Teach the people

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” ^ESV Matthew 28:19-20

It was a steamy, sticky, hot evening in the little wooden church in the jungle of northern Peru. Yet people filed in and listened from outside to teaching and preaching from the bible. As I sat in amazement at their attentiveness, I wondered, “Who will teach the children in this jungle village the gospel?” The answer of came quickly; the local Christian believers in their local churches would teach the children about Jesus.

The motionless city stirred to life when the morning call to prayer began echoing from the loud speakers at the local Mosque at 4:30 in the morning. India is a country of about 1.3 billion people. Christians are relatively few by any measure here while Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists thrive to varying degrees across India. Who will teach these masses here about biblical truth? The task will largely be accomplished through the few, dedicated local churches and Christian believers there.

My friend Luis and the people in his church in Santo Domingo ran into the streets as the ground shook beneath them completely unaware at the moment that the same earthquake had just devastated the country of Haiti on the other side of the island they share. As the devastation came into clear focus, the local church in Santo Domingo and other parts of the Dominican Republic began to mobilize to provide food, shelter, medical supplies and teaching about Jesus to this devastated region. They printed water bottles with scripture printed on them. They sent pastors and teachers into the devastated areas and they found ways to deliver their aid and the word through local churches in Haiti.

My friend and those local churches are still at work in Haiti today even as other relief agencies have begun to pull their resources. And when everyone else is gone, the local churches in Haiti will still be there—teaching and making disciples.

Do you see a pattern emerging here? Christ commanded us to go and make disciples (Christian believers) and to teach those disciples all that Christ had commanded. While I am not in the least diminishing the role of missionary endeavors, as a matter of fact they are a crucial part in the overall process, I see that teaching abut Christ is a necessary and often neglected charge for local congregations.

The church is the bride of Christ and until the bridegroom comes again it is her duty to make disciples and teach the world all that Christ has commanded. Is your church honoring its role as a teacher in your community? What might you do to make it more effective in making and teaching disciples?

Doom comes swiftly

“Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.'” ^ESV Deuteronomy 32:35

“'Boom,' it busted off and I saw him clawing for the edge with a startled look on his face, and then he disappeared.” That’s how a fellow climber described the sudden accident that took the life of his climbing partner, Joe Bohling, to KGW news of Portland.

A group had climbed to the top of Mt. St. Helens and paused for a picturesque photo at the rim. Unbeknownst to them their friend was perched on a precarious snow cornice that would give way suddenly and take his life in an instant. A navy helicopter would recover his body the next day. In an instant triumph turned to tragedy; “doom comes swiftly.”

Jonathan Edwards, an 18^th century preacher considered by many to be the greatest theologian the United States has ever produced, is perhaps best known by his harshest sermon; “Sinners in the Hands of an angry God.” Speaking of sinful men, Edwards used the text above in the sermon to point out that there will come a time, often suddenly and without warning, “when their foot shall slip” and they will meet their doom and the wrath of an angry God.

Now, I realize that the notion of hell is not one that will endear me to our modern culture. But the bible seems to me to be quite clear on the matter. Hell is much more than some theoretical place where souls simply cease to exist. Hell is a place of never ending torment and yet we carry on in our daily lives as if hell did not exist at all. We carry on as if we should have all the time in the world to be reconciled to God; tomorrow perhaps. Yet each day we stand on a slippery slope. Each day we are perched on a precarious snow cornice that may give way, much to our surprise, at any moment.

Edwards also points out, oddly enough, that it is the very hand of God that sustains us each and every day. It is the very hand of God that keeps our feet from slipping immediately—today. It is the very hand of God that grants us another day in which to seek reconciliation with him through Christ, his son. If not for the great mercies, patience and love of God, we would never have an opportunity to repent and believe the good news of Christ! Yet Christians and sinners alike live as though there will always be a tomorrow.

A day will come when your foot will slip and death will overtake you. Will you slip into the wrath of God or be welcomed home?

It's Just Money

“A PSALM OF DAVID. The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” ^ESV Psalm 24:1-2

When it comes to money, and the things money will buy, perspective is everything. That’s why it is so vitally important to realize that money as we know it today has no intrinsic value at all; it’s just paper. What’s more, the things we exchange money for seldom bring contentment in and of themselves, but true wealth and contentment can be had without money.

