"And fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified." Acts 19:17
The Bible is filled with the admonition to fear God. Those who fear Him find wisdom. In the war zone that surrounded the early church, those who did not embrace Jesus as their Savior were familiar with the power of His name. They saw evil spirits flee at the sound of The Name of Jesus, and they saw hardened criminals and civic leaders, alike, transformed when they submitted to The Lordship of Jesus.
The Name of Jesus was not a mantra to be repeated, or a magic talisman to be worn. The Name of Jesus struck fear in the heart of evil spirits by the close proximity of the relationship Jesus had with The Father. Words mean things, especially when the relationship between cause and effect are very clear. The Son was under the authority of The Father. Even evil spirits knew not to mess with God's authority.
I recall as a child this statement striking fear in my heart. "You just wait until your father gets home." When I heard my exasperated mother speak these words, I knew it was time to pack or to repent. They were not an idle threat of violence, just a statement of fact. There was about to be a new sheriff in town. Being grounded at my house meant you couldn't sit down for a week. But I digress.
Today the contemporary church seeks to live apologetically in a cultural climate that has been influenced by a decades long sense of direction dominated by secularists. Their mission has been to minimize the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, not magnify it. For the most part, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
The secularists have campaigned for the removal of Christ from the culture. Too often the church has confused "turning the other cheek" with cratering under the pressure. The result has been the minimization of the name of The Lord Jesus CHRIST, rather than the magnification of Him.
When this cultural climate change takes place it causes darkness to fall across the moral landscape. Virtue vanishes, and darkness reigns. Moving away from The Son causes Global Chilling, not Global Warming.
The removal of CHRISTmas carols from school CHRISTmas programs, crosses from public view, nativity scenes from parks, Ten Commandments from Courthouses, are all a by-product of of secularism. They remove Jesus as the standard and replace Him with themselves. It has been a sorry trade-off.
Rather than being satisfied by success, secularism feeds on it. It can't stop itself until the name of Jesus is merely minimized. He must be annihilated. Jesus warned this would happen.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." MATT. 5:11 NIV
When The Name that is above all names loses reverence in the lives of members of the church, it loses relevance in the life of the culture. The next Great Awakening hinges on the bending of the knees of the people who call Jesus, Savior and Lord. It is not hindered by the people who wish He would just go away.
If you are looking for a climate change, you need look no farther than the prayer meeting of the local church, and the prayer life of the average Christian family. The first response to the crisis at hand by the believer, must begin with the breath that is in their lungs. That is all they have to work with. Delaying praying in the right direction postpones the turning of a nation that is moving in the wrong direction.
Note to self: What are you waiting for? Start praying.
Prior to The First Great Awakening in this nation, America was still a remote idea in the minds of the most fervent of patriots. Thirteen colonies were loosely connected to one another by a strong legal bond to England. There was no national assembly, no national capitol, nor a presiding national leader. The idea of America was solid enough to draw people searching for freedom to establish their homes in a new country. It was not constituted as single nation or protected by a standing army. It was more than that.
The Freedom to Worship was a powerful draw to many who came to this new world. Admittedly, it was not the passion that led everyone to make the sacrifice of such a perilous journey. Still, the local church was a powerful part of the American landscape.
Don't get me wrong. From the very first time believers set foot on this soil, they were always in need of being revived, and restored to a newness of life with every breath they took. They were human. They were flawed. They were not perfect, just forgiven. They made mistakes. Their hope was not in their moral perfection, but in their spiritual sense of direction. They turned to God for His direction, protection and correction.
By the time Benjamin Franklin was a man of means, and a force of nature in the city of Philadelphia, he was aware of a chilling climate change that had crept into his community. He was not a fan of the pastors of the city. Though he was not a believer, Franklin had heard most of them preach. His highest criticism was reserved for those whose words fell upon dull ears in their buildings, but their sermons never made a difference in the street. Here are his words.
"In 1739 arrived among us from Ireland the Reverend Mr. Whitefield...He was at first permitted to preach in some of our churches; but the clergy, taking a dislike to him, soon refus'd him their pulpits, and he was oblig'd to preach in the fields. The multitudes of all sects and denominations that attended his sermons were enormous, and it was matter of speculation to me, who was one of the number, to observe the extraordinary influence of his oratory on his hearers, and bow much they admir'd and respected him, notwithstanding his common abuse of them, by assuring them that they were naturally half beasts and half devils.
It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seem'd as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro' the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street." - Ben Franklin's Autobiography
Now, that is a climate change. From a culture that was "thoughtless or indifferent" to The Name of Jesus, people took The Name of Jesus with them back to their own homes. Listen to the impact of the preaching in the lives of the hearers.
"One could not walk thro' the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street."
Ben Franklin
The fear of The Name of Jesus has been lost in this culture. It must be restored. The restoration needed in this nation does not call for a nostalgic return to the good old days of The Fifties. For some that brings back memories of "Jim Crow" not James Dean. It doesn't call for canonization of Ronald Reagan. His day is gone. Thank God for him. Stop looking for him.
The renewal calls for a restoration of the fear of God in a people who have called on The Name of Jesus, as their Savior and Lord. It is a renewal of prayer, and personal repentance in their own hearts, and lives.
This renewal begins with a refusal to blame anyone else for the spiritual condition of the land. It is a renewal of personal responsibility and accountability before God for Christian citizenship. It is a renewal of personal passion for churchmanship that lives to serve a risen Savior.
This renewal impacts the culture through people who are not satisfied with taking Jesus into their hearts, but they are driven by The Spirit of God to take the name of Jesus with them to the public square and into their own homes. They are not confused that a restoration comes from a change in the White House. They know the authentic evidence of renewal is a change in their heart and their house.
