Sowing Seed

Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23

Over the past week I have been pondering on the parable the Lord gives in Matthew 13 regarding sowing seed. In this parable a farmer goes out and begins to sow seed. This parable was one that could easily be understood. It was a common sight in Palestine to see a farmer out casting seed. The farmer in this day would go out, scratch up the ground a little bit, and begin to cast their seed. Jesus uses this parable to explain the gospel message.

In this one story there are four pictures. Let’s consider a few things quickly.

We see the picture of the seed falling by the wayside in verse four. According to the verse as soon as this seed is sown it is devoured by the fowls of the air. The Lord later explains to His disciples that this is a picture of a man or a woman who hears the word of God but they do not understand what they have heard. Because they do not understand the word preached to them the evil one comes in quickly and steals the seed away.

The reality is that there are times when we present the word of God to someone and they are not ready to receive it. I believe that it should be our goal to present Christ in a simple fashion that everyone can understand. Even though we present the gospel in a simple fashion we must never forget that it is only with the aid of the Holy Spirit that a man or woman can understand the message. Therefore we must season our lives, our messages, and our testimonies with prayer. Pray that the Holy Spirit will prepare the heart of those that you are going to share the gospel with. Pray that their hearts and minds will be opened so that the seed of God’s word does not fall on deaf ears.

The second picture is of a farmer’s seed falling on stony places. This seed quickly brings forth fruit but the fruit is not lasting. It does not take the sun long to burn up this fruit because there is no root system producing life in the plant. In verse twenty and twenty-one we learn that this is a picture of a man or woman who hears the word of God, receives it with joy, quickly produces some kind of fruit, but the fruit does not last.

I have been in church and around church for several years and have seen many of these “quick fruit” believers. (I use the word believer loosely.) These are men and women who come into our churches needing help. They are lost. They are hurting. They need help. After the message is delivered they rush down to an altar, but when an altar worker asks them about salvation you usually hear something like this, “Oh I’m saved. I just need to pray that the Lord helps me with…”

These men and women cry, pray, and leave rejoicing that they got some help in church. The trouble comes when life turns up the temperature on them during the week and you don’t see them again for some time. It should not surprise you when that type of “believer” comes and goes. The only thing that we can do for this person is continue to preach the gospel to them. Eventually God will “break up the fallow ground” of their heart. When this happens they will realize their need of salvation and at that time the seed will take roots. These roots will keep them going no matter how hot and hard life gets.

Thirdly we read about seed sown among thorny ground. This is a picture of someone hearing the word of God, but there is something in their life that prevents them from receiving it. Throughout the scriptures we read of men and women using all sorts of excuses for not following Christ. To some it was money. To some it was family. To others it was their spouse. Whatever the reason this is someone who simply will not receive the gospel because of the cares of this life.

There is not a lot that we can do for this type of person. Often this person will not accept Christ until something catastrophic happens in their life. Maybe it is the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, or some sort of health problem. Something has to happen in their life to get their eyes off of this world and onto Christ. The only thing that we can do is pray that the Lord allows us to be there when they hit the bottom.

Finally we read about seed sown on good ground. This seed finds the ground prepared, roots take, and real fruit comes forth. Of course this is a picture of someone whose heart has been prepared by the Holy Spirit, the gospel has been presented to them in a simple fashion, and they truly accept the Lord into their lives. It is our job to rejoice when these people accept Christ.

In these illustrations there are a few things we can take away.

1. We need to be sowing seed. The world is filled with men and women who need to hear the gospel. The harvest is plenteous but the laborers are few.
2. Realize that all you can do is all you can do. The Lord wants you to be busy telling others about Him, but He also wants you to realize that unless He does His part real fruit cannot be produced. I can twist someones arm into praying but will that really take root? Don’t forget to make room for the Holy Spirit.
3. Don’t get discouraged. Three-fourths of the people in this parable did not receive the gospel to salvation. There was nothing wrong with the farmer and there was nothing wrong with the seed. The reality is that no matter how hard you work there will be many turn and walk away never accepting your seed. Do not let this discourage you. Every once in a while you will sow that seed and a miracle will take place, and new life will come forth.

Get out and sow some seed!

Snake Handling, Faith or Folly?

It seems that our society has come upon a new phenomenon. Over and over again we read stories of churches and preachers that get caught or hurt handling snakes. The other day a minister was found dead in his home after being bitten by a poisonous snake while at his church. There are even entire television programs such as “Snake Salvation” dedicated to these snake handling churches.

(I will give a disclaimer before I go on. I have never watched a single episode “Snake Salvation” or any other program similar to it.)

 

When we read stories like the one about the Kentucky pastor who recently died our first thought normally is, “What is wrong with these people?” “These people are crazy!” “There is no way I would handle a snake!” These are all pretty normal thoughts I guess. I just can’t help but wonder how crazy these people would be to us if we would have grown up around this type of culture. These rituals seem very strange, and even “crazy” when we see others doing them. To those people who grew up in snake handling churches it’s not that “crazy” at all.

