Saturday, February 23, 2019

Losing Everything to Gain Everything

As long as I can remember, the most important thing in the lives of some people I have known, in the secular world, was to get as much and as fast as they could. It is all about the material possessions and the fattest paycheck. Because if you have a fat paycheck, you can continue to add to the material possessions. Never would any of them consider losing everything to gain everything; that just doesn't make any sense in the world of selfishness and greed.

I am not opposed to having the things we need to get by or those things which can make our lives a little easier. It's always nice to have a vehicle which will get us to where we need to go without the worry or concern of a breakdown. I've been there, years ago, and I know what that is like. I know what it is like to be concerned about heat in the home or enough food until the next paycheck. So, I'm not saying we shouldn't have what provides for our needs and a little comfort. What I'm referring to are the items which will distract us from Jesus.

I am reminded of the passage in Mark of the Rich Young Ruler and how he could not part with his riches to follow Jesus.

 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good.  But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’”
“Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. MK 10:17-22
The young man couldn't separate himself from his riches in order to follow Jesus. This passage does not tell us it is impossible for the wealthy to be saved or to follow Christ. It is simply an example of how worldly possessions can keep us from following Jesus. A few verses later, Jesus explains to his disciples how difficult it is for a rich person to be saved and informs them that salvation by man's ways are impossible but with God everything is possible. Maybe a better way of understanding what is said here is that if the rich man can't be saved, nobody can be saved. Riches cannot buy salvation and men cannot save themselves by riches or any other way.

So, it is not the possession of things or stuff which will keep us from following Jesus but it is when we place them ahead of Jesus. It is at this point they become idols since anything which takes the place of God is an idol. Therefore, if we are more interested in our stuff than we are interested in God, the stuff has become an idol. The rich young ruler had a lot of stuff and he just couldn't part with it to follow Jesus.

Wealth and riches are not the only things which can stand in our way in regard to worshipping the Lord. It can be a career or job, another person, a hobby or activity or our stuff. We are easily sidetracked by the things of this world and those things can sidetrack our devotion to the Lord. I understand that people have to work on Sunday mornings to keep their jobs. I was there at one time and I hated it but in order to keep my job, I went to work. But what about those times when overtime is an option on Sunday? What comes first, the extra money or God? You don't really need the extra money but if you had it, it would allow you to buy some more stuff.

These are decisions we need to make and the sin nature we were born with will temp us into making the wrong decision if we allow it to. Trust in the Lord and, not worldly riches, will provide so much more. When we put God first in our lives, first in everything, He honors that in our lives. He provides for us and takes care of us.  The following passage follows the account of the rich young ruler,

Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said. “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News,  will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.  But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”  MK 10:28-31
I have talked with a man who had given up a mid six figure salary to serve Jesus as a minister to those living in poverty. He provided them with bags of food and the gospel and he has never regretted leaving his previous lifestyle. Jesus will always be there to provide for us; He does not call us to be saved or to go into a ministry and leave us hanging. For some, it might be more difficult to let go of the stuff and others not so hard. And yet, for others, God may take it all away just to get the individual's attention.

Years ago, I had a dear friend, John, who, initially, I had known in passing. I first met him at a denominational church I was attending. He worked across the street from me at a National Guard unit. I worked for a defense contractor at the time and would occasionally be at that Guard unit and see him. At work, he was a very loud and boisterous type individual and, if I had not seen him in church, would not have been able to tell he was a Christian.

Eventually, I moved my family on to another church, which led to my first position in ministry, and I lost track of John. The next time I saw him, he was working for the same defense contractor I was. I had lunch with him one day and he began to tell me his story. I knew right away, before he began his story, this was not the same man I had known before. He had lost his wife, she left him, and his family fell apart and he had lost his job at the Guard unit. He had also owned a business in town which had begun to experience a loss of business and he was forced to close it.

I'm not going to go into all the details of how this man's life fell apart around him, but he had lost everything. It was at his lowest point, he found himself sitting on a bench downtown when a friend came by and sat down next to him. This friend knew what John had been going through and he also was a Christian who had his own business. I don't recall the words he spoke to John but they got John's attention. He had been out of fellowship and church and had been drenching himself in self pity but when this man was finished speaking to John, he knew what he had to do.