I was reading a post on The Artist Farm website this past week and come across this thought in regards to wealth: “Rather than stressing about how you can get more money for money’s sake, focus instead on how you can provide more value to more people. All sorts of wealth will flow from this mindset.” Now that’s an interesting thought, living and working to serve others, but it’s not a new thought; Martin Luther maintained the same thing back in the 16^th century. But I digress.

The point I wish to make is that regardless of how hotly we pursue money or how successful we are at acquiring and growing it, it’s merely a means of exchange. More importantly, money and the things money can buy (everything) belongs to God. The earth is the Lord’s! Now that’s a revelation of old that we need to embrace anew.

It all belongs to God; everything. Can you say that about all your possessions? If you can’t, it may be time to examine whether your faith rests in the Creator or in the created. This Great Recession we find ourselves in should be an eye opener to the fragile nature of a currency-based faith.

Faith in the Creator allows one to remove the baggage and worries of ownership. As Larry Burkett put it, “When we acknowledge God’s ownership, every spending decision becomes a spiritual decision. No longer do we ask, ‘Lord, what do you want me to do with my money?’ The question is restated, ‘Lord, what do you want me to do with your money?’” Think about it.

The Apostle Paul maintained that he had learned to be content in whatever circumstances he found himself in at the moment. Paul was not a man of meager means, so it is safe to say that t he had learned to be content while ‘stewarding’ money. Yet his statement also indicates that he was content in the absence of money. As testimony to that fact, Acts 16:23-25 records an account of he and Silas praying and singing hymns while bound in leg irons in a foreign jail. Now that takes a contented spirit!

If money woes are troubling your spirit, if contentment escapes you, then let me challenge you to cease being an owner and start being a steward. It all belongs to God. Ask the Creator how you should manage His finances.

The Duty of All

“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,^{” ESV} Acts 17:30

(Adapted for print from a sermon recently delivered by Pastor Jonathan Sims of Shelbyville Mills Baptist Church located in Shelbyville, Tennessee.)

Last week in a small group study we talked about some basic things Christians believe and how those beliefs should drive our actions. Among other things, we talked about Christ sacrificing himself for our sins, his resurrection, and hell. Now, any discussion that includes candid talk about the gift of redemption and the torments of hell has to lead one to recognize the importance of outreach. With that in mind, I wanted to share the following sermon notes with you.

“Why must we urge all men everywhere to repent and believe the gospel? Because that’s what God commands! God the Son did this. John the Baptist did this.” The apostles did the same. The New Testament is built on the prophets and apostles with Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. If we want to biblical and faithful to scripture, we must do the same; urge all to repent and believe.

“Paul exposed the wrong and revealed the right on Mars Hill; that’s good preaching.” Paul urged all men to repent and believe the gospel (Acts 17:30-34) and from these verse, we can clearly see at least five reasons why we must urge all men to repent and believe the gospel:

1. Because all men are ignorant (Acts 17:30). People craft a god of their own imagination when they remain in ignorance. All people are like this. So, “What qualifies a man to hear the gospel? Is he breathing?”

2. Because God himself commands all men everywhere to repent. This is what the Spirit of God does through his preacher; “repent and believe the gospel.” God’s commands are not meant to be considered. God’s commandments are meant to be obeyed. It is the sinner’s responsibility to repent, repent, repent! It is appropriate to command people to repent.

3. Because all men will one day face the judgment of God (Acts 17:31). The standard of God’s judgment will be the righteousness of Christ. Yet we have all fallen short of that perfection. No man can attain the standard on his own. Assurances of these truths are contained in Christ’s resurrection (Acts 17:32). This nation needs faithful preachers to stand up and proclaim these truths.

4. Because, thanks be to God, some will repent and believe (Acts 17:32-34). To see someone cling to Jesus, to come to saving faith, makes the trials of ministry worthwhile.

5. Because this is our calling. God calls us to proclaim the gospel to all people. This is our life, our calling, our sacred duty. This ought to be our passion, to urge all men to repent and believe the gospel.

As I reflect on these notes and brother Jonathan’s sermon, I realize that this isn’t just a task for preachers. Outreach, evangelism, witnessing, making disciples, call it what you will, is a duty of all who believe. Tell someone about Christ today.