Imagine if your parents had taken you to a snake handling church when you were a small child. What if you were taught all your life that the only way to prove your faith was to take up a serpent? You see the things that seem odd to you may be natural to someone else. It doesn’t just end with snake handling. What if you grew up being taught that polygamy was God’s plan for your life? Would it really be odd to pray to the Virgin Mary if you were taught all your life that was the best way to get in touch with God?

Many of my readers attend churches where worship is participated in and encouraged. Do you realize that some of the things you do in church such as shouting or clapping your hands other churches find very disturbing? I personally believe that the Bible teaches this type of worship, but there are many that would disagree with me.

The purpose of this blog is not to justify those that handle snakes nor is it to condemn them. I personally believe that snake handling is a false doctrine, but it is one that I can understand. The reason that I can understand it is because I see people all the time who believe they have to do things in order to impress God. This is not new at all. In Paul’s day he constantly had to battle with false teachers that would come into churches and teach that you had to do certain things in order to impress or be accepted of God. For example notice what Paul says to the Galatian church.

10Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. 11I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. Galatians 4:10-11

This church was founded in the truth of the gospel presented to them by Paul. Soon after Paul’s departing however there came a group of Jews teaching that in order to please God you had to do certain things. Rituals and good works soon took the place of the gospel message. These people became so wrapped up in these rituals that Paul worried that he had wasted his time ministering to them.

The scriptures are clear that the moment a person places their faith in Christ their sins are forgiven, and the righteousness of Christ is placed upon their life. When God sees me He sees me as righteous, as if I had never sinned. The scriptures are also very clear that the transformation that takes place in our life at the moment of salvation should motivate us to live in such a manner that would be pleasing in God’s eyes. We don’t work to earn or maintain salvation, but we do work because we have been freely given salvation.

When I look at churches all around me I have two fears. My first fear is that many Christians place so much emphasis on their works. They place so much emphasis on works and rituals that they eventually take the place of God in their life. They begin to worship their standards and their rituals more than they worship the God of heaven.

I believe in having standards. I certainly believe that we should be busy working for God. Just don’t ever get so caught up in your work that you forget who it is that you are working for. Don’t forget why it is that you are performing those works. We work, not to obtain, but because we have obtained the goodness of God.

My second fear is that the average Christian just kind of assumes that everything they are taught is right without examining the scriptures for themselves. I can promise you that there are people sitting in good, sound, fundamental churches who are just as ignorant about what they believe as the man dancing with a snake in his hands. In both cases the people just believe what the preacher tells them from the pulpit is true.

This has always been an issue in the church. Just scan through the New Testament writings of Paul and notice how many times he writes “I would not have you ignorant.” Paul realized that many Christians did not understand the scriptures for themselves. Ignorance of the scriptures is one of the most powerful weapons the devil has to fight the child of God with. If the devil approached you like he did Eve in the Garden of Eden with the question “Yeah hath God said…” would you be able to tell the difference between truth and a lie? In the time commonly referred to as the “Dark Ages” false teachers would intentionally keep the scriptures out of the hands of the common man. Satan has always known that if a man studied the Bible for himself he was far less likely to fall for false teachings.

I don’t look down on those that are caught up in false teaching, I pity them. I pray that they read the scriptures, see the truth clearly presented therein, and that they have the courage to stand on what they learn to be truth. My prayer for you is the same. We all need to surround ourselves with people and ministers that we can trust, but let us never be solely dependant on them for scriptural truth. Read your Bible. Pray that God gives you wisdom to know truth from error. Soon you will discover that with that your new knowledge also comes a world of blessings.

Hidden Treasures

Here in east Tennessee “real” snow isn’t something that we have seen a lot of lately. Today was an exception to that rule. Most people around had several inches of snow, probably more than my children have ever seen. It was that good kind of snow too. It was the wet kind that you can pack and play in.

This morning I did what many of you do on snow mornings. I got up, put on some warm clothes and went outside to play with my family. We did some sledding, made a great snowman, and even threw a couple of snow balls (if you can believe that). The kids had a blast, and the parents had a pretty good time too.

Unfortunately it wasn’t too long before the sun started coming out melting the snow off of the roads. This meant that I had to put on my big boy pants and go to work. Bummer right? As I was driving to work I began to pray and thank the Lord for the morning that I had just experienced. It wasn’t anything grand and luxurious, but it was fun. It was a few precious moments that my family got to play and laugh together.

This got me thinking. I am of the opinion that most of the blessings that God gives us are buried right out in the open. What I mean by this is that we often overlook the blessings of God because they are little things right in front of us. This morning God allowed us to smile instead of frown, laugh instead of cry, and play instead of mourn. God was handing out blessings and I am thankful for them.

Many times as time passes and life happens we get focused on the things that we don’t have instead of those we do. We see the bills that still have not been paid, the stress we are having on the job, and the problems going on with someone in the family. I’m not trying to diminish any of these issues, but I am saying that these things often cause us to overlook other things in life.

The next time you take inventory of your life don’t overlook the small things that God has blessed you with. Don’t be so focused on the big things that you overlook the small things.  Those laughs, smiles and snowball fights will be more important down the road than the big things you keep worrying over anyway, so why not enjoy them?

