I ran in the cold, rainy mist on the next to last day of 2009. Normally, not a big deal, but following a year of a slow to heal calf injury and missing the Rock n Roll Marathon in June (a shot at qualifying for the Boston Marathon falling by the wayside), slowly getting back into the routine, and on a less than optimal day was, for me, anyway, a major achievement.
And it was a pretty nice way to end a year that, for a lot of us, didn't go the way we had hoped.
I imagine as December moves us towards Christmas and then the New Year, you’ll be doing some reflecting. Another year is over, and with it leaves the promise its days offered. Sometimes, that kind of reflection can lead to regret. Don’t let it.
Instead, focus on the year ahead and the unwritten chapters of your life. What is it that you want to do? And, perhaps more importantly, who is it that you want to become?
For me, it brought to mind one of those "life verses" that some of us have written not only in our heads, but our hearts as well: Isaiah 43: 18-19 (NIV)
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland."
“Forget about what’s happened;
don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is!
I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands."
We who believe in and follow God know that He is faithful to carry out what He says He will do. And He is constantly making new things and renewing other things (like us). We need to have an attitude of worship and awe, to know that He is the one true God, and that he became flesh and blood in the form of Jesus to save us from ourselves. And because of that act of forgiveness and redemption, we shouldn't dwell (or focus) on the past – both our successes and failures – because there are some new things the Lord is constantly doing in us and around us.
So, we acknowledge what has happened. We learn the lessons we need to learn. If it’s some success that we’ve had, praise God for that success. Most of all, remember that He is God and you and I are not … and MOVE ON.
We move on because He’s doing a new thing. In the context the book of Isaiah, the new thing is the work being done to bring the Messiah through the nation of Israel to redeem all mankind. Also, because He is God, He knows that after the Babylonian captivity (which God foretold through a list of prophets, such as Isaiah, in the Old Testament) He will bring His people back to their land … and in the BIG Biblical picture … the new thing is the coming new heavens and new earth foretold in Revelation.
Interesting to note: this is NOT the first time the Lord says this. In Isaiah 42:8-9:
“I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not give my glory to another
or my praise to idols.
See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.”
When you read the Bible closely, not only do you realize that the one true God is THE Creator (Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth …”) He also renews and makes things new again.
Revelation 21:5
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Stuff to think about as we move into 2010:
Don’t beat yourself up over past failures, past sins. And don’t allow others to do that to you. Know, as a follower of Christ Jesus, that you are forgiven. Turn away from that past.
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Move on! It sounds really elementary, yet how many of us are actually getting up, leaving the past behind an allowing God to lead us to the new thing?
Philippians 3:12-14
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Look ahead. God’s got something really cool in the making. We just need to be paying attention. It is, after all, a new year ...
The Charlie Hall Band
Jan. 1, 2009
Charlie and the guys play "New Year" backstage in a giant exhibit hall in San Jose, CA, right at the turn of 2009 ...
Link for the Facebook note:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd9BTMjcEBE
My heart beats like a drum
Flying up with the sun
I grab your hand again renovated with life
My eyes again bright and You are radiant
Where hope can hold the hand of sorrow
And we can walk into tomorrow
Where peace is found in troubled days
And the joy of Jesus carries pain
This is a new year
This is new day to rise, shine
Lift up your eyes
This is a new year
This is a new day to rise, shine
And point the way to God's great life
I'm held in a place a beautiful space
Where heaven meets the earth
My heart opens wide and the Father pours life
Deep inside my soul
It's the morning of Christmas Eve. I just had my coffee, and now, as I write this, I'm wrestling on whether to go on a run in the chilly air, or sit by the space heater keeping my feet warm. So far, the feet are winning.
The last couple of months have been pretty interesting, in a fun sort of way. I mean, I really haven't felt this "Christmas-y" in a long time, and I didn't even have to step in a mall to get that way as I have in years past (gosh, that's a sad thought). As I shared with people at church, the Christmas season the past few years or so for me often started out in a semi-Scrooge state, bordering on Grinch-like. And for an associate pastor who leads the worship music on Sundays, that's not a very good place to be. Eventually, I got to where I needed to be with a lot of prayer and just spending time with God and His Word.
I guess I was struggling a lot with what the culture was saying Christmas is, and seeing devoted followers of Christ fall right into that to the point of forgetting the real reason why we have Christmas at all. And despite my encouragements, sharing of Scripture, sharing of songs that point to the Gospel message, it seemed to fall on deaf ears as I saw them stressing out over stuff along with the culture.
This year, I came across the Advent Conspiracy, a movement started by a group of churches a few years ago that sought to take back Christmas from what the culture - our culture - had turned it into. It's more than "Putting Christ back into Christmas" by shopping at stores whose workers say "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays." I mean, I appreciate that, but why should I expect the checkout clerk at Target or Macy's or Barnes and Nobles (or extend it out further, corporate America) to remind me of the Christmas story? As a Christ-follower, isn't that my responsibility?
Anyway, the idea of the movement revolves around four points:
Worship Fully: It starts and ends with Jesus, His story, why He came to earth at all. If He's not in it, then Christmas is just a time of giving gifts and being nice for a few weeks out of the year. That's OK, but it's not lasting. Don't believe me? Watch what happens with people in general a month from now.
Spend Less: Gift giving is NOT discouraged by any means, despite what some media coverage of Advent Conspiracy may have hinted at. Instead, it encourages WISE spending, wise gift shopping, and really takes aim at discouraging people from going into debt - which, let's face it, a lot of do during this time of year, and spend a good chunk of the next year trying to pay it off.
Give More: As we spend less, we have more to give toward causes that help the least of these, those who are worse off than we are. Did you know that the vast majority of the world lives off $2 a day? A DAY. That's not even a grande cup of coffee at Starbucks that most of us spend without a second thought. Anyway, with the money that some of the people didn't spend on extravagant gifts, they donated it to dig drinking water wells in impoverished countries . Sounds kind of elementary for us - and I bet many take that for granted with our bottled water in our backpacks and tote bags - but it's huge for people in Africa, Asia, South America. At my church, we directed donations to three ministries we support in the Philippines and a reserve for any local causes for the needy. The point is, find a way to give more to the least of these.
And "give more" translates also into giving more time to family and friends … reconnecting with them in meaningful ways - maybe even getting together to actually MAKE Christmas presents for others. The idea is that when God came to earth, He didn't give us stuff … He gave us Himself. And we should follow the example. Stuff is nice, but isn't spending time with family and friends more lasting?
Love All: Simple to say, but hard to do. Yet, if Jesus is in it (love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, all your might, all your strength, all your mind - to worship fully), as difficult as it may be to love all (especially that person who just cut in front of you at the supermarket as you were shopping for your family Christmas dinner), if Jesus is in it, it's a whole lot easier.
And, Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All becomes something we do all year, not just at Christmas time. (And I am praying that really becomes the case.)
Anyway, the idea of Advent Conspiracy just lit up in my brain, and the church leadership allowed us to pursue it this year. While it wasn't a huge thing - it was, after all, new and introduced the Sunday after Thanksgiving - it did, I think, get people moving back toward what Christmas is.
It's not about us, necessarily, but about the eternal One, the perfect One, the Holy One, the Creator of creation, who stepped into time, who "put on skin," grew with us, ate with us, worked with us, smiled with us, wept with us, hurt with us ... and ultimately died for us - all to redeem us from the darkness we put ourselves in, the darkness we would never have escaped if the reason for Christmas had never happened.
If you're so inclined, visit the news page at my church's Web site, where we have an entry called "Christmas Is …" Or, just take a few moments to check out the video links below.
Here's to praying that the true meaning of Christmas becomes something you re-discover this year.
Merry Christmas!
Christmas in a Nutshell Link for the Facebook note: http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/16143/Christmas-In-A-Nutshell
That's Christmas Link for the Facebook note: http://vimeo.com/2549637
Christmas is: "God became one of us. ... That means that someone as supremely as powerful as God has taken the initiative to come and get to know us. That's Christmas. Without that, really, there's not a lot left." Hmmm. Ponder that one as you watch the video from St. Helen's Bishopgate in London.
Woke up earlier than usual to go over John 4:19-29 for a message I was asked to share at Mars Hill Bible Fellowship at 10 a.m. (read the passage ... you may appreciate the irony of the rest of the blog entry);
The bathroom sink backed up at exactly the wrong time, like right before I jumped in the shower to get to Mars Hill;
I left the PowerPoint file for our 1:30 p.m. service at CICF on the computer desktop rather than save it to my flash drive;
Got to CICF after preaching at Mars Hill, got things ready for our service and our guest singers, Jed Santa Maria and Guada;
The on-stage monitors weren't working, which meant that if you were on stage you couldn't hear (or at least, barely hear) the person next to you;
One of our lead singers had been ill during the week;
Our drummer had his schedule changed at the last minute, so we didn't have a drummer;
Discovered I didn't have the PowerPoint for worship service (it had announcements and other important info);
We started service late because somehow, some thought we were starting at 2 p.m. (?);
And Angelo, Mark and me (mostly ... er, actually totally on me) forgot to pray before service.
But God met us anyway, in spite of my inadequacy and lack of preparation ... In a way it was maybe the best way to start the Advent season (that 4 weeks of spiritual reflection leading up to the traditional celebration of God become flesh and hanging out with us for a while). The world wasn't quite prepared for the coming of the Christ; in fact some totally missed it or just didn't believe it happened. Like my Sunday, ready or not, prepared or not, God was going to do what He was going to do, because He knows much better than we do.
So about half-way though a set during which I was not very comfortable (you ever just feel off?) and when I had told Angelo and Mark we would cut it short by one song ... God set it up that it wouldn't happen the way I wanted it to, but the way He wanted it to. I couldn't make eye contact with Pastor Ed -- he had his eyes closed -- to do the opening prayer, so I just launched in to the song ... good thing it happened that way because Week 1 of our Advent Conspiracy is to worship fully ... and the church did just that ...
Link for the Facebook note: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMp3Y82jamg
I don't know where most of you stand on the current health care reform debate, but I do know the rhetoric -- the name-calling, lack of civility and respect, false accusations and misrepresentations on BOTH sides -- makes me cringe.
The e-mail this a.m. brought the commentary below from Christian pollster and researcher George Barna. I'm NOT saying which way you should go on this issue, nor am I saying where I stand on it -- the italics I added are points I would pray you would consider and pray over with the Lord, nothing more.
What I am saying is that you, who follow Jesus, with help of the Holy Spirit, search Scripture for guidance, then act on that. And wherever you stand, that you state your views and base your actions on gentleness, love and respect. (Proverbs 15:1, James 3:1-18 and 1 Peter 3:15)
Praying you take the time to read it with an open heart and mind, be like the Bereans (Acts 17:11) who checked Paul's teaching against Scripture ... then ask yourself, what would Jesus say and teach, but more importantly, DO, in this situation? And what would you do?
You can’t turn on the TV, listen to radio or read a newspaper without confronting some information about the raging debate on health care. Surveys continue to show that Americans are not well-informed on the issue and are struggling to figure out who is telling the truth about existing needs, the financial implications of the policies under consideration, and how they will personally be affected.
Because so much of the debate relates to the needs of the poor and disadvantaged, Americans are playing this one a bit more cautiously than usual. Most adults define themselves as living a middle-class life, and believe their levels of comfort are a direct result of their own hard work and diligence. As politicians plead their case regarding health care provisions, citizens are conflicted, vacillating between a hard-line stance that expects others to work as hard as they have to get good health care and showing some compassion toward those who are less fortunate.
Views of Poverty
Our surveys underscore the fact that about three-quarters of all adults believe poverty is one of the most serious issues facing the nation. Even more significantly, most Americans also contend that when it comes to alleviating poverty, that’s mainly the government’s responsibility. Two-thirds of adults look to the government to solve issues related to poverty – including health care deficiencies. Just one out of every five adults believes that solving poverty is an individual duty, and a mere one out of 25 people assigns that task to non-profit organizations, and another one in 25 assigns it to churches.
As we assess how individuals deal with poverty on a personal level, we find that Americans do get involved, but in a kind of arms-length manner. For instance, the most common responses are for people to give money, food, and clothing to someone else to get the job done. In contrast, the most personal responses are the least common. Relatively few Americans talk directly with the needy, tutor them, build homes for them, visit them, befriend them, or engage in other types of personal activities to address the issue.
One might say, then, that we mean well but we’re too busy, too disinterested, or feel too inadequate to actually address poverty personally, head-on. Given that mind set, it’s no wonder that the current health care debate centers not on what every American can personally do to help alleviate human suffering, but on how we can get the government to provide a more efficient alternative that will neither break the bank nor hinder our lifestyle.
In essence, what Americans seem to want is increased government services, more efficient delivery of services, no increase in taxes, and no personal involvement in the process. In a nutshell, our argument is: it’s not my fault and it’s not my job, so let the paid professionals deal with it.
Jesus the Healer
Given the fact that devout Christians mirror these attitudes, it raises the question of what a Christian’s obligation to the poor is in the matter of health care. Should Christians feel comfortable accepting the “let the government handle it” philosophy?
If a Christian were to turn to the Bible for guidance in these matters, a simple read through the gospel according to Luke would provide some answers. Luke, the author of the third gospel account in the New Testament, was a physician and would have been especially sensitive to how Jesus dealt with people’s medical needs.
