Friday, October 27, 2017

Are You Sharing with the Lost?

Do you really want the church to grow? Church growth is not about money, buildings, our plans, or our dreams. It is about sinners coming to Christ. The growth of any church is determined by the mindset of the people within the body of Christ about the lost. Congregations burdened with pride, apathy, laziness, negativity or critical attitude will never grow. These were some of the attitudes that the churches John addressed in Asia (Revelations 2-3) were dealing with.

Probably all of us could quote Matthew 28:19-20, “Go into all the world and preach…” But how determined are we to get them to Jesus? We read of some amazing followers of Christ that understood the urgency of the message and the power of Christ in Luke 5.

These were the men who brought the paralyzed man to Jesus. They serve as an example of the right attitude leading to the right action, resulting in great changes in lives – in their case a sinner is forgiven.

They knew that Jesus had the power to save, heal, repair, or forgive. That knowledge led them to some pretty decisive action that didn’t seem to be hampered by obstacles. Unfortunately, the smallest of obstacles cause many believers to sin by failing “to do the good they know they ought to do” (James 4:17). Luke 5:19 says that they couldn’t get their friend through the door because of the crowd. Think about the “crowds” who will keep many people from getting to Jesus. Sadly, a large percentage of the crowds will be those within the walls of a church.

Brennan Manning, a priest, made this statement, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

Within the walls of that house where Jesus shared the words of life, Pharisees and scribes stood soaking in the words but hardening their heart. However, the friends of the paralyzed man were on the outside and they recognized just how important it was to be in the presence of Jesus. They overcame obstacles and got to work, making a hole in the roof to lower their friend through.

How do you suppose those inside felt about the noisy mess the men on the roof were making? The friends knew that getting them in was more important than finding excuses. Luke 5:20, “Seeing the faith of his friends, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘Young man, your sins are forgiven.’” Will there be people that get to hear the invitation into heaven because of the efforts of Christ’s followers? Absolutely – think about Matthew 5:16, 1 Peter 2:12. In fact, most of the people reading this were heavily influenced by someone who “brought them to Jesus”. It’s still a choice they must make, but what can we do to bring them in?

The church is God’s pride and joy. It’s time we see the church the way God sees it. The way God knows it can be when people truly trust Him, follow the Spirit, and genuinely care for those that haven’t been to Christ yet. Seeking and saving the lost was the reason Jesus came to earth; what’s our purpose on earth?

Consider who you can bring to Jesus.

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Revelations 101

Sometimes what looks good turns out to be bad, and what looks bad turns out to be good. That’s no mystery to anyone who has lived very long on earth. God can use bad things to do good (Romans 8:28), or Satan can use good things to make our lives bad (1 Chronicles 21). What’s bad is when we try to “sell” the bad as good, or vice versa. Isaiah 5:20-21, “What sorrow for those who say, ‘evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.’ What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever.”

But life can be filled with choices that aren’t what they seem; so, it would be helpful to have some insight, a birds-eye view of our problems. Thankfully, God has given us the Spirit as a guide to our decisions – big or small. That’s what defines the biggest difference in the New Testament verses the Old, the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39). A promise to help us make better decisions. The real challenge then is how well do I know, or trust, the Spirit’s guidance?

In the book of Revelation, John uses situations going on in seven churches as the backdrop to how we can model trusting in the Spirit to help us make the decisions that lead to an eternal home with God, our father. Five out of seven of the churches were making bad decisions and calling them good. However, regardless of the challenges each church faced, all of them had an ever-growing problem approaching – persecution.

The problems they faced at the end of the first century were their own, but every generation afterwards has had their own set of struggles that they have to face. The question is will we make the decisions that please God by showing our allegiance to him rather than our stuff or even our own life? Will we compromise our faith for security or fear? Or will we remain faithful to the end?
This letter offered insight into God’s desires for them, by pointing them back to Old Testament prophesies, but why? When you see the times of hardships that others faced, we can get that birds-eye perspective better and see where they should have repented, or they should have trusted God more (Romans 15:4). What did the Israelites fail to understand about God when Canaan Land was laid before them (Numbers 13)? What did the Israelites fail to do when Assyria or Babylon threatened them (Deuteronomy 28:49, Jeremiah 25:8-14, Isaiah 39:5-8)? To the Israelite, those events defined some of the darkest periods of their nation, but they could have been better if they had trusted the guidance God was offering them through godly people.