Oh, I know that it is easy to overlook these things. I am one of the world’s worst, but for today I will say “Thank you Lord for your small blessings.” 

I'm on twitter @drjoshuasharp

Who loves them more?

Have you ever stopped to consider how much God actually loves you and your family? I don’t mean just a passing thought, but to actually consider it. Well I don’t know that any of us can comprehend the depths of God’s love, but something interesting struck me this morning.

As I was driving to work I was praying. It’s kind of my thing to do in the mornings. Anyway, as I was praying for some of my lost family members I made this statement, “God you probably want them to be saved as much as I do.” No sooner had the words come out of my mouth when the thought crossed my mind, “Would you give one of your children to die for that family member?”

Here is the thing, I have often said that I could not give one of my children to die for a stranger, but that God loved them so much that He gave His Son to die for them. Of course God loves that stranger more than I do, they are a stranger. I had never stopped to consider that God even loves my family more than I do.

Could I give one of my children to die for an aunt, an uncle or even a grandparent? Could I even give one of my children to die for a parent? Absolutely not! I couldn’t even allow one child to die for another.

This is a humbling thought when you consider that God loved that aunt, uncle, and grandparent so much that He did allow His only Son to die for them. I just thought that I loved them, but my love today seems so little compared to God’s. Does this make me feel bad? No. Instead it makes me feel encouraged. I know how much I love that lost loved one. I know how much I want them to be saved. Then to consider that God wants the same thing so much more is an encouraging thought.

You never have to wonder whether it is God’s will to pray for the salvation of a loved one. God wants them to be saved more than you do. Therefore when that family member is burdening your heart, take them to God in prayer. There you will find common ground. God loves, cares and wants them to be saved more than you do.

9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

19We love him, because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

I'm on twitter @drojoshuasharp

Broken Laws and broken tablets

Over the past couple days I have been thinking about something I have truly never considered before. Why did Moses break the tablets that contained the Ten Commandments in Exodus 32? Bear with me for a minute and let me walk you through the steps, and my thoughts.

God gives Moses the Ten Commandment, the punishment for breaking the commandments and the plans for the tabernacle in Exodus 20-31. In chapter 32 God tells Moses to get down off the mountain because the people were sinning and God was angry. Moses comes off the mountain, sees them dancing around the golden calf and breaks the two stone tablets God gave him.

I guess I have always assumed that Moses broke the tablets because he was angry. Some people say that he broke them to symbolize that the children of Israel had already broken the laws on the tablets, but what if it was more than that?

I wonder if Moses knew that if he carried those tablets into the camp the people would immediately be responsible for breaking them and God would have killed all of them on the spot. Therefore he breaks the tablets before he goes into the camp so that they are not responsible for what is written on them.

At the least this is a wonderful picture of Christ. According to Exodus 32 & 33 God becomes angry and says that He is going to kill the people for their sins. When God does this, Moses, their savior from Egypt, goes to God and says "If you are going to kill them kill me too." Moses begs God for forgiveness over the next few chapters, and finally God, for Moses' sake makes a covenant not to kill these people in chapter 34.

Now Moses goes off the mountain for the second time and the bible says his face was shining. (It wasn't shining the first time.) Therefore there must be a difference between the first and second giving of the Law. The difference was that this time Moses not only had the two tablets, but he also had a covenant of mercy.

Here is the picture. I am a sinner and guilty of breaking the Laws of God. In all reality I should pay the price for my wrongs, and pay with my life. While I am guilty and deserve the punishment, Jesus Christ, my savior, took my place. Moses said, “God if you are going to kill them then kill me too.” Jesus said, “God he deserves to die, but take me instead.”

With the plea of mercy made, God made a covenant with Moses not to kill the people. On the cross a covenant was made between God the Father and God the Son. Jesus died in my place, “the just for the unjust.”

When Moses learned of the mercy of God the bible says that his face shone with the glory of God. He had been in God’s presence, seen God’s glory and received God’s mercy and it showed on his face. I wonder how many Christians today have the glory of God shining in their lives. It will take being in His presence, seeing His glory and receiving His mercy, but we can do it.

No wonder the children sing, “If you’re happy and you know it then your face will surely show it.”

I'm on twitter @drjoshuasharp

Temptation

One of the most interesting verses of the bible in my opinion is 1 Corinthians 10:13.

13There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

This verse teaches us that with every temptation that comes into our lives, there also comes a way to escape that temptation. If this is true I wonder why so many times we fall to temptation, and get ourselves into trouble. You would think that if there is a way to get away from the temptation and avoid sin, then surely the child of God would take the way of escape and avoid getting into sin.

The problem is that most of the time we give into temptation. We are too many times like Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan tempted her with the forbidden fruit. I can only imagine, but that fruit was probably some of the best looking fruit in the garden. Then Satan tempts her by telling her that it will make her like God if she eats the fruit. He even made a false promise that she didn’t have to worry about the warning of God, she wouldn’t die.

