Bad News, Good News

“But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” (Ga 3:22 AV)

For the second half of the verse to become a reality, it must be preceded by the first half.  In others words, unless we are concluded under sin, then faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior is impossible.  From what are we saved?  The uncomfortable truth of our own wickedness must come to the forefront before the mercy of God can be extended.  Where there is no condemnation, there is no need for mercy.  Where there is no hopelessness, there is no need for grace.  This is the primary reason the majority of souls will not come to Christ.  They cannot endure the conviction of the Holy Spirit regarding their sin.  The word of God is a two-edged sword.  Like any blade, it can be used to hurt or the heal.  The centurion’s sword is used for destruction.  The surgeon’s scalpel is used to heal.  The word of God cuts both ways.  The scriptures are meant to bring to like the hideous truth of our evil.  But then, it reveals the way by which we can be healed from our filth and that is in the person of Jesus Christ.

The examples are too numerous to mention.  However, let me take you back to Grade School.  Remember the days when the teacher would editorialize your school work?  The score of a test or worksheet wouldn’t be enough.  She would write something at the top.  It would be an encouragement like, “You’ll eventually get it.” Or, as rebuke like, “It is obvious you didn’t study for this test.”  Whatever the remark, as young students, we generally wanted to do better.  There was a great disappointment if we thought we did much better than the final grade.  There were times we thought we had aced a test, only to find out we earned a mediocre score.  Sometimes, the one who scored your paper would correct your mistakes.  There were times when the entire class did so poorly, the teacher took it personally.  He or she felt a failure toward the class, so a retest was scheduled.  In the interim, the teacher would review the material.  Only those who were confident in their abilities looked forward to grading.  The rest of us normal people dreaded it.  Especially when the class swapped papers.  That was the worst.  Someone other than the teacher or our parents would find out just how unintelligent we were.  Grading is not fun.  But it is necessary.  Only by grading can we find out where we are failing and how to correct it.

I find the contemporary church is not all that different.  We do not what to hear where we are failing.  We do not want to hear truth that will change govern our liberty.  We do not want to hear scripture that goes contrary to how we have chosen to live our lives.  We simply do not want to hear how far from the glory of God we are lest we feel bad about ourselves.  We want affirmation.  We want value and worth.  We want upbeat messages of hope.  What we do not want is the truth that will guide us to the only hope that will work.  We do not want to hear how some of our choices have caused the very situations from which we seek relief.  Paul is stating the blunt truth.  Unless we are concluded under sin, we cannot hope for the mercy found in Jesus Christ.  If we are not under condemnation, then we will have no interest in mercy.  That is where every lost person resides.  As we knock on doors and speak to others, each lost soul is right there.  They are not sufficiently convicted of sin that the grace of God may abound.  Saints don’t want to be the bearer of bad news.  So, the good news has no effect.  Only when the church gets back to balanced preaching and soul-winning will we ever see revival again!

Passion Is Often Misunderstood

“Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but [we do] all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying.” (2Co 12:19 AV)

If we are not familiar with Paul’s earlier words, we might take these words as overbearing.  Without knowing the heart of Paul towards the Corinthian church, we might assume he is telling this church that he is not apologizing for his tone of voice or use of words.  If they think I was hard, tough luck.  That might be the idea which we walk away with.  However, time and again, Paul affirms his love for them and tells them he is fighting for their holiness.  He deeply wants this church to walk after Christlikeness.  Paul’s heart was broken when he got the news from Chloe regarding the problems of this church.  He planted this church with some of his first Gentile converts.  He endured much for its inception.  Paul prayed and labored much for this church to succeed in one of the most wicked of all cities in the Roman empire.  It is easy to misunderstand someone’s passion.  We often see it as something undesirable at best, or nefarious at worst.

Years ago, I was asked to preach an ordination.  This ordination was of a young man whom I devoted my life to.  His ordination meant more to me than most.  I labored much.  I prayed much more.  When the time came, I preached his charge.  I did so with passion and conviction.  To some, it seemed overbearing.  I had many comments following that sermon.  Some really liked it.  Others were put off.  But the thing is, I was preaching to the young man going into ministry.  I was not preaching to the crowd.  He needed to see the seriousness of what he was committing to.  He needed to see the eternal weight of what God had called him to do.  He needed to see the burden placed on him in its full duty so that when the hard times come, which they have, he was more than prepared for it.  When the days of compromise come knocking at his door, I pray the sermon that offended some would be the strength to bar that door tight!  Passion is not something taken lightly.  Passion rises from the depths of the soul.  Passion is the declarative credibility behind the message and, to some, the intensity is too much to bear.