Motivated and mobilized by the Lordship of Jesus Christ, this renewal infuses courage in pastors to STAND UP! It results in mobilization of people in the pews who refuse to sit idly by, while The Name of Jesus, and The Light of the world is driven from the cultural landscape. The renewal of a nation begins with the breath in your lungs. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together." - Psalm 34:3 KJV
The Posers
"But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, 'I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.' " Acts 19: 13
Hollywood's love affair with exorcism and evil spirits is a mixed bag of cashing in on both commercially, while denying any belief in either socially. Since the release of "The Exorcist" there has been a steady seepage from the cesspool, most of it sensational, but not substantial in nature.
The Scripture makes it clear. There is a a spirit world of good and evil forces that do battle on a regular basis with one another, and have an impact on the lives of people who yield jurisdiction in their lives to them. Flirting with evil spirits or pretending they don't exist are two extremes of a very dangerous pendulum.
"Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this." v. 14
Whether for notoriety or for financial gain, these men were traveling around the country casting out evil spirits and charging people a fee for doing so. Their livelihood was being put in jeopardy, by Paul's powerful preaching and his ability to cast out evil spirits from people's lives. They wanted to cash in on his notoriety, and his methodology. Posers always do. It never ends well.
"And the evil spirit answered and said to them, 'I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?'" v. 15
It is a wonderful thing to be known in Heaven, before you arrive there. Those who have embraced the love relationship with Jesus offered to them by The Father, can count on having a reservation in Heaven, and being readily recognized by the Welcome Committee when they arrive.
"The Seven Sons of Sceva" sounds like a working script for a Hollywood western or action movie. To put it mildly, these boys weren't ready for their closeup. When they took the name of Jesus in vain, and dropped the name of Paul on the evil spirit, they were exposed as powerless posers.
"And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." v. 16
Since these seven sons were not operating under the authority of Heaven, they were not feared by Hell. They saw a movement of God, and wanted to get in on it, by cashing in on it. People do this all the time. It is a fool's errand, and a dangerous way to live, posing as a snake charmer without access to any anti-venom. Sooner or later it ends in humiliation or death.
"This became known to all,...and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified...So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing." v. 17-20
This is the point. Notoriety, and name-dropping are never worthy life goals. Jesus will not share His name or His glory with those who have no use for His Lordship. Even the enemy camp knows the difference between someone who wants to act like they are IN authority, but are not UNDER authority.
Evil spirits are unleashed by Satan himself, to intimidate, humiliate, dominate and annihilate people. They have no authority over the children of God. They must yield ground when confronted with the name of Jesus, spoken by those who have an intimate relationship with Him as Savior and Lord.
Evil spirits are not impressed by name-dropping, but they yield ground to the Presence of The Champion. They tremble when they hear God's children praying, in the name of Jesus. They know that help is on the way, and they must get out of the way.
A believer is not someone who has a celebrity relationship with Jesus, but someone who has an intimate relationship with Him. It is marked by a yielding to His authority and jurisdiction over their lives, not a quick photo-op at the baptistry.
I know Arnold Palmer, not the beverage, but the man. I have met him. I have a note from him. He shook my hand. If asked, "Do you know Arnold Palmer?", I can honestly say, "Yes." The problem is this. Arnold Palmer doesn't know me. I have no authority to show up uninvited and unannounced to play golf at Arnold Palmer's home course, "Bay Hill." To walk around the Country Club and drop Mr. Palmer's name, and expect to be treated as his friend, would be presumptuous, and invite embarrassment. Dropping his name gives me no authority to claim his name. I have been given no jurisdiction over "Bay Hill." This is especially true when playing from the Pro Tees. But I digress.
Believer's have authority and jurisdiction over the evil that is in this world. The problem is that they yield too much ground to it, instead of taking a stand against it. Paul stood tall, against the forces of evil, because the only position he sought in The Kingdom was a kneeling one.
When Paul rose to proclaim the Word of God, it was not about dropping the name of Jesus, but glorifying the name of Jesus. His preaching was always spoken from a fresh conversation with Him. Paul's claim to fame was no celebrity photo-op, but the life-changing, life-giving Presence of The Person of Jesus Christ released through Him, by The Spirit of God.
The legacy and the progeny of the sons of Sceva are still with us today. Too many people want to drop the name of Jesus, by wearing a T-shirt or jewelry. Jesus may be on the outside, but He wants to be on the inside. Big difference. Learn the difference. Evil spirits know who does, and who does not. Prayer always reveals whether a person is just seeking a position, or speaking from a kneeling position. Strike fear in the heart of hell today. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Resistance
"And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples..." Acts 19: 8-9
With every presentation of the Gospel, hearts are either softened to receive it or they become hardened to the touch of it. Though Paul's reasoning and persuading turned many people around, it also turned others into his enemies. He preached Jesus as The Way, anyway.
"Some were becoming hardened and disobedient." v. 8
The Jewish synagogues were not all in lock step with their understanding of The Law, nor did they all follow one particular Rabbis teaching on it. Some were more open-minded than others. Some were more conservative in their views. They may not have used the terms for liberal, conservative, or moderate, but they had the same termites.
Paul did not offer Jesus as a way, but The Way. He did not reason and persuade with a pedagogical indifference. He preached the life-changing, life-giving message of Jesus with a passion that made a difference in people's lives.
There comes a point in every preacher's life and ministry when he knows he can no longer throw rocks at every barking dog that resents his presence and his preaching. He must feed and lead the flock. Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice." They still do.
A preacher is often called upon to feed the sheep while fighting off the wolves. Paul gave it three months, and then decided to move the sheep to another pasture.