Here is a woman in a perfect environment. She has never sinned; she had heard the voice of God, her husband even walked with God every day. She was in the perfect environment to avoid this temptation. We all know how the story ends. She doesn’t flee the temptation. Instead of fleeing she gives in to the temptation and plunges her family and all of humanity into sin.

The reason I think we have such a hard time staying out of trouble is that we are not fleeing from it. Dr Warren Weirsbe once said, “The believer who thinks he can stand may fall; but the believer who flees will be able to stand.” I think we get the idea that we are strong enough to deal with temptation. Because we think we are strong we don’t run away, we stick around and flirt with the sin. This leads to failure more times than not.

Too many Christians today are like the little boy with his hand in the cookie jar. He knows that he is not allowed to eat a cookie before supper. When his mother finds him with his hand the cookie jar she asks, “Son what are you doing?” “Fighting temptation” is the boys reply.

God doesn’t want us to fight temptation with our hand in the cookie jar. That is the wrong place to be fighting. But all too often we are doing just what the little boy did. We know someone is bad for our lives, but we continue to hang around them. We know that certain places lead us to temptation but yet we frequent them. It’s hard avoiding temptation with your hand in the cookie jar.

God has made a way of escape for that thing you are dealing with. More than likely the best way of escape is for you to run away from it. God always makes a way of escape and sometimes the way of escape is the king’s highway and a good pair of heels.

I'm on twitter @drojoshuasharp

The Potter

My family and I are spending a few days in Pigeon Forge. Today we walked around a local craft fair. At one of the shops they had a man working a potter's wheel. My family and I were mesmerized by this man skill and the artistry involved in his work.

He would take a piece of clay that was nothing more than a lump and in a matter of moments he would transform it into something beautiful. People couldn't simply walk by, they had to stop and observe.

While standing there my mind went to the prophet Jeremiah as he visited the potter's house. The story in Jeremiah is a wonderful picture of our lives in the hands of our heavenly Father. I'm sure most of you have read this story, but I want to share a couple things that jumped out at me while watching this process in action.

The transformation of this process is amazing to me. Something that starts as plain, and even ugly is transformed into something beautiful when allowed to be molded by the Potter. I don't know about you but when God found me I was like that lump of clay. In sin we are ugly and without form. However when the heavenly Potter is allowed to mold our lives He is able to transform us into something amazing.

This process may require some tugging, molding and even cutting some ugly pieces away. It is for this reason than many never allow the Potter to transform their lives. The molding process is so scary that they choose to just stay the way they are. I wonder what we sacrifice when we are reluctant to give our lives over to the hands of God.

I also noticed that, while the Potter made the same form over and over, each piece was unique and different. Some of us get the idea that we are just another singer, another preacher, or another church member. We look at someone else and wish we were more like them. "I wish I could sing like them."  "I wish I could preach like them."

The truth is that it is our unique differences that make us special. If God had wanted you to be different He would have made you different. It is your uniqueness that makes you special, beautiful, you.

Thinking about this I can't help but wonder what the Potter has planned for my life, and your life. Do we trust Him enough to place our lives in His hands? I bet if we do, something amazing will come from it

Salvation: Faith or Works?

Galatians Chapter 3b

Beginning with this section we come to the climax of the epistle. In this section Paul will speak about the example of Abraham. Abraham is a wonderful illustration of how a person is saved by placing simple faith in God.

Abraham is the greatest bible example of a man being justified before God, because of their faith. It would be impossible for a person to argue that Abraham was saved by keeping the Law because the Law was not given until hundreds of years after Abraham died.

Some will try to argue that Abraham was justified because of his circumcision. Just as some argue that a person today is justified because of their baptism. Abraham’s circumcision was a badge of his faith in Christ. Outward expressions have no bearing on inward works.

The story of Abraham is one filled with trust, faith and reliance upon God. There are probably two high points in Abraham’s life however. The first was after his defeat of the kings of the East in Genesis 15. Having defeated these kings and rescued his nephew Lot’s family, along with the other families from Sodom and Gomorrah, he was offered a reward. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah wanted to reward Abraham for his help, but he refused to take it.

His refusal to take the reward spoke volumes. Abraham was saying that he was relying on God and no one else. Previous to this experience God had promised Abraham that he would give him a seed as innumerable as the sands of the seashore. After this experience Abraham reminds God of that promise.

It was at this point that God made Abraham to look into the heavens and promised him a seed as great as the stars in the heavens. This was Abraham’s response.

“And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.”  Genesis 15:6

Today God has made a promise to you and me. God’s promise to mankind today is this.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16

Just as God promised Abraham a child, God has promised us a child. God promised that He would send His son to die for the sins of all mankind. Abraham believed the promise of God and it was counted for righteousness. Today we are asked to follow in the footsteps of Abraham and believe the promise of God. When we place our trust in God’s promise for salvation, it is counted to us for righteousness.

While Abraham believed God, he did ask God for a covenant or a contract. Let’s see what Abraham asked and what God’s response was.

Genesis 15:8-17

In these verses God made a covenant, but not a covenant with Abraham. Abraham was a man and he was prone to fail. Abraham could possibly do something that would make the contract null and void. Therefore Abraham was put to sleep and God made a contract with Himself. This contract was based on God’s faithfulness not Abrahams.

