“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)
Our building renovation project is on its last legs (not that it is “dying” as that expression is used) but it is almost done. We are hoping to get our temporary occupancy permit by June 13, which is only a couple weeks away. We first decided to pursue this facility at our annual leadership retreat in January of 2009. We presented it to the congregation the next month, and on March 9, 2009 we placed a bid with the school board to purchase the building. After investigating all the issues and securing the bank financing, we took legal ownership on August 28, 2009. Since then, we have been involved with code issues and various remodeling projects to get the building “church ready”, and we are on the home stretch. So this process is a year and a half in the making so far, and the end is in sight. Of course, getting in to the building is not the “end”, but the beginning of more challenges with the logistics of a facility like this, and more blessings in the opportunities God will give us to minister the word as we use this place for his glory.
The above verse is often used by preachers to beat their people over the head about their church attendance. They focus on the first half of the verse about assembling together, and of course that means that everyone must be in their pew every Sunday morning, every Sunday night, and for mid week service so the pastor can count you and tell all his pastor buddies how many people fogged a mirror in his building last week. Obviously, we need to assemble on Sunday to worship and hear the word. Even more obviously, believers who forsake this will not grow in their faith, no matter how much mental wrangling and justification they come up with. But the purpose of our assembling is not to count heads for the glory of the pastor. It is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry and the glory of the Lord. Church does not exist for the benefit of its leaders and its presence in the community. It exists for the perfecting of its members so they can “run the race with patience” (Heb 12:1-2). Too many churches consume the lives of their members with activities and ministries. With all good intentions and plans, the ministry becomes the end rather than the means. These things are good to do, but every individual believer has a personal job to do for the Lord. Church is supposed to facilitate that and support us in the process. When the burden of activity gets in the way of the effectiveness of life and service to the Saviour, it gets God’s people out of balance, and ultimately does more harm than good. That does not mean we shut down church for all but Sunday morning. But finding that balance is often difficult, and always an ongoing process of adjustment and creative planning.
The last half our verse today focuses on the “end in sight”. The purpose of our gathering is to “present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Col 1:28). The day is rapidly approaching when that event will be upon us. Paul said in Romans 13:11, “…for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” That does not mean we are “growing into a believer”, but as our life and journey unfolds, we continue to get closer to the time when our ultimate redemption will be realized on the day God takes us home to be with him. When a runner is in a race, he “picks it up” when the tape comes into sight. The Christian life is like a race. It is a marathon because it involves our entire lives. It is a sprint because the urgency of escaping the condemnation of hell is real for those around us without Christ. It is a relay because many have preceded us in the gospel service, and we will someday pass the baton to others. It involves hurdles because our enemy continually throws @#$%& in our path. But most importantly, as the time draws near to attain our rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ, it is an all out dash to the tape. We are almost there. The end of the church age is rapidly approaching. Even if it doesn’t come in our lifetime, someday soon before we know it, we will stand before our Saviour to give an account of our lives and our service for his glory. Pick it up!!! Double time!!! The day is approaching.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
A Shelter In The Time Of Storm
“The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.” (Psalm 93:3-4)
I hate water issues. Yeah, I know, hate is a strong word, and a Christian is supposed to “tiptoe through the tulips” like Jesus and be all full of love and nice warm fuzzies all around. Sorry. I hate water leaks. There is nothing you can do about them. Water is the universal solvent; it has the power to erode anything it comes in contact with. Just check out the Grand Canyon sometime for an example. Water always seeks the lowest level. If there is a crack or gap anywhere in your house, water will find it, and once it does, fixing it is like trying to solve the national debt or the Middle East conflict. Only Jesus will be able to fix those things.
Last week, we had some torrential rainfall in Kansas City. Over a couple of day’s time, about 4 inches of rain fell in our neck of the woods. We are in the final stages of finishing our remodel project on our new building, so in a sense, the heavy rain was welcome in that it manifested a couple of places in the building that needed attention. A normal everyday rain would not have brought these out, but that gully washer did. It was good to find that out before we put down new carpets. Now we can address those problems and hopefully get them resolved.