I find a lack of passion in today’s preaching.  Most of it is motivation preaching or a verbal advice column.  There is little passion from the pulpit.  The church may not endure another Paul.  We have gotten so soft that if anyone preaches the hard truth with the unction of the Holy Spirit, we would be blown out of our seats.  We are complacent because we define our lives by comfort and affirmation.  What we do not want is to be challenged and pushed to a higher or deeper walk with God.  If we dare name sin or speak of the wrath of God, we are never asked back.  Too much negativity, they say.  Too much reality, they claim.  Nothing but rainbows and unicorns, please.  No hard truth.  We have become so callous against the consequences of sin that we are no longer affected by the preaching that warns of them.  Paul couldn’t stomach that.  He couldn’t allow a church for which he labored much to go without the hard truths of God’s word.  Even if he was a one and done evangelist, it had to be done.  Lives depended on it.  Souls depended on it.

He Must Reign Because He Does Reign

“For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.” (1Co 15:25 AV)

Do you mean there is a possibility He doesn’t reign?  Paul’s statement here is in objection to something the Corinthian church didn’t understand.  The context is the resurrection.  There were some who mislead this church to believe there would be no final resurrection.  They believed that once the saved were dead, that was it.  They taught there was no resurrection unto eternal life.  The point Paul is making here is if Christ reigns in life, He does not successfully do so unless He can conquer death.  Otherwise, His rule has no eternal or divine profit.  Pragmatically, there is an even more profound application here.  Christ will reign by conquering death for every saved soul.  As He reigns by conquering death, He must also reign in the earthly life of the saint.  Therefore, Jesus must reign in the life of the believer whether he or she believes it to be so or not.

We have this misunderstanding of the Lordship of Christ.  We correctly state that one must accept Jesus as both Savior and LORD.  The misunderstanding is if we refuse the Lordship of Christ; He has no dominion over us.  We are then free to do as we please because Jesus is not our LORD.  This certainly is not the case.  Jesus is LORD, whether we want Him to be or not!  Paul aptly confirms this when he states, “And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Php 2:11 AV) Not ‘will be’.  Not ‘was’.  Jesus is the King of kings.  He is the LORD of Lords.  He always has been.  He always will be.  By accepting Jesus Christ as our LORD, we agree with Him to the current and eternal situation.  We do not place Him on a throne.  He has always been there.  We do not elevate Him to a position of glory and authority.  He has never left.  When we accept Jesus as LORD, we are accepting a fact already in evidence.  By accepting Jesus as LORD, we are submitting to a truth that has always been the case.

Perhaps this is why Corinth has so many issues.  They had, as yet, fully surrendered to the Lordship of Christ.  He was not their authority.  He did not rule their hearts and lives.  When Paul says that Jesus must reign, He is not saying Jesus doesn’t reign.  Rather, he is referring to their lack of surrender to His reign.  He must reign.  He will reign.  Whether we live under or contrary to His reign is the question at hand.  Are we under His authority?  Do we do as we are told?  Do we study His word to learn what must change?  Do we speedily confess our sin and forsake it for His pleasure?  Those first four words are hard to swallow.  Our carnal nature does not want to submit to authority.  We fight against it.  We want to determine for Self what we will be, do, or go.  To live under the Lordship of Christ willingly is a struggle.  When His word continuously reveals where we have fallen short, we reject the rebuke and continue in our sin.  There isn’t a soul alive who doesn’t struggle with this.  The old man is a formidable enemy.  He is stronger than we can naturally handle.  Only by the power of the Holy Spirit can we gain any ground on the evil old man.  The new man grows stronger each day.  But that old man still lingers.  It is the Lordship of Christ, which is our motivation.  He must reign!  He must!  This is a statement of surrender.  He must be allowed to reign in our hearts and wills.  Oh, He will reign.  Whether we surrender or not, He will reign!  If we surrender, He reigns as a guide and master.  If we do not, He reigns as a judge and administrator.  The choice is ours.  He must reign.  How He does so is up to us.