In fact, Luke’s narrative contains 26 different passages describing how Jesus responded to people’s physical and medical needs. The book shows that Jesus healed hundreds of people. But it also gives us some consistent patterns from Jesus’ ministry to the poor and suffering people He encountered that we might use as principles to guide our personal responses to today’s health care challenges.
There were at least seven noteworthy perspectives that underlie Jesus’ health care strategy.
1.Jesus healed people because He believed that good health matters. People with serious medical challenges lack hope – and people without hope have no reason to keep living. Since life is a precious gift from God, and He wants people to enjoy and celebrate life, as well as the God who gave it to them, restoring health was a viable means to an end. Whenever He had the opportunity to do so, He healed people and sent them on their way.
2.Jesus invested Himself in their healing because He loved and cared for people. In Luke 7:13 we read that “His heart overflowed with compassion” for those people. He did not heal them because it showed His power or grabbed attention as much as He healed them because He felt their pain and knew their desolation. Healing was a practical demonstration that God was not wrathful but graceful.
3. Jesus healed everyone who presented a medical need because He saw no reason to screen some out as unqualified. Whether He knew them or not, He helped them. Whether they supported Him or not, He helped them. Whether they were adherents of His faith or not, He helped them. He did not set up conditions and hoops in order for people to qualify. He just healed them because He could.
4. Jesus healed every kind of illness He encountered. No malady was too simple (such as a fever) or too complex (including paralysis, leprosy, and demonization). He even took on the impossible – death – and raised people from the dead on three separate occasions!
5. Jesus pursued them because He saw Himself as a servant. A servant does what he can to address the needs of those being served, whether the needy one comes to the servant or the servant must go to the needy. Jesus did not get caught up in the ego games of who should pursue who; when He saw a need He went out of His way to address it.
6. Jesus allowed them to disrupt His schedule because He realized that people’s pain and suffering was their top focus in life. Because the main value in His life was giving love, things like remaining on schedule, following His pre-determined agenda, maintaining orderliness and predictability all took a back seat to the chance to affect other people’s lives with genuine love.
7. Jesus expected His closest followers to heal others. The needs of the people were substantial and providing a healing touch grabbed people’s attention so they could see Him for who He was and what His message to them was. Consequently, Jesus included healing in the marching orders He gave to not only the 12 apostles, but to another group of 72 disciples that He had been mentoring in the ways of grace. (Luke 9:1; 10: 1, 9, 17)
Jesus Health Care Strategy
In short, Jesus Christ showed us that anyone who follows Him is expected to address the most pressing needs of others. You can describe Jesus’ health care strategy in four words: whoever, whatever, whenever, wherever. Whoever needed to be healed received His healing touch. Whatever affliction they suffered from, He addressed it. Whenever the opportunity to heal arose, He seized it. Wherever they happened to be, He took care of it.
Contrast the Jesus model with the preferred American model. The latter might be described as deciding to throw some money at the problem – but not too much – so that somebody else can do what needs to be done, for those who qualify, in a manner that does not inconvenience us. The former approach was the whoever, whatever, whenever, wherever strategy.
It’s quite a contrast, isn’t it?
The Underlying Foundation
Don’t overlook the fact that Jesus called on His followers to personally attend to the health care needs of the poor and disenfranchised. Not only did Jesus model healing for His followers, but He supported such outreach with ample philosophical underpinnings. You see Him teaching His followers before, during and after instances of healing. We are familiar with the principles, but perhaps not their application to health needs.
• Do to others what you would like them to do to you (Luke 7:31). Jesus asked His followers to see themselves in the people who yearned for a healing touch and to respond accordingly. Although He was mocked and opposed for His efforts to heal, such opposition never stopped Him from treating others as we would want to be treated.
• Produce results (or, in biblical language, bear fruit) (Luke 6:43-45). These days, we might think of His teaching as admonishing His followers to not pass the buck. He reminded them they had been given gifts and resources so that they could affect reality. He warned them against simply discussing solutions and instructed them to conceive and implement solutions.
• Do whatever it takes to love God and all people with your heart, mind, strength and soul (Luke 4:8, 6:27-36). Jesus used love as a verb, not an adjective. He exhorted His followers to prove their love by doing compassionate things for those in need. Jesus showed them what was important by focusing on the act of giving, rather than receiving. Often, those whom He healed did not thank Him, and He was never paid for his medical care – but He healed them regardless, because it enabled Him to love those who lacked hope.
• Always try to do the will of God (Luke 12:29-31). Your life is not about what you want; to be a follower of Jesus your desires should match God’s. The way we demonstrate that we understand this principle is by allowing God to change your heart, and by following His plan.
A Personal Challenge
So, if Jesus went to such lengths to put feet on His health care strategy, what is yours? He did not seem inclined to wait for the government to provide for the poor. His strategy called for people to help people, through the power and ability that He entrusted to His followers. One must wonder if the American preference for government programs is the best solution to the existing needs – and if a nation where 83% of adults label themselves “Christian” can blend that religious connection with a desire for state-based solutions.
Government clearly has a role in people’s lives; the Bible supports its existence and circumscribed functions. It is unfortunate that when God’s people, collectively known as the Church, fail to exhibit the compassion and service that He has called us to provide, we are comfortable with the government acting as a national safety net. In a society that has become increasingly self-centered and self-indulgent, we simply expand our reliance upon the government to provide solutions and services that are the responsibility of Christ followers. Some Christians have heeded the call, as evidenced by the medical clinics, pregnancy centers and even hospitals across the nation that were initiated and funded by small numbers of dedicated believers who grasped this responsibility. Imagine what an impact the Church would have on society if it truly reflected the model Jesus gave us of how to care for one another!
As we think about the elements embedded in the national debate, perhaps each of us should be asking ourselves a few simple questions.
What kinds of people within your realm of influence need health care assistance – and how do you respond?
How do you figure out who to help – and who to serve them in partnership with?
How do you decide when and how often to invest yourself in helping poor people who have health needs?
What limitations do you place on the kind of health care assistance you offer to the needy?
What gifts, talents, and resources can you be more aggressive at applying to the health care needs of the poor?
I don’t know what God is asking or preparing you to do in relation to the needs of the poor and disadvantaged. All I know is that we have been told to imitate Christ, and His health care strategy is whoever, whatever, whenever, wherever.
A lot of times we'll read the Bible and say, "Awww. Nice story!" And that's OK ... kind of. Because usually if we look at Scripture that way, it usually means we've missed (or worse, ignored) a key point. You know, like when we read about how Noah got the animals on the ark two-by-two ("Awww. Cute!") but miss or ignore the part about the people in the world drowning from the great flood. ("Whoa! That was in there, too?!")