The same is true with you and me. Over 2,000 years ago Jesus went to a cross in order to pay the sin debt for you and me. Upon that cross God and His Son made a contract between themselves. Today God is not asking you to say your prayers, attend Sunday school, and give tithes to be saved. All God is asking you to do is believe what Jesus did on the cross. Have you put your faith in Christ?

If faith without works was good enough for Abraham then shouldn’t it be good enough for you and me? Paul tells us something pretty interesting in this chapter. He tells us that God preached the gospel to Abraham. This brings up the question, “When did God preach the gospel to Abraham?” Well I think this takes us to the second high point in Abraham’s life.

In Genesis 22 God asks Abraham to do something pretty intense. He asks him to offer his promised son as a sacrifice. Again Abraham is faced with the decision of whether to trust God. We all know the story, but I think that it is so important to mention again.

According to Hebrews 11:19 Abraham believed that, if he offered his son, then God would bring him back to life. I want to point out Abraham’s faith. At the bottom of that mountain Abraham spoke to his servants and told them to wait. Abraham told them that him and the lad would go up and worship and come back again. That was a tremendous statement of faith.

On top of the mountain Abraham did not spare his only son. He was fully prepared to offer Isaac just as the Lord asked. Of course God delivered Isaac, but in the mind of God he was as good as dead because Abraham had determined to kill him.

Through this experience God preached the gospel to Abraham. This was a picture of the way that God would willingly offer His only Son upon the cross. The difference is that while Isaac was delivered, Jesus was not. Jesus was offered and did suffer death.

Let me take this one step further. John Calvin was quoted as saying “Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone.” Notice what James says about the faith of Abraham in his epistle.

“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith Abraham believed God, and I was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”  James 2:20-23

In the life of Abraham his faith led him to willingness to offer his son. He didn’t just believe God. That faith produces works.  The reason that so many people today are not busier is because they are lacking faith. “A living, dynamic faith will produce works.” These works however have no bearing on ones salvation.

The question that should be asked to those that proclaim you must live right to maintain or merit salvation is this, “Do you keep the law twenty four hours a day, seven days a week?” If you are in the flesh then you fail God often. The Law is not a religious cafeteria where you can pick and choose which laws to keep. When you fail God, even one time, then you are cursed by the Law you are supposedly upholding.

Let’s say for an example I live in the state of Tennessee for 34 years, as I have. If I live all those years and never break one of the laws of the state of Tennessee I’m not going to receive a medal for that.

Let’s take this one step further and say that I go to Wal-Mart this afternoon and am caught stealing something. Guess what is going to happen to me? I am going to be punished for my wrong. I can argue “I have lived all of these years and never done anything wrong.” The state is going to tell me that all those years of good deeds mean nothing and that I am going to be punished for my crime.

It’s the same way with the Law of God. The Law does not reward you for doing right. The Law punishes you for doing wrong.

Faith and Law are two opposite principals. For a person to try and combine them is ridiculous. You are either going to live by faith or you are going to live by the law. You cannot combine these two.

God made promises to Abraham and was faithful to fulfill them. Even so God has made promises to you and me through Jesus Christ. Abraham was saved by placing faith in what God would do. Today we are saved by placing our faith in what God has already done.

My Calling

So this week I did something that took me way outside of my comfort zone. On Sunday I told my church that I believed God was moving in my life to preach. This was one of the scariest declarations I have ever made because there are many things that go along with it. That one decision will affect the rest of my life and the lives of my wife and two daughters. If you will give me a minute I would like to lead you through the steps that led me to that declaration.

Over the past several weeks and months God has been moving in my life to do more. For many years I have stood and taught God’s word both at my church and surrounding churches. I have wrote this blog and thousands of you have read my words. I work with the children in my church on a weekly basis. I have been rather busy, but still there was something more that needed to be done. I can’t explain this feeling other than a pressing burden to do more.

In an effort to discover what it was that God wanted from me, I contemplated many things. Was God wanting me to change jobs, change churches, change ministries. I would drive to work and visualize myself going from church to church sharing the scriptures with his people. I just knew that I wanted, and should do more but there was nothing more that I could do in my current position. I would even teach to the congregation at my church lessons like, “What is God calling me to do?”

Little did I know that God was about to drop a bomb on my settled life and shake it up. Saturday night I was laying in bed and thinking about all of these decisions and trying to decide what it was that God was wanting from me, and then it happened. (My wife says that she could see the moment it happened because the look on my face changed so dramatically.) God showed me that the thing He wanted me to do was the thing I was so sure He did not want me to do, preach. Wow is all I can say!

That night I called my pastor, prayed, fretted, prayed some more, fretted some more. I don’t think I slept much at all that night. The next morning I was even more scared than I was the night before. Could I really do this thing that God was impressing upon me? I had determined within myself to go to church that morning, listen to the message my pastor brought and just see what happened. Sounds like a good plan right?