With the Dignity It Deserves

“And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.” (1Co 6:14 AV)

Paul is making an argument against fornication.  The promise of the resurrection is his third argument.  This struck me as worthy of being studied.  I could not make the connection between stewardship of the body and the promise of the resurrection.  What would our eternal state have to do with keeping the body under subjection?  In fact, the way most of us look at it, our bodies are fallen.  They will be replaced by something that is not.  So, if we fall, it would be natural.  What is natural will be replaced by something supernatural.  In a carnal way, the promise of the resurrection might work against sanctification.  Yet, Paul makes a case that the promise of the resurrection should be a motive for bodily sanctification.  How?

Our wise fathers and writers proposed two workable applications.  The first is simple.  If we are promised a glorified body and the LORD is resides in our current one, why abuse the current one if our identity is with the glorified one?  The comparison might be an old car sitting in a barn.  An antique that sits there because there will come a day someone will buy it and restore it.  So, anticipation of that day motivates the owner to keep it in the best possible condition awaiting that day when it will be made perfect again.  This makes sense.  As a motive, it has worth.  However, if this old body will be completely transformed into perfection, what difference does it make to how far from perfection that process starts?  If God is going to glorify the body, it matters not what condition He finds it in.  It will still end in perfection.  The second way to look at it is from dignity and respect.  Let’s use the same illustration.  There is a 1927 Buick gathering dust in a barn.  Why keep it in a barn?  If miracles can happen, why not throw it in the back field somewhere?  It doesn’t matter if it returns to the earth, a miracle will restore it.  Yet, that is not how we treat things.  Knowing it will one day be restored, we treat it not as it is, but what it will become.  That is the idea here.  Jesus suffered immeasurable degradation to His physical body.  Not because of His own sin, but because of ours.  That did not afford Him the liberty to abuse His earthly tabernacle.  He still washed, bathed, ate, drank, and refuse unclean things like vinegar on a sponge.  Treating the body as God will make it and not as it is shows respect and dignity to what God has provided.

So, whether it is fornication, gluttony, laziness, or neglect; sins against the body are sins against the dignity of the body which Christ inhabits and will transform.  Seeing as how God will raise our corruptible bodies incorruptible does not give us the liberty to abuse what will be changed.  Rather, just the opposite.  If we have been given this earthly tabernacle intended to be used and transformed, then it must be treated with the respect by which it is given.  Our bodies, as corrupt as they are, still have worth.  They still have purpose.  There is a reason God gave them.  They are a gift intended to be used for His glory.  If God will raise us up perfect and without blemish, then we must treat that which God finds worthy to be transformed with respect and dignity.  Fornication or any other sin against the body shows disrespect toward that which God finds change-worthy.

Still A Field Worthy of Working

“But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin.” (Ro 10:20-11:1 AV)

I am sure glad the LORD did not give up on the human race when Israel rejected Jesus.  That is certainly a valid thought here.  However, what I want to consider is Paul’s reaction to Israel’s rejection.  Isaiah prophesied the rejection of Jesus by Israel.  He further foretold that God would turn to the Gentiles.  This is a major theme of the book of Romans.  Paul is writing to a multi-cultural church.  There is a conflict between the Jews and Gentiles.  Centuries of bias caused problems in the New Testament church.  Neither knew their place in the church, or the place of the other.  This is evident in Acts chapter six.  This would be natural.  So, Paul sets out to preach unity in a divided church.  They are partly Jewish and partly Gentile.  All are one!  All are sinners.  All are in need of Jesus Christ.  All contribute to the body of Christ; the church.  All failed.  The Gentiles prior to Genesis twelve and the Jews after Genesis twelve.  All are condemned.  But all are forgiven.  The rejection of Jesus by the Jews turned the gospel to the Gentiles.  Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles.  What Paul concluded here is the rejection of Israel did not alleviate him from giving them the gospel.  Just because most rejected Jesus does not mean the gospel message is silenced.  Paul felt a moral obligation to preach the gospel to a people who wanted nothing to do with it.

