August 1, 2001
The Early Church
By Jonathan Henschel
I have been in a dialogue with a Christian woman who doesn't seem to be able to find her place in the church, and as a result has backed completely out of it altogether. She grew up Baptist, and then later went Pentecostal and was in a church where the pastors were under the "authority" of RobertsLairdon. She is confused and doesn't understand why Christians either want to be super-spiritual or super-worldly, but without the balance. She has no Christian friends and has a wonderful husband and 9 year old non-verbal autistic son. All of the Christians she knows don't want to get to know her. They either want her to minister "their way" (which often involves finger-pointing and accusing others) or to stay out of the way.
So, I brought up the pattern of the early Christians we read about in Acts 2, and I simply asked her to see if she could see it for herself. As is common among Christians, she didn't see it, and this is where we're at. I believe the Lord would have me share this as it is foundational for those in the church today. I'm not saying the organized church is a bad thing, for even the believers in it can follow the original pattern of the Spirit of the Lord, but I am sharing a truth here, and it is one we all need to get back to.
Here's our recent dialogue:
She: Okay I'm not sure what answers you are lookin for here. How did the early Christians meet? Or should I say "where" did they meet? They met in a house.
Me: Now, have you ever wondered why they met in houses back then? It was more intimate and everyone was on the same level. Everybody actually got to know everybody and they were all in one accord. Their get-togethers were literally nothing like the church services we have today, and as a result, we don't have the power today that they did back then. It's no wonder you have trouble finding your place in the church. Yours is a common problem actually.
It is so easy to look at the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit and see the thousands of salvations, but as a result, it makes it even easier to miss some of the simpler things that were going on. Acts 2:42 is a small but powerful verse that tells what the early Christians did when they met together: "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." Notice fellowship, breaking of bread, praying, and doctrine are all in equal standing here. It's life itself and it's relationship instead of ritual.
In the early church, there were no pastors or church buildings. Sure, it says they also met in the temple, but when they did this, it was to evangelize and debate the Jews who worshipped there.
In the Garden of Eden, we had true fellowship with God and all of us were on the same spiritual level, and we all had the right to hear from God and come before Him and even spend time with Him.
We lost this when Adam & Eve sinned.
When Jesus lived a pure perfect sinless life and then went to the Cross and rose from the dead, this was restored! He literally restored things spiritually to where they were before sin entered the picture! Jesus even set the example for this when He walked this Earth. Instead of building a church building, He ministered to others, and chose 12 men to work alongside of Him. He built real relationships with them, and all of them had the same rights and abilities to approach Him. They prayed together, ate together, learned together and met together. They learned from the Master Himself! Then Jesus said it was better for us if He went away so He could send His Spirit to us.
Now instead of the Holy Spirit being in a box (the Ark of the Covenant) in the Old Testament, or limited to being inside of one human body, with the Holy Spirit we ALL get to participate and we ALL get the same measure of the Holy Spirit.
This is why the early church thrived and even evangelized the known world at the time. They were in unity. They followed the pattern set at the beginning and rekindled by Jesus Himself.
Even later when Paul wrote his letters that became books of the Bible, he never once addressed the letters to the church leaders or pastors, but instead to the "brothers". This is because there were no pastors. That didn't come for a few hundred years when Constantine "organized" the church and literally put to death all who wouldn't conform to the organization leaving only a remnant of believers outside this organization.
I always had trouble finding my place in the church, because one or more of the key elements was always missing. True fellowship wasn't to be found, and to this day despite my years in the church I have not one true friend or coworker for the gospel, and no close relationships were made. Things the Lord gave me to do always had to be cleared by the pastor instead of me just directly obeying the Lord and doing what He gave me to do. It was always missing "something."
Now I understand why.
As Christians, we need to learn to band together, minister together, live our lives together (even if we're far away from one another like us sillies!), encourage one another, meet the needs of one another, and be in one accord.
It all starts at home. There's the verse that says "Where two or three are gathered, there I am also." Sounds just like the home to me... 2 (husband and wife) or 3 (add children to the mix), and there God is! It all starts and ends in the home, and I believe this is why Satan attacks the family so vigorously... destroy the family and the church itself is left powerless and defeated - despite Jesus' victory on the Cross!
She: Besides the gifts of the Spirit, what did the early Christians do? this is the one Im not sure of, it lists a few other "gifts" but you didnt want that...other than that, it mentioned being baptized and saved. And giving up their possesions and living harmoniusly.
Me: They gave up possessions to meet the needs of the other Christians. Think about it... for the first time ever, instead of rules and laws, people saw true love in the church. The Christians shared all that they had with one another... oh, and thousands were added to the church. I wonder why! And all this happened right after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. These people really were led by the Spirit of God, and we all need to get this back into our Christian lives.
OK, this is pretty deep for so early in the morning, but it's where I've been lately. The early church is still an ongoing study for me. I believe much of what we are missing in the church today can be found in the lives of the early Christians. Never again will I settle for less. Each person in the Body of Christ has gifts and talents, and they can be used side-by-side with everyone else's gifts and talents. Until we "get it" and truly work together, we'll always feel a little out of place, because one of the key pieces of the true church structure will be missing.
So for now, be the BEST wife and mother you can be, and serve the Lord with all your heart and might. Walk in love towards others around you, and you'll know when the Lord is leading and prompting you do do certain things.. just follow the leader! :o)
Jonathan Henschel
Cross Examination Ministries
August 8, 2001
The Yoke's On You!
Matthew 11:28-30
By Dr. Jim Shaddix, Assistant Professor of Preaching New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Have you ever had someone play a practical joke on you? I have a pretty good sense of humor and I love a good joke, but I hate it when the joke's on me! Wednesday, March 15, 1995, was one of the biggest days of my life. I was voted on to the faculty of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary by the Board of Trustees. Being a seminary professor has been a dream of mine for many years. Finally, the realization of that dream came about. You can imagine the pressure I felt when, on Monday night of that week, I answered the phone at my house and the distinguished voice on the other end identified itself as belonging to one of the trustees. He said he wanted to ask me a few questions. I lost it! I asked him to hold while I changed phones. I dropped my little girl whom I had been holding. I screamed at my wife. My mouth went dry. Horrifying thoughts raced through my mind. What if I messed up? What if I answered incorrectly? What if I made a fool of myself? What if I didn't measure up to his standards? I really was feeling the pressure! You can imagine how relieved I was when I returned to the phone and heard one of my colleagues snickering on the other end. He was just having a little fun, and the joke was on me!