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
So we know of the priest (meanie!) and the Levite (meanie!) who passed by the man who was beaten by robbers. We know of the good Samaritan (yea!) for whom hospitals have been named. Good. We should know of them.
But, do we remember the "expert in the law" who asked the question of Jesus? And do we remember Jesus response outside of the parable? This expert, this teacher, knew the law, summing up the teaching of the Ten Commandments, to love God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your strength, and to love one's neighbor as himself (because what right-minded, rational person hates himself?).
Jesus tells him the first time, good, you understand, now go it.
And the teacher, as Luke records it, asks who his neighbor is, probably because he was intellectually full of himself, and Jesus hits him with the parable in which one of the lowliest of people, in the mind of the Jewish religious leaders of the day, helps the person in need. Not the priest (you would think, yes?), not the Levite (you would think, yes?).
Jesus hits the teacher again with "Who was the neighbor of the victim?" The teacher says, "The one who had mercy on him." I find it interesting the teacher didn't say "the Samaritan."
And Jesus says, "Go and do likewise."
My point: Don't miss out on the expert in the law, who knows the Bible, can recite the Bible with no problem, but when asked to follow the teachings of the Bible -- especially those passages about sharing compassion and love (not just with our wallets) -- with "the least of these" and the lost, tries to qualify it with,"Yeah, but who is my neighbor?"
Then ask yourself (yes, me, too): "Am I like that expert in the law, who knows all this stuff that I'm supposed to know, but when asked to go and actually do it, when asked to live a life that reflects my faith, when asked to walk as Jesus did, do I hem and haw and try to justify my complacency?"
Questions, comments, yes, even criticisms, leave 'em below the video of Jars of Clay's "Two Hands" ...
(Link for the Facebook note: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCC6E7Ptnyc)
There is some computer glitch at work Wednesday early a.m., so while that gets sorted out, I figured that was God's way of saying, "Dude, now that you're not pushing to get the Web updates done, let's have coffee and a strawberry Pop Tart together."
Well, not exactly, but I did feel led to do more than just skim through a daily e-mailed devotional; shamefully that's become a bad habit ...
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
That followed with a reading of Psalm 139, which ends with,
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
And a search for some other lyrics to a Starfieldsong led me to "I Will Go" (funny how that happens) ... Kind of another Isaiah 6 moment (re-read that passage and see if you see the same parallel ideas) ...
So when God calls you to whatever it is wherever it is (maybe it is a mission trip, maybe it's going up to a person you don't like and sharing God's love with that person in a real way, not some fake, superficial way), will you go? Having a heart to go is a start, but will you set aside your fears and apprehensions, will you set aside your own creature comforts, will you set aside your own ideas of what serving Him should look like, will you set aside lip service and just be obedient ... will you follow Him?
Will you truly just GO?
I Will Go
By Tim Neufeld and Jon Neufeld
To the desperate eyes and reaching hands To the suffering and the lean To the ones the world has cast aside Where you want me I will be
[Chorus:] I will go, I will go I will go, Lord send me To the world, To the lost To the poor and hungry Take everything I am I'm clay within your hands I will go, I will go, send me
Let me not be blind with privilege Give me eyes to see the pain Let the blessing You've poured out on me Not be spent on me in vain Let this life be used for change
I wanna live for you Go where you lead me I wanna follow you
(Rewritten notes from a message given on Aug. 30, 2009, at Corona International Christian Fellowship.)
Quick summary as to why we're doing this:
2 Timothy 3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God — having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
In other words, there are people within the body of believers in Christ who are not believers, but pretenders – and they, in these last days will (and do) live and teach such a life. We need to be watchful of them and HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM.
2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
So we’re going to enter a period of self-examination, both as a church and as the people who make up the church, with the help of the Lord Himself through His holy Word.
In my limited study of revivals in the church, great movements of God among and in His children happened in times of repentance, in times of acknowledging their failings and crying out to the Lord for forgiveness.
As someone once said, if you want to start a revival in your church, go to a quiet room, draw a circle on the floor, get on your knees inside it and pray to the Lord to search your heart.
Remember as you read the Scripture passages that these are the words of Jesus Christ, given to the apostle John to give to the seven churches in Asia Minor.
Revelation 4:14-22
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Teaching Point No. 1 Letter to the church in Laodicea Indifference to your faith and to Jesus is a dangerous thing.
In four of the past six letters to the churches where Jesus had a rebuke and an encouragement to repent, He also found some redeeming qualities within these four churches.
Ephesus (first love taken for granted) They hated false teachers and they hated the practices of the Nicolaitans.
Pergamum(some allowed, and held to, the teaching of Balaam = immorality) They stood firm for Jesus even as they were persecuted.
Thyatira (tolerated Jezebel, the false prophetess who taught immorality) They were faithful, they served, they persevered and did more than they had done when they first came to know Christ.
Sardis(dead faith, going through the motions) There was a group of people who stood firm in their faith in Jesus, and were examples to their fallen brothers and sisters.
But Laodicea seems to be in more trouble than the others. They were neither cold nor hot, but lukewarm, just like the Laodician’s water supply, historians say. So that idea of being lukewarm had to have struck a chord with them … And who likes to drink anything lukewarm? Who likes lukewarm tea or coffee? Who likes lukewarm soda? Who likes lukewarm Gatorade?
Jesus does not say anything really redeeming about how the Laodicean church carries itself. He wishes they were hot or cold and not stuck in neutral -- and worse yet, putting on appearances that all is well – because being neutral is not a good thing:
Revelation 3:17
“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful,poor, blind and naked.”
Here’s how it likely plays out in modern terms.
My question is, how can one have a genuine encounter with Jesus, God made flesh, have the Holy Spirit dwell in him or her, and be indifferent to the truth? How can one not be moved in one way or the other after such an encounter through His written Word or His written Word preached?
I mean, in every mention that I’ve read in the Bible of man coming into the presence of God, whether it be God incarnate as Jesus or God as He chose to reveal Himself as in the Old Testament, people had a reaction. The demons had a reaction. And correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t know if there is no record of anyone being indifferent to being in the Lord’s presence.
But in Laodicea – and today as well – people calling themselves believers live do so in name and appearance only – they sing the “happy songs” and say the right things, and maybe quote the Bible once in a while. Jesus says of them, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”
In James 1, it says
James 1:22-24
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
I think that’s what Jesus meant by Laodiceans being blind and wretched … There is some serious denial going on here, just as there was with Ryan in the video.
Verse 16 is a problem for me. I’m bouncing around on exactly what Jesus means about spitting the lukewarm in faith out of His mouth. The NIV uses “spit” as a less offensive way of putting it … in fact, in the original Greek, the word used is emeō, which translates into “vomit” or “throw up” in our language – the very thing I feel like when I get lukewarm Gatorade on a very hot long run. It’s a very violent act for the body to rid itself of something unpleasant, offensive, distasteful or bad.
