Rightly Dividing The Word

The Doctrine of Justification

2010-04-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

This research paper was written as part of a class assignment in my study of the Bible Book of Romans at Calvary Chapel Bible College:

Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone is the unique concept that separates Christianity from all other religions. Beginning in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve tried to cover their nakedness using fig leaves (by their own effort); God showed them that their works could not cover their sin. He made clothing of animal skins to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve. In this act we see that God is the prime mover in the salvation process. In systematic theology the doctrines pertaining to salvation are referred to as soteriology.

Within the field of soteriology we can discover God’s overall plan of salvation for mankind. This study includes the concepts of election, conversion, justification, regeneration, union with Christ, adoption into God’s family, the sanctification process, the perseverance of the saints and the means of grace. In this paper we will primarily look at the doctrine of justification.

Justification comes from the root word “just” which means to be morally right, within the bounds of the law or proper in nature. “Justify” means to declare to be free of blame or to absolve. It carries with it the idea of there being a legally sufficient reason for this declaration. The dictionary definition of justification is: “the act of justifying … the condition or fact of being justified” and it also may mean “a fact or circumstance that justifies.”

From a Protestant Reformed Christian theological perspective, justification may be defined as: “that act of God whereby he declares righteous him who believes in Christ.” Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology states: “Justification is the declaring of a person to be just or righteous. It is a legal term signifying acquittal…” The Tyndale Bible Dictionary states that justification is: “The act of God in bringing sinners into a new covenant relationship with himself through the forgiveness of sins. It is a declarative act of God by which he establishes persons as righteous—that is, in right and true relationship to himself.”

Justification consists of two primary elements. First there is the forgiveness of sin and the removal of sin’s guilt and also the elimination of the eternal punishment for a believer’s sin. In addition God imputes to the justified believer the righteousness of Jesus Christ and restores him or her back into God’s favor.

Many theologians, bible teachers and pastors have tried to develop a workable illustration for the concept of justification. Perhaps the best illustration I have discovered is that of a judge pronouncing a verdict of: “Not guilty!” Justification is not something that a man or woman does, or even can do for him or herself. It is a legal statement made about an individual by God. God, the judge, declares that, in His eyes, we are not guilty of our sins. Our slate has been wiped clean just as if we had never committed a sin. But, in addition to the judge pronouncing the sinner as innocent, God also gives us something positive. He pays our fine and He also puts His unlimited resources (His righteousness and His grace) in our account.

In Romans 3:24 Paul tells us that those who believe in Jesus Christ are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…” Later on, in the fourth chapter of Romans, he says that righteousness is “imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”

The Greek word that is translated “justification” in Romans 4:25 and Romans 5:18 is “dikaiosis.” According to Strong’s Concordance the meaning of “dikaiosis” is “the act of God declaring men free from guilt and acceptable to him.” An alternative meaning is: “abjuring (as with an oath) to be righteous, justification.” The Greek word “dikaiosis” is derived from “dikaioo” which comes from the root Greek word “dike.”

Dike (or Dice) was a Greek goddess. She was one of the goddesses of the seasons of the year and also one of the keepers of the entrance to heaven. Specifically Dike was seen by the Greeks as representing “justice, fair judgments and the rights established by custom and law.” The noun “dikaiosis” (justification) occurs only twice in the New Testament, but the Greek word “dike” and its derivatives are used more than 200 times. In addition to the English word “justification,” the Greek word “dike” and its related forms are also translated as: justify, be freed, be righteous, justifier, righteous, just, right, righteousness, ordinance and judgment.

The concept of justification can be seen as a legal decree or as a declaration that someone is righteous or just. But justification can also be viewed as an act that shows someone to be right or just. As with all Bible interpretation it is extremely important to derive the meaning of a word with reference to its overall context.

There are widely divergent views within the religious world as to how one achieves justification. The most prominent general concept is that a person needs to somehow be “good” and that, if their good deeds outweigh the bad, then they should be accepted into heaven. But that is not the literal Biblical basis for justification. In Romans we are told that “a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”

In his book “The Gospel According to Grace,” Pastor Chuck Smith remarks: “No one can be justified by the Law of Moses, the Ten Commandments. We’re already guilty before we even start. The law wasn’t given to justify us, but to expose our innate sinfulness. It reveals the fact that the whole world is guilty before God…The Law condemns all of us, and it points all of us to the only hope of salvation that we have – the grace and mercy of God and the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ.”

Catholics and Protestants have debated the issue of salvation and justification by grace alone versus the idea of justification by faith plus works. This was one of the major issues that sparked the Protestant Reformation. Catholics rely on baptism, communion, attending mass, confession of their sins to a priest and reciting certain prayers as an addition to their faith. The official position of the Roman Catholic Church is:

“If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “…baptism is necessary for salvation…” So it is quite clear that, at the very least, Roman Catholics believe that works must be added to faith for a person to be justified before God.

The Reformed Protestant position on salvation is that a person is immediately justified or declared to be righteous in God’s eyes at the moment of belief in the Gospel message. Works are not part of the Evangelical Christian salvation and justification equation.

The debate on the faith and works issue arises primarily from the interpretation of two key portions of Scripture. Throughout his writings the Apostle Paul is very clear that salvation and justification are attained by faith alone and that they are not the result of works. James, on the other hand, seems to teach that works are required for justification.

To make his point about justification by faith alone Paul uses the example of Abraham. In Romans Chapter 4 he states: “What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness…”

But James also uses Abraham to illustrate his contention that justification is through works. In Chapter 2 of his epistle he states: “But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?”

There is no doubt that, at first glance, these statements contradict each other. Martin Luther was so perplexed by this apparent contradiction that he chose to pretty much ignore James in building his theology of salvation by faith alone. He called the Book of James an epistle of “straw” and also said: “…I do not regard it as the writing of an apostle…”

The issue here, however, is not a difference in theology but a difference in viewpoint. Paul is looking at justification from God’s perspective while James is looking at the situation from man’s point of view. Both Paul and James use the same Greek work for “justified” in these two passages of Scripture and rightly so because the Greek language allows that this word has two different possible meanings. The meaning in a particular passage must be derived from the overall context.

C. S. Lewis says that “the outer world is