When people posing as seekers threaten to become heat-seeking missiles, their hardened hearts and sarcasm soaked words will poison the most genuine believer. Preachers have no choice, but to pray for a backdoor revival or remove people from being the targets of this kind of poisonous barrage.
Disarming a ticking time bomb, determined to self-destruct is a delicate operation, and rarely ends well. The process is time-consuming, and the explosion from it takes its toll on preachers and churches. Paul chose to remove the disciples from the line of fire.
This kind of decision was not an easy one for Paul. It never is for any true shepherd, but sheep need to be led, fed and protected. There are preachers who are always looking for greener pastures, but this is not about feeding sheep as much as it is lining their own wallets. They are fewer than critics would claim. Most pastors take their role as shepherd seriously and do it sacrificially. Thank God for yours today, and prepare yourself for a movement of God in your preacher's life and in yours. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Explanation
"When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately." Acts 18: 26
What a dynamic duo. Priscilla and Aquila provide a classic picture of the Christian Couple. Their legacy lives on in those who serve as encouragers to the preachers and members of every local body of believers. Here is why.
They had not had the benefit of a seminary education, or attended a recent Marriage Enrichment Retreat. They had not had no insight from the latest spiritual guru promoted into a best-selling author by a profit driven publishing company. They had come to know Christ, worked side by side with Paul in their tent-making business, and they applied what they heard him teach from the Scriptures. The result of their faithfulness to the Word of God was life-changing for them. It was also life-giving to others.
"Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures...speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus...acquainted only with the baptism of John." v. 24-25
Oops! Close but no cigar. Apollos had missed the message of Pentecost. He had all the stepping stones in Scripture that led towards The Promise, but he had not received what only The Presence of The Spirit of Christ can deliver, THE CHARACTER OF CHRIST. He was not in a state of confusion or a spirit of delusion. He was just in need of inclusion.
Knowing about Jesus and being filled with Jesus are two different things. When a keen mind is inflamed by a hot heart, there is nothing like it in the world. Apollos was a powerful debater, with a massive intellect. His eloquent delivery of what he knew was unmatched. The only thing missing was the one Person he knew nothing about, The Spirit of Christ.
"To Know Him, and To Make Him Known." I first heard this phrase in 1985. It has served me well as a reminder of my mission in life. Every time I become consumed with the latter, and lose touch with the former, I fail to accomplish the most important part of my mission in life...To Know Him.
Apollos was all about making Jesus known, but knowing about Jesus is not the same thing as knowing Him. When Priscilla and Aquila heard Apollos preach, they could tell the difference. They didn't build a case against him. They built a bridge to him. They didn't clip his wings. They brought Apollos under their wings.
Note to self: Pray to God for their tribe to increase in every body of believers on the face of the earth. There has never been a time when biblical accuracy and tactful diplomacy are more needed in the church.
This couple didn't ignore the error, but they also didn't destroy the messenger. People bent on biblical accuracy are still bent. Very few converts survive the correction delivered by people driven by the mission statement: "DIE HERETIC!"
"They took him aside." This does not describe putting him on the shelf, benching him, or humiliating him. Today Facebook rants and published books are the 21st Century version of pulling someone's pants down and spanking them in front of the class. This rarely ends well.
Priscilla and Aquila saw a diamond in the rough in Apollos. They didn't smash him with a hammer, but they put on kid gloves, and pulled him aside to share with him what was missing in his message and in his life, The Person of The Risen Christ.
"They explained to him the way of God more accurately." v. 26b
The Kingdom of God is never served well by "know it alls" I remember facing graduation from seminary in 1978 with a fear that I didn't know enough. My friend and professor, Dr. Curtis Vaughan put my heart at ease. He said, "It is OK to say, 'I don't know." Thanks Doc.
God has taught me a great deal about His Word and Himself since leaving seminary. In those days, I was heading towards 1st Base, and now at 63 I find myself heading towards Home Plate. There is still so much to Know about Him, and so little time "TO MAKE HIM KNOWN."
"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." Earl Weaver - Baltimore Orioles, Manager
Remain teachable. Becoming childlike does not mean being childish. The teachable person is childlike. It is childish to pout, "I do it MYSELF." The child like person receives correction, and learns from it. The childish person resents it, and repeats the same mistake over and over again. Apollos was not some "preacher boy" out to make a name for himself, but a man of God with a child-like heart.
An appeal softens the heart, but an accusation hardens it. Priscilla and Aquila touched the heart of Apollos with loving hands and the result was a powerful spokesman in the hands of God. Every time this man preached, the gentle hand-prints of this kind couple were upon him. His message was irrefutable and biblical. All great preaching still is.
"He powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ." v. 28
This is the point. All great preaching glorifies Jesus. The work of The Holy Spirit honors Jesus. Anytime a system, a method, or an experience overshadows Jesus, it is a result of the spotlight being moved away from Him, and not on Him.
"Never let the system overshadow The Savior." Don Miller, my Dad, not the other one
Praying for the fulness of The Spirit before preaching, prepares the preacher to deliver a message that leaves people hungry for more of Jesus. Preaching should never begin with a preacher full of himself, nor end with a preacher satisfied with himself. Good preaching leaves people saying, "What a great sermon." Great preaching leaves people saying, "What a great Savior." Pray your way to greatness. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Essentials
"For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell." Acts 15:28-29
The Essentials are essentially, very simple.
#1. Always agree with the Holy Spirit.
#2. Avoid associating with questionable practices that cast doubt on your new association with Jesus.
#3. Abstain from fornication.
Many believers feel more comfortable with the world, than they feel convicted to share The Gospel with the world. They need to go back to the point, in their walk with God, where they abandoned these three essentials.