Does that mean Jesus is having nothing to do with them once He does vomit these indifferent people out?
Maybe it’s this, and please listen (read) carefully: I’m not suggesting at all that someone can “lose” his salvation, that God will take it away from him. What I am suggesting is that maybe he never had it in the first place, because he NEVER accepted God’s gift through the grace and mercy of Jesus’s cross.
And in their indifference to Jesus, maybe they never really accepted Him as Lord and Savior. Maybe they made the outward appearance of doing that, but they never really committed their lives to Him, to follow Him, to truly call Him Lord – which means “master” – and have Him direct their lives.
And while I fear for others who are in this boat, I fear for myself as well. And that causes me to check inward and ask, “Am I lukewarm? Even though outwardly I may look like I’m doing and saying the right things, am I indifferent to the truth and just sitting on the fence, thinking I’m OK, when no one is around to see … Am I deceiving myself?”
Do you ever ask yourself that?
I don’t doubt Jesus, I don’t doubt God’s Bible, I don’t doubt its truth, I don’t doubt God’s promises in His Word. What I do doubt is me and my faith. As it’s written in Mark 9:24. as the father of the sick boy cried out the Jesus to heal his son, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
And Jesus does offer that, because while He’s about to spit the lukewarm out, he says two important words …
“about to” …
That gives me hope, hope for me, hope for those who are stuck in neutral … because Jesus is reaching out:
Revelation 3:18-19
“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.”
He gives us the truth we need to turn back to Him. He offers more that the short-term, feel-good answers the world offers us. He offers a way back by offering us Himself ... God in the flesh, offering Himself to us, even as lowly and wretched, pitiful, blind and naked as we are … Just like the blind that He healed, He wants to do the same for us so that we can truly see.
For reflection (just you, the Lord and His Word, one-on-one): Are you lukewarm? Do you think you have all that you need and in front of people, you do what looks like Christianity, but in reality, when no one is looking but you and the Lord, are you really blind and naked? How do we fix this? How do we be earnest and repent?
Application Open the door of your heart to Jesus.
Revelation 3:20
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
We often associate that verse with inviting people to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and that’s a perfectly OK application … But its original context, it’s aimed at the church whose people have become indifferent to the Lord. It’s aimed at people who know the truth that Jesus is truly Lord, have heard the sermons, read the passages, sang the songs, gone to the Bible studies, have quoted the Scripture, but only deceive themselves about their devotion to Jesus.
But the Lord offers repeatedly an invitation to repent and return to Him:
Hebrews 4:7, Hebrews 3:15, Psalm 95-7-8 all say:
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
I don’t know about you, but when I see God repeat Himself in Scripture, I have to understand that it’s important for me to reflect on it and to check myself to see if I am truly applying that to my life. The tendency sometimes – in our overconfidence and even in our arrogance -- is to say that it doesn’t apply to ourselves – but really, I think the Lord is asking us – all of us – to examine ourselves as Paul urged the Corinthian church to do.
And you know what the coolest thing ever is, when we heed the Lord’s call and be earnest and repent?
Revelation 3:21
"To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne."
For those who overcome, we get to be in the throne room of the Father and the Son in heaven! And that lead to the second teaching point today.
Teaching Point No. 2 In the throne room of the Lord, a sneak preview for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Revelation 4
After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spiritsa of God. 6 Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
I’m not going to get too much into breaking down this passage exegetically … I’m not going to get into the symbolism of the four living creatures or who the 24 elders are. There are – and will be – other opportunities to get into the deep Biblical meaning of all that.
Instead, what I’d would l like to do is bask and rejoice in this passage. Because when those who are in Christ are in His presence in His throne room in heaven, we’re going to know what all that means and who they all are.
This looks similar to the vision Isaiah saw in the year King Uzziah died, when he beheld the living God whose robe filled the whole temple and he saw the angels who were calling to one another in a really loud voice,
And everything in the temple is shaking at the sound of their voices.
Isaiah realizes his unworthiness in the site of the Almighty Perfect Creator, yet angel takes a live coal from the altar, touches Isaiah’s lips with it and says, “See, this has touched your lips, your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
Then God calls Isaiah to duty – just as he calls us … and just as Isaiah said, “Here am I” in response to the Lord, so I am praying we are responding likewise as the Lord calls us to duty.
Fast forward and we get a glimpse of eternity through John’s eyes. For those in eternity who are in the presence of the Lord, the work He had called them to in this world is done – and there is the declaration of eternity of God when they say:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”
And we get this scene of thunder and lighting coming from the throne on which someone sat … and that person, we come to learn, is the One … the One who always was, is and is to come … the Creator by whose will every thing was created … and the four strange looking living creatures and 24 elders with crowns dressed in white, and a sea of glass before the throne, and an emerald rainbow that CIRCLED the thrown, and seven lamps blazing …
Application Know this is what awaits you if you are in Christ Jesus, if He is your Lord and Savior and you have overcome through Him. Know that, and let that help you put everything in this life in its proper perspective.
For reflection (just you, the Lord and His Word, one-on-one): Imagine being in God's throne room, in the very presence of the One who made you, who created all there is. What would that be like? Does this exhilarate you, knowing that some day, just as the Lord promised that if you overcome in this life by putting all your faith in Him and walking in His ways, you will be in His glorious presence?
Think about that as you listen to this song:
For some of you, does it scare you, because you're not sure if you will be in the presence of God, basking in His radiant love? (If that's you , feel free to e-mail me at alan.llavore@gmail.com, and with God's Word, I'll try to help you sort it all out.)
On that day when I see All that You have for me When I see You face to face There surrounded by Your grace All my fears swept away In the light of Your embrace Where Your love is all I need And forever I am free
Where the streets are made of gold In Your presence healed and whole Let the songs of heaven Rise to You alone
No weeping no hurt or pain No suffering You hold me now You hold me now No darkness no sick or lame No hiding You hold me now You hold me now
In this life I will stand Through my joy and my pain Knowing there's a greater day There's a hope that never fails Where Your Name is lifted high And forever praises rise For the glory of Your Name I'm believing for the day
Where the wars and violence cease All creation lives in peace Let the songs of heaven Rise to You alone
For eternity All my heart will give All the glory to Your Name
Questions, comments, yes, even criticisms, leave 'em below ...
“Even worship, which takes place in a 'sanctuary,' a safe place, has a scary patina to it. Our services are crowded with cheerful tunes and inspiring sermons, with jokes from the platform and smiles everywhere—so much so that we forget sometimes that we are in the presence of God Almighty, our Maker and Judge and Redeemer. If we lose the sense that worship is a dangerous place, well, we're probably not in the presence of the biblical God.”