Well my plan didn’t go so well. We opened up the service by singing “How great thou art.” By the end of the first verse I’m crying. By the end of the song I know what is coming, but I’m still holding on. Then it happened. One of our deacons got up, and not knowing a thing about my situation quoted Proverbs 3:6 which says “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Boom! I’m done. I’m on the altar and like they say, “The rest is history.”

You may ask, “What was the sermon you were supposed to sit through?” My pastor preached on the lad with five loaves and two fishes. He talked about giving what you have to the Lord and allowing Him to use it for His service and glory. He even talked about the reluctance the young boy may have had before he gave his all to the service of the Lord. (Yeah I never would have made it through that message.)

So here I am scared to death. Questions have come and gone over the past several days. The devil has tried to sap every last bit of joy from my life. But I have written three sermons already. I will be preaching my first message on July the 7^th and believe God has given me a word for that night. I took a step of faith and that is what I will continue to do, take one step of faith at a time.

Well if you’re still reading and with me let me ask you a question. What does God want from your life? I understand that everyone can’t sing and everyone can’t preach, but everyone can do something. Maybe you are reluctant to take that first step of faith. Trust me I understand. I know how scary it is and I know the doubts the devil will plant in your mind, but that’s why it’s called faith. How about you take this step with me?

Let me ask you a question

Galatians Chapter 3

Paul ended the previous chapter by explaining that if we add anything to the finished work of Jesus Christ then we are frustrating the grace of God, and Christ has died in vain. In this chapter Paul does a beautiful job of explaining how an individual is saved. If you are saved this morning then you have been saved by faith in Christ alone.

Dr. Wiersbe was recorded as saying that the 60 verses that make up the third and fourth chapters of the book of Galatians are the strongest of all of Paul’s writings. This makes sense when we realize that he was in the middle of a war. These false teachers were using any means necessary to capture the churches in Galtia and therefore Paul cannot pull any punches. In these two chapters he proves the doctrine of salvation by faith and faith alone.

Paul begins chapter three by asking them several questions. I want us to look at the questions Paul starts the chapter with, and maybe ask ourselves the same questions. If you are thinking of leaving a church that is teaching and preaching the truth then you should definitely ask yourself these questions.

These people are being foolish and not using their mind. Verse one begins with our first questions. “Why aren’t you using your mind?” The root Greek word in this first statement is “nous” and it means your “mind.” Paul is saying you are not using your mind or your head.

He follows that question with another one. “What has gotten into you?” “Who has bewitched you?” Jesus Christ had been clearly presented to these people, they have trusted in Christ, and by so doing it has changed their lives. If what they believed changed their lives then what are they doing turning from that truth?

The same thing happens every day today. I once heard a false television minister make the statement that most of his followers were former Baptist church members. That is a terrible statement. This means that his followers are people who once heard, and knew the truth. These people have been “bewitched” into following someone else.

The same is true of the modern day movement. Most people you find in these movements were once found in a Baptist church. I believe there are several problems that contribute to this problem. I believe that many people have turned away from the truth because of a group of Pharisaical Baptist. This group has hurt an untold number of believers. These believers will no longer be a part of the Baptist church because of the way they were treated by these men.

The other problem is these people are leaving the truth they once held for something new and different. Everyone wants something new today. People are not satisfied with their homes, their cars, their cell phones and they certainly are not satisfied with their churches any more. It has become part of our culture to constantly want something different. It is my opinion that the church has to evolve over time, but should never change. We can’t be stuck in the days gone by, but at the same time should not be willing to change our standards to suit the times. Some sadly leave the truth in order to seek out something different.

In verses three Paul wants them to begin to think about what they are doing. If they were saved by faith in Christ, are they now going to be so foolish to turn away from what saved them? If they began in the Spirit then why not continue in the Spirit. When a human child is born they have all they need for life. The doctor does not say to that child, “You were born into this world but I’m going to need you to obey these rules to keep on living.” As ridiculous as that sounds it happens in churches every Sunday.

“I know that you were born of the Spirit, but I need you to follow these rules to stay saved.” This message has been proclaimed from many pulpits across America. The trouble is that my flesh has never done anything but let me down. If you are honest you will say the same thing. In fact if you differ you are a liar according to 1 John. This church was made up of sinners and they could not live up to the standards God had set forth. So are they now on some higher plane that they are going to be capable of doing what they could never do before? Of course not!

Next we see that this church had suffered for their salvation. In these days it cost you something to be saved. If they turn their back on what they believed now then all of that suffering would be for nothing. “Did you suffer in vain?”

Paul now asks in verse five, “What about the miracles that were done among you?” Paul had preached among them the gospel. Paul was an apostle, and as such had performed miracles among them. Did Paul do this by the power of the Holy Spirit or by the Law?

The truth is that the reason these men were able to perform miracles was because God was giving them signs to prove their message was true. You have to understand that the people that Paul preached to were in many cases Jews who keep the rituals of the Law. Now a missionary was telling them that what they had done for generations was null and void. This was hard to swallow therefore God would allow them to perform miracles to prove their message was coming from God.