John found a another church to attend and he was a new man; that conversation had lit a fire from the spark which remained in his heart. As he sat there and told me this story, I could sense the excitement he had for Jesus, the love he had for Jesus and the thanks he had for Jesus allowing him to be shaken, rattled and brought back into fellowship with Him. John had, at one time, placed everything in his home life, business life and all of his possessions ahead of Jesus, his Lord. As I listened to John speak, I realized this was a different man than the one I had known before. He was humble and kind and spoke softly. This was not that loud and boisterous man I had witnessed at his previous job.

John had lost everything and in return, he had gained everything. All that stuff he had in his life before, he realized was meaningless. God had stripped John of all his stuff in order for him to be able to see what was really important. And, I so enjoyed spending time with the second John I knew. There were many occasions we had lunch together and I knew without a doubt Jesus had changed this man's life from a 'I'll put God on the back burner' type of Christian to a 'Jesus is the most important thing in my life' type of Christian.

I have known a few John type people in my Christian life; some, like John, were able to allow Jesus to reach into their lives and clean house. If we insist on placing the stuff in our lives ahead of God, He will begin a house cleaning and that process is not always a pleasant one. Realize now who Jesus is in your life. Realize now where Jesus' place in your life needs to be. We don't have to go through the process of losing everything to gain everything. We already have Jesus, put Him where He belongs in your life, at the front of the line and before everything and everyone.




Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Will There be Another Great Awaking

There are some in the Church who believe there is yet another great revival to come before Jesus returns. I have not seen anything in scripture which would say there will be but that doesn't mean Jesus can't bring one. But as we look around this country and the world, the question in the minds of many must be, "Will there be another great awakening in our future?" There is a great need for one and I don't think we can deny that.

Let's look at the last time this country experienced a spiritual awakening or revival. The Jesus Movement is to have begun in 1967 in San Francisco. Now, imagine that for a moment; when anyone from that generation (including myself) mentions San Francisco and 1967, the first thing which comes to mind is "The summer of love." It was a summer of drugs, sexual freedom and rock and roll. No one would ever associate the birth of a revival with that summer in San Francisco.

It is thought that this movement was originated in the area of Haight Ashbury district in Frisco and was a ministry to the young people looking for something or anything and an escape from the establishment. What a lot of them found was Jesus and their lives were changed. This was a time in our country when things were crazy. There was the Civil Rights movement, protests against the Vietnam war and a counter culture striking out at anyone who represented the establishment.

The nation was ripe for a Jesus movement; it was ripe for a spiritual awakening. Everything was in chaos and there was an attitude of rebellion among the youth and young adults. This was my generation and I remember this stuff like it was yesterday. This movement started on the streets of San Francisco and if you would have asked anyone beyond the age of 30 what was represented in San Francisco that summer, the answer would have been rebellion and ignorance.

But God can take anything and turn it around for His purposes and that's exactly what He did that summer in the city by the bay. Young people were being saved by countless numbers and spreading the gospel message in the streets. Jesus took these hippies and young people and transformed them into street missionaries. It moved down the coast to Southern California and then across the country.

Chuck Smith was the pastor of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa and his heart was burdened for these young hippies and street people. Jesus sent him young adults who were a part of that movement and they were able to minister to them. Again, young people were being saved and filling the seats at Calvary Chapel and taking that message back to the streets. This was a movement which spread across the country; the gospel message was taken out by these hippies and street people to many parts of this country.

It was, without a doubt, a move of God for a time when it was probably the farthest thought of any mainline pastor or church.  As a matter of fact, it was referred to by many as a cult as it spread. But all these years later, there is so much evidence to prove this was not a cult but a move by God. If you are really interested in more concerning this movement, and there is so much more, the following web site has a lot of information.

http://www.shilohworshipmusic.com/ShilohWorshipMusic/The_Jesus_Movement_of_the_70s.html

In February 1970, at a small Christian College in Wilmore KY, a Tuesday morning Chapel service which was scheduled to last 50 minutes ended up lasting for 185 hours and the beginning of a revival. Asbury Bible College is where this happened and is often referred to as The Asbury Revival. The service was scheduled to simply have students give their testimony and as one after another came to the platform to speak, the Holy Spirit descended on that Chapel and it continued nonstop around the clock.