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
Thoughts, comments, other stuff ... leave your marks below ...
Next week (reading ahead is encouraged!): Revelation 3:14-22, maybe into Revelation 4
2 Timothy 3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God — having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
In other words, there are people within the body of believers in Christ who are not believers, but pretenders – and they, in these last days will (and do) live and teach such a life. We need to be watchful of them and HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM.
2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
So we’re going to enter a period of self-examination, both as a church and as the people who make up the church, with the help of the Lord Himself through His holy Word.
In my limited study of revivals in the church, great movements of God among and in His children happened in times of repentance, in times of acknowledging their failings and crying out to the Lord for forgiveness.
As someone once said, if you want to start a revival in your church, go to a quiet room, draw a circle on the floor, get on your knees inside it and pray to the Lord to search your heart.
Continuing from last week’s reflection (just you, the Lord and His Word, one-on-one):
Two keywords:
Repent Turn away from the things you are doing that are wrong, and turn back to your first love.
Overcome That in Jesus, when we repent and turn back to him, we will have peace even in a troubled, fallen world. But if we are in Him, we have overcome all that with Him.
John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
In today's study, Jesus teaches us more about repenting and overcoming …
Revelation 3:1-13
To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
7To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars — I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Teaching Point No. 1 Letter to the church of Sardis, Revelation 3:1-6
Wake up! We might be going through the motions in “serving” the Lord, and it looks really good. But we may not be really serving the Lord.
This almost is an echo of the letter to the church in Ephesus, where Jesus said they did great deeds, rejected false teachers, but Jesus was not their motivation for the things they did.
In this letter, the Lord says that they look alive, but they in fact are dead. “I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.” Their deeds are just lacking anything worthwhile in the site of God. They need to come to the realization of their real status – not in their own eyes, but in the eyes of the Lord. Theologian G. Campbell Morgan called it “reputation without reality.”
Warren Wiersbe says the message to Sardis is a warning to all “great churches” that are living on past glory. Or, on a personal examination level, maybe it’s also a warning for individual members of a church who tend to live on past glory while everyone else is moving on. Dr. Vance Havner has frequently reminded us that spiritual ministries often go through four stages: a man, a movement, a machine, and then a monument. Sardis was at the “monument” stage, but there was still hope!
Maybe we’re like that. Maybe we do things just because we’ve always done them, thinking, “That’s ministry. That’s what serving the church and God is because that’s the way we’ve always done it.” Or maybe we say, “Hey, let’s start this new program or do this event. It’ll be great, and it’ll bring in people” only to see the only people it serves is – us.
And we fool ourselves into believing that what we’re doing is real ministry when it’s not. It’s incomplete, it’s probably self-serving, it’s probably busy-work, things that keep us active, it’s probably a lot of things, but for sure it’s not of real substance nor is it Spirit-led effective because we’re in a spiritual rut … because the Lord is not in it at all.
And if we don’t wake up … well, the Lord warned the Ephesians that He would come and remove their lampstand, their witness, if they did not repent (Rev. 2:5). He warned the church at Pergamos that He would come and make war with the sword of the Spirit (Rev. 2:16). If the believers at Sardis did not follow His orders, He would come as a thief, when they least expected Him; and this would mean judgment (3:3).
So how do we break out of this spiritual rut and avoid judgment?
Application Be watchful, and be honest about what we are doing – is it lacking, is the Lord directing it. Go back to God’s Word and repent of those things we’re doing wrong and seek His direction.
Wiersbe says this: Christ warns the saints to: (1) be watchful, be alert (wake up!); (2) strengthen the few things you do have (verse 2); (3) remember the Word you have received and heard; (4) hold fast and be ready when I come.
And to that I would add (5) obey God’s Word and (6) look to those who are truly walking with the Lord (verses 4-5).
What happens when we do “repent and obey?” In verses 4 and 5, the Lord says that those who repent and overcome and join with those who are truly walking in the Lord will “be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and the angels.”
For reflection (just you, the Lord and His Word, one-on-one): Are you so active in ministry that you’re just doing things to do them, or because you need think being constantly busy is real ministry, or are you trying to duplicate past ministry experiences?
Teaching Point No. 2 Letter to the church in Philadelphia, Revelation 3:7-13
When it seems bleakest, when it seems as if the battle is being won by the enemy, when you feel as if you have no more strength to take another step, look to Jesus and endure patiently as you serve and obey and follow His calling. Of the seven letters, only this and the letter to the church in Smyrna have not rebuke from Jesus. The Lord sees their humbleness, their weakness, their knowledge that they are so small and wonder how they could be used by God in such overwhelming opposition to the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And if there is a model I pray we would follow, whose attributes we strive toward with the help of the Lord to apply here, it is those for which the Lord commends the church in Philadelphia.
We pretty much know the word Philadelphia means “brotherly love.” And certainly the church must have lived that – as they loved the Lord with all their heart, mind, soul and strength, the loved each other, too … and not only that, they loved the lost, the outcasts, the sick, the broken, the hurting, the unlovable – the very people with whom Jesus spent much time.
Jesus, who holds the key of David, the royal line of Israel, has the power to open and shut doors … and what He opens, no one can shut, and what He has shut, no one can open.
We most often think of such doors as personal opportunity – a job or a relationship, for example. But while that may be true, that’s also kind of “me centered;” the bigger picture is that these are doors represent areas where the Lord wants us to serve as a church and as individuals who make up the church.
Quick thing about Philadelphia in its day … it was a city on a major route from Rome to the east, and was known as a gateway to the east. It was also called “little Athens” because of the many temples located there. And … it was a place prone to earthquakes.
Where we live, the Greater Los Angeles area, aren’t we a gateway to not just the east – the port of San Pedro is an entry point for a lot of goods that make their way east from here – but also to the rest of the world? Don’t we have a lot of temples – some religious, others secular, but temples nonetheless – just like Philadelphia? And aren’t we prone to earthquakes? Just something to consider there.
So the Philadelphia church lived and served in an area of opportunity to share the Gospel – just like us. And Jesus opened many doors of opportunity for them to do so.
The idea of a doors as an opportunity to serve the Lord to share His Gospel comes from these passages:
(After Paul and Barnabas returned from their first mission trip recorded in Acts 13 and 14) Acts 14:27 On arriving there [Antioch in Syria], they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
(Paul talks about upcoming ministries to which the Lord is calling him) 1 Corinthians 16:9 (starting in verse 8) But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
(Paul talks about his ministry from the Lord) 2 Corinthians 2:12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me …
(Paul seeks prayer from the Colossian church regarding his calling; and each of our prayers for one another as well) Colossians 4:3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
And when you read about the ministry of Paul in Acts and in his letters, you come to know that he was not selective with whom he shared the Gospel. He didn’t go and do market research to find where the likeliest believers lived and plant a church there.