This is not the case today. In fact it seems that most of these sign gifts began to fade with the fading of the apostles, and with the writing of the New Testament. This does not mean that we are not seeing miracles performed every day. God is still performing miracles within lives.

“Do you really believe the miracles in the bible?” a skeptic asked a new Christian who had been a terrible drinker. “Of course I do!” the believer replied. The skeptic laughed. “Do you mean that you really believe that Jesus could turn water into wine?” he asked. “I sure do! In my home He turned wine into food and clothing and furniture!”

These people knew all of these things. They had trusted Christ. They had believed the report of Paul. They had seen the miracles. In spite of all of this they were contemplating turning back to the Law. No wonder Paul asked “What has gotten into you?”

So, that is my question to you today. Those of you who are thinking of leaving the truth that changed your life. Are you willing to turn your back on the truth?

In the remainder of the chapter Paul will use the example of Abraham to show them once again that they are saved by faith and faith alone. In our next blog we will look at these verses.

The unsung hero of the church

Last night was the first night of vacation bible school at my home church. It is always fun to get together with a group of kids and teach them about Jesus. It’s also a lot of stress and work to get everything together for vacation bible school. You have to paint signs, decorate the church, prepare lessons, decide on stunts and skits, and fix snacks. With all these things on my mind I laid in bed last night thinking about the workers in our church and all they do.

Over the last twenty years I have been a part of a local church. My opinion of church works has been cultivated somewhat. Let me explain what I mean. When I was a younger Christian I was very enamored by those men and women in the church who seemed to be giants. These were men who preached great sermons, groups that sung great songs, and individuals that seemed to always be doing something that you could point to and say, “Wow!”. I would look up to these people, and many times rightfully so. They were my heroes.

In the last several years I have changed some of my opinion. In the last several years I have started to notice, and look up to those church members that silently work in the church without ever getting attention or glory. It has become my opinion that the backbone of the church is a group of silent Christians who love God and faithfully serve Him. These are men and women that do things that never get noticed by others, but without their work the church would fall apart.

I thought about my own ministry. God has allowed me to lead the youth program in my church. Each Wednesday night we take the children and teach them separate from the adults. This is a wonderful blessing, but it is a job that I do not do alone. Every Wednesday night three other adults go down stairs with me and the kids. These three individuals don’t ever seem to get the pat on the back, but they are invaluable. Without them the work could not be done.

It has become my opinion that we will be shocked when we stand before God on the Day of Judgment. I think we will be shocked because there will be men and women who the world has never heard of, but God has heard & saw their faithful labor. While they did not receive the pat on the back for their labor here, these men and women will receive rewards at the hand of Christ.

Jesus taught this principal in Matthew 6. He taught us to give, pray, and fast in secret. Those that work in the open receive their reward when everyone sees them, but those that work in secret will receive their reward from Christ. I can also think of a few Christians who think that they have to be in charge of everything that takes place, and makes sure everyone knows that they are the one that did it. According to Jesus in Matthew 6 that person receives their reward at their own hand.

So if you are the silent church member, who cleans the church, prays for the preacher, fixes a snack for a child, or paints a sign for VBS this blog is for you. You are more important than maybe you realize. God notices your labor of love, and one day will reward you for your labor.

The Fight for Faith. A Journey through Galatians (Chapter 2 b)

Galatians Chapter 2

Paul’s experience in Antioch

The church in Antioch was different from the one in Jerusalem in that it was a mainly a Gentile church. I want to explain something before we move forward that I think is important. It was the tradition of many churches in this day to have a feast before they celebrated the Lord’s Supper. (You might remember that Paul had to fuss at the church in Corinth because of the way they were acting at this feast.)

In any case these people would get together and eat. It seems that there were two tables at the feast. One was the Gentile table and the other was the Jewish table. The difference being that the Gentile table had things on it like meat that had been offered to idols. It also had things like pork and other animals that Jews did not eat. The Jewish table would be kosher.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the things that these Gentiles were eating. In Jesus Christ they had the liberty to eat what they pleased. The Jews however were not able to break away from the days when they were in bondage to the Law of Moses, and because of this weakness they could not enjoy their liberty. The reason I know that the Gentile table was okay was because that is where Paul ate.

Well one day Peter comes to visit the church in Antioch. At the feast Peter is presented with something that he has never really had before, Gentile food. I believe Peter was one of those who were still living in a certain amount of bondage.

In my mind I can picture Peter trying pork chops and bacon for the first time in his life. I bet he loved them. Who doesn’t love bacon? Everything is better with bacon. Peter is really enjoying himself eating with Paul and the Gentiles.

The problem is that one day some of the Jews came down to visit, and when they showed up Peter stopped eating with the Gentiles and returned to the Jewish table. He was ashamed of the liberty he had been enjoying thereby setting a double standard before these believers.

By returning to the Jewish table he was saying that living in the liberty of Christ was wrong. When this happened Paul says that he confronted him face to face.

Before I move on and we beat up on Peter too much let me ask you a question. How many of us are truly living examples of what we know as bible doctrines? Peter stood up for this type of living in Acts 15. After his experience in Acts 11 at the house of Cornelius he was called on the carpet before the Jews and he defended himself. The problem here is that Peter’s freedom was threatened by Peter’s fear.