We like to think that we know what God closes a door and when He opens a door.  The thing is, the door may be closed to our ministry, but that does not mean the door of presenting the gospel is closed for all.  For instance, when we knock on doors, the vast majority are not interested.  In our way of thinking, we are one and done.  If they said ‘no’ the first time we gave them the gospel, then there is no more obligation to offer it again.  That is not what Paul is speaking of when asking that a door of utterance be opened to them or that the Spirit forbid them to go to a people.  These things have to do with Paul’s ministry and not the gospel ministry.  Where one would not belong or succeed, another may bear fruit.  We are too quick to come to an opinion as to the salvation chances of a given person or place.  We are too quick to write off an investment as non-profitable.  We do not work things to the natural end.  We do not exhaust things until there is nothing left.  We are used to quick results.  If they do not pan out, then we move on.

This is the idea Paul is sharing.  Isaiah was bold to predict the gospel going to the Gentiles.  Paul speaks of the Gentiles being included in the promises to Israel.  Paul understands the rejection of Israel means grace comes to the Gentiles.  However, he will not stop witnessing and preaching to his brothers in the flesh.  Israel needs Jesus.  So, too, does your community.  So, too, does our nation.  Just because it appears our nation has rejected God and embraced rebellion does not mean the LORD is giving us permission to remain silent.  Just because our nation is doing everything it can to bring the wrath of God into a fury, does not mean the gospel message should be vacated.  Paul never gave up on the Hebrews.  If there is but one soul who will trust Christ, does that not give cause?  If the glory of God depended on our faithfulness amid fruitlessness, is that not a cause?  There are countless souls without Christ.  Who are we to determine who will or who will not trust Him?

Liberty On The Horizon

“Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” (Ro 8:21 AV)

Amen and amen!  What a wonderful reminder that we will not remain who and what we are for all of eternity.  There is coming a glorious liberty from the corruption to which we are subjected!  This corruption could be any and all imperfections.  This would include our mortal bodies.  Sickness and death will have no more part in our existence.  The corruption can be the world in which we live.  Corrupted from man’s sin, God’s creation is a minor example of what could be if sin had not entered.  If we were to stick to the context, Paul is speaking of the corruption of sin.  More specifically, the sin that reigns in our mortal bodies.  Paul very perfectly described the struggle to which we are all subjected.  Chapter seven is a great exegesis of the old man and new man going at it over the law of God.  This is what spoke to my heart!  There is a promise of liberty from this battle!  Liberty that will come in eternity when the old man is completely destroyed and our glorification is realized!

Everyone should experience what it is like to wear a cast!  At first, it is a mere inconvenience.  You get used to it.  You learn to use your other arm.  You keep it in a sling to protect it from further harm.  However, after a few weeks, the cast becomes a mid-evil torture device.  Your skin cells begin to die off and your skin itches like crazy.  There is nothing more sinister than wearing a cast for six to eight weeks.  Sure, it is way cool when your friends sign the cast.  It is outstanding to carry around with you their well-wishes.  But when week three or four hit, and you are shoving anything and everything down that cast to scratch an itch that will not go away, you are three steps to an insane asylum.  That was the way it was with me.  Rulers, pens, pencils, anything!  Anything I could shove down there to itch my arm was fair game.  I didn’t even care how safe it was.  The itch had to go away.  When that cast finally came off, the feeling was one of pure joy.  I was disgusted at the color of my skin, but after a shower, all the dead cells fell off.  No more itch!  No more torture.  Glorious liberty!

Sin is more than an inconvenience.  It is pure torture!  The new man is tortured by the old man.  The new man wants to do right before God.  He has a new heart that desires to please God.  He knows the joy of faith and obedience.  He desires what God has deemed best.  But there sits the old man.  He is ready to chase after every temptation that comes his way.  The flesh, like that cast, holds strongly to our form.  Our spirit and soul are itching for liberty.  While constrained by the earthly tabernacle, they are anxious to be free of it.  That is why the verse above is so special to me.  The verse above is a promise I hold to.  It is the promise that one day, very soon, I will be set at liberty from the old me one and for all.  A new me, fashioned after the perfection of Jesus Christ, will shed the itchy and dead skin of my earthly tabernacle and be just like Jesus!  No more desire for sin.  No more will that can go contrary to God’s perfect will.  No more self-determination.  No more pride.  No more fleshly pleasure.  And I will be in good company!  This liberty belongs to all the children of God.  Every one of us.  We will enjoy sinless perfection together.  What a day that will be!