On a more serious note, the devil seems to be the cosmic comedian of our day and the joke is on many of us. He is telling people they have to meet a certain standard in order to be accepted by God. He is saying we have to keep a bunch of rules and regulations in order to get into heaven. And, we really feel the pressure. To the heavy hearts of people feeling that kind of pressure, Jesus spoke these words in Matthew 11:28-30:
28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (NKJV)
He's making the same call today: he invites you to accept him as the only way to know God instead of being the object of Satan's joke by trying to measure up.
The "yoke" was part of the harness used to pull a cart, plow, or mill beam. It was the means by which the animals' master kept them under control and guided them in useful work. The term "yoke" came to be used widely in the ancient world as a metaphor for submission, usually to a teacher. But in this text, Jesus didn't use that metaphor simply to tell people that they needed to let him be their teacher. Instead, he chose the metaphor as a way of calling people to come to him as the only way to be right with God as opposed to the way insisted upon by the religious leaders of the day.
These particular words of Jesus did not become clear to me until I was pastoring in Mississippi. One afternoon, as I sat on the front porch of a wise, old saw-mill operator in our community, I noticed this miniature yoke hanging on the wall. When I inquired about it, he began to explain how the yoke was used. His explanation fascinated me. It made me think of this passage of scripture.
Since that day, every time I look at this yoke I am reminded of some important truths regarding what it means to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I want to share those truths with you today, because some of you are really tired of trying to measure up, trying to meet somebody's standard for getting into heaven, trying to figure out what it means to know God.
TRUTH #1: The Yoke Reminds Us That We Can't Measure Up.
The first thing I learned about the yoke was that it was designed for two animals. One animal usually was not sufficient to pull a load. The strength of two animals was necessary. That was the reason for the design of the yoke. Many jobs simply were too heavy and too laborious. Jesus was calling to a group of people who were really tired of trying to carry the load of the religious standards of their day. It was all but impossible even to learn all the traditions imposed by the religious leaders, much less to keep them all. People simply could not measure up! In the language of the New Testament, the word "weary" carried the idea of working to the point of utter exhaustion. It refers figuratively to rigorous work in seeking to please God and know the way of salvation. "Heavy-laden" indicates that, at some time in the past, a great load was dumped on the person, causing him or her to become weary over time. Together, the two terms present the idea of a person who, at some time in the past, was taught that he or she had to measure up to a certain standard in order to earn God's approval.
Some of you likely are carrying that same burden today. It often manifests itself in strained relationships, depression, stress, feelings of inadequacy, and other conditions that tell us that we don't measure up. We try to get rid of the burden by trying harder -- climbing the career ladder, impressing other people, taking on more jobs at church, adding new spiritual disciplines to our lives. The list goes on. Underlying all of it is an unrecognized drive to meet God's approval. And, we really feel the pressure, pressure that drives us to do things we really don't want to do.
Today, Jesus wants you to know that you can't measure up. There's no possible way. Just as it was impossible for any first century Jew always to obey every law and tradition taught by the religious leaders, it is impossible for you to make a grade high enough to get you into heaven. And, it is frustrating and exhaustiing to attempt such a feat.
TRUTH #2: The Yoke Reminds Us That Jesus Does Measure Up.
The second thing I learned about the yoke was that the two animals on which it was placed were different. One of the animals always was more experienced than the other. The second animal essentially was a learner. The experienced animal was schooled in the commands of the master. So, that animal provided the direction, leadership, help, and training for the unlearned member of the team. By itself, the younger, less experienced animal did not have the wisdom or skill to respond to the commands of the master.
That truth illuminates a striking contrast that runs throughout this passage. "Unto me" means "to me alone" and not to another. The contrast further is seen in the other pronouns: unto me -- and I will give -- my yoke -- learn of me -- I am gentle -- my yoke -- my burden. Jesus was contrasting himself with the religious leaders of his day! He not only claimed to know the only way to have a relationship with God, he claimed to be the only way to have a relationship with God.
Do you know God's standard for getting into heaven? Perfection! That's right -- perfection! Jesus said, "You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). I'm not sure about you, but that standard leaves me with a little problem: I can't do it! And, when you try to measure up to that standard by keeping a bunch of rules and regulations, by trying to be good enough, by trying to be religious enough, you make a futile attempt at trying to reach God on your own. You and I do not have the strength, ability, experience, wisdom, or skill to meet God's standard for getting into heaven. But, just like the experienced animal in the yoke, Jesus Christ does meet that standard!
The word "meek" and the phrase "humble in heart" appear to be synonymous, contrasting Jesus and the Pharisees. While Jesus demonstrated meekness and humility, they exhibited extraordinary pride, love for places of honor, special titles, and the exercise of authority over others (see 23:5-12). The point of the contrast is that Jesus' spirit is more conducive for reception of God's salvation. A proud man cannot know God (cf. Matthew 5:3-5; Psalm 138:6). Instead, God gives the grace of intimate knowledge of Himself to the person who realizes that he can't make it to God on his own.
TRUTH #3: The Yoke Reminds Us That We Can Measure Up With Him.
The final thing I learned about the yoke was that the two animals worked together to accomplish the task. While the more experienced animal provided the leadership and direction, both animals worked together to pull the load.
Jesus promised that this cooperative effort would be a refreshing experience for his tired followers. In verse 28, the "rest" that he offered was a "resting up" or "rejuvenation" from the weariness of carrying the burden of trying to measure up. In verse 29, the offering of "rest for your souls" is the promise of a realization of a deep existential peace, a shalom, or sense of ultimate well-being with regard to one's relationship to God and his commandments (cf. Jeremiah 6:16; see also the "rest" of Hebrews 4:3-10).
