September 24, 2017

"Then He said to them all: "If anyone would come after me......." Luke 9:23a

I am so encouraged to read the call of Jesus to those who would desire to be disciples!

Notice whom He addesses:

"He said to them ALL".

"If anyone will......"

Anyone can be a follower of Jesus Christ. You don't have to be wealthy or well educated or well adjusted. You just have to be willing! Consider this story from Brooklyn Tabernacle, a great church in metropolitan New York City:

Jim Cymbala preaches at a church in the slums of New York. He tells the following story: It was Easter Sunday and I was so tired at the end of the day that I just went to the edge of the platform, pulled down my tie and sat down and draped my feet over the edge. It was a wonderful service with many people coming forward. The counselors were talking with these people. As I was sitting there I looked up the middle aisle, and there in about the third row was a man who looked about fifty, disheveled, filthy. He looked up at me rather sheepishly, as if saying, “Could I talk to you?” We have homeless people coming in all the time, asking for money or whatever. So as I sat there, I said to myself, though I am ashamed of it, “What a way to end a Sunday. I’ve had such a good time, preaching and ministering, and here’s a fellow probably wanting some money for more wine.” He walked up. When he got within about five feet of me, I smelled a horrible smell like I’d never smelled in my life. It was so awful that when he got close, I would inhale by looking away, and then I’d talk to him, and then look away to inhale, because I couldn’t inhale facing him. I asked him, “What’s your name?” “David.” “How long have you been on the street?” “Six years.” “How old are you?” “Thirty-two.” He looked fifty- hair matted; front teeth missing; wino; eyes slightly glazed. “Where did you sleep last night, David?” “Abandoned truck.” I keep in my back pocket a money clip that also holds some credit cards. I fumbled to pick one out thinking; I’ll give him some money. I won’t even get a volunteer. They are all busy talking with others. Usually we don’t give money to people. We take them to get something to eat. I took the money out. David pushed his finger in front of me. He said, “I don’t want your money. I want this Jesus, the One you were talking about, because I’m not going to make it. I’m going to die on the street.” I completely forgot about David, and I started to weep for myself. I was going to give a couple of dollars to someone God had sent to me. See how easy it is? I could make the excuse I was tired. There is no excuse. I was not seeing him the way God sees him. I was not feeling what God feels. But oh, did that change! David just stood there. He didn’t know what was happening. I pleaded with God, “God, forgive me! Forgive me! Please forgive me. I am so sorry to represent You this way. I’m so sorry. Here I am with my message and my points, and You send somebody and I am not ready for it. Oh, God!” Something came over me. Suddenly I started to weep deeper, and David began to weep. He fell against my chest as I was sitting there. He fell against my white shirt and tie, and I put my arms around him, and there we wept on each other. The smell of His person became a beautiful aroma. Here is what I thought the Lord made real to me: If you don’t love this smell, I can’t use you, because this is why I called you where you are. This is what you are about. You are about this smell. Christ changed David’s life. He started memorizing portions of Scripture that were incredible. We got him a place to live. We hired him in the church to do maintenance, and we got his teeth fixed. He was a handsome man when he came out of the hospital. They detoxed him in 6 days. He spent that Thanksgiving at my house. He also spent Christmas at my house. When we were exchanging presents, he pulled out a little thing and he said, “This is for you.” It was a little white hanky. It was the only thing he could afford. A year later David got up and talked about his conversion to Christ. The minute he took the mic and began to speak, I said, “The man is a preacher.” This past Easter we ordained David. He is an associate minister of a church over in New Jersey. And I was so close to saying, “Here, take this; I’m a busy preacher.” We can get so full of ourselves.

The call to discipleship is to "all" or to "anyone who will". 

That means even people like David can follow Jesus! 

Or, people like you and me.

September 23, 2017

"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple" Luke 9:23

Have you noticed how many "ship" words there are in our Christian faith?

For example, "discipleship", "worship", "fellowship", "stewardship" or "lordship".