Agreeing with the Holy Spirit is the key to a walk with God that provides a believer with His direction, protection and correction. Praying people are agreeing people, nor perfect people. They are not agreeable to what the world tells them is right. They are only interested in what God says is right. They filter everything the world says to them, through The Word of God, and The Holy Spirit. They are not interested in coming down on the right side of history, but they are consumed with HIS story. When in doubt, read the directions.
Note to self: Your walk with God is the next 20 seconds. The moment The Spirit of God convicts you of sin, you must confess it to God, ask forgiveness for it from Jesus, turn from it to Jesus, and be filled with The Spirit. Like breathing, repeat as needed.
The temples of the Gentile world offered sacrifices to their gods. After the worst part of the animal was burned up on their altars, they sold the best of the meat on the street to provide for the expenses of the their system. The early church leaders encouraged their new brothers and sisters to avoid associating with any enterprise that sustained and supported the opposition, and gave the impression that they had not changed teams. Good advice.
Long before Miley Cyrus strutted her stuff on stage, at a recent awards ceremony, she had wandered from a personal walk with God. As a good Southern Baptist girl, she had been taken to church, baptized as a youth into the fellowship of the church, and then taken back to a home, by her parents, where apparently absolutely nothing had changed.
The parents of this young lady sacrificed her on the altar of celebrity and ignored God's direction, protection and correction. The parents were encouraged to do this by the ample financial support of believers who tune into such awards shows to keep in touch with the real world, and worship their idols. No wonder the Sunday night worship service seems so dull, and on its way to extinction. But I digress.
Abstain from fornication. ABSTINENCE! The very word has been turned into a joke by TV talking heads, and advocates of early sex education. God's Word encourages it, but His people are embarrassed by it. This is one of the reasons "Christian" marriages end in divorce, as often as the marriages of those who hold no belief in God. Apparently, even in the church, most marriages are made in heat, not in Heaven.
Fornication includes it all. Sexual impurity of any kind is to be avoided. The question is this. Whose values are going to reign supreme? The world says, "Nothing wrong here. Move along." God says, "Avoid it." HMMMM. Answer: Get with God and agree with the Holy Spirit.
As the message of The Gospel was shared, it transformed the pagan culture, one life at a time. The church was an open door to people who were fleeing from the world, not those who were trying to drag it to church with them. The church has always been the last, great hope for people, who are sick and tired of being lied to by the world.
Listen to Paul's words to the Church at Corinth. This city was at the crossroads of the world, a cesspool of the ancient world, and a repository of every known perversion. The early church was like a gardenia in a garbage can. It had an aroma so different from the odor of the flesh that it attracted the worst of the world to the best that God had to offer, JESUS.
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, not idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, not thieves, not the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9
This is quite a laundry list!. The blood of Jesus is able to transform everything on it into a believer conformed to His character. This is the message of the church, and when anything but THE ESSENTIALS is heard coming from the church, the message is lost in the sound of billions of voices giving the world a piece of their mind. The result? There is no peace of mind, and no peace with God, in the world or in the church.
Praying people are led by praying pastors to become praying churches, always agreeing with the Holy Spirit. This close walk with the Spirit of God provides them with God's direction, protection and correction, not perfection. Praying leads to obeying, and obeying sustains praying. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The People
"Go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you,..for I have many people in this city." Acts 18:10
In my red letter edition of the NASB these words are crimson on cream. Roll Tide! Sorry! Couldn't help it. But it's true.
Jesus spoke these words to Paul in the night by a vision. There is not a preacher worth his salt that hasn't needed the reminder, "I am with you!" No matter what time it is, day or night, The Presence of Jesus is promised and delivered by the work and the wonder of The Spirit of Christ. Thank God.
Still, there are times when the eyes of the preacher are clouded by the intimidation of the immediate. There is always the relentless stress of discerning the difference between the urgent and the important. There is a huge difference between them. Those that can't tell them apart will be devoured by the urgent, and never accomplish what is important. Praying clears the air. Breathe deep. Choose wisely.
Preaching is a lot like writing poetry while wrestling with alligators. It is hard to do, and under-appreciated. While putting out fires and fighting off the alligator closest to the boat, a preacher can lose sight of his mission in life...people. Paul did. Don't make the same mistake.
When preachers focus on preaching the truth and paying the price, they lose sight of the reward. So did Paul. You will too.
Note to self: Don't make the same mistake.
The call to preach doesn't end with a withdrawal to one's study, or downloading an app on line to access the work of someone who did. Never step into the pulpit to deliver the mail with all of the intimacy and expectancy of a "Current Occupant" mass mail out. High volume and low expectations rarely result in a great harvest.
Jesus came to Paul in a vision and reminded him, "I have many people in this city." (v.10) This is an interesting statement given the fact that Paul had already seen some remarkable results from his preaching in Corinth.
"Many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized." v. 8
What kind of results? The city of Corinth was not a melting pot, but a stew pot of the exotic, excessive and the extravagant. This environment was a toxic cocktail of great commerce, and enormous wealth. It was a crossroads where various cultures collided, resulting in moral and political corruption of everything it touched. Anything and everything was available for a price. What couldn't be bought could be rented, and whatever perversion a person had in their heart was available on the open market. This was not Mayberry. It was Vegas on steroids.
In this kind of setting, Paul preached Jesus as Christ, and "many of the Corinthians...were believing and being baptized." They were not transferring their letter of membership from a sister church down the street. They were being transformed. To a discouraged preacher, and disheartened missionary, Jesus came to Paul in a vision and said in essence, "You aint' seen nothing yet."