This truth simply means that you and I can stop doing things for Jesus and start doing things with Jesus. When we get in the yoke with him, we measure up to God's standard because he measures up! When Jesus Christ was crucified, he took the punishment for our inadequacy, our inability to measure up to God's standard. When he rose from the dead, he made it possible for us to have a relationship with God through his life. That reality, my friends, is both rejuvenating and refreshing compared to the heaviness of trying to be good enough on my own.
Jesus is God's chosen way to have a relationship with him. In verse 27, Jesus had just acknowledged to God, "All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." Then, he broke into this awesome invitation to take on his yoke and get some rest! Jesus wasn't trying to give people another load, another yoke, to carry. He simply was inviting people to get in his yoke! There, he would be the experienced, mature member of the team, and the person who responded to his call would be the rested and refreshed learner!
The word "easy" in verse 30 is better translated "kindly." "Burden" here is contrasted with "heavy laden" in v. 28. These are kindred words which together present the idea of work that is lightened by Jesus' help. To be sure, the yoke of Christ involves work, but it is the work of love and joy. While Jesus asks much, he provides the power for you and I to respond.
My friend Don Miller, a great prayer warrior of our day, helped me to understand how serving Christ diligently could be reconciled with this rest provided by Christ. He pointed out that once you're in the yoke with Jesus, several things become a reality:
...you have one leader -- him;
...you have one load -- his;
...you go in one direction -- his;
...you never walk or work alone
...you can never fall or fail;
...you can never quit;
...you can't get out or look back;
...no task is too small or too large;
...the load is always behind you; and,
...the results are his problem.
These truths, my friends, are refreshing realities!
So, the cosmic killjoy known as the devil continues to play the ultimate practical joke on people today. He convinces them that they must measure up -- make the grade, walk the line, play by all the rules -- in order to meet God's standard and get into heaven. Consequently, so many people are so very tired of trying to do just that. And, they are so frustrated because no amount of effort ever seems to be enough. That load is so heavy!
On the other hand, Jesus Christ has measured up by dying on the cross for our wrongdoing, our failure, our inadequacy. And he invites everyone who is tired of carrying the load to come get in the yoke with him. There, he provides the experience, wisdom, skill, and ability to know God and to live a life of faithful service to him.
The choice is yours. Either the joke's on you or the yoke's on you!
Copied with permission from the May-June 1998 issue of Preaching Magazine.
www.preaching.com
August 15, 2001
The Ultimate Paradigm Shift
By Dr. Jim Shaddix, Assistant Professor of Preaching
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
When the wind of God is blowing, our experience is both exciting and refreshing. But when the wind of God is blowing somewhere else, our experience is both frustrating and taxing! Listen to the heart-cry of the Psalmist who found himself out in the middle of the Jordan plain somewhere unable to get to that fresh encounter with God in the temple over in Jerusalem...
I want to talk to you today about "The Ultimate Paradigm Shift", a shift that the Psalmist made from a "woe is me" mentality to a healthy anticipation of a fresh experience with God. You and I need to make the same shift today. We need this new paradigm that enables us to embrace and nurture a longing for a fresh touch of the wind of God.
Joel Barker, in his popular book Future Edge, defines the trendy concept of "paradigm" as:
. . . a set of rules and regulations that does two things: (1) it establishes or defines boundaries; and (2) it tells you how to behave inside the boundaries in order to be successful.
Now it's obvious that whether you use the term or not, the concept is real. We create boundaries and behave within those boundaries according to certain standards. Whether it's the coaches way to hit the ball, mom's way to clean the kitchen, or dad's way shine his shoes, all of us have ways of doing things that we think are right and produce the best results.
While many of our paradigms help us to get things done, some of our paradigms keep us from doing or experiencing certain things. For example, consider the idea of "spiritual awakening" or "revival." It seems that many Christians in our day operate under the assumption that a fresh experience of the presence of God in our society, our church, our individual lives is no longer a possibility. Things have gotten too bad. Society has digressed past the point of no return. Governments are corrupt. The church is weak. Ministers are suspect. Consequently, many believers operate within that framework with absolutely no expectancy, no anticipation, no hope, and most tragically no effort toward real, fresh revival.
Let me test your paradigm regarding a real, fresh experience with God in our society, our church, your life. Can you imagine...
... no more murders in New Orleans for the rest of 1995?
... on Sunday, January 29, they cancel the Super Bowl due to lack of
interest because everybody wants to go to church?
See what I mean? It's hard to imagine some of those things, isn't it? Closer to home, we've all heard the recent reports of "strange" things happening at Baptist churches in Brownwood, Texas, Howard Payne University, Southwestern Seminary, and many other educational insitutions and convention meetings across our land. For most of us, these reports of "revival" have warmed our hearts. It's been interesting to note, however, that as each story has broken, there have been both skeptics and critics within the camp who have ridiculed, castigated, and at best down-played the ocurrences as having nothing to do with real revival.
That attitude, my friend, speaks of a paradigm that is too narrow and one that stands in desperate need of shifting. Here are some rules for a new paradigm that, at least, will put us in a position to see another great movement of God in our individual lives, in our church, in our society when He gets ready to give it.
RULE #1: ACQUIRE AN APPETITE. (V. 1)
{1} As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
For the Old Testament Hebrews, the Temple in Jerusalem possessed a special significance. It was where they met God "face-to-face" we might say. In that awesome archetectural masterpiece, they joined together corporately to experience God's presence in a way that was different from their individual relationships with Him. When a Hebrew was unable to get to the temple, he or she missed that special experience and longed for it.
This guy was thirsty for that experience, so thirsty that the only parallel he could make was that of a hot, tired deer looking for one of those perennial watercourses which never dried out. The word "pants" means to "long for." This man, like the deer, was desperate. But why was he so desperate for God? Again, the answer is in the deer. What is the most obvious reason a deer would be so desperate for water? He had been running, right? Why was he running? He was being hunted! This was no afternoon stroll. This wasn't a walk in the Jordan Park. This deer wasn't out for a morning jog. This deer had been running for his life!