What is that about?

The suffix "ship" means "a state of being". So, when we use these words we are talking about being a disciple, or being a worshipper, being in fellowship, or being a steward, or being under the lordship of Christ.

Too often we think of being a Christ-follower in terms of what we have to do or not do. But Jesus gives the call to being. "whoever wants to be my disciple". If discipleship was about doing then religion would work. You and I would be able to do certain things and become a disciple. But we know that is not the case. Discipleship comes out of a relationship, not a religion. To be a disciple we must live in an intimate relationship - a state of being - and He will do through us what pleases Him. Our doing grows out of our being.

That is why I am going to devote this month to exploring this concept of "Getting Into 'Ship' Shape". I hope you will find it helpful and encouraging - and maybe a little challenging or conviction!

I will be covering these topics: "Worship Is Stewardship"; "Fellowship Is Stewardship"; and "Discipleship Is Stewardship". Hopefully I can broaden and deepen your concept of what it means TO BE a follower of Christ!

His Defining Moment

"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." Luke 9:23-26

Once you have seen Jesus and understand Who He is, you can never be the same! Peter's confession of Christ shaped his life forever! It was his defining moment.

How did it define his life?

First, it defined His meaning.

Peter was a fisherman become follower. Jesus had promised him He would become a "fisher of men". But had that happened yet? No really. So, what value is there in being a non-fishing fisherman? Not much.

Fully knowing Who Jesus was meant that Peter now would fish differently with different bait, a new hook and a bigger net!

His new bait? JESUS!

His new hook? LOVE!

His new net? THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!

Second, it defined his mission.

When Peter first decided to follow Jesus he left his nets and his boat to learn about this amazing new Rabbi. He became a follower because of what it could do for him and if it did not work he could always go back to fishing. Peter had a fall back position - a "plan B".

His confession of Jesus would change that forever!

Once you truly understand Who Jesus is and confess Him as Savior and Lord, there is no more "plan B". Either you are all in or you are out! Peter understood that. His mission was to be fully committed to making Christ known to others. The news was too good to keep! Evangelizing became His purpose and His top priority.

Committing to Christ marks the end of casual, aimless living!

How did he do? Read the first several chapters of Acts!

Third, it defined his message.

When you know Who Jesus is, how can you stay silent about it? When you have witnessed miracles and seen people delivered and the dead raised, how can you not tell others about that? You can't! You must!

Others needed to hear it and Peter needed to tell.

How did he do? Read the first few chapters of Acts!

Once you understand Who Christ is and once you confess Him it should dramatically and fundamentally change you! 

It should change your meaning - has it? 

It should change your mission - has it? 

And it should change your message - what are you talking about?

September 21, 2017

"Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!" Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,' he is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:" 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" Matthew 15:1-9

I have to confess to a passionate love affair that has been happening in my life for a long time. I am madly in love with the local church. I have devoted my life to it. If I had a second life I would also devote that life. Healthy local churches are the hope of the world. If God is ever going to transform our world, it will happen through local churches. That is why I am still leading the charge in a local congregation after all these years.

However, true love never runs smoothly. The majority of heartbreaks I have experienced in my life have happened in the local church. I have seen it at its worst and grieved.

But, I have also seen it at its best and there is nothing like it! I have seen lives transformed through salvation, through being filled with the Spirit, and through miraculous healings and deliverance. When a church is unified and focused and Spirit-led, the gates of Hell cannot prevail against it.

What makes the difference?

Primarily, it is this issue of hypocrisy. That is why Jesus was so hard on the religious leaders of His day. He had a vision of what the Church would become and their attitudes and actions were destructive to that.

Jesus summarized the problem of hypocrisy this way, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."

That is the climate which breeds hypocrisy. Where rules and rituals are allowed to trump relationships, there is an unhealthy atmosphere of judgmentalism and a noticeable lack of love. The church degenerates into an organization rather than a living, breathing organism. Playing the part without having the heart will kill you and harm the church where you belong. Saying the right sounding things without sincerely believing them confuses people and hinders true fellowship.