The Corinthian Church would improve Paul's prayer life. It would always be one of his greatest loves and biggest heartaches. Any pastor who has ever loved the people of his church will know what this feels like. Take a look at the leadership pool of the Corinthian church. Paul would have to write them to recall what they left behind, when they believed in Jesus and were baptized into His church.
" v. 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, v. 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. v. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." I Corinthians 6: 9-10
Now that is quite a laundry list. Even in the middle of a revival, one could hardly fault Paul for wanting to get out of town, and move on down the road. This place was in need of a cleansing of monumental proportions and Paul was running out of soap. Jesus came to Paul to remind him, keep preaching, and He would do the rest. "I have many people in this city." Jesus still does. Preach Jesus!
Note to self: #2 - Don't try to clean the fish before you catch them. It annoys the fish, and you will never get them in the boat.
"Such were some of you." v. 11
This statement is the antidote to any sanctimonious self-righteousness that tries to infect the church. The local church is the only gathering of people on the face of the earth that requires a person to admit they don't deserve to be a part of it, before they are allowed to join up with it. Get over yourself.
According to the word of God, before someone becomes one of the justified and the sanctified, they must be one of the horrified. Those who see themselves for exactly who they really are in God's eyes, never want to go back to what they once were. Conviction of sin and forgiveness of sin is God's form of shock and awe in the battle against sin. Look in the mirror, and look at the list in 1 Corinthians. When Jesus died on the cross, His blood covered a multitude of sin. Don't dig up what Jesus buried. Leave it. Die to it. Daily.
Praying for the people of a city is the way God turns a preacher into a reacher. Praying preachers become reaching preachers because praying tenderizes the heart of the preacher. Talking about people sharpens a preacher's sarcasm, and cuts people to pieces. Praying for them softens the hearts of those who hear the preacher. Praying transform preaching into reaching by touching the heart of the preacher and speaking to hearts of the people who need to be reached. Turn your preaching into reaching. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Pressing
"Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ." Acts 18: 5
As Gen. Grant, and The Army of the Potomac closed in on Gen. Lee and the Army of Northern Virgina, he telegraphed President Lincoln. He informed the President that the conflict would end if he kept up the pressure on the Confederate forces. Lincoln's answer was terse and to the point, "Let the thing be pressed." Grant obeyed, and pressed Lee to surrender his forces at Appamattox, Virginia in April 1865.
Pressure is a powerful weapon in the hands of a general seeking to defeat the enemy. The strategy is designed to keep the foe from regrouping, catching their breath, and maintaining resistance. It is also an effective tool in God's hands to bring a preacher to the edge of the cliff, to take a leap of faith, and to leave the results up to God.
Note to self: As a preacher, you don't have to survive, just serve. Make sure you serve God, not yourself. God can raise the dead. You can't. Don't live to survive. Live to serve.
In April 1985, I was at such a point. I was pastor of a church that had devoured 16 pastors in 24 years. One of these shepherds had lasted 2 weeks. The same tag-team Deacon Board that ran the church was in the process of doing the same thing to me. I found myself in the middle of a crisis brought about by their strategy. It was a well-oiled machine of secret post office boxes, anonymous letters, with-holding of finances, the manipulation of the committee system, and the high-jacking of the business meeting process. All the while, the public statements of support to my face and the congregation were supportive, but behind the scenes, the back-stabbing was effective. They were deceptive, destructive, and were very good at this. Can I get a witness?
As the crisis mounted, staff salaries would be reduced, program's cut, and hand-wringing induced to bring about a loss of confidence, and the eventual departure of the pastor. That would be me. Don't get me wrong. It wasn't personal. It never is. It simply doesn't matter whose name gets erased, as long as control remains in the hands of the few, the entitled, and the determined. Just because a church is death-defying doesn't mean it is life-giving. Check the graveyard. It is usually filled with former pastors.
One day, while I was alone in prayer and the reading of Scripture, I came across this passage. In a moment, the angst, anger and anxiety disappeared. The pressing down on my soul was released, and a huge burden was lifted. I heard from God. There was a new sense of freedom and expectancy. Come what may, I was not alone, nor was I a punching bag. I only had two cheek, not four. I had turned both. It was time to stand up, not to take a kick in the pants.
"Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, 'Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.' And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them." Acts 18:9-11 KJV
The pressing of Paul's soul, and the words of the Lord spoken to him, reveal much about the man. He was at times hesitant to speak his full mind, and fearful of the beating he would take if he did. Paul was not a robot on remote control, but a living, breathing human being who hurt when hit, and at times felt the sting of loneliness like anyone else. God pressed his soul, with a reminder of His Spirit's Presence, and with His touch, Paul found a new freedom to preach Jesus. This only happens...EVERY TIME.
For my part, when I read this, God led me to go without a salary for a year. It didn't seem possible, or plausible, but when I shared this sense of direction with Dana, she had heard the same thing. Sunday I told the congregation that I had a special announcement to make at the close of the service.
I could tell by the looks on the faces of the ringleaders, they were expecting me to quit. This was not their first rodeo. When I rose to close the service, I thanked the church for their patience with the process, and shared with them how God had lifted the crisis. I was able to say with confidence, there was no longer any financial need to reduce staff salaries, because I would serve the church without compensation for the next year. The standing ovation was deafening. The shocked looks on the faces of those seated told me all I need to know. They hadn't counted on God showing up at the beat down. Back stabbers always bring a knife to a gunfight, and God always outguns the opposition.
The pressing down on my spirit had been enormous, but I was more than overwhelmed by the sense of freedom that it forced to the surface. The power grip of the few had been broken. They were exposed for the frauds they were. Over the next two and a half years, I discovered what preaching with freedom was all about. "Let the thing be pressed." Indeed.