As the slaughtered lamb, Jesus was the only one who could reveal what the sealed scroll told about the bad things coming. As the seals were being broken, He reveals the mystery that was similar to what Pharaoh could have learned, or what the Israelites could have learned. Seven trumpets that resembled the ten plagues sent to Pharaoh to help him see the power of God. Then the seven bowls continue to show the same thing. Finally, the King of Kings shows up to fight the final battle putting an end to all that is bad. This story should give us hope that no matter what we face, God has the ability to help us through to the end

Friday, October 13, 2017

Uniquely Unified

One comedian said about single-life, “It’s just like magic. When you live by yourself, all of your annoying habits are gone.” If the church were made of only one person, there wouldn’t be division, but that’s not how it is. We can get frustrated with the hardships that come from a melting pot of different personalities, different fears and strengths, different levels of maturity, or different abilities all found within the body of Christ, OR we can stand in awe of God’s amazing design for it.

If Christians are to be the salt and the light to a lost world, it makes sense that we need as many capable people serving as examples as possible. Here’s where the humanistic way of thinking comes into play – “selfishness becomes the driving force in doctrine” – was a way I heard it described recently. We have the capability to be unique, yet unified with the same focus of living according to the Spirit. We have the capability of being unified, yet we’re not forced to think just like each other. This can be refreshing or frustrating.

The unity of the body of Christ has always been a struggle; that’s why there are thousands of denominations – inability to be unified. However, this seemed to be an important point in Christ’s final prayer before His arrest that we read about in John 17, “that they be one as we are one.” After the church began, efforts were made by the apostles to convince brethren to think like Christ, and thus, reach a level of unity unobtainable without Christ.

Therefore, most of the epistles were written to churches, bodies of believers, who were “biting and devouring each other” (Galatians 5:15). One group was too selfish to recognize, or appreciate, the uniqueness of each believer. Instead he mentions in Galatians 2:4-5 that “some so called believers there—false ones, really—who were secretly brought in…[to] take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow the old ways.” But we know that wasn’t Godly, yet we too often struggle with falling into their same footsteps.

In Ephesians 4 Paul “begs them to live a life worthy of the Gospel,” then he describes what that entails. Ephesians 4:2-6, “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.”

In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Paul describes his freedom that he has in Christ; a concept that scares many believers. To realize that the “good news” is good because of the level of freedom Christ has made possible. It’s in this passage where Paul says he “became all things to all people so that I may bring many to Christ.” Regardless of which group he was around he understood how he could demonstrate unity among deeply diverse cultures and still live within the realms of the gospel. What if our motto was truly: I will do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings?

What if?

Friday, October 6, 2017

Living a Better Life

Who do you turn to for help? In the TV game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, a contestant had a choice to phone a friend if they got in a pinch. Statistically, that’s accurate for a lot of folks when they need answers – get on the phone. In fact, 92% of American adults own a cell phone now, and 65% of those own smartphones. It’s no surprise that the internet is a common place to go for answers; from Google to YouTube, there is something out there that can probably get you some answers.

However, the drawback of having instant “answers” at our fingertips is that we tend to rely on those answers exclusively, at least that’s what one survey revealed about searching habits.

Let's explore the beauty of the better way in Christ. What makes it better? Well, promised eternal life is one great perk, but perhaps it’s in exercising the wisdom to make better choices down here. God designed the church to be a warehouse full of spiritually minded people that can point you in the right direction, correct you when you wander off, and support you as you plug along. Even on a personal level we realize that God’s word is packed with wisdom and guidance.

Psalms 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” (114- 117), “You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope. Get out of my life, you evil-minded people, for I intend to obey the commands of my God. Lord, sustain me as you promised, that I may live! Do not let my hope be crushed. Sustain me, and I will be rescued; then I will meditate continually on your decrees.”

God’s word points us towards a better way; better choices that don’t lead to regret, but rather peace and satisfaction. God’s words are filled with such rich wisdom, and the more we’re in them, the more we’ll feel confident about using them in our daily decisions. Regular study and meditation will also help you in these areas:

1. Setting Goals for Your Life. You’ll understand how to set them based on God’s desire for your life, not what’s easiest for you. Philippians 3:12-14, “I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

2. Know Who to Ask for Advice When Needed. Too many people fail to utilize this precious gift of other people in their life. Proverbs 15:22, “Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.”

3. Trusting Yourself. I know that doesn’t necessarily sound very spiritual, but God gave us some important tools that help us determine right from wrong. Romans 1:19 describes how God made awareness of His existence part of our DNA. Also, in Hebrews 5:14 it says, “Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”
 
But the important thing about living a better life… is practice, practice, practice. The only way you're going to get better, is by practicing making better decisions every single day. So slow down (if possible), surround yourself with wise counselors, Be constant in prayer, turn to God’s word, and have faith.