If healthy local churches are the hope of the world, as I believe. And if hypocrisy is an illness that infects a church and threatens its health. Then it is no wonder Jesus was so aggressive in attacking it. We should be, too.

Your local church is made up of people like you. If you want to improve the spiritual climate of your church stop giving lip service to your faith and give it life service. Surrender your heart to God and allow His Spirit to fill it. Seek Him passionately and serve Him humbly. When you do, suddenly relationships will be a priority and rules will become servants of love.

Hypocrisy is an issue of the heart. If you want to defeat hypocrisy, let God do spiritual open heart surgery on you.

Seeking Forgiveness

There is a website called A Campaign for Forgiveness Research. The site states that this Campaign is "an ... effort to deepen our understanding of forgiveness and begin the process of building many different roads to reconciliation." In order to foster healthy relationships through reconciliation, the site has a place for the sharing of personal stories, "...of forgiveness received, offered, or simply observed ­ that may provide inspiration for others." One story stuck with me, a story of sin left unresolved and a cry for help. The anonymous woman writes:

"I would like to seek forgiveness for a very bad choice I made. When I was 17 I left home with my boyfriend and moved to another state. We soon found ourselves starving, with no money and our rent due. We had nothing to eat and all our efforts to find jobs had failed. One day I saw an ad in an alternative paper looking for escorts for gentlemen. I naively thought that that really meant escort -- that I would accompany people to dinners and so forth."

She took the job, later realizing that she was indeed a prostitute. She continues:

"I soon became "trapped" in the lifestyle, needing the money and relying on it, and telling myself it wasn't so bad. My boyfriend knew about it and said he didn't mind. I wish he had, so he could have stopped me. ... I began to realize I had to ... go back home. I couldn't live that way anymore, I couldn't be in that situation. It was so unhealthy and miserable. Since that time I've become really hard on myself. My self-esteem was damaged greatly. I feel different than other people, and feel that if they knew me, they would despise me. I feel worthless, depressed and so forth. I want to forgive myself, and I keep telling myself that it was a bad choice I made, and it doesn't make me a bad person. I was only 17, not thinking really clearly, not  experienced in the world.... I've been beating myself up for it for too long. Wish me luck on forgiving myself."

How much "luck" will it take for her to forgive herself?

Is forgiveness only for the lucky?

What would you say to this hurting and confused young lady?

I think pointing her to Psalm 103:1-5 would be a good start:

"Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."

Young Lady, there  is pardon for you! All your sins have been forgiven! You can be healed from the inside out!

Young Lady, your life has been preserved! You have been redeemed - bought back from the bondage of your sinful choices! You have been lifted from the chains of hell and crowned with the love of Christ!

Young Lady, there is provision for you! The satisfaction you have been seeking will be found in Him! You can be renewed in your spirit, restored in hope and re-energized with strength!

Let me ask you, "Have you received His forgiveness? 

Do you enjoy your redemption? 

Do you find your strength in Him?

September 19, 2017

"Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”— and you forgave the guilt of my sin." Psalm 32:5

I don't think I have never met anyone who didn't want forgiveness and I know I have never met one who didn't need it.

I need it. You need! We need it because we sin and sin separates us from God. That is fatal. Forgiveness is the treatment that brings the cure for the disease of sin.

It’s like the story of the boy who was shooting rocks with a slingshot. He could never hit his target. As he was in his Grandma’s backyard one day, he spied her pet duck. On impulse he took aim and let fly. The stone hit, and the duck was dead. “The boy panicked and hid the bird in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister watching. After lunch that day, Grandma told Sally to help with the dishes. Sally responded, “Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn’t you Johnny?” And she whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So, Johnny did the dishes. What choice did he have? For the next several weeks he was at the sink often. Sometimes for his duty, sometimes for his sin. “Remember the duck,” Sally’d whisper when he objected. So weary of the chore, he decided that any punishment would be better than washing more dishes, so he confessed to killing duck. "I know, Johnny," his Grandma said, giving him a hug. "I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you."  (In the Grip of Grace; Max Lucado)

Johnny sinned and he needed forgiveness, just like you and me. We have already established that. But the big question is, "How do I get forgiveness?"