Many Afflictions

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” ESV Psalm34:19

Don’t you find it difficult to pray “thy will be done” sometimes? I mean, don’t you sometimes want to pray for your own will to be done? Those were two thought provoking questions that came up in a small group bible study recently. And I think the answer is yes to both. It is difficult, especially when you find yourself overcome by some sort of affliction or hardship, to pray for anything other than relief. Yet while we should always yield to God’s will, it is not wrong to make your desires known to God in prayer.

One of the simplest definitions of prayer that I’ve seen comes from a book titled “Pray With Your Eyes Open” by Richard Platt. Dr. Platt describes prayer simply as a believer’s communication to God. Prayer is the means by which we “talk” to God. Pratt goes on to say that our prayers actually “project our faith” onto God. My observation has been that our faith shines brighter in prayer the deeper our afflictions. In the Puritan prayer “Valley of Vision” one line puts it this way, “The deeper the well, the brighter the stars.”

Christians are able to maintain their faith and project it through prayer during affliction because they know that this life is not the end. We don’t simply cease to exist when this life is over. Christians have what some have described as a “blessed hope;” a hope and faith in being united with Christ at his second coming. Peter describes the present reality of this hope this way: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1Peter 1:3) This reminds us that the Lord will ultimately deliver all his children from every affliction, though they be many, that they’ve faced on this earth.

As our discussion about prayer continued, someone reminded us of a time-tested method or system of prayer that makes it easier to yield our personal desires to God’s will. It’s called the ACTS method.

ACTS simply reminds us of four basic, orderly steps in prayer that glorify God and acknowledge him above and before our desires. The “A” stands for adoration. Hence, we should begin by praising God. The “C” stands for confession. It really is important (and biblical) to confess your sins before God and ask for his forgiveness. The “T” stands for thanksgiving. At this point, after confessing personal sins, how could you not be thankful that you worship a forgiving God? Finally, the “S” stands for supplication; this is the where you communicate your desires to God. If you follow this systematic way of praying you’ll find that your requests to God will be much more humble and your prayers will project your faith onto him.

Gospel Thoughts

"Turn [look] to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”

^ESV Isaiah 45:22

(Adapted for print from notes taken during a message delivered recently by Barry King. Barry is pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Wood Green, London.)

The simplicity of the gospel is remarkable; “Look.” How simple. This word refers to Numbers 21and the story of the wandering nation in the wilderness. There, the people were commanded to “look” unto God. Now, through Isaiah, God commands again “look” to me for salvation. But Isaiah also prophetically points to John’s gospel where again we see the command to look unto God for salvation. This is the simplicity of the duty of all men to believe.

But there are some among us who would complicate the gospel by placing an overemphasis on either introspection or education. The command is to look, not to lament. Have I been under enough conviction? Am I lowly enough? Good questions perhaps, but the command is to look! Do I really know enough? Have I really fully understood the gospel? Is my grasp of theology comprehensive enough? Looking back on my salvation, I’m not sure I understood my sin correctly; perhaps I didn’t understand enough. Again, this confuses the simplicity of the command; look! Sometimes we create tension and imbalance in the hearts of people who hear us by confusing the simplicity of the command to simply look unto God.

The exclusivity of the gospel cannot be denied. “I am God and there is none else.” There is no other name but Christ by which men can be saved. We must confirm the exclusivity of this duty of all men to believe.

The gospel call is universal in that all the ends of the earth are to look unto God for salvation. The command and call is not just for Jews or Gentiles; it is for everyone. The God of the bible is not just the God of western religion. The gospel and command to believe is for the whole world!

With God, all things are possible. Many examples exist in scripture of commands that are impossible for men yet possible by the power of God and the command to look is no different. The man with a withered hand was commanded to stretch forth his hand; something a well man might do but not a man with a withered hand. But when Jesus commanded him, he extended his hand and it was well. What about “Lazarus come forth!” Dead men don’t walk from tombs, but Lazarus did what was impossible at Jesus’ bidding. And likewise even the worst sinner can be compelled to “look” through the power of the gospel call.

“If it is the duty of all to believe, [and it is of course,] it is our duty to preach the gospel to all men.” We must exercise and act on our responsibility to evangelize. Call it what you will; evangelizing, witnessing, etc.; you must share the gospel. We are to share the gospel intentionally. We should be praying for a lost world. “When is the last time you wept over your city?”