In Acts 20:21, he says that he has “declared to both Jews and Gentiles (meaning EVERYONE) that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”
In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
19Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
As those 10 ideas last week and this week to share the Gospel show us, we shouldn’t be picky, either …
In commending the Philadelphia church, the Lord notes verse 8 that it has “little strength.” Yet, despite that, and despite being in an area where the church was being attacked, looked down upon, outnumbered, Jesus said, “yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”
And here are the great reward for following and obeying and standing firm in the truth despite all the opposition and despite their own weakness:
In verse 9, Jesus say that those who oppose His people, He will personally vanquish them and make them fall at our feet at MAKE THEM ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS LOVES US …
in verse 10, Jesus tells them: 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
Interesting thing came up while we were patiently enduring for what seemed like hours late last night to catch the shuttle bus from the Anaheim Convention Center to the parking lot at Angels Stadium …
Is the rapture mentioned in Revelation? The answer, not specifically, but there is evidence sprinkled throughout … and this, verse 10 is the strongest among them that Jesus will not have His believers going through the great tribulation written about in Revelation. And if you are familiar with those passages, THAT is a huge blessing, and a HUGE reason to faithfully follow the Lord and patently endure whatever the world throws at us as we live and share the Gospel.
And not only that, believers – I pray that is all of us here, too – who patiently endure are honored by the Lord as pillars in His temple, and God will not leave them, and the name of God and Jesus “new name” will be written upon them as well.
Application So in the face of all this opposition to share the Gospel, and to overcome our own weakness, Jesus says we should hold on to what we have – His Word – and go through those doors (maybe tear down a wall or two) to share His good news, not just in word, but by the very way we live our lives that reflects His great love.
Simple in word, but not in deed.
And that being the case, in remembering our weakness, we need to remember that God who called us will not abandon in the middle of the thing He has asked us to do to glorify Him.
Remember this verse, and remember it in the proper context. That as we are called to do His work, in the face of physical, emotional, spiritual, mental weakness:
Philippians 4:12-13
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
For reflection (just you, the Lord and His Word, one-on-one): What doors is the Lord opening for you to serve and share His Gospel? Are you going through them, or are you paralyzed because of your own weaknesses?
Below, for the believers in Christ, something that reminds me both of what we do in this life, and what we'll do in the next ...
Thoughts, comments, additional insights, questions??? Feel free to leave them in the comments section below, after the video of Hillsong United's "The Stand."
The remaining schedule (reading ahead is encouraged!):
Aug. 16: Revelation 2:12-29 Aug. 23: Revelation 3:1-13 Aug. 30: Revelation 3:14-22, maybe into Revelation 4
Our mindset as we study these two chapters in Revelation
2 Timothy 3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God — having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
In other words, there are people within the body of believers in Christ who are not believers, but pretenders – and they, in these last days will (and do) live and teach such a life. We need to be watchful of them and HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM.
2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
So we’re going to enter a period of self-examination, both as a church and as the people who make up the church, with the help of the Lord Himself through His holy Word.
Warren Weirsbe says this:
Only the Head of the church, Jesus Christ, can accurately inspect each church and know its true condition, because He sees the internals, not only the externals. In these special messages to the seven churches in Asia Minor, the Lord gave each assembly an “X ray” of its condition. But He intended for all the churches to read these messages and benefit from them.
But the Lord was also speaking to individuals, and this is where you and I come in. “He that hath an ear, let him hear.” Churches are made up of individuals, and it is individuals who determine the spiritual life of the assembly. So, while reading these messages, we must apply them personally as we examine our own hearts.
Finally, we must keep in mind that John was a pastor at heart, seeking to encourage these churches during a difficult time of persecution. Before Christ judges the world, He must judge His own people (1 Peter 4:17: “For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”).
A purified church need never fear the attacks of Satan or men.
Jesus said this:
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Recap of last week (Aug. 9):
Teaching point No. 1 Revelation 2:1-12, the letter to the church in Ephesus
It’s possible to do great things – have great programs, over the odds in meeting the needs of people around you, standing up for the truth by rejecting falsehoods – without Jesus. It’s possible to love ministry, the activity and results of ministry, and not love Jesus.
Application, from Revelation 2:6, Jesus says:
Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
For reflection (just you, the Lord and His Word, one-on-one): Have I departed, left, taken for granted, my first love while being active in the works and activities related to the church?
Teaching Point No. 2 Letter to the church in Syrmna
When we follow Jesus with everything we’ve got, when Jesus is our EVERYTHING, there are times we’re going to feel beat up, get beat up, disrespected, insulted, ignored and feel like the whole world is against us.
Application, Revelation 2:10b, Jesus says: Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
For reflection (just you, the Lord and His Word, one-on-one): Have I ever been persecuted for His sake? If not, why not?
Aug. 16 study
Revelation 2:12-29
12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. 15 Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. 24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): 25 Only hold on to what you have until I come.
26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—
27 ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’—
just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Teaching Point No. 1 Letter to the church in Pergamum
While many in the church will follow Jesus wholeheartedly as evil and immorality surround them and attack them, they need to also be watchful of compromises in morals or teaching, and be against deviating from the purity of Biblical truth required of Christians.
The city of Pergamum, or Pergamos, was a wealthy city, but also wicked. People in its pagan cults worshiped Athena, Asclepius, Dionysus, and Zeus. They lived where Satan has his throne. This may refer to the great temple of Asclepius,a pagan god of healing represented in the form of a serpent. Further recognition of Satan is indicated at the close of the verse. Pergamum was where Satan lives. The saints there were commended for being true, even when Antipas (which means “against all”) was martyred. Nothing is known of this incident. But, some Bible scholars say that it is possible Antipas stood for Christ against all opposition, and was martyred because of it. But we don’t know for sure.
Jesus does commend them for their steadfastness to their faith in Him in spite of all these obstacles. And think of it in our day. Isn’t there a lot of opposition to the things of Jesus and all that He stands for? Don’t we face that in some shape or form? Aren’t there some in the church who are being martyred for the sake of His name? YET, Jesus holds this against them. They:
1) tolerated immorality among them. Jesus refers to Balaam (more on him in Numbers 22-25, 31), and that, like the Israelites in the desert. Balaam couldn’t curse the Isrealites as Balak, the king of the Moabites wanted him to, but he did somehow influence Balak to send women to the Israelite men. That corrupted them, both physically, but also spiritually, because these women led the Israelite men into idolatry. In Pergamum, the church apparently was doing nothing about it. It’s sort of like the situation with the church in Corinth. Remember in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he sharply rebukes them for allowing sexual immorality to take place among them? It was blantant, and no one said anything to the one who was sinning – they acted either as if they didn’t know, or as if it was OK.