Life deals everyone fits. In some cases, the problems we face are like the “mighty waves of the sea” that come crashing down in full fury like the Christmas Day Tsunami a few years back. Financial ruin, serious crime, divorce and other family crises, life threatening illnesses, and even untimely death unfortunately befall some of God’s people. But most of our problems are like the dripping faucet or the leaky window. They are just little annoying nuisances that are frustrating and seem to keep re-occurring despite our best efforts to resolve them. We live in a sinful world, and the results always “seek the lowest level” and find the cracks in our lives. Left untreated, they can become very serious. That is why a little storm is an occasional blessing in our lives. It points out areas of weakness in our spiritual foundation that need a little extra attention. The Bible says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (I Thessalonians 5:18) It seems odd to thank God for the storms of life. Those are the times when we are the most bitter, angry, and frustrated at God and our “unfair” lot in life. When the water leak is evident, my emotions get all tied up in knots because I know it is not going to be easy to fix it, and life will be uncomfortable until it is.
Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…” Those little nagging sins that “doth so easily beset us” are like the leaky faucets and foundation cracks that keep recurring. Our enemy likes to taunt us with them. They frustrate the fire out of us, but they will only get worse unless we deal with them. Get out a little “caulk” of the word of God and seal up the areas in your life that give you problems. You will never fix all of them until you are home in glory, but that is no excuse for ignoring them. When the torrential storms of life hit, lean hard into the shelter of your Saviour. Though the floods lift themselves up, the Lord is mightier than the noise of many waters. As much as we hate to deal with things like this, the only way to fix them is to “lean on the everlasting arms” of Jesus.
I hate water issues. Yeah, I know, hate is a strong word, and a Christian is supposed to “tiptoe through the tulips” like Jesus and be all full of love and nice warm fuzzies all around. Sorry. I hate water leaks. There is nothing you can do about them. Water is the universal solvent; it has the power to erode anything it comes in contact with. Just check out the Grand Canyon sometime for an example. Water always seeks the lowest level. If there is a crack or gap anywhere in your house, water will find it, and once it does, fixing it is like trying to solve the national debt or the Middle East conflict. Only Jesus will be able to fix those things.
Last week, we had some torrential rainfall in Kansas City. Over a couple of day’s time, about 4 inches of rain fell in our neck of the woods. We are in the final stages of finishing our remodel project on our new building, so in a sense, the heavy rain was welcome in that it manifested a couple of places in the building that needed attention. A normal everyday rain would not have brought these out, but that gully washer did. It was good to find that out before we put down new carpets. Now we can address those problems and hopefully get them resolved.
Life deals everyone fits. In some cases, the problems we face are like the “mighty waves of the sea” that come crashing down in full fury like the Christmas Day Tsunami a few years back. Financial ruin, serious crime, divorce and other family crises, life threatening illnesses, and even untimely death unfortunately befall some of God’s people. But most of our problems are like the dripping faucet or the leaky window. They are just little annoying nuisances that are frustrating and seem to keep re-occurring despite our best efforts to resolve them. We live in a sinful world, and the results always “seek the lowest level” and find the cracks in our lives. Left untreated, they can become very serious. That is why a little storm is an occasional blessing in our lives. It points out areas of weakness in our spiritual foundation that need a little extra attention. The Bible says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (I Thessalonians 5:18) It seems odd to thank God for the storms of life. Those are the times when we are the most bitter, angry, and frustrated at God and our “unfair” lot in life. When the water leak is evident, my emotions get all tied up in knots because I know it is not going to be easy to fix it, and life will be uncomfortable until it is.
Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…” Those little nagging sins that “doth so easily beset us” are like the leaky faucets and foundation cracks that keep recurring. Our enemy likes to taunt us with them. They frustrate the fire out of us, but they will only get worse unless we deal with them. Get out a little “caulk” of the word of God and seal up the areas in your life that give you problems. You will never fix all of them until you are home in glory, but that is no excuse for ignoring them. When the torrential storms of life hit, lean hard into the shelter of your Saviour. Though the floods lift themselves up, the Lord is mightier than the noise of many waters. As much as we hate to deal with things like this, the only way to fix them is to “lean on the everlasting arms” of Jesus.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Keys
“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Revelation 1:18)
So, the other day I was at the office in the new building after everyone else had left. When it was time to go, I shut down the computer, picked up my briefcase, and headed out the door. When the door closed behind me, the building was all comfy, cozy and secure. Then when I got to the car, I reached in my pocket for the keys. I am sure you can guess where they were. I had to call one of the guys to come up and let me back in.
A little while back, I got a new flash drive for my documents that attaches to my key ring. I was forever forgetting my flash drive in the computer either at home or the office, which made for a special trip to retrieve it. I thought, “Hey, if I put it on my key ring, I won’t be able to leave without it, because I can’t start the car unless I have my flash drive.” Brilliant! Except the fact that there is no way to assure that a scatterbrain like me won’t figure out another way around the system. We all do things like this. Most guys run out of gas once in every car they own just learning how far they can push it (the ladies never do that – it’s a guy thing). Now that I have locked myself out of the building once, I will be sure to check for the keys and flash drive, and that will not happen again. Some other “dufus” moment will befall me, but not that one.
Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 that the gates of hell would not prevail against his church. Speaking of “dufus” moments, there has been enough abuse and downright blatant ignorance over that verse to fill the universe. Untold millions have met eternity without Christ resting on the false promise and misinterpretation of that verse. The common thought is that Satan and his hordes will not be able to overcome the church by any means of attack. Helloooo… Earth to Bible Scholar… You don’t attack with GATES! Gates are designed to keep someone in or out. If you live in a “gated community”, it is to keep the low life riff-raff out of your neighborhood. Prison gates are designed to keep the prisoners from roaming free in society and wreaking their havoc. When Jesus died on the cross, the Bible says, “…thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” (Acts 2:27) Satan had him for three days. But the gates of his prison could not hold him. In the same context in Acts 2:24, it says of Jesus, “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.” When Jesus referred to the gates of hell not prevailing against his church, he was not talking about any ecclesiastical organization on earth, he was referring to his own resurrection from the dead. The church is not a man made institution. It is a living organism comprised of individual born again believers from every kindred, people, and tongue; and it crosses any denominational barrier. It was bought and paid for with his precious blood on the cross of Calvary. It was secured when he took out his key ring and found the one labeled “hell and death” and did what no man has ever done, he opened the gates.
If you have placed your faith in the risen Saviour, his resurrection has secured forever your home in heaven. It matters not what organization you belong to here. The Lord Jesus Christ has the keys to hell and death. And unlike us, Jesus will never lose his keys or lock himself out of his home or office or car. Unshackle your heart from the fear and bondage of uncertainty. Jesus has the keys. Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Go tell others about that wonderful news. Time is short, the world is spinning out of control, and his coming is soon.
So, the other day I was at the office in the new building after everyone else had left. When it was time to go, I shut down the computer, picked up my briefcase, and headed out the door. When the door closed behind me, the building was all comfy, cozy and secure. Then when I got to the car, I reached in my pocket for the keys. I am sure you can guess where they were. I had to call one of the guys to come up and let me back in.