See, the psalmist had been running, too. Look down at verses 9-10 (READ). Enemies! Who, we don't know. For what reason, we don't know. It really doesn't matter. He was running from his enemies -- from people that didn't like him -- from people that wanted to see him defeated.
I wonder if maybe the reason some of us are not any thirstier for God right now is because we haven't been running. Oh, I'm not talking about running from the devil. The Bible doesn't tell us to do that. But it does tell us to run from every appearance of evil and immature Christian conduct. That translates into getting cozy with the world. Getting too cozy with this world is the big wall between me and revival. And the cozier I get, the more I get comfortable with the things of the world, the less I long for God to intervene in a fresh way.
The Bible is pretty clear about it. (Read 1 Thessalonians 5:22; 2 Timothy 2:22; James 4:4; 1 John. 2:14-15)
This new paradigm says that you and I need to acquire an appetite for revival. The only way we're going to do that is to get on the run and keep ourselves separate from the world. Acquire an appetite.
RULE #2: ACCEPT NO ALTERNATIVES. (V. 2)
{2} My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
The psalmist was more than impatient with the object of his desperation. He wanted to know how long it would be before he got this fresh drink of God. In some other translations, this phrase "come and appear before God" reads "behold the face of God." "To see the face of God" was a technical term for the visiting of the sanctuary or the house of God. The Psalmist was never more at home than when he was in the house of the Lord. He wasn't content with just his private walk with God. He knew that God was there with Him, and that was good and wonderful. But he knew that God wanted more, and so he wanted more. He longed for something bigger, something that was corporate, something that involved and affected all of God's people. And he was desperate for it.
Notice that the he wasn't satisfied for anything less than that special visit with God and his people. He said, "I'm thirsty..." for the living God.
In essence, he wouldn't settle for anything less than the genuine article of the fresh experience with God over in the temple.
Listen to me: if you want real revival and you really want revival, you can't be satisfied with any substitutes, any alternatives. No religion. No exciting church. No good pastor. No warm and friendly Sunday School class. Only the genuine article of a fresh awakening that impacts all of Christ's Church will satisfy the longing we possess.
If you and I are ever going to see another real revival, we're going to have to get desperate for it. And we're going to have to get desperate for something bigger than our own personal walks with God. We're going to have to want something bigger than our own quiet times, our own personal growth. God wants to do something bigger than me, than my church, my school, my denomination. And he wants me to be desperate for it! Anything less than that kind of movement of God is an alternative! It's a substitute! It's settling for less than the best, and this new paradigm doesn't have room for that. Accept no alternatives.
RULE #3: AGONIZE OVER THE ABSENCE. (V. 3)
{3} My tears have been my food day and night,
While they continually say to me,
"Where is your God?"
This sarcastic question is frequently found on the lips of the enemies of God's people (cf. 79:10; 115:2; Joel 2:17; Micah 7:10). In light of the Psalmist's distress, the expected answer was that his God was to be found nowhere. God was absent! And the psalmist is unable to say a word that will silence his taunters or satisfy his own sinking heart.
You know what it reminds me of? Elijah on Mt. Carmel. How the tables were turned! (Read 1 Kings 18:27-29)
But before Carmel it was the plains of Jordan that heard such mockery. Where is the God of the Psalmist? Why is He allowing such suffering? Why doesn't He come to his rescue? Where is He? Is He weak or busy or uninterested? Has He forgotten? When will He break His silence and come to find His suffering servant? The living present seeems to contradict the faith he professed.
I think the tables may have turned once again. In our own land we may cringe before that question (uttered or unexpressed) as it comes from the secularist, the agnostic, the rationalist, the materialist, the cynic, or the agonizing friend whose faith is about to break under the strain. "Where is your God?"
There are two basic ways in which Christians are responding to that question today. First, some believers try to conjure God up. They manipulate people into an emotional frenzy, and when they pick them up off the floor they say, "See, you've had an experience with God!" The second way is a little closer to home. Some Christians just adjust their theology. "Well, God doesn't work the same way anymore." "The supernatural ceased when the Canon was closed." "We live in a dispensation where things are getting progressively worse." "Revival is all around us; we just don't notice it like we used to."
Neither of those responses lead to a desperation for God. As long as I'm convinced that God is powerfully at work in our midst, I have absolutely no reason to long for a fresh experience with Him.
No, there's a third and more acceptable response to that haunting question. But it is so very hard! Are you ready for it? Here it is: "I don't know." That's right. "I don't know." The only way we're ever going to get desperate for God is to be willing to admit that He's not working right now like we need Him to work.
Now look at the result of this honesty for the Psalmist. He says, "My tears have been my food day and night." Now there's a disappointing turn of events. The only drink this thirsty fugitive gets is his own bitter tears! "Tears" as one's food is a hyperbolic way of describing the very depths of grief and trouble. So, the opening simile in verse 1 is converted into a metaphor in v. 3: the one who longed for a refreshing drink, tasted instead the bitter water of tears.
But listen, there's a redemptive element in that. That's the way it must be with us and revival. The thirstier we get for fresh, living water and the more we taste of the saltiness of our tears, the more we agonize. And if there is anything that must be a part of a new paradigm for revival it is a brokenness that issues forth in a recovery of the ability to shed tears! We must agonize over the absence of revival.
RULE #4: ASK FOR AN ANOTHER. (V. 4)
{4} When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude;
I went with them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise,
With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
Do you know what the tragedy of this verse is? It's all clothed in the past tense: "remember;" "used to go;" "went;" "kept." The psalmist remembers the days-gone-by when he experienced the fresh presence of God with his fellow-worshipers in the temple. That's called "nostalgia." Do you know what "nostalgia" is? The dictionary defines it a "homesickness for the past." The psalmist was homesick for the past!
But look at this: This word "remember" doesn't indicate an accidental recollection but a deliberate attempt to call to mind certain past events. Within his heart is a consuming passion to have God, to feel God, to be blessed by His presence. So he deliberately calls to mind the good old days when he was a part of the happy throng that went into the temple and had vital touch with God. He knows what it's like!