The Pressing of a preacher's spirit is often the way God prepares His preachers to lead His people into a fresh out-pouring of His Spirit. Comfortable preachers and complacent people lead to compromising churches that are conformed to the culture, but will never see it changed with the message of Jesus as Christ.
Stop looking for a massage from the culture. Deliver the message of Jesus to it. Preach Jesus, not just God Bless America. Jesus is not a Democrat or a Republican. He is not even an American. The ash heap of history is filled with nations, and empires who pressed their values on others, but in the process lost the virtue only Jesus Christ can place in a culture, one life at a time. Preach Jesus.
This Thanksgiving, thank God for the message of Jesus Christ, and prepare to share Jesus with someone this Christmas. Faith Hill sings a beautiful song that says it all, "A Baby Changes Everything." From the cradle to the cross, from the womb to the tomb, from Heaven to your heart, Jesus changes everything, one life at a time. He longs to say the same words to you, He spoke to Paul, "...I am with Thee." Listen. He is praying for you by name. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!
The Declaration
"God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed...some began to sneer, but others said, 'We shall hear you again...But some men joined him and believed..." Acts 17: 31-34
Preaching calls for a response to be made to The Declaration of God. Preaching that does not call for a response, has confused communication with declaration. Preaching is not the mere dispensation of information. Preaching is the incarnation of the declaration of God, by a faithful messenger. Regardless of the choices people may make, preaching calls for a choice to be made. Paul did not get all the fish in the boat, but his preaching drew the net. Biblical preachers still follow his lead.
Blood bought, God called preachers should never dilute preaching into nothing but the delivering of information. Preachers are not postal workers delivering mail, or UPS employees, driving around town, ringing doorbells, dropping off packages, and then driving home with sense of accomplishment.
UPS drivers don't stick around to see the receiver's response to what has been delivered. They drop the package, ring the door bell, and drive off. Preacher's do more than that. They look into the faces of people, and ask, "What do you intend to do about what God just told you to do?" To do less than call for a response is to fail to deliver The Declaration.
Preaching doesn't just deliver the message to a listener's doorstep. It drives it home to the person's heart. Before The Declaration of God arrives to the listener's ears, it must pass through the preacher's soul. This is rarely painless.
Incarnational preaching is not merely informational. It is transformational. If preaching doesn't change the life of the preacher in the pulpit, it will have little impact or influence on the people in the pews.
Without the blood transfusion of The Spirit of God, there is no incarnation of the message in the life preacher. Great preaching is not marked by a cute illustration, or a profound quotation. Perspiration, elocution, and education are poor substitutes for incarnation. The message must reveal a change in the messenger. If the message is missed in the heart of the preacher, it will not hit the mark in the heart of the listener.
Paul preached for a response. Biblical preaching calls for a decision to be made. It is about life-change and right choices, not preachers parsing phrases, or listeners taking sermon notes. People filling in the blanks in a sermon outline have not had an encounter with the word of God, until The Declaration has made a transformation in them.
Note to self: When you preach, declare the full counsel of God, and call for a response, NOW, not later.
So much preaching today is void of theology, but high on technology. There is no fear of God. Paul's message reminded people that the God of creation was making a declaration to them that called for them to REPENT.
The Declaration of God's love for His children is made with an exclamation point in the form of The Cross of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Cross declared God's love. Jesus was, is, and always will be the incarnation of God's love. Knowing about the cross and being transformed by the crucified Christ are two different things. Those who preach Jesus must reveal the change Jesus has made in their lives, before their preaching will lead people in the pews to a life-changing encounter with Him.
God is not nostalgic about the loss of His Son, in the past tense. The Declaration of His love is always in the present tense. Remembering the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, in the past must lead to repenting, in the present. HIS story is not just focused on what God has done in the past, but what He is doing right NOW in the lives of those who respond to The Declaration.
"God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent." v. 30b
Without repentance there is no remembrance. Biblical preaching calls for both, and is not embarrassed by either. To repent refers to a change of heart, and a change of mind, that leads to a change of direction. This turn around takes place in the present tense, not in the past or the future, but right NOW. As Henry Blackaby has often been quoted as saying, "Delayed obedience is still disobedience."
Hearing from God without obeying God is neither remembrance or repentance. It is rebellion. Preaching calls for a response to The Declaration of God in the form of obedience and allegiance.
Preachers would do well to remember that most of the people who show up to hear them preach live under a flag of rebellion. Secession resists repentance to the will of God. Intercession seeks the will of God. The Spirit of Intercession urges people to lower their flag, and end their rebellion.
Preaching calls for the lowering of the flag of rebellion, and the bending of the rebel's knee to the will of God. Rather than a Declaration of Independence, the citizen of The Kingdom of God calls out to God in prayer with a Declaration of Dependence.
Prayer prepares the heart of the rebel to respond in repentance. Praying prepares the preacher to call for repentance with a broken heart. Both are essential. Pray for preachers. They need it and you need the practice. Hearing from God is always improved by praying for your preacher. Praying improves the listener's hearing and the preacher's preaching. The next Great Awakening hangs in the balance. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Proclamation
"This I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far off from each of us, for in Him, we live and move and exist...'For we also are His children.'" The Apostle Paul - v. 23b-28 NASB
Preachers are called to proclaim The Way, The Truth, and The Life. In other words, the story of redemption is the message and the mission of Jesus. It is HIS-story, not my story.
Note to self: Your story of salvation is written in the blood of Jesus, priceless to God, and precious to you, but it is not about your love for God. The life-changing power comes from HIS love for you. BIG DIFFERENCE.
One of the oldest preacher jokes introduced to preacher-boys is a question designed to help them break the ice with a cold crowd. Here it is. "How many of you brought your HIM-BOOK? Hold it up." When people dutifully pull out from the pew rack, and hold up their song book, the young preacher is supposed to hold up his Bible and say, "No that is a song book. This is your HIM BOOK. It is all about HIM!" This kind of preaching always generates mild annoyance and nervous laughter. Stop it.