NOTE on the meat sacrificed to idols: in Acts, the church leaders say Gentiles don’t have to be circumsized, but said they should not eat meat sacrificed to idols. In 1 Corinthians, Paul says that believers can eat meat sacrificed to idols because it’s not as if an idol is real. But he urges mature believers not to do so if it will make a new believer sin. And now, Jesus condemns some in the Pergamum church for doing so. Contradiction??? No … the historical context wasn’t so much the meat itself, but where people when to get this meat … usually at the temples of false gods … and in those days, those temples also had temple prostitutes. And that presented a huge temptation for the believers to fall into immorality and get drawn into idol worship (see Solomon). Can you say Balaam and Balak all over again?
2) followed the teachings of the Nicolatians (meaning “to conquer the people”). Bible scholars say this teaching called for “cleregy” and “laity” ranking in the church, where the clergy class ruled over the church, which is nowhere taught in the Bible. Remember that the church in Ephesus did not tolerate false teaching, yet the church in Pergamum somehow allowed it to happen. The sin here is to not hate what God Himself hates.
Just an observation: Don’t we see tolerance of immorality and false doctrine today? And I’m not just talking about church as a body, but also church as individuals. Just reading articles about the debate of allowing gays and lesbians into ministry, for example, it seems that some in the church are compromising Biblical principle in favor world’s idea of what is moral. The idea is to make church more “acceptable” to society, rather than the church be the moral compass for society. And, as individuals, we may know of a brother or sister who is making moral compromises with the world and instead of lovingly pulling him or her away from that, we just stand by and watch.
So Jesus says this has to be fixed. In verse 16, the Lord says: “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
And they have to fix it by repenting – turning away – from allowing these things to happen. Jesus uses this characteristic of Himself in verse 12 also: The One “who has the sharp, double-edged sword” (also mentioned in 1:16; 2:16; 19:15, 21). The sword is a symbolic representation of the Word of God’s twofold ability to separate believers from the world and to condemn the world for its sin. It was the sword of salvation as well as the sword of death.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
So Jesus, the Logos, the Living Word, the Living Truth, rebukes those sinning in Pergamum, urging them to repent or face judgment. And those who do, those who overcome, there is this in verse 17:
1) hidden manna – which may refer to Christ as the Bread from heaven, the unseen source of the believer’s nourishment and strength.
John 6:48-51
I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
Whereas Israel received physical food, manna, the church receives spiritual food, and food that gives man eternal life.
2) There is also this “white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” There are several ideas Bible scholars have on what this means. Because of that, because Jesus said “known only to him who receives it,” and because I don’t want to confuse you, I’m going to be a wimp and say the Lord makes all things new (Revelation 21:5), and also refer to this verse:
Deuteronomy 29:29
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.
Application: Know the Word. Know the Word to know when YOU are slipping and sinning. Know the Word to know when your brothers and sisters are slipping and sinning. Know the Word to know how to correct yourself and those who are slipping and sinning, and get back on the straight and narrow path of the Lord.
For reflection (just you, the Lord and His Word, one-on-one):
Has there ever been a time when YOU did something wrong or you saw something wrong and ignored it when you knew full well that God, through His Word, asked you to act on it?
Think of James 5:19-20
My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Teaching Point No. 2 Letter to the church in Thyatira
In the face of a false teacher in your midst, stand firm on the truth of God.
Thyatira was a small church in smaller city than Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamum. In Acts 16:14-15, we learn that Lydia, a businesswoman and trader of purple cloth from Thyatira, came to know the Lord in Philippi when Paul was there. So it’s a reasonable guess that Lydia shared the Gospel in her hometown. And while Jesus did credit it for the things they did, their love and faith and perseverance, the opened the door for a false teacher, ironically also a woman to come in and start leading people away from the truth of God.
Jesus’ major condemnation concerned that woman Jezebel, who claimed to be a prophetess and taught believers to take part in the sexual immorality that accompanied pagan religion and to eat food sacrificed to idols. The sin is similar to the one happening in Pergamum – and accepted as normal in Thyatira. Yet what was acceptable to that local society was abhorred by Christ. Their departure from morality had gone on for some time (v. 21, Jesus said he had time to repent, and the Lord is patient).
The prophetess name “Jezebel” suggests that she was corrupting the Thyatira church much like Ahab’s wife Jezebel corrupted Israel (1 Kings 16:31-33). Jezebel of the OT became so powerful that the prophet Elijah ran into the wilderness when he heard that she wanted to kill him – and this after he witnessed the Lord Himself wipe out 450 prophets of the false god Baal.
Christ – whose self-description was the “Son of God” whose eyes were like blazing fire and whose feet were like burnished bronze, signifying his deity – promised sudden and immediate judgment, called her sin adultery and promised that all who followed her would suffer intensely. He also promised, “I will strike her children dead,” meaning that suffering would extend also to her followers. The judgment would be so dramatic that all the churches would know that Christ is the One who searches hearts and minds.
Yet, for those who remained faithful to Him, Jesus encouraged them this way: Stay the course, which leads to the application
Application Stand firm in Him who saved You.
Jesus said in verses 24-25:
Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): Only hold on to what you have until I come.
It’s easy to not stand firm, especially when there is such an bad influence near you, and that bad influence says, “Be like everyone else.”
But we were called to be different from everyone else. We were called to be NOT of the world, even though we are in the world.
In Jesus prayer the night before He went to the cross, He said to the Father:
John 17:15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
If Jesus, God in the flesh, God whose promises never fail, prayed that for you and me, rest assured that we will overcome. And to those who overcome
and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’— just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give him the morning star.
We will rule with Jesus in the millennium – the 1,000-year reign – after His return, as it says later in Revelation. And the morning star that is given? The Bible doesn’t explain what it is in this context, but Bible scholars say that just as the morning star appears in the darkness just before dawn, this could symbolize the Rapture, when Jesus comes for His church just before the darkness of the seven-year tribulation.
For reflection (just you, the Lord and His Word, one-on-one): Two keywords today:
Repent Turn away from the things you are doing that are wrong, and turn back to your first love.
Overcome That in Jesus, when we repent and turn back to him, we will have peace even in a troubled, fallen world. But if we are in Him, we have overcome all that with Him.
John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Questions? Insights? Have you been like a Berean and done the noble thing by check what's here against Scripture? Leave your comments below, after the video of Hillsong United's "Till I See You," a great reminder of what awaits him who overcomes ...
Somewhere in the Inland Empire, California, United States
Writer/editor by training (and paycheck!); also associate pastor at Corona International Christian Fellowship; sometimes a photographer; sometimes a guitarist and singer; a lot of times a runner.
Older blog entries may be found at alangkrunner.blogspot.com
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