The Greatest Warrior

“[He that is] slow to anger [is] better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” (Pr 16:32 AV)

It is interesting that anger and taking a city in battle are compared.  One would think anger to be a common emotion when in the heat of battle.  One might even go so far as to say that waging a war without anger may not be profitable.  The point is, the person who can accomplish feats without anger is mightier than the one who relies upon anger.  Better yet, the person who can conquer himself is mightier that he who, with anger, conquers others.  Yet, I believe the Spirit does not want to limit self-control to one emotion.  Anger isn’t the only impulse we have.  We have many others.  To conquer self is the greatest of all battles.  The world can be avoided.  We can live in a cave!  The Devil can be resisted.  He can only be at one place at a time.  But Self is the enemy we carry everywhere we go.  From the moment we arise to the moment we fall to sleep, Self is there to push his own agenda.  His desires are in direct conflict with the LORD’s, and ofttimes, Self wins.  In fact, far too often.  To conquer Self is the greatest battle one could ever win.

Impulsive people receive much attention.  The above example is a good one.  Darius, who conquered Jerusalem, was advanced into a throne by his superior, Cyrus.  He was honored as a great warrior and received much because of it.  Today, if a quarterback sets a record, he is remembered for a generation.  Perhaps beyond.  They mold statues of him and place him in the Hall of Fame.  Yet, the faithful husband who takes care of a family, trains them in the things of the LORD, and falls to no obvious sin is seen as a boring Joe.  The former leaves a trail of poor choices no one notices because the feat is more important than the failures.  The latter is barely known.  Except for the product of his faithfulness, he leaves behind.  He leaves a family that loves the LORD, serves Him passionately, and changed more than a game or city.  They serve in a local church, surrender to the mission field, teach a Sunday School, become deacons, or serve in some other way.  They change their church, city, country, and the world in ways that are eternal.  Those who can conquer themselves, in the long run, produce lasting results than a mere portrait in a museum no one will visit after the sport has lost its popularity.

Solomon knows of what he speaks here.  Having amassed thousands of wives and conquered all his surrounding enemies, he knows that the greatest foe he ever faced was himself.  It wasn’t that Philistines who gave him the most trouble.  His father, yes.  David was always fighting them.  It wasn’t Egypt.  That was Moses’ foe.  It wasn’t Moab or Edom.  Those were the enemies of the Judges.  Syria, Nineveh, and Babylon were enemies of the future.  Under Solomon’s reign, he conquered all known threats to himself and the nation.  Except one!  Solomon was the greatest threat to the nation and himself.  He never met a pretty lady he didn’t like.  This would include those of pagan nations.  Eventually, these wives would tempt Solomon to worship false gods.  It would be Self that fell.  It would be the spirit Solomon could never constrain.  It may not have been anger that undid him.  The principle above applies to more than anger alone.  Any impulsive tendency applies.  Whether anger, lust, or envy.  It could be hatred, variance, or malice.  It matters not.  The saint who can conquer the greatest enemy of all is the mightier.  This enemy is unseen.  The battles are seldom known.  This warfare is often a private one.  Little outside help is available.  This warfare is the new man against the old man.  Our help is the Holy Spirit.  The man who can conquer himself is mightier than the greatest king to ever rule.  This, coming from the wisest man to ever live.

Who Are We Blessing?

“Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded [us] with such things as were necessary.” (Ac 28:10 AV)

Acts chapters 27 and 28 regard the shipwreck of Paul’s ship on the way to Rome.  This particular verse is the response the people of Melita showed towards Paul and Luke.  The LORD performed several miracles for and through Paul while they wintered at this island nation.  A venomous snake came from a fire and bit Paul.  He suffered no illness.  Paul healed a very important person from a fatal disease.  Because of that healing, all who had ailments came to Paul, and he healed them all.  The people of the island were already gracious.  They provided for Paul and those of the ship.  Those of the ship were convicted criminals on their way to Rome for sentencing or extended trials.  There were lost crew members in attendance as well.  So, when the LORD used Paul and the people blessed him and Luke because of it, all the people of the ship were blessed as well.  Which brings us to our thought for the day.  How much does our ministry positively affect the lost around us?  Are we so secluded that the love of Christ cannot benefit even His enemies?

