God and the Spirit of God begin their work in one being drawn by God to Himself their hearts may be led (as the first inhabitants of the early church were) to a time of great anguish for their souls. You may remember the response of those who heard the gospel message preached by Peter on Pentecost: “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”” (Acts 2:37) It is at that moment, when a person sees themselves as God sees him or her that he or she may come to God by faith in His Son sent for their redemption and justification. Thus, it is God and not men who initiate the process by which they can be saved.

The man I was speaking to made one more comment that I think is important at this point in our thoughts, He said, “My problem is a comprehension problem” implying that he did not know what to think or how to choose. Having  addressed much of that statement already let me say that my response to his statement identifies what may in fact be the larger problem for those struggling with the one right way. The Bible declares the problem in (1 Cor. 2:14):

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Too many people put the cart before the horse when it comes to things of eternal value. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God – but, what word? What word does the natural man need to hear first? Let me just put it like this, if any person is to come to God they need to hear about Jesus – why He came and what He did. Jesus Christ is THE WAY, the truth and the life! No man comes to the Father but by Him! They need to hear about the one way to life God’s way. They need to hear about the one way to eternal life – a way blazed and made possible by Jesus Christ who left heaven for our sakes.  They need to hear about Jesus Christ who taught, literally who showed mankind what God was like. They need to hear about Jesus Christ who suffered and was tortured not because of any wrong that He had done but to satisfy the wrath of God for the wrongs – the sins WE HAD DONE! They need to hear about Jesus Christ who died for their sins and three days later rose from the dead to live again making forgiveness and power over sin available to all who believe.

Many there are in this life living the lyrics to Sinatra’s song – their way; we are called to point men to the one right way that leads to everlasting life through the gospel of Christ and the examples of our lives – point the way…lead the way…help them find the one-way that leads to a relationship with Almighty God.

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Wake Up, Church! (Pt. 3) Return to Your First Works

The words of Jesus to the Ephesian church in (Rev. 2:4-5) needs to be heard by the church today:

“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”

The Ephesians had let their orthodoxy and legalism get in the way of the mission of God – have we? Just as marriages fail because the fighting over whose right outweighs fighting to save the relationship; speaking truth without love (Eph. 4:15) can get in the way of the point of the truth we are trying to communicate. The problem did not come upon the Ephesians suddenly but was a systemic leftover of their sinful nature rising up in them. As Paul was developing that church he wrote in (Eph. 4:31-5:1): “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ has forgiven you…walk in love, as Christ also has loved us.”

Look again at (Romans 13:11-14), Paul said that “the night “was far spent meaning the time of Jesus’ absence from us as well as of Satan’s work in this world was nearly finished. Whatever the conflict in our lives, it is ALWAYS darkest before the dawn. Its true, the final push whether in the boxing ring, on the field of competition, on the track or in military conflict is always the hardest. The enemy of God will fight hardest when his day is at hand and the Lord’s return is on the horizon; we therefore must be ready for the fight and as Paul said, “cast off the works of darkness.” Some of those works may be the complacency, apathy, indifference or misplaced zeal which control some believers today. Our lust, our desire to have things our way is dulling our senses and making us less that ready in these days to rescue the perishing. Paul says. “let us walk properly, as in the day – not in strife and envy.”

In a similar message spoken to the Colossian church Paul wrote:

“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time….(Col. 4:5) adding in (Eph. 5:16) “because the days are evil.”

Redeem the time…how? Paul said it in (Phil. 2:5):

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…”

As we wrap it up today, I want us to consider the passion of Christ.

Jesus Christ left heaven to dwell among men. He minimized His glory and hid it within the frame of human flesh. He humbly allowed men to handle Him, talk to Him, question Him. He allowed their mistreatment against Him – their accusations, their attempts to harm Him and their mischaracterizations of who He was and why He had come. He allowed them to beat Him, literally ripping the flesh from His body – He did not fight back and as a sheep led to the slaughter so He opened not His mouth (Isaiah 53:7). He allowed them to spit on His face and tear out His beard. He allowed them to nail Him to a cross and raise Him up in their hatred, scorn and unbelief. He allowed this because His passion for the will of His Father and for those who would ever believe in Him was greater that His concern and passion for His own life.

Remembering that when Jesus did these things, we were all enemies of God (Romans 5:8,10) whom God nevertheless loved so much as to sent His Son to die for, His example serves as the best model for us today. His passion for you and for me outweighed His passion and zeal for Himself – He put aside every privilege and right belonging to Him as Creator of everything for us.

As we move forward church – let His example, His mindset change and become yours.

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