Now look at what happens when he brings this stuff to mind...I pour out my soul within me.
What did he do when the carosel of his mind flashed up the glorious slides from the past? He cried out to God for an encore! He asked God to play it one more time!
Now I know that we're not supposed to live in the past or even dwell on the past. But I want you to take note of the fact that there is another redemptive element here with regard to our need for a fresh touch of the wind of God.
See, I get homesick for the past when it comes to revival, don't you? I remember reading the accounts of...the First Great Awakening during the 18th Century when John Wesley and George Whitefield preached and hundreds of thousands were converted...Open-air evangelism was inaugurated. The wickedness and social evils of the day, which were unbelievably licentious, were all but laid to rest. Great reforms were effected. New social institutions came to life. England, Scotland, and Wales were so radically revived both religiously and socially that many historians believe that this Awakening saved Britain from the bloody fate that almost ruined eighteenth century France.
...the Second Great Awakening in this country during the 19th Century when Charles Finney powerfully preached, and revival broke out everywhere he ministered...awakenings errupted like exploding volcanoes. Whole towns were converted.
...the Welsh Revival of 1904-06, when God used a young man by the name of Evan Roberts to spark revival in that country. Churches throughout the entire nation were jammed to overflowing twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Singing, preaching, rejoicing, conversions, and newness abounded everywhere. After work the miners bathed and went directly to their chapel, many to stay most of the night...So many of the miners were converted and their language cleaned up that the horses did not know how to work because they were accustomed to the cursing commands of their masters.
The animals literally had to be taken out of the mines and retrained...Every student in one particular school, as well as their parents, was converted after one young boy ran into his classroom and cried out, "Jesus Christ has saved me."]...Civic and social righteousness swept in like a flood. The jails emptied; the pubs closed; the dance halls shut their doors; the entire country was transformed...The police were so bored that they organized themselves into singing groups and made themselves available to the churches.
I remember! I remember! I remember! And if that weren't enough, I hear about...
...the reports from Korea in recent years where the largest churches in the world now exist...where hundreds of thousands are being saved...where large numbers of people are gathering for prayer every morning at 5:00 AM...where entire families spend their hard-earned vactions on some kind of a "prayer mountain."
...the accounts from our missionaries in certain parts of Africa, South America, and other places where thousands are responding to the gospel...where the Spirit of God is thick and His presence is magnificently transforming lives, villages, and entire cities.
I remember! I remember! I remember!
And now we have all of these reports of inklings of revival at our sister seminary and other places around the country that are being catalogued into the libraries of our recollection. And, while it hurts us to think about revival only in the past or only somewhere else, that pain becomes our salvation in that it keeps us pleading with God to play it one more time!
Illustration: Dr. Roy Fish, Professor of Evangelism at Southwestern Seminary, told me a moving story on the phone the other day. He said that he and evangelist Dixon Ryle were in London several years ago and they went down Aldersgate Street and found the little bronze plaque which then was on a bank building. The plaque read something like this: "It was on this spot in May of 1738 that John Wesley felt his heart strangely warmed, and he was converted to God and became an evangelist that turned the nation back to God." Dr. Fish said he and his friend were very silent as they stood there, because they both knew a little bit about what that meant. Then he said, "When we walked back to the bus stop, we asked each other what the other was thinking. And we both said we were thinking the same thing: 'Lord, do it again! Do it again, Lord! Do it again!'"
This new paradigm for revival demands that we contine asking God for an encore until He grants it.
RULE #5: ANTICIPATE THE ANSWER. (V. 5)
{5} Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance.
The Psalmist almost rebukes himself for his agony: 'Why on earth am I despairing!' The phrase means 'bowed down like a mourner' (cf. 35:14). In dryness, in desperation, in despondence, and even in nostalgia, the longing child of God could not afford to lose hope. His shift from crying "woe is me" ultimately culminated in confessing "faithful is God."
Notice that he said, "I shall yet praise Him." See, the psalmist remembered that God wanted this thing more than he did. He remembered that the character of God was such that God would honor his servant's appetite for the temple, his refusal to accept any alternatives, his agony over God's absence, and his asking for another chance.
Likewise, we must anticipate that God will answer with revival! Our God is a God of freshness, of vitality, of hope. And he wants us to experience him afresh. This paradigm will not permit us to waller in despondence because we're not seeing revival! That kind of attitude issues forth in bitterness, cynicism, and isolation from the work of the Kingdom.
Now don't miss the object of the psalmist's anticipation. It wasn't for the experience...Hope in God,
The psalmist didn't trust in anything or anyone else to bring about this fresh experience. If it was going to happen, God was going to have to make it happen. It's no different with us. If revival is going to come, it won't be because a preacher brings it; it won't be because a denomination brings it; it won't be because a new republican congress brings it; it won't be because of anything else but God! And so we better look to Him and Him alone.
Listen friend, this will recover low spirits, this will put to scorn laughing enemies. This will restore to us all the joys of the holy and happy days of revival. Yes, this is an awesome cheer. This verse, like the singing of Paul and Silas, looses chains and shakes prison walls. And the person who can use this kind of heroic language in his gloomy hours will surely conquer. That person will hold on to an anticipation that God will revive His people. The day will come! A fresh, spiritual awakening will come! Anticipate the answer.
Joel Barker makes another assertion which, in my mind, is more interesting and more challenging than the first. He calls it the "paradigm shift question." It goes something like this:
What is impossible to do in your field today that, if it were possible, would fundamentally change the field?
He suggests that this question is asked by people who change paradigms because the word "impossible" takes them outside their boundaries and the word "fundamentally" suggests that it will result in no small change. It's the question that's been asked by people like...
...the Wright brothers who proved that heavier-than-air flight could be done despite the world's cynicism.
...Chester Carleson who introduced the modern Xerox process into the photography paradigm of the 1930's.
...Ed Deming who outlined a new management approach in the 1950's that has come to be known as Total Quality Management, an approach that was first rejected by most American companies but was adopted by the Japanese and helped them to become a world leader in technology.