Peter was a very impulsive man. One moment he is cutting off a soldier’s ear for trying to arrest Jesus and the next he is denying he even knows Jesus. Peter could walk on water one moment and be drowning the next.

For Peter to fear was one thing but for his fear to be brought out in the public was another. If Paul had not confronted him these false teachers could have used this as an example of proof for their false teaching.

It is funny how people teach and preach that a man or woman must keep the law or live without sin in order to maintain their salvation. The reason this is funny is because outside of Christ no one has ever been able to keep the law. These Jews were teaching a works salvation, but they were not able to keep the law themselves.

“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law.”

This includes the Law of Moses as well as any other legal system. If a person says that you have to join a certain church, speak in tongues, be baptized or any other work in order to obtain salvation they are preaching a false doctrine.

In Hebrews we are given a record of Christ offering his own blood upon the mercy seat in heaven. Let me point out a verse to you.

“When he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”  Hebrews 1:3

The fact that Jesus sat down after presenting his blood tells us that the work was finished. If there was more work to be done then Jesus would not have sat down, he would have kept working. When Jesus died for you He did everything necessary to purchase your salvation.

Paul even says that “we” had to leave the law in order to be justified by Christ. The “we” in this verse are the Jews. The Jews had to turn from their works to faith so that they could be saved.

The Paul finishes with a pretty clear statement.

“for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

The word “justified” means to declare a person right. Let me give you a definition of this word. “Justification is the act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous in Jesus Christ.”

We are declared right by Jesus Christ. The wonderful thing about Christ is that when He saves us He not only removes our sin, but He also adds His righteousness to our account.

If God could have saved us by any other means then He would have done so. The fact is that the death of Christ was the only way for us to be justified.

In the garden Jesus prayed “if it be possible let this cup pass from me.” There was no other way therefore He willingly laid down his life so that you can live. That was enough for God and it should be enough for us.

In the next chapter we will be given a biblical example of a man who was saved apart from the works of the Law. This man simply placed his trust in God. By doing so God placed righteousness on his account.

The Fight for Faith. A Journey through Galatians (Chapter 2 a)

Galatians 2

Paul in Jerusalem

In chapter two the main theme is the oneness of the gospel. Today there seems to be different teachings when it comes to the gospel. One church will preach one gospel with one way to Christ, and the church down the street will preach another gospel with another way to Christ. The trouble with this is that there can only be one gospel, and there is only one way to Christ. Someone must be right and someone must be wrong.

This controversy is something that Paul had to deal with in this early church. Was Paul’s gospel right or was these legalistic Jews gospel right? We will see in this chapter that the gospel Paul preached was right, and he was willing to confront those that opposed it.

Beginning in verse one Paul retells the story of Acts chapter 15. In Acts 15 we see a council taking place in Jerusalem. At this council the apostles meet together with one topic on their mind. They wanted to determine if all of them were preaching the same message, and if God was saving in other area by faith in Christ.

Paul tells us that when he attended this council he took Titus with him. The reason this is so important is because Titus was a Greek. At this council Titus was “exhibit A” and became an example of a person saved apart from keeping the Law.

From the way this chapter progresses it would seem that there were some false believers coming into the churches where Paul preached and spying on him. They had noticed that this young man Titus had professed Christ, but Paul at no time after his conversion compelled him to be circumcised. This was a topic these false believers brought up over and over trying to discredit Paul.

Circumcision was a rite of passage under the Mosaic system. Circumcision actually began with Abraham in Genesis 17. For a person to submit to circumcision meant that they were submitting to the entire Jewish law. What the Jews forgot was the circumcision was an outward expression of an inward experience. The same is true today with baptism.

Paul states that when he took Titus to the apostles in Jerusalem they did not compel Titus to be circumcised. They did not listen to these false believers. Under the leadership of the Holy Spirit these men rightly decided that they had no right to place someone under the bondage of the Law. In Jesus Christ there was liberty and they were not going to take that away from Titus.

If a person had to be circumcised to be saved then that meant Titus was lost. The fact is however that Titus had been saved by the grace of God, and by grace alone. There was no need to impose on him, or any other believer for that matter, something that Christ had delivered him from.

You may not see the importance of all of this. Let me bring it out in this light. These men were living in the very early days of the church. They did not have a complete copy of the New Testament. They were preaching things that were not only new to the congregation, but new to them as well. God was revealing new things to his men, and those men in turn were revealing these new things to the people. The reason that these men got together was to confirm that what they were being revealed to was the same as what everyone else had been revealed.

Today we don’t need a revelation from God. We have a bible that teaches us completely the will of God. If we want to know the mind, will, or plans of God we simply have to read His word. These men did not have this luxury.

No doubt it was a time of great rejoicing when they compared notes and saw that they were preaching the exact same thing and that God was blessing their works.

In the end of chapter three we see this principal put into action through an experience in Antioch. In our next blog we will look at an experience that took place between Peter and Paul. 

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