Oh, For First Century Christianity!

“And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with [them], and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.” (Mr 16:20 AV)

There are several things to point out here.  First, they went everywhere.  There may have been a barrier that made this difficult.  Language and culture being a few.  But there was no place off the table.  They went everywhere.  They didn’t pray about it.  They didn’t seek God’s will concerning it.  If there were human souls there, the gospel must go there as well.  We spend too much time trying to discern God’s will when it is as obvious as the nose on our faces.  I believe the church has lost its way.  We have ceased to be faithful to a methodical, soul-winning ministry.  We have gotten lazy.  We are trying to attract a client base rather than going forth everywhere!  The book of Acts tells us the 12 started in the epicenter of Jerusalem and went outward from there.  There was no strategy other than to go forth everywhere.  There was no strategic planning on the most productive of fields.  There were no fasting and prayer meeting to determine if the gospel should go to one field as opposed to others.  If a field lacked laborers, the prayer was for laborers, not whether the field should be worked or not.  The disciples of Christ go everywhere.  This means the community in which a church is found must also, by default, be the field the church works.  Everywhere.  Every door.  Every person.  No need to pray about it.  Just go forth!

Second, the LORD worked with them.  What a stress reliever!  Too much pressure is placed upon the soul-winner to make things happen.  Too much expectation lays at the feet of the witness.  He or she expects to say the right thing all the time.  He or she expects to have every answer to every question that may arise.  He or she places results on his or her own shoulders.  The soul-winner relies on their own intelligence, personal skills, and debate strategy to win the Lost to Christ.  We tend to be lone rangers.  We think it all falls in our lap.  We are the ones who have to show results.  The truth of the matter is, Christ works with us.  He is there.  So, too, is the Holy Spirit.  It is the ministry of the Spirit that brings conviction of sin.  It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit that testifies to the truth of the scriptures.  Christ, in us, goes with us and works with us.  If we only realized the power we have available, we wouldn’t rely so much on what we can do.  We would rely on what Christ will do.  The 12 went forth.  Christ working with them.  Even after Christ rose to heaven.  Jesus is there.  He always is.  Where two or three are gathered in His name, He is in the midst.  This is why we go two-by-two.  God is with us!  He is working with us!

Third, note the word is confirmed with signs that followed.  Generally, for the twelve, it meant immediately following the preaching.  It had to be that way.  The New Testament did not exist.  So signs verified the preaching of grace and faith.  However, now that the word of God is complete, there is no longer a need for signs to verify its truth.  This does not mean verification is absent.  In fact, what happens after the event of witnessing is just as important as witnessing itself.  We can take comfort knowing that even when we leave the presence of the Lost, God is still working.  Once the seed is planted and watered, God gives the increase.  Things we will never know about happen along the way.  The word we preach might be affirmed by another faithful witness.  The truth of eternity may come by way of a scare.  Guilt may surround the lost soul as they are convicted of their need for Christ.  Regardless, affirmation of the truth of God’s word will follow what we have done.  There is no need to be discouraged.  Just because there seemed to be no movement toward Christ for the time being does not mean it will stay that way.  God is always at work striving for the souls of lost people.

 

 

A Universal Question

“But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” (Mr 14:61 AV)

Every soul must ask the same question.  There are only two possible answers to this question.  This is either a yes or no question.  The High Priest asked this of Jesus at His rigged trial.  He affirmed that indeed He is so.  Yet that did not change the predisposed conclusion of the rebellious.  If you are going to ask a question, you must also accept the correct answer.  Is Jesus the Christ?  Is he the Son of God?  The answer is yes.  That is not in dispute.  What the soul does with the right answer is the issue at hand.  For the disciple, this means a restored relationship with the Father, a changed life, and a home in heaven.  For the rebellious, rejection and destruction was the response.  The response did not change who Christ is or was.  It did change the inquisitor’s state.  Affirming the truth change one’s life and eternal state.  So, too, does rejection.  The question cannot be avoided.  All people, of all times, and from all places, must ask the same question.  The answer will always be the same.  What the soul does with the truth is at play here.