Still, the story Paul told to the arrogant, and astute Athenians was not his story, but HIS story. A friend of mine suggested that Paul got caught up in the moment, and instead of giving his personal testimony, he tried to engage the culture. I doubt that, given the Holy Spirit's capacity to fill Paul with what God intended for people to hear. These five and half verses of Scripture are some of the most profound words ever produced in any human language. But I digress.
I haven't been to Athens since 1972, but I can still recall the impressive and imposing ancient remains of the city square, when I stood where Paul once took his stand to make The Proclamation..."He is not far off from each of us, for in Him, we live and move and exist." NASB
When The Pilgrims landed in what is now Cape Cod, Massachusetts they brought with them The Geneva Bible. Their boundaries had been moved from the Old World to the New World, but they brought the Old and the New Testament with them. Their version of the Bible preceded the King James Version, by several years, and contained The Proclamation...
"For in him we live, and move, and have our being, as also certain of your own Poets have said: For we are also his generation." v. 28 - Geneva Bible 1599
This new generation of Christian believers, blown off course from their destination in Virginia, were planted by the hand of God in New England. They birthed The Mayflower Compact and the form of government that breathed life into a new nation. They did not establish the United States of America, but they produced the idea of America.
The secularists have sought to demonize The Pilgrims as Eco- terrorists who ravaged the pristine landscape, and rabid racists who massacred the indigenous people. Well-meaning, but nostalgic conservatives have eulogized The Pilgrims until they have become almost mythological paragons of virtue. Both extremes do them a dis-service and cloud HIS story.
God always hits HIS straightest licks with crooked sticks. The Pilgrims were not perfect people. They were directed people. People who seek God's direction, protection and correction will never search for Him in vain. The Truth is...
" He is not far off from each of us." Thank God!
The people God uses are not perfect, just forgiven. The Pilgrims were flawed people who sought God, and as result saw themselves as instruments, in the hands of God. The result? They birthed a new generation that was the genesis of a new nation that has made a difference in this world.
The Pilgrims carried in their hearts and minds a vision of a "City on a Hill." They poured their life blood and buried their children into the sands of Cape Cod, and with every sacrifice, they established the foundation of a new nation. Never forget it. Don't sit down in the face of any attempt to deny their monumental sacrifice. STAND UP!
"Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience." The Mayflower Compact - 1620
In 1630, just ten years after these words penned by William Bradford, and the original Pilgrims, John Winthrop saw a vision. In his eyes obedience to God was the source for all the direction, protection and correction his generation and subsequent generations would need, in the new land.
"...for wee must Consider that wee shall be as a Citty upon a Hill, the eies of all people are uppon us; soe that if wee shall deale falsely with our god in this worke wee have undertaken and soe cause him to withdrawe his present help from us, wee shall be made a story and a byword through the world, wee shall open the mouthes of enemies to speake evill of the wayes of god and all professours for Gods sake; wee shall shame the faces of many of gods worthy servants, and cause theire prayers to be turned into Cursses upon us till wee be consumed out of the good land." John Winthrop - 1630
Winthrop's words, even without the benefit of Spell Check, frame the debate. There is no impact on history, without HIS story making an impact in the lives of HIS children, one life at a time.
"For in Him, we live and move and have our being." Indeed.
"The Message" offers this contemporary observation on the all-consuming relationship God has with His children.
"He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him!" v. 28 The MESSAGE
As Thanksgiving Day approaches, and The Pilgrims are parodied on TV commercials or replaced altogether by
Happy Turkey Day", STAND UP! Remember they were children of faith. Their faith led them to leave their homes, climb onto the deck of leaky boat, fight for their lives through powerful storms, that landed them on the wrong shore. They chose to stay and eke out a meager survival, and pass on a legacy of faith to those who followed in their footsteps.
The Pilgrim's faith led them to establish a compact that embraced their trust in God to guide them in the decisions they would make while they remained on earth. One of their first decisions had to do with the establishment of a form of self-government. Dare I say it. They got involved in politics.
Don't get me wrong. They were not on a cruise. They were on the run. The Puritans in England had lost control of the political process. The Royalists were exacting revenge. Their search for freedom of worship was driven by a desire to live, not just to live free. Life trumps liberty, every time.
Freedom to worship is of precious little value to a dead man. The Puritans became The Pilgrims because they sought life, then liberty. Sound familiar? Remember! They had the idea of America in their soul. Though the words were not theirs, the idea of "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" would be The Pilgrim's legacy to America. More than a place, America will always be an idea, held in the hearts and minds of people seeking freedom.
Pilgrims seeking freedom hit the beaches of America every day, from every nation of the world. Why? America was God's idea, long before it became a good idea. Observation: For American Christians who have not gone out to reach the world, perhaps God is bringing the world to their doorstep.
The signs of the times, in this nation, call for a new generation of Christian citizens who will do no less than The Pilgrims. They must exercise their faith in Heaven, and their due diligence on earth. When Christian citizens all over this nation, humbly pray for God's direction, protection, and correction, then they must STAND UP! Christian citizens must register to vote, and cast their vote with God-given direction.
A Great Awakening begins with the humble prayer of one Christian's confession. But it is more than a Christian withdrawing inside the walls of a church, and lighting a candle in a secret prayer meeting. The next Great Awakening must stir cold embers of sitting Christians into flames of fire. Revived Christian citizens must STAND UP and light up a dark world to illuminate "The City on a Hill."
Prayer strikes the match that lights the night, and enables Christian citizens to see God is closer than they think. He is near. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!