Growing up in the scouting world, my Dad taught me many valuable principles.  There were several rules we learned that centered on the same principle.  While we camped, my father did an inspection of the sight.  All man-made material was confined to our tents, the dining area, or the garbage.  He worked really hard to keep our site as natural as he could.  If we left anything out of place, he would get on us.  Even an arrant flashlight left out over night was subject to discipline.  As was his practice, the last thing we did after everything was broken down and packed away was a sight inspection.  We had to remove any and all indications someone was there.  There was to be no human evidence to the best of our ability.  The site was to appear as natural as if Adam and Eve were not even there.  This meant we walked slowly at a radius of about fifty yards.  Even if it wasn’t our trash, we picked it up.  If there was a beaten trail, we would scuff it up and scatter pine needles.  He had us disassemble our fire pit, return the rocks from where we found them, and bury the ashes.  Nothing!  Not a thing was left behind.  Our latrine was buried.  Our stake marks repaired.  Not a trace!  The principle was to leave a place better than you found it.  We were to be a blessing to nature for the use of it.

The lost world hates the saints because it hates God.  We do not need to hate in return.  As we age, we begin to meditate on the fruits of our lives.  What kind of impact did we have and will we be missed?  Did I help anyone?  Was the world changed because I was born?  Or will it go on as it always was?  It is easy to share God’s blessings with those who love and appreciate us.  It is easy to share God’s blessings with God’s people.  And so we should.  However, Paul and Luke worked for the blessing of the Lost people of Melita.  As a result, all were blessed.  Even those who hated them.  That is the right attitude to have.  Our churches should be a blessing to the community in which they are planted.  As God blesses the church, it should spill over into our neighborhoods.  This is the idea of our church.  As time progresses, I think we will see a return to the neighborhood church.  As we become less mobile, the close-knit church will become more relevant.  The challenge to us is whether we will labor for the benefit of all, or will we labor only for the benefit of God’s people?

 

An Untapped Resource

“And when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul. Then Paul called one of the centurions unto [him], and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him.” (Ac 23:16-17 AV)

The Bible records several very brave young people who did some very brave things.  Remember Naaman the leper?  It was a young servant girl who told him of the prophet Elijah.  What of Samuel?  The young man who had the courage to tell the elder Eli that his days were numbered.  Or what of the two young men left in Jerusalem during Absalom’s rebellion?  They ran ahead and warned David of the plans of his enemy.  There was Isaac, who lay bound on an altar of wood without so much as a peep.  Of course, we have Jesus, who at twelve years old, debated the doctors of the law for days while his parents never knew where he was.  Now, we have Paul’s nephew, who came to warn Lysias of the plans of the Jewish executioners.  Doing so would be a scarlet letter on his head for the remainder of his life.  This young man showed more courage than the cowards who wanted to kill Paul.  He showed more courage than Lysias.  This young man’s faith saved his uncle’s life.

We have an untapped resource in our churches.  Youth!  They are simple and no little of risk.  They are willing to do things that aged saints have long since abandoned.  They will go street preaching.  They will hand out tracts.  They will invite their neighborhood friends.  We often overlook the ones who could probably grow our churches better than we can.  They are the life of the church.  They are the courage of the church.  They are willing to stick their necks out if you give them the opportunity.  When we are young, we are naïve.  We simply do not understand the consequences of risk.  Nothing is measured against the potential for danger.  Sometimes, that is not a good thing.  Other times, it is what is needed.  Two of my sons went to an inner-city high school for the last few years of their high school career.  My youngest played baseball.  He was the starting pitcher.  This gave him a great deal of ‘cred’.  Even though he did not fit in like most of the students, he was not a victim, either.  As I worked with him and the other students, they accepted him and even watched out for him.  Going to that school was a significant risk.  But God protected him and even used him!

One of the most harmful things to church growth is to stymie the enthusiasm and energy of youth.  They can be the catalyst for tremendous church growth.  My wife, when see was a youngster, was a bus kid.  It was her enthusiasm that eventually brought her parents to church.  It was a little girl who loved the LORD that resulted in her mother’s salvation.  This is what our churches are missing.  Give them a task that takes a bit of courage, and they will do it.  Place a challenge in front of them, and they will rise to it.  Paul’s nephew risked far more than he realized.  But it was the right thing to do.  We have a generation that will reach their world if we give them opportunity.  They will turn their world upside down if we turn them loose.  Rather than keep them as delicate flowers who can’t do much for God, maybe we should see them for what they are.  They are often an unencumbered tool in the hand of God.