We could limit the application to those who do not know Christ.  That would certainly be consistent with the passage.  But if we meditate on the question a bit more, this same question could be asked of the saints again and again.  The title ‘Christ’ means the anointed.  It is the Greek equivalent to ‘Messiah’.  When the Jesus is referred to as the ‘Christ’, the word of God is testifying to the office for which Jesus came.  He is the anointed messenger, king, and priest of all mankind.  The question above is more pointed than what one might think.  The question alludes to the right and responsibility of Jesus to reign as LORD and King.  This is not a question of the mere identity of Jesus, but goes to His purpose and calling.  When the child of God asks the question, he is affirming the right of Jesus to be King and LORD in his or her life.  We may accept such a ruler when things are going badly.  But if we are challenged by obedience and faith, the question becomes both necessary and difficult.  The second identifier speaks to the power of Jesus to fulfill His purpose and calling.  If Jesus is the Son of God, then He is also God.  If He is God, then He possesses all power to reign.  This question is a follow up to the previous one.  If Jesus is the Christ, and He possesses all power to rule and reign, our only choice is to come under the Lordship of the Son of God.  Theologically, we agree.  Pragmatically, not so much.

Every time we disobey or live in fear or anxiety, we may think Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, but our hearts are telling us something different.  This question is not a onetime deal.  It has to be asked almost daily.  Every time there is potential for fear, a temptation to the flesh, or an overwhelming situation, the same question must be asked.  Is Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?  Every time the future looks bleak, the present seems impossible, or the past too traumatic to forget, the same question must be asked.  Is Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?  Every time to world seems overbearing, the Devil harasses beyond our ability to resist, or the flesh is simply too big to fight, the question must be asked afresh.  Is Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?  When we must say goodbye to those dearest to us, when our calling seems herculean, or friends tend to be fickle, the question must be asked again and again.  Is Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?  This question isn’t reserved solely for the lost.  It is a question for every soul.  This question is not reserved for times when the soul is in jeopardy of eternal judgment.  It is a question that must be asked of those who know Christ more than we would admit.  So, the question is posed to you!  Is Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

Anger Deferred, Not Anger Forgotten

“The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and [it is] his glory to pass over a transgression.” (Pr 19:11 AV)

I’m particularly interested in two words; ‘…discretion…’ and ‘…deferreth…’.  Both words we know.  The definition is no different from the English.  Discretion is prudence.  It is practical wisdom.  It is knowing the appropriateness of a thing.  To defer is to put off or not do at all.  It means to place at a later time.  A few points here before we delve into these two words.  Because of the use of these two words, we can assume to one who is angry did suffer something worth being angry about.  Second, because anger is deferred, maybe anger has a proper place here and may indeed be warranted at some point in time.  Third, since anger is warranted, and it is better put off to another time, there is one more consideration.  The degree of anger may not be equal to the infraction and passing over a transgression may be wiser than the exercise of anger.  This is the wisdom of this verse.

Let us think about discretion.  Discretion considers profitability over justice.  Sometimes, what is right on one hand may not be prudent on the other.  Or, putting it another way, what may seem right may indeed be so.  But maybe there is something righter.  It might be right to correct a child in anger.  Immediately and decisively.  But it might be righter to understand why they behaved the way they did and handle it another way.  For instance, a child, after a long day with grandma and without a nap, acts out on the way home.  It is not ok.  It is wrong.  But the underlying cause was fatigue brought on by adults and the excitement of the moment.  Discretion and deferring here are deliberate actions by the one who is angry about slowing the ball down.  He or she allows reason to trump emotion.  Even though the emotion is real and justified, acting on it may not be.  What is the wisest thing to do here?  Sometime, immediacy is the most prudent of all choices.  Sometimes, there has to be a dramatic reaction to a wrong.  Like getting cut off in traffic.  Anger ensures and causes us to make a correction lest we suffer an accident.  Burning oneself on the stove causes us to hasten to the cold water faucet and run water to cool the burn.  There are times when exercising anger protects from more damage.  There are other times when exercising anger causes more damage.