...more recently, Bill Gates, a college drop-out transformed the face of the American computer industry with the cocept of "windows" which now is on 2/3 of the PC's in the world and has made him the world's wealthiest commoner.
Beloved, that paradigm shift question must be asked of us today:
What is it in the world today that seems impossible, but if it were possible, would fundamentally change our society?
The ultimate answer to that question is this: a fresh, powerful movement of God! And God is looking for some people to shift the paradigm.
Here is my call to every person within the sound of my voice. Will you commit yourself to help shift this paradigm by...
...acquiring an appetite for revival,
...accepting no alternatives,
...agonizing over its absence,
...asking God for an encore performance, and
...anticipating His answer to our prayer.
If so, would you just stand up right where you are as an indication of your commitment.
August 22, 2001
God's Chosen Instrument
By Gary Zanow
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew and approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as prophet to the nations." - Jeremiah 1:5 (Amplified Version)
What an incredible verse! The obvious statement here is that God knew and chose Jeremiah before Jeremiah was even conceived...but there is so much more!
"Before I formed you in the womb..."
In this little statement God is telling Jeremiah that he wasn't merely the result of Mom & Dad getting intimate...but that God Himself was involved in Jeremiah's conception. The implications in this statement are far-reaching...but let me just say that NONE of us are here by accident: we were all conceived by God's sovereign choice. And if He chose for each of us to be conceived, then we can be sure that He has a plan for each of our lives.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew [you]..."
It is written in Psalm 33:11 that "the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the puposes of His heart through all generations." God's plans have been in place before any of us were ever conceived. He knew everything about us before we were even a twinkle in our parent's eyes...and you can be sure that He has loved you since before the beginning of time. He knew Jeremiah...and He knew you!
I'm going to rabbit-trail here, but Jesus told His disciples that you have to count the cost before you begin a building project (see Luke 14:28-30). You can be sure that God the Father counted the cost of our sins before He sent Jesus to die on the cross; so that He would be sure that Christ's sacrifice was enough to pay for every sin you've ever committed, or ever will commit in your lifetime! This is part of knowing you before you were conceived, and of having a plan for each of us.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew and approved of you..."
The very fact that you're saved today is a testimony to the fact that God knew you and approved of you before your birth. I don't intend to get into an argument on predestination...but only wish to make you aware that God knew you and that He planned for your salvation and made it possible before you even knew you were lost. God loves you so very, very much that He counted the cost before you were born and sent His own, dear Son to die on the cross in your place. And not only did He know you and approve of you, but He still knows you and He still approves of you...even if you feel like He's far away.
"...and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you...as prophet to the nations."
God is obviously speaking these words to Jeremiah, but I believe He is also speaking them to us. While we might not all be called to be a "prophet to the nations" we are all called to a specific role in God's steadfast purpose. As St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians: "For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight." (Ephesians 1:4, and also v. 5-14) and Ephesians 2:10: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Unfortunately, everyone in the world isn't aware of God's plan of salvation in Jesus Christ. And unfortunately, some Christians don't realize that God's plan for their lives doesn't end with but begins with their salvation. If God's sole purpose was just to save you then He surely would have raptured you out of the world as soon as you were saved; but He left you here and He left me here to fulfill His eternal purpose! Part of our journey on this earth after salvation is realizing what that purpose is...and the other part of our journey is living out that purpose as best as we can (and by the power and Spirit of God).
God foreknew you and He Himself formed you in your mother's womb so many years ago. God called you and made provision for your salvation eons before you even thought of calling out to Him for salvation. God loves you and has a special purpose for you here on this earth.
If things are bad or if God seems far away or if you can't seem to figure out why you were ever born...call out to God and He will answer you. He will tell you unsearchable things that you do not know. (Jeremiah 33:3) He will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go and will counsel you and watch over you. (Psalm 32:8) He will take care of you and provide for you like He does the flowers of the field and the birds of the air. (Matthew 6:25-33).
God is good all of the time, and He really, really, really does love you and He really does have a wonderful plan for your life. He knew you before you were born. He Himself formed you in your mother's womb. He planned for your salvation and paid for your sins before you even committed them. Life isn't good all of the time. Our situation isn't good all of the time. Our job isn't good all of the time. Our friends and neighbors aren't good all of the time. Traffic isn't good MOST of the time! But God is good all of the time; and all of the time, God is good. If He had a part in your conception and birth, and sent Jesus to die for all of your sins...you can be sure that He loves you and that He has a specific purpose for your life; and I pray that you bask in His love and come to realize and live out that purpose.
Amen? Amen!
Gary Zanow
[email protected]
The Grace Cyber Cafe
August 29, 2001
Morality Of The Moment
By Tony Beckett
1 Thessalonians 4-5
Do you live in the moment, or do you walk in the eternal? Some people live in the past. Memories of days gone by are always the best and sweetest for them. Others live for the moment. Here and now is all that matters. Every choice or action is for the immediate result or feeling. Others live for the long term. They only see today as a stepping stone to some important future. Well, as followers of Christ, which attitude should we take?
As children of God, we need to keep the eternal in view. But we can't ignore the urgency of living for the Lord each day. In our lives and ministries, we are to be pleasing to the Lord. And that may put us in conflict with the thinking and actions of the world around us. In today's study, we'll see how that works out in two key areas--holiness and harmony.
I was asked to speak at a conference, and they gave me the theme that they wanted me to explore and to deal with at that particular conference. The theme was this: Leading the Church in the 21st Century. Now, that conference obviously took place in the year 2000. We just changed the calendar and moved into the next millennium. I know some purists want to say, "No, that didn't happen until 2001," but anyway, they were thinking in terms of the church in the 21st Century and leading the church at that time. And I pointed out to that group that gathered that leading the church in the 21st Century is really not a calendar issue, but a cultural one. We've got to look at our culture and see what's going on and then say, "How do we as a church, minister in this culture?"
And I set before them and I set before you today, this particular thought. That if you look at our culture and say, "What are the salient features of our culture? What really sticks out in our culture today?" Well, I don't know if you agree with what I'm saying, but I really think if you look around, you're going to find that in this post-modern culture in which we live, there obviously is a fixation on two things in particular. People today are fixated on sex and fixated on self.