What Are We Leaving

“A good [man] leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner [is] laid up for the just.” (Pr 13:22 AV)

To the Jew, and inheritance was far more than material goods.  It was the definition of his existence.  The inheritance was something left for his children upon which they could build their future.  When Joshua led Israel to invade and conquer Canaan, the land was divided up by tribe and family.  This land was their divinely assigned inheritance.  It was required for the land to stay within the family.  The laws were very stringent.  A parcel of land could not be sold or taken by another of an original family.  Even if debt was the issue, at the year of Jubilee, all land was returned to the family to whom it was given at the time of Canaan’s demise.  So, when the Bible tells us that a good man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, he is not speaking of wise investments left to his family.  Solomon is speaking of maintaining and governing what God has given well, so that when it is passed from one generation to the next, it can be a source of livelihood.  If material wealth was the intent here, many of us would fail.  In fact, the way that society is structured today, the government will get everything you own and inheritance is something rarely spoken of.  The question we can ask is, how well are we maintaining our spiritual heritage and what will be the product of our lives that our grandchildren can appreciate?

This past spring, I went down to see my son and his wife for a few days.  They live in central Illinois.  The live dead center in the fly over corridor for migrating Canadian Geese.  Duck hunting is a big thing there.  On one of our jaunts, Lisa and I went from one antique place to another.  There were three along the road on the way to my son’s house.  We spent the greater part of a couple of hours looking at old things.  There was one particular place that had an entire floor of antique rocking chairs and cedar chests.  Some of them were well past one hundred years old.  As I looked around, I quickly learned I was approaching elderly status.  Some things I saw as antique, I grew up with.  Walking about, I came across a large section of duck decoys.  They can get really expensive.  There is a collector’s market for those things.  I found one that was in my price range – cheap!  It was a carved work that was brightly painted.  It looked almost new.  A memory of my mother’s father came back to me.  He was a hunter.  Mainly pheasant.  But he did hunt duck as well.  He had several duck decoys on his bookshelf behind his recliner.  So, I bought this decoy for my office.  When I look at it, I am reminded of my grandfather.  He was one to admire!  His disposition was something I aspired to.  A very strong yet gentle man, he was one to follow, but not to fear.  He was patient.  He was understanding.  He was loving and generous.

The inheritance I received from my grandfather was not land.  It was not money.  It was not material wealth.  I own something of his that no one else has.  It was his pride and joy.  But it was the man himself that was my greatest inheritance.  It was his character.  It was his sense of joy.  It was his humility.  In fact, both of my grandfathers were remarkable men.  I will never forget them.  So, the question comes back.  What will we leave our grandchildren, which they will remember for a lifetime?  Will they remember our love for God?  Will they remember our service to God?  Will they remember how we loved grandma?  Will they remember our joy?  Exactly what is it that we will leave?  What aspect of our salvation will they consider being priceless?  I wonder.

Joy in Failure?

“But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.” (Ac 13:51-52 AV)

Luke is referring to Paul’s preaching at Antioch of Pisidia.  This is a different Antioch from the one in Syria.  The latter is from where Paul and Barnabas were ordained and sent.  The Jews in Antioch of Pisidia were extremely antagonistic against the gospel.  It was from there many rebellious Jews followed Paul from city to city, battling him as he preached the gospel.  While in Antioch of Pisidia, many Gentiles came to Christ.  But as a whole, the city completely rejected the gospel.  This is why they shook the dust off their feet.  What we want to note is the emotional response to the severe rejection which they suffered.  It was not frustration.  It was not anger.  They did not feel abused.  They did not feel regret or resentment.  The Bible tells us they were filled with joy!  How amazing is that?  They were thoroughly rejected and fled the city.  Yet, they were filled with joy!

Years ago, our college and career group was very active in community outreach.  We would hit the neighborhoods.  We would do a lot of follow-up.  Our pastor was a very energetic soul-winner.  He was constantly sharing the gospel with everyone with whom he has contact.  One place we went was a Methodist college in the area.  We would visit those who came off campus to our church.  If they filled out a visitor’s card, they got a visit.  That opened doors for us to evangelize the campus.  They did have a campus church, of sorts, but the student body was not forbidden to attend other churches.  So, that was an invitation to us to invite their student body to church.  The student body was not required to attend chapel services or go to church anywhere.  So, we did not see a problem with inviting their un-churched student body to church.  Then, the dean called us in for a meeting.  I went to that meeting.  The dead informed us we were no longer welcome on campus.  If any invitations to our church were forthcoming, they had to come from a student attending the college.  We felt completely rejected.  What was our reaction?  We chuckled that a Christian college discouraged church attendance.  Of all the placed to be kicked out of, a Christian college would not have been at the top of the list.  We felt privileged to have suffered a small rebuke and rejection for doing the right thing.  Whether we could stay or had to go, we were doing it for the LORD.