Emotion is a powerful thing.  Emotions are given by God for a purpose.  Generally, they are given to illicit correct and timely response to a situation where reason does not have time.  Emotions can be corrupted.  Ambition can turn to envy.  Anger can turn to bitterness. Love can turn to lust.  There are right and wrong emotions.  Just like there are godly thoughts and perverse ones.  The wise person may have been offended and correctly feels the emotion of anger.  But unless he is in immediate danger, he is better off thinking about it.  What concludes the proverb gives us the wisdom of this principle.  If anger is immediately acted upon, then there is no opportunity to pass over a matter.  The matter has been handled.  However, if anger is deferred, then the victim can reason what response would be appropriate, if at all.  Maybe the infraction would be better forgiven than righted.  Maybe justice would be served, but the greater good would not.  Regardless, the wise individual will not act out of anger as a patter of life.  He or she will cool the situation down, get control of his or her heart, and think it all the way through.  The heart can be a very dangerous thing.  We do much damage because the heart is not disciplined.  The wise saint will take one on the chin and think about it.  He will react in a measured and appropriate manner.  He will not go off the handle at every wrong.  Rather, most of the time he will use the injustice productively.  He just might pass over the transgression because it is in the best interest of the offender.

 

Talk It Up

“Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Pr 18:21 AV)

The understanding of this verse is very simple.  The application is profound.  Language can accomplish many things.  Language can cause great harm.  Or language can heal in many ways.  It all depends on how we use it.  Those that love to communicate by words will see results.  Good or bad, using the tongue produces fruit.  This fruit comes back on the one who understands the value of the tongue.  It can return in many ways.  But return it will.  Rather than consider the consequences of words, let us meditate on the value of words.  Note that those who use language love it.  They love the use of the tongue.  Be it good, bad, or indifferent, those who realize the fruit of their lips understand words have an effect.  They value communication.  All of God’s creatures communicate in one form or another.  Communication is the means of social organization.  For mankind, communication is the means of mutual support, cooperative goals, and the means by which we can gain more knowledge of an individual above what can be easily observed.  Without communication, society could not function.

When I watch a movie or show that is more drama than it is comedic, I am always moved by the importance of words.  Dialogue takes up the vast majority of screen time.  An action flic has exploding buildings and car chases.  It has fights.  An action movie or show has strategy.  A mystery has clues.  Discover does not necessitate dialogue.  But when I watch a drama, dialogue is the main story builder.  In particular, it strikes me as interesting how much dialogue is needed to accomplish the task at hand.  It could be a simple obstacle to a better relationship.  It brings to mind holiday hallmark movies.  My wife loves them.  The patter is always the same.  A young lady is seeing or engaged to a shmuck.  She goes away for some odd reason and meets the love of her life.  Much of the dialogue establishes the progression of the romance.  Then, about fifteen minutes before the end of the movie, there is a falling out.  Some misunderstanding comes into play.  Usually around an overheard and incomplete conversation to which the young lady was privy to.  It gets all ironed out and in the end; they kiss for the first time.  They are officially in love and the shmuck is out of luck.  Whether it is a romance, a family or life issue, or a legal challenge, the amount of communication needed to realize one’s end is immense.

Which brings me to my point.  If we are to affect our world and help in the life of others, communication is absolutely necessary.  If our lives are to make a difference, we must love the tongue.  Talking with others must be a passion.  A recluse changes nothing but his own bedclothes.  He or she accomplishes very little because their world has a single occupant.  Communication is difficult for some.  It has to be learned.  Add the complications that can come from culture, generational differences, or personality; and communication becomes all the more challenging.  But talk we must.  Not at each other.  Rather, with each other.  We have a Revival going on.  Following each evening service, we have a time for fellowship.  I must admit, I am a bit of a recluse.  Visiting for a very long time is not easy.  However, it is necessary!  As we sit around and speak of life, interests, and especially the LORD, words may seem innocuous.  But they are accomplishing much.  Encouragement, challenge, and affirmation are all a product of words.  So, next time you are tempted to be the flower on the wall, remember with the use of wise words and the love for them, you can be an instrument that will forever change the lives of others.