The Sneer
"Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, 'We shall hear you again concerning this.' " Acts 17:32
The contemporary church seeking a cheer from the culture, while fearing The Sneer of the culture, will always abandon God's cure for the culture, The Resurrected Christ.
"He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead." v. 31
Christmas and Easter are still two of the highest attendance days of the church. Go figure. One celebrates His birth, the other His death, burial and resurrection. Jesus commanded His disciples to remember the latter, not to celebrate the former. Contemporary culture has it exactly backwards, and for the most part the church has yielded to their sense of direction.
When the church conforms to the pressure of the culture instead of transforming it, it never ends well, for the church or the culture. Every time the church is too embarrassed by their beliefs to actually proclaim them, they keep their structure and lose their substance. Their by-laws, buildings and budgets don't breathe new life into dead men. Only Jesus can do that. After all, He is The Risen Christ. God has no Plan B.
Once belief in Jesus is diluted from holy reverence to quaint remembrance, His birthday may be celebrated, but His resurrection is emasculated. Dead men don't need to be cheered up. They need new life. Only The Risen Christ can provide it.
Note to self: The culture may very well sneer at the very mention of The Risen Christ, but preach Jesus anyway.
Paul was convinced Jesus came to call people everywhere to "REPENT." His church should follow His lead. To do less may avoid The Sneer, but if the church really wants to offer some Christmas cheer, and The Spirit of Christmas, they need to proclaim The Risen Christ.
"God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent." v. 30
Don't get ready to go all Ninja-Angel on contemporary culture. Forgive me! I can't get that scene in the recent TV series on "The Bible" out of my mind. Those Chuck Norris angels escorting Lot and his family out of Sodom, really did a number on the Sodomites, and then God's judgment fell. Now is a great time to remind the church that judgment begins at the house of God. Don't take my word for it.
"For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" I Peter 4:17
Fearing The Sneer leads to the squeezing of the church, into the mold of the culture. Repentance involves an awareness that one is moving in the wrong direction, and an act of the will to turn around and move in the right direction. One without the other is incomplete.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer described the dilemma of people who ran down the aisles of a train that kept taking them in the wrong direction. That is not a picture of repentance.
"“If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
This may very well describe the condition of the pulpits and the pews of America. Some people are aware of the conditions threatening the church, but are screaming in outrage and frustration, while still heading in the wrong direction. Others are blissfully unaware of any danger, and are either mildly amused or painfully annoyed at the commotion of those who won't sit down and shut up. The opposition is in a position to keep the train moving in the wrong direction, and won't let go of the controls without a fight.
Turning a runaway train around is not an easy task. It requires leaving the comfort of the passenger compartment, taking control of the engine compartment, stopping the train, and moving it in the opposite direction.
Preachers who attempt to move the train in the opposite direction, should expect resistance from the opposition on two fronts. People in the church or in the culture don't like to be told they are wrong. Their will be no dislodging the hands of the opposition from the throttle of the train, without discomforting the pulpits and the pews of America.
Bad news is more like spilled milk than fine wine. It doesn't age well. Delaying the clean up doesn't improve the aroma of the church or the culture. There is only one aisle on a train. CLEAN UP ON AISLE #1! Grab a mop. This is going to take a while.
"Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within,.." Romans 12:2 - J.B. Phillips Translation
Preachers in the pulpit and people in the pews have become embarrassed to call both to turn around. In every culture, and at every point in history someone's value system reigns supreme. In a republic, with a representative form of government, Christian citizenship remains the bulwark against tyranny from within and terrorists from without.
God's value system diminishes when preachers meekly raise the question, "Are you sure we are moving in the right direction?" Timidity only invites The Sneer. Rigidity doesn't remove The Sneer, it only intensifies it. Yelling at people who are on a fast train in the wrong direction, rarely influences them to turn it in the right direction. The opposition simply doesn't care how loud preachers scream, as long as their own hands remain on the throttle.
The key to the next Great Awakening is humility, not timidity or rigidity. Praying preachers must lead praying people to develop praying churches. Prayer prepares the way for a turn around, first in the church, and then in the culture. This happens one person at a time, and one prayer at a time. ALL ABOARD!
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
This passage of Scripture became the battle cry for the Jesus Revolution of the late Sixties and the early Seventies of the 20th Century. In 1996 I was impacted by a quote that led me to a personal turnaround and has never steered me off track in the last seventeen years.
"It is not enough for the pastor to pray fervently, nor is it sufficient for a leadership team to pray ardently on behalf of the congregation. Until the church owns prayer as a world-class weapon in the battle against evil and cherishes prayer as a means of intimate and constant communication with God, the turn-around efforts of a body are severely limited, if not altogether doomed, to failure."
George Barna - Turn Around Churches
As pastors prepare their people to humble their hearts through prayer, they must give them a winning strategy after they get up off their knees. The clear call for Christians to TAKE A KNEE should be followed by another call to STAND UP! One must precede the other, but does not remove the necessity of the other.
Pastors should lead their people to exercise the rights of dual citizenship. Paul claimed his rights as a Roman citizen. Christian citizens of America should do no less. The Sneer will not be removed from the faces of everyone who refuses to accept The Risen Christ. This should not deter Christians from voting to take the hand of sneering people off of the throttle of a train moving away from Religious Liberty and towards disdain of The Risen Christ.
In a representative democracy, someone's value system is going to win out, at the voting booth. Pastors should challenge the people in their pews to pray for the next Great Awakening, register them to vote, and lead them to vote for those people and policies that will protect Religious Liberty and honor God's values. To do less is running down the aisle of a train that continues to move toward a point of no return. Clean up in Aisle #1! TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!