This event, happening in 1970, ran parallel with the Jesus People Movement and both resulted in the spreading of the gospel across the country. There was an account of a few students who, unannounced, went into a church on a Sunday morning right before services were to begin and asked if they could have five minutes to speak. Now, I can't imagine any pastor allowing three or four strangers, walking into the church just prior to the start of services and giving them permission to speak. But when the Holy Spirit is moving, it will happen and it did.

The pastor gave them permission to speak and as one of them began to tell about what happened at Asbury, the Holy Spirit came, just like on Pentecost, and revival began just as it had in that Chapel on campus. This revival spread to Wilmore and Lexington to the north. Churches in the area were packed with people craving to hear from God. Students made weekend trips to many churches to speak and this revival continued to spread.
 
One of these teams visited a local church in Anderson Indiana. There is this account from the web site, Beautiful Feet,
 A remarkable revival broke out at the Anderson, Indiana, South Meridian Church of God following a visit from a team of students from Asbury. That revival was conducted every night for 50 consecutive days (Feb. 22-April 12, 1970). The church was not able to hold the 2,500 people that gathered each night, so the services were moved to a local high school
http://romans1015.com/1970-asbury-revival/
A video of the happenings of this event can be viewed on You Tube at the following site,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qOqitIKUNs

These two movements were movements which were ordained and guided by Jesus Christ through the working of the Holy Spirit. So, why the history lesson on these movements? The time during which this awakening or revival or whatever you would like to refer to it as, happened during a troubling time in this country. Our current culture and society is also a troubled time. It has different situations, problems and rebellion but just as God used that culture and society in the 1960s and '70s, He can do the same through the situations of our society and culture.

Even the mainstream media got involved. It reported what was happening around the country concerning the Jesus Movement. Newsweek reported on it in 1971. We all know what the media is like today when it comes to Jesus and Christianity but God can do anything. Even secular music picked up on the Jesus Movement and began to record songs in that theme. The Doobie Brothers sang, 'Jesus is just alright with me' and of course there were those who's lyric was a little questionable such as Brewer and Shipley singing, "One toke over the line sweet Jesus.'

With God, anything is possible; at Asbury, a group of students began to pray in December of 1969 and they prayed every day and added to the group. It started with six students and ended with thirty six students praying for revival. On January 31, 1970, they knew that the Holy Spirit was coming and a few days later He did. These students had prayed with confidence and boldness for this movement to begin and it did.

If it is the Lord's will to have another movement such as this before He returns, we should be praying. We should be in prayer consistently for God to move in this country and around the world. God surely knows this world needs Him. Only He can change hearts and lives just as He did in the 1960s and '70s.

Saturday, February 2, 2019

Does God Come First

We are living in a fast paced world where technology rules the lives of many of us. Regardless of our job or career path, as a Christian, our lives will be touched by that fast paced lifestyle. Whatever our job, whatever our family situation or where we live, we have to stop and ask ourselves, "Does God come first in my life?" That is a very important question for the Christian, not just in our current culture and society, but at any time in the past or the future.

The pressures of this world will close in on us if we allow them to. It might be pressure from our job, our home life and family or just from the world in general. In today's world, it is so easy to get caught up in politics, policies and the general culture itself. There are so many agendas and movements and ideas which are pushed by those who do not have a relationship with Jesus. So many Christians allow themselves to be caught up in these arguments which go back and forth and really gain nothing but bitterness.

Social media is the center stage for these back and forth debates which are nothing more than a platform for hatred most of the time. People who don't even know each other will harshly criticize and demean each other over a silly, worldly idea being pushed by some cultural agenda. Politics seem to always be at the center of these keyboard wars; people are split by political affiliation and therefore attack one another over ideologies and worldly beliefs. For a Christian to be in the middle of one of these debates or attacks, is not putting God first, they are putting themselves and their worldly beliefs first.

Now, there are many who would argue that point with me but I only say that based on what I read in the Bible which is God's word. So, any heartburn you have with that, take it up with God because I am just the messenger. The following verses are from 2 Tim. 2:14,16,
 Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them.
  Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior.
This is something we would be wise to keep in mind regardless if we are teaching from the Bible or just having a discussion. When we are concerned with putting God at the forefront of our lives, it will dictate what we say, what we look at or where we go. I used to watch cable news, a specific channel, but I had to stop because I found myself getting to involved in that agenda. It is a worldly, political agenda and I became real uncomfortable with the way I began to feel. I found myself being caught up in all of it and the Holy Spirit convicted me and I shut it down.

As a Bible student, teacher and writer, it couldn't coexist in my life. I will not proclaim that I always have God in the forefront of my thinking but I pray He will prompt me when I begin to stray away. It's so easy to sit down in front of a TV and watch a secular program that is filled with worldly ideas and agendas. I can't watch that kind of stuff; these programs are filled with the agendas of this world and this culture.

The Church, (some churches) in this country, has gone soft in it's teaching and preaching from the Bible. It is common to hear a feel good message from any number of pulpits on a Sunday morning and people go in and come out not knowing anymore about God than they did when they entered that building. The gospel is not heard and some pastors are more concerned with teaching a series on how to have a better sexual relationship with your wife than the gospel. That was actually a big topic making it's rounds through some mega churches a few years ago.

Some of these churches have stopped teaching from the Bible all together. They refuse and reject the blood atonement of Christ and claim Jesus is not the only way to heaven. Social justice lectures are more prominent than any Bible passage and people are flocking to hear this message. False doctrine and teachings are as popular today as they were in Paul's time. How can people put God first in their lives when they don't even know who He is or which God He is?

We need to stop, stop our lives and put everything on hold for a few seconds, minutes or hours and take a look at what we have surrounded ourselves with. What are the most important things in our lives? What are our most important activities? Where or how do we spend most of our time away from work? I am not saying we should be zombies for Christ but He needs to be first in our lives. It's what He demands of us; He doesn't suggest it, He commands it.

“You must not have any other god but me.  Ex. 20:3  
Anything in our lives which has taken on a role of being more important that God, is an idol and a form of a god. That might sound strange to some but stop and think about it. Is there something in your life you will go to extremes not to miss out on? Maybe it's the gym, a TV program or some other activity in your life. You will not allow anything to stand between you and whatever it is? That is a god in your life.

Let's consider the early Church and how they responded to pressure from the world. Peter and John were on Solomon's Porch preaching about Jesus when they were dragged off to jail. This was the first time they had experienced any form of persecution but it didn't hinder or soften their zeal for talking about Jesus. They were warned not to do it  again and they responded this way,

 But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him?  We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”  Acts 4:19-20
They didn't even hesitate in their response to these religious leaders. The most important thing in their lives was Jesus. Peter had extended his hand to a man who had been lame his entire life and believed that Jesus would heal him and he did. Jesus was first in the lives of these apostles and believers in Him. And don't fall into the trap of believing that this is the way it was 'in the Bible.' God doesn't change, hasn't changed and will not change. He is the same today as He was the day He healed this man.

I think the problem of subtly placing other things in our lives ahead of God is easily done by allowing ourselves to stray away a little. Maybe we don't read the Bible as often as we did when we were first saved or maybe we don't make room in our schedule for prayer anymore. We don't think much about missing a church service and we really don't spend time with other Christians. These are all signs of allowing God to slip out of first place in our lives and we need to readjust our schedules and routines to make sure we are in fellowship with Jesus as much as possible.

I know how hard it can be to get up 30 minutes earlier to pray and read your Bible but I did it years ago and it became a part of my morning routine. It was a part of my fellowship and worship of God and still is. Leaving the house in the morning after spending time with Jesus was so refreshing. Make it a mandatory practice to be in church and/or Bible studies as much as possible. I understand people have to work or get ill but when those things are not in the way, be there. Have those Christian friends who will pray for you and be there for fellowship.

Allowing Jesus to be first in your life will have an affect on you family and home, your job site attitude and work performance and it will dim the importance of those cultural and worldly topics you once thought so much of. I believe if the Church today was more like the early Church (in attitude toward God) we would see a lot less arguing over worldly topics and see a lot more work for God's agenda.