 

Consider Not - Fear Much

“For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not [the miracle] of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.” (Mr 6:50-52 AV)

It struck me this morning how much fear is mentioned in chapters 4-6 of the book of Mark.  When the Spirit shows you a pattern, it is probably a good thing to take notice.  What struck me even more is the correlation between fear and the hardness of the heart, as mentioned above.  The twelve in the ship did not meditate on the miracle of the wilderness banquet.  When Jesus appeared in the middle of a storm, they were afraid.  They continued their bewilderment when the LORD calmed the seas.  All because their heart was hardened.  When we speak of a hard heart, it is often with an understanding of belligerent rebellion.  We think a hard heart is one that absolutely refused to submit.  This is certainly true.  But a hard heart can also be a heart that does not muse on what God did, does, or is doing.  A hardened heart could be a heart so overwhelmed by current events, it refuses to trust in what it has already experienced.  This was certainly the case of the twelve in the midst of a storm.  Lack of consideration is the definition of a hardened heart.  At least it is so in the above use of the term.  One does not need to reject.  All one needs to do is fail to consider.

We are apt to learn from our experiences.  However, based on our personalities, we may learn different truths.  For example, one can go down the road and get stuck in serious weather.  Along comes emergency providers and rescues you.  You are safe and on your way.  We may look at that and decide we will never travel in questionable weather again.  Or we may ignore the obvious danger signs, throw caution to the wind, and never consider the risk.  The third person can look at the event, know it was unforeseeable, and decide the next time to take every precaution but travel, anyway.  That third person has learned the principle of faith.  The first never sees deliverance.  All they see is the trauma caused be the event.  They never see that things turned out just fine, regardless of how much stress was caused.  They failed to see a sovereign God who does miracles regularly and no matter the situation, as long as he or she is in the will of God, all things will turn out well.  The second does not even consider God’s hand in the deliverance.  They never saw the need to be delivered.  They simply saw adversity and deliverance and one event.  God in not in their thoughts.  The third is the one who sees things correctly.  He or she learns that God can deliver.  If He can deliver in small things, He can deliver in big things.  If He has delivered in the past, He will do so in the present.  Fear comes because we do not consider what God has already done.  By extrapolating the faithfulness of God from the past to the present, we conquer fear.

The above struggle is real for all of us.  No one has so much faith that anxiety and fear is completely absent.  If they believe so, then they are in that first group.  Depending on the severity of the situation, the second person is first example is usually where most of us reside.  The stress and anxiety of the moment are stronger emotions than the memories of the past.  We cannot see deliverance because we are looking at the immediate.  We fail to see the LORD walking on the water because we have soon forgotten how he fed the multitude just a few hours ago.  We see the present as insurmountable because the heart is hardened against past deliverance.  We fail to consider God’s love and care in our recent past and can only see what we are facing today.  If we fear, it is our fault.  If we are filled with anxiety, the blame is placed at our feet.  Jesus was right to rebuke His disciples.  He would be right to rebuke us as well.

 

 

Productive and not Popular

“And when they had found him, they said unto him, All [men] seek for thee.” (Mr 1:37 AV)

Just because ministry is popular does mean is it productive.  In the first chapter of Mark, three times, the LORD avoids increased ministry.  In the case above, Jesus removes to the open sea.  In the second case, he removes to a mountain top.  In the third case, he tells a man made whole from disease not to tell anyone and because he ignored the LORD’s request, had to go out to the desert.  In today’s pragmatic churches, the more people who come, the more successful you are.  This is not necessarily true.  Had Jesus stayed where He was and catered to the needs of those who thronged Him, He could have conquered a nation.  If all Jesus wanted was to win a popularity contest, He could have waved his hand and solved everyone’s problems.  He could have fed them with manna from heaven.  He could have conquered Rome.  He could have healed everyone’s diseases, rose all the dead from the grave, repaired every broken home, and made sure no one went hungry.  If Jesus wanted to, He could have created a perfect world wherein peace and contentment reigns.  Oh, wait, He will do that for 1,000 years.  The vast majority of the world will reject Him, anyway.

Just because there appears to be ministry, the ministry that appears may not be the ministry that God desires.  Just because people are beating a path to your door does not mean your product is automatically good for them.  Popularity rarely means profitability.  What man wants may not be all that good for them.  When it comes to ministry, changed lives and hearts is what God seeks.  Hunger pains may cease.  The lame may walk and the blind may see.  Wars may cease.  But if man remains the same creature as he always has been, then nothing eternal has transpired.  This is the point of Christ’s pattern of rejecting ministry.  To what end?  Most ministry is geared to gathering the largest crowd possible.  Most ministry is in competition with others to be as outwardly successful as the last.  Changed lives may or may not be a byproduct, but it is not the goal.  Bigger buildings.  More people.  A larger staff.  A famous name.  These are the aspirations of most ministries today.  How do we know?