Our response to rejection will shed a lot of light on our motive for service.  If we react with discouragement, resentment, or regret, our motive for service was wrong.  If we react with frustration, then our confidence in the call and plan of God is not solid.  If we react with anger, then our motive was self-serving.  There are several other examples of the right kind of reaction.  Peter and his company felt unworthy to suffer shame for the gospel’s sake.  It was the honor of Christ to be rejected and die for mankind.  We see others who did not react so well.  Jonah resented the revival God sent to the Ninevites.  Jeremiah burned out and pouted.  Moses lost it and wanted to see the people destroyed.  It all depends on our motive and source of strength.  Paul and Barnabas had their heart right before they went to Antioch.  Paul and Barnabas had prayed and fasted before they preached the gospel.  Paul and Barnabas knew success in the ministry did not rely on the acceptance of the gospel in one particular city.  The apostles had their heart and head right.  That is why they could be filled with joy, even though there were few decisions and many enemies.

Perfect Soundness

"And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” (Ac 3:16 AV)

I know the apostle is referring to this man’s body.  He was lame on both feet and it was through the name of Christ he was completely healed.  Faith in the person of Jesus gave this man perfect soundness.  Upon entering the temple and what would ensue as the greatest salvation recorded as yet, the people wanted to know how this poor beggar could now walk.  Again, I realize this statement is regarding physical soundness.  But I think it could be safe to say that for spiritual and emotional soundness, the promise is equally valid, if not more so.  In time, our bodies will fail.  It is a consequence of the fall.  Because Adam and the entire human race rejected God, death was his and our wage.  That is what Romans and Genesis reveal.  So, those parts of our being that can experience enteral perfect soundness are the mind and heart.  Or the soul, and our minds.  Our bodies await our final redemption.  The glorification granted in eternity will be that which grants perfect soundness.  For our minds and hearts, we need not wait.  Faith in His name can and does result in perfect soundness.

I take these paid surveys all the time.  They want to know my opinion on a new product concept.  It doesn’t pay very much.  Just pennies.  But it is a good way to save for something special.  Anyway, what I have found is the older I get, the more I am loyal to products that have worked for me.  There are brand name products that I will always use.  There are others that I have tried and will never use, even if they come up with a unique way to meet my needs.  Once a product works, I find I stick with it and wait until they come out with a new feature that better meets a need.  This is not always true.  Sometimes, because of a significant price difference, I might switch to a store brand.  I did that with a soap I was using.  Because of a particular condition I have, I need super moisturizing soap.  I was using a well-known brand, and it was working just fine.  However, in the last few years, the price has tripled.  When soap costs as much as a quarter tank of gas, it is time to switch.  So, I bought the store brand.  A third of the cost of what I was using.  And, it actually works better.  So, unless the brand disappoints, that is what I will always use.  Faith in the name of the manufacturer keeps me as a loyal customer.

Faith in the persons of Jesus Christ and God the Father can never be understated.  God can and does do things above what we can ask or think.  His works are gracious to all the people of the world.  Unfortunately, because of the fall of man, we suffer innumerable troubles.  God will not remove the ability of free will.  We have the freedom to choose.  What that means is our choices come with consequences.  This is why we are in a state of unsoundness.  Faith restores what we have lost.  When we are fearful or anxious, we need to remember the name that has made all things well.  This reminds me of the words of Peter.  “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls [to him] in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” (1Pe 4:19 AV)  We will suffer.  It is part of the will of God.  Through suffering, we often learn life’s most important lessons.  It is the only way we can learn them.  In those times, however, God does not desire a state of complete insanity.  He would never do that to us.  What He wishes is that in spite of our suffering, we would have a perfectly sound mind.  He wants us to have a perfectly sound heart and soul.  This perfect soundness only comes by faith in the name of Jesus Christ.