A little while back, I got a new flash drive for my documents that attaches to my key ring. I was forever forgetting my flash drive in the computer either at home or the office, which made for a special trip to retrieve it. I thought, “Hey, if I put it on my key ring, I won’t be able to leave without it, because I can’t start the car unless I have my flash drive.” Brilliant! Except the fact that there is no way to assure that a scatterbrain like me won’t figure out another way around the system. We all do things like this. Most guys run out of gas once in every car they own just learning how far they can push it (the ladies never do that – it’s a guy thing). Now that I have locked myself out of the building once, I will be sure to check for the keys and flash drive, and that will not happen again. Some other “dufus” moment will befall me, but not that one.
Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 that the gates of hell would not prevail against his church. Speaking of “dufus” moments, there has been enough abuse and downright blatant ignorance over that verse to fill the universe. Untold millions have met eternity without Christ resting on the false promise and misinterpretation of that verse. The common thought is that Satan and his hordes will not be able to overcome the church by any means of attack. Helloooo… Earth to Bible Scholar… You don’t attack with GATES! Gates are designed to keep someone in or out. If you live in a “gated community”, it is to keep the low life riff-raff out of your neighborhood. Prison gates are designed to keep the prisoners from roaming free in society and wreaking their havoc. When Jesus died on the cross, the Bible says, “…thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” (Acts 2:27) Satan had him for three days. But the gates of his prison could not hold him. In the same context in Acts 2:24, it says of Jesus, “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.” When Jesus referred to the gates of hell not prevailing against his church, he was not talking about any ecclesiastical organization on earth, he was referring to his own resurrection from the dead. The church is not a man made institution. It is a living organism comprised of individual born again believers from every kindred, people, and tongue; and it crosses any denominational barrier. It was bought and paid for with his precious blood on the cross of Calvary. It was secured when he took out his key ring and found the one labeled “hell and death” and did what no man has ever done, he opened the gates.
If you have placed your faith in the risen Saviour, his resurrection has secured forever your home in heaven. It matters not what organization you belong to here. The Lord Jesus Christ has the keys to hell and death. And unlike us, Jesus will never lose his keys or lock himself out of his home or office or car. Unshackle your heart from the fear and bondage of uncertainty. Jesus has the keys. Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Go tell others about that wonderful news. Time is short, the world is spinning out of control, and his coming is soon.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Going Home
“And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.” (Mark 5:18-20)
Someone once coined the expression that, “You can never go home…” The idea is that things change, life moves forward, and things will never be “the way they used to be in the good old days”. While that is true, there still remain opportunities to “go back home” and revisit things from your past, while you relate them to life in the present. A few years back, I got the chance to preach in a church in Flint, Michigan in a discipleship conference. I went to college in Flint (although I use the term loosely). It was good to walk through the campus again after 25 years and “flash back” to the gym where I spent way too many hours playing basketball when I should have been in class, and to the many locations where I had done things I shouldn’t have as a lost young man. At my 30th High School reunion, I got the chance to lead a classmate to Christ who I had not seen for 30 years, who is now home with the Lord. God gives us a few chances in life like that to go back and “redeem the time” with connections from the past.
In three weeks, I am going to Cincinnati, Ohio and visit with a couple of my very best friends in the world who discipled me in my first days of Christianity. 30 years ago, I moved to Cincinnati. On a Sunday evening in February of 1980, a friend invited me to church, the Landmark Baptist Temple led by John Rawlings, the “godfather” of the Baptist Bible Fellowship. I had recently gotten saved, but I walked into the church that night knowing absolutely nothing about the Bible, and in fact had never owned one or read it in my life. That night was the beginning of a fabulous journey that is still ongoing. In a couple of Sundays, I will get the chance to preach in the church where I first attended after being saved over 30 years ago. I have not been in the building for probably about 25 years. I am certain that I will hardly even recognize it, and even more certain that there will be no more than a handful of people who I will know. But it will be a huge thrill to preach from the pulpit of the place where the seeds of what God has done in my life were sown.