You or I get forgiveness the way Johnny did - stop hiding your sin and confess it to someone Who knows you are guilty and Who loves you and awaits the opportunity to grace you with forgiveness!

In this fifth verse of Psalm 32, David reveals the path to forgiveness and it mirrors the way taken by Johnny in this little story.

First, ADMIT SIN - "Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity"

When you try to hide your sin you will suffer guilt and life in fear of being exposed. You will know no peace while you are hiding your sin and like his sister, the Accuser will hold you in bondage to your sin.

Second, AGREE ABOUT YOUR SIN - “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”

Don't cover your sin, confess it! Like Johnny did in the story when he came clean with his Granny. AND, like the Granny in the story, God is well aware of what you have done. He is just waiting for you to dig up the dead duck and come clean with Him!

I John 1:9 promises - "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

The word for "confess" means "to agree" with God about your sin. When you admit your sin to Him you are agreeing with Him about your guilt. As you agree you are guilty you also are agreeing that you need His forgiveness.

Third, ACCEPT HIS FORGIVENESS - "and you forgave the guilt of my sin"

Forgiveness is a gift. As a gift it must be received. Admitting it and agreeing with God makes you eligible for the gift BUT you must receive it! Until you receive it you will not benefit from it.

As the Granny in the story, God forgave you long before you ever sinned!

"God demonstrated His love for you in that while you were yet a sinner, Christ died for you!" Romans 5:8

But you must believe that God has forgiven you and you must forgive others who may have sinned against you and you must forgive yourself! When you have done those things you are able to accept the wonderful gift of His forgiveness!

Are you in need of forgiveness?

Are you tired of the guilt and the bondage of your sin?

Is there sin you are hiding?

Will you admit that sin and agree with God about your sin and accept His gift?

September 18, 2017

"How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matthew 7:4-5

One of the biggest objections given to justify non-involvement in church is, "There are too many hypocrites in church."

Unfortunately, that may be true.

I read about a preacher who when he invited a man to church was given this excuse, "Preacher, I would come to church but there are too many hypocrites there already."

The preacher was undaunted, replying, "Well, you could come and sit in church with a few hypocrites or you could go to hell with all of them."

However, the same people would sit at FedEx Field watching the Redskins even though there are hypocrites at the game. Or they crown into Lane Stadium or Scott Stadium to cheer for their teams without concern for how many hypocrites might be seated with them.

They don't hesitate to take money when it is given to them despite the fact that there are millions of phony bills in circulation.

This week I will be dealing with this issue of hypocrisy. Sunday I will be preaching about it. It is deadly, It is prevalent, and it hard to overcome.

Jesus hated hypocrisy when He was here. He confronted it wherever he saw and ruthlessly condemned it.

In His Sermon on the Mount, from which these verses are taken, Jesus identified the two most damaging aspects of hypocrisy - condemning sin in others while condoning it in ourselves. Jesus hated those attitudes. They are doubly destructive.

Jesus also gives us some insight into how to deal with hypocrisy in our lives, deal with the sin in our lives. "Take the two-by-four out of your eye before you get concerned over the splinter in your brother's eye."

The hardest hypocrite to live with is yourself. If you really are bothered by hypocrites and if you really want to be something about it, start with yourself. Ask God to reveal it in you and remove it from you. Stop worrying about "those hypocrites" and eliminate "this one". The hypocrisy that bothers me the most is that which dwells in me.

The root word derivative for "hypocrite" comes from the Greek word for an actor. A hypocrite is one who is acting a part that is not really who he is. With a real God Who has real transformng power, why would you settle for "faking it"?