Now, I don't have to go very far to prove that. If you watch any sort of the media today, or listen to any of the media today, you're going to find it in much of the popular music and much of the popular programming, and much of the popular activities of today. It's going to be an emphasis on sex. And then just watch. Well, just walk into a department store and see how many products they have, right inside the door perhaps, for taking care of yourself. Our culture does live a lifestyle that's very much fixated on those two things --on sex and on self.
Look at 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2. "Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus."
Now this is like a transition paragraph. Paul is urging them. Paul is giving instruction to the brothers, and he's saying, "Here's how you are to walk. Here's how you are to live. This is what you are to do in your daily life." And when Paul uses that word walk--we've kind of come across that at different times in some of the translations where it talks about walk--Paul is encouraging us to obey the Word of God.
Warren Wiersbe said, "That the Christian's behavior is compared to a walk for several reasons. One, it demands life, for the dead sinner cannot walk. Two, it requires growth, for a little baby cannot walk. Three, it requires liberty, for someone who is bound cannot walk. Four, it demands light, for who wants to walk in the dark. Five, it cannot be hidden, but is witnessed by all. And six, it suggests progress toward a goal."
And Paul, now, in this particular section of 1 Thessalonians is describing the kind of walk, the kind of life, that the believer should have. And it should be this--it should be a life that pleases God, and Paul says do this more and more. And the first thing that he says, is that our ministries today, our lives today, require holiness.
You see, I look at our society, the world in which we live, and say, "We live in a day that is fixated on sex." And then I look at the standard held up by the Word of God. And God wants us to be people of holiness. As a follower of Jesus Christ, what God wants in our life, is that we be people of holiness.
Verses 3 and 4 of 1 Thessalonians 4 are really very straightforward. And we have a command here. Listen as we read these verses. "It is God's will,"--I want to pause there. Sometimes people talk about, "How do I know the will of God?" Well, sometimes God just says it. You can't miss it, it's right there. It is God's will.
You want to know God's will? Listen to this: "It is God's will that you should be sanctified." Be sanctified. Now sanctification speaks of being set apart to God. Sanctification is like a progressive holiness of life where we are learning to live as God wants us to live. Sanctification is our condition in heaven. But it's also to be the reality in life on earth right now.
So he says "God's will is that we be sanctified." Now he's going to describe this. He's going to say that you should avoid sexual immorality. The word translated here, immorality, is one that I want to say is a nice word for immorality. I don't want to say that, because I don't want it to sound like immorality is nice, but I say it's a nice word for immorality because what this word signifies is this: all kinds of illicit or unnatural sexual indulgence.
You see, sometimes we want to get very specific with the word and say the word only refers to this. You know, it's like defining just exactly what sex is. This word is very broad. It paints a broad spectrum of it--all kinds of illicit or unnatural sexual indulgences. Because, friend, holiness, which is what God wants, holiness and sexual immorality are mutually exclusive. You cannot put them together. If you're going to be the person of holiness that God wants you to be, you cannot be a person of sexual immorality.
And when we talk sexual immorality, we don't have to define it extremely, precisely. We don't have to define it with extreme precision. That's the way sometimes, what we want to do, is to draw these fine lines so that what we can do is get just as close to sin as possible and not commit it. This word doesn't allow us that. Because God says, "Any kind of illicit or unnatural indulgence is wrong and if you're going to be a person of holiness, you can't be that way."
Now, keep reading though, verse 4, because you see, the command that Paul is giving us is, "to be sanctified." He's saying to us: avoid, abstain from sexual immorality. And he says, control yourself, "That each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable." Are you catching that? He's saying for this to happen--he's saying here's how to avoid sexual immorality. Control yourself. When it comes to sexual sin, listen, Christians are not the victims of circumstances. And it's not being a victim of our fleshly passions. Because what the Word of God teaches us is that sexual desire can be controlled. The problem is sometimes people don't try to control it.
I appreciated a number of years ago, listening to a friend of mine speak, and I wrote down notes in my Bible, because I really appreciated what he was saying about the area of sexual immorality. And he talked in particular about three follies that sometimes people commit. (And you might want to jot these down.) He talks about the folly of flirting. Go back to Proverbs 5. Read Proverbs, chapter 5. And read it, looking for that theme of flirting. And I remember him specifically saying this, "Teasing eyes and suggestive remarks often end in tearful eyes and sorrowful remorse." (That's a good statement to write down.)
Write it there in the margin by Proverbs 5, "Teasing eyes and suggestive remarks often end in tearful eyes and sorrowful remorse." And sometimes, people have found themselves involved in sexual immorality of one sort or another, and it began with flirting.
And then if you keep reading in the book of Proverbs, chapter 6, and pick up in verses 23-25, there you will find described out the folly of fantasizing. We've got the folly of flirting in chapter 5. Now the folly of fantasizing, where, you know the words of the seductress are, "you know, we'll do this and it will be like this." And it builds this mental picture so that hopefully the fantasy that is created in the mind will result in the act.
And, oh my, today, there is so much that is out there. And perhaps it's not out there. Perhaps it's right in your own home--to build these fallacies, to build these scenes of fantasizing in our minds, thinking, "Oh it would be so neat, oh it would be so good, oh maybe I can get away with this, oh nobody would know." But God knows. And if we're really wanting to be the people God wants us to be, Paul says to us, "Holiness is what God wants." Holiness, be sanctified, which means abstain from sexual immorality and control yourself. And as my friend said, "Watch the folly of flirting, watch the folly of fantasizing.
Well, one person said this, "Back of every tragedy in human character, lies a long history of wicked thinking." That's the fantasizing. And we can also talk about the folly of flaunting. You know, the age-old taboos, and thinking, "Well, you know that's the way it used to be. But this is, you know, now we're modern and we know this is all right." And it may be that when we flaunt some of those things that were good standards to maintain, we put ourselves in a position of temptation.