In the passage above, the “maniac of Gadara” was gloriously delivered by the Lord Jesus Christ. He was so incredibly moved and thankful that he just wanted to hang out with Jesus for the rest of his life. While that is certainly a noble desire, there is more to the Christian life than just sitting on the mountain top basking in your own personal glory. Jesus told this man to, “Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee.” Our life in Christ is must always be governed by his presence. But it is not so much us “hangin’ with the master” as it is his promise to be, “…with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). Each individual believer in Jesus Christ has a “circle of influence” – a group of people that he or she knows who can be reached with the gospel through your life. Jesus told this man to go home to his friends and tell them about Him. 30 years ago, a couple of my friends took me under their wing, and even though they did not lead me to Christ because I was already saved, they pointed me to the truth of the word of God for my new life in Christ and put my spiritual feet on solid Biblical ground. Now I get the privilege of “going home” to minister again in that place.
As a believer, your ultimate “home” is in heaven. Right now, we are “just visiting this planet” with the mission of reaching as many people as we can with the gospel. Most will reject. But some will also heed the words of the witness of Christ who testifies to his “circle of influence” of the great things God has done. In grace and compassion, keep at it until the day when Jesus takes us home to be with him for eternity. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.
Someone once coined the expression that, “You can never go home…” The idea is that things change, life moves forward, and things will never be “the way they used to be in the good old days”. While that is true, there still remain opportunities to “go back home” and revisit things from your past, while you relate them to life in the present. A few years back, I got the chance to preach in a church in Flint, Michigan in a discipleship conference. I went to college in Flint (although I use the term loosely). It was good to walk through the campus again after 25 years and “flash back” to the gym where I spent way too many hours playing basketball when I should have been in class, and to the many locations where I had done things I shouldn’t have as a lost young man. At my 30th High School reunion, I got the chance to lead a classmate to Christ who I had not seen for 30 years, who is now home with the Lord. God gives us a few chances in life like that to go back and “redeem the time” with connections from the past.
In three weeks, I am going to Cincinnati, Ohio and visit with a couple of my very best friends in the world who discipled me in my first days of Christianity. 30 years ago, I moved to Cincinnati. On a Sunday evening in February of 1980, a friend invited me to church, the Landmark Baptist Temple led by John Rawlings, the “godfather” of the Baptist Bible Fellowship. I had recently gotten saved, but I walked into the church that night knowing absolutely nothing about the Bible, and in fact had never owned one or read it in my life. That night was the beginning of a fabulous journey that is still ongoing. In a couple of Sundays, I will get the chance to preach in the church where I first attended after being saved over 30 years ago. I have not been in the building for probably about 25 years. I am certain that I will hardly even recognize it, and even more certain that there will be no more than a handful of people who I will know. But it will be a huge thrill to preach from the pulpit of the place where the seeds of what God has done in my life were sown.
In the passage above, the “maniac of Gadara” was gloriously delivered by the Lord Jesus Christ. He was so incredibly moved and thankful that he just wanted to hang out with Jesus for the rest of his life. While that is certainly a noble desire, there is more to the Christian life than just sitting on the mountain top basking in your own personal glory. Jesus told this man to, “Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee.” Our life in Christ is must always be governed by his presence. But it is not so much us “hangin’ with the master” as it is his promise to be, “…with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). Each individual believer in Jesus Christ has a “circle of influence” – a group of people that he or she knows who can be reached with the gospel through your life. Jesus told this man to go home to his friends and tell them about Him. 30 years ago, a couple of my friends took me under their wing, and even though they did not lead me to Christ because I was already saved, they pointed me to the truth of the word of God for my new life in Christ and put my spiritual feet on solid Biblical ground. Now I get the privilege of “going home” to minister again in that place.
As a believer, your ultimate “home” is in heaven. Right now, we are “just visiting this planet” with the mission of reaching as many people as we can with the gospel. Most will reject. But some will also heed the words of the witness of Christ who testifies to his “circle of influence” of the great things God has done. In grace and compassion, keep at it until the day when Jesus takes us home to be with him for eternity. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.
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