It is interesting that Mark shows us a side of Christ that is much needed today.  When studying the life of Christ, He stressed smaller ministry over bigger ministry.  He may have preached the sermon on the mount, fed the multitudes, and ministered to whole towns.  But the vast majority of his time was spent with individuals.  From the healing of the Centurions servant to raising a young lady from the dead, Jesus tended to spend His time with individuals.  This is the manner in which ministry is designed.  Ministry was not intended to be a group event.  Ministry is personal.  Ministry is specialized.  Jesus declined to reach the masses, at least in the first chapter of Mark, because to do so would limit His ministry to temporal, and not eternal, needs.  In today’s climate of ministry, we are failing.  Generally, if reaching the masses is our model, the ministry flames out.  It may be popular for the moment, but something else will take its place.  Rather, we need to learn how Jesus did ministry.  He reached Samaria by reaching an adulterous yet humble woman.  He reached the world was spending much time with twelve.  Perhaps if we turn down the popular and stress the individual, that in the long run, we will accomplish more for Christ.

Personal Responsibility for a Peaceful Heart

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” (Mt 24:6 AV)

This has been a common theme as of late.  The world is spiraling ever downward.  And faster than it ever has before.  It is headed for some very hard times.  The headlines of yesterday’s news threaten another world war.  Israel is on the brink of an all out war with her enemies.  The financial markets are not all that much better.  Almost every week, there is some kind of health scare.  There are entire states that are going through a quasi-lockdown over a rare mosquito born ailment that has a fatality rate so low, it is incomprehensible.  Add to all this out-of-control crime, child mistreatment, and families who cannot afford to feed their children, and one can begin to think there is no hope.  But we know better.  We know the end of this chapter.  God will not remain silent much longer.  He will only let so much go on before He acts dramatically and quickly.  What we want to hone in on are the underlined words above.  More specifically, the responsibility of personal peace.  Jesus tells His followers it is their responsibility to see to it they are not troubled.  This would make complete sense.

I have been on a boat a time or two where disembarking was a challenge.  The waves tossed the boat up and down.  There were times when the dock was closer.  Other times, not so much.  There I was.  We were done fishing for the day.  A storm or strong wind had come up, and we needed to trailer the boat.  My job was to be the first one off and tie the boat off while my pilot disembarked, got the truck, and backed the trailer to the boat.  I was always the first one off.  Most of the time, it was not a problem.  There were times that it was.  The waves of winds threw the small craft around.  Many times, the boat’s movements were not particularly predictable.  Sometimes the distance was more than I could reach or jump.  Timing was everything.  The thing was, as long as I stayed on that boat, the more I was thrown around by the wind or weather.  The only stable structure was the dock.  The dock was set in concrete.  It didn’t matter how bad the weather or waves were; it wasn’t moving.  The dock could sit there all day and night, offering me a stable platform, but until I took the risk, my heart was troubled.  The dock could not force me to trust it.  It could not reach out and grab me.  The dock was there, always would be there, and had never let me down before.  All I had to do was to do my part in taking responsibility for my own welfare.  I needed to trust the dock.

This is how God and His truth work.  He cannot force us to trust Him.  If we are troubled, we are so because we lack trust.  We simply cannot take the risk of trusting God and His truth.  If He made promises, He intends to keep them.  As faithful as God is, He cannot force us to trust.  This is something we must choose to do.  Thus, we arrive at the responsibility of a peaceful heart.  If we are troubled, we have not accepted the responsibility that is our to trust in the person of God and His unfailing word.  This is why Jesus tells His disciples to see to it that their heart is not troubled.  We are too used to being coddled to the point we do not trust.  That does us no good.  How can we build our faith without bringing that faith to the stress point?  Just like jumping from a bobbing boat, there has to come a time when I trust the distance, the dock, and what I had learned before.  If I sit on that boat, I will be tossed to and fro until I am willing to take responsibility for trusting what does not change.  God puts trouble in our court.  Do we want to live without anxiety?  Then take responsibility.  Do we want to live without fear?  Then take responsibility.  Do we want to live in peace?  Then take responsibility!  See to it that your heart is not troubled!  God has promised.  Now, trust!