You know, in the 1st Century world, moral standards were generally very low. Chastity was regarded as an unreasonable kind of restriction. But Paul, he would not compromise on God's clear and demanding standard, and neither can we. And this warning is needed, for Christians are not immune to temptation. They weren't immune to temptation in Paul's day. They're not immune to temptation today.
And then Paul gives this amazing contrast as you continue reading here in 1 Thessalonians 5. He says, "We are not to live in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God." The heathen are controlled by a passionate lust, but if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you are to be controlled by knowing God. And Paul says, you know, "That in this matter, no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you" (v.6). And sometimes we don't understand this concern for a brother dropped in this passage. We're talking about sexual sins, aren't we? Sexual sins harm others, beside those who engage in it.
Sometimes as a pastor, I would be with that spouse who had suffered. That's the best word, suffered, with all the emotion and all the distress and all the effects of their spouse's affair. We like to call it an affair. It's a nicer sounding word. They suffered because of their spouse's sexual immorality. And friend, if we're concerned about the brothers, others who know Christ, our sexual purity is one of the ways that we take care of our brothers. Because they then are blessed by our purity, not wronged by our impurity.
And Paul describes out some consequences here, consequences that really should be motivations for chastity. In verse 6, he is saying to us that sexual immorality is sin and sin brings punishment. He says to us in verse 7 that sexual immorality goes against God's calling. And this is the third use in this passage of the word "hagiasmos", which means holiness. And God's calling us to holiness. Sexual immorality runs against that. And he also says that when we live a life of immorality, we're rejecting, not just the instruction, but we're rejecting God.
And it should be abundantly clear as we read these verses that, for every one of us who is a Christ follower, our life style should stand in marked contrast to those whose lives are characterized by immorality. And we may need to ask ourselves, "How clear is it that we are committed to Christ? How practiced is it that we are living lives of morality? How committed are we to maintaining the standards of purity?" And Paul says, "This is the will of God. Your sanctification that you live a life of holiness."
But now, remember I said, "characterizing our day we live fixated on sex and self." And that also is dealt with by Paul here. Because you see, Paul says that we are not only to live a life of holiness, (let's borrow one of Warren Wiersbe's phrases here) "Holiness and Harmony." Paul says we are to live lives of holiness and harmony. We must go from the wrong life of lust to the right life of love. And if we're going to live lives of harmony, love with other brothers and sisters in Christ, we can't do that just living for self. And our world is saying live for sex; live for self. We do that; we cannot live and accomplish the will of God, because God says to live lives of holiness and harmony.
Listen to the harmony part in verse 9, because 9 and 10 here are talking about love. "Now, about brotherly love," Paul writes, "we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more."
Paul is telling us, "This is the will of God." He's telling us how to walk, how to please God, how to do it more and more. And he says to do it by holiness and--and there is a connection here in the Greek, now, as we come to this verse--by love. Now this is referring to brotherly love. But when we look at brotherly love, we understand that brotherly love is such that it's going to flow from that agape love. And if we have agape love for one another, we will develop then that brotherly love for one another.
And he says, "You Thessalonians, you're practicing this, but yet, you still have room for improvement." That just kind of strikes me. He says, "You're doing it, but you can do it more and more." And as we're thinking about God's will, we're thinking about how we live in a world of sex and self, we find God saying to us, "Live lives of holiness." God is also saying to us, "Live lives of harmony."
And friend, you've got to think in terms of how are you in your relationship with others? And it may be that you look and say, "Yeah, you know, I did pretty well. I did pretty good. I'm not a gossip. I don't do backbiting. I don't tear 'em down. I even help them rake leaves occasionally." But don't just sit and rest on your laurels. You keep on going, you keep on working on it.
Now when we get to verse 11, I don't think it's really a good paragraph break there in the versions that I use. I think it just, kind of keeps on flowing here. And if you keep 9 through 11 you will find that as Paul tells us to live in this love relationship, he then, in verse 11--and in the Greek, it just really says "and,"--and he tells us ways that we can live this out. He gives us very specific admonitions.
Here's three specific admonitions on how to live a life of love toward other brothers and sisters in Christ. Number one, live a restful life. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life. You know, you look at that, and you say now what does living a quiet life have to do with living a life of harmony and showing love for others. Well, let me just ask you this. Have you ever felt loved by a busy person? You know, the person who's always busy, they just kind of fly by you. They go, "Hey, how are you doing? Good to see you. Have a good day. I'll talk to you later," and off they go. Do you ever feel loved by them?
Now, maybe you do to some extent. But don't you feel more love with that person who will sit down, maybe have a cup of coffee with you, talk with you, ask you what's going on in your life, spend time with you? And I think it's interesting that the greatest example of love of course, is Jesus. And you will not find any example in the Gospel of Jesus hurrying anywhere. Jesus never rushed. And he could stop and talk to people. When his disciples were saying, "Come on, Jesus, we got to keep on going." Jesus was just kind of like putting the brakes on, and saying, "No, I'm going to stop. I have this person to talk to."
Guys, this is what it's all about! And if we're going to live out a life of love, it may be that we need to take that calendar and mark some things out of our calendar, so that we can build time into our calendar--to spend time with people. Because we never feel loved by a busy person. And how are people going to experience our love if we're too busy.
The second instruction he gives us is kind of interesting. He then says to mind your own business. You know, one commentary says this. "The connection with love for the brethren is obvious." I mean when we're always meddling in somebody else's business, especially if we're gossiping, is that how we show love? And even Proverbs says, "Seldom set foot in your neighbor's house. Too much of you and he will hate you." So there is this aspect that we sometimes show our love by minding our own business.
And the third one is by taking care of ourselves. He says in verse 11, "Work with your hands, just as we told you. Because a man who is willing to work with his hands demonstrates his love for his brother by being willing to humble himself, to provide for his own needs, so that he's not dependent upon others." And this isn't something that just happens. But this is what God wants. And while we live in a world that's so fixated on sex and self, God says, "No, that's not my will. My will is that you live lives of holiness and you live lives of harmony." And that's what we're to do. That's where we're to put our efforts--to be people characterized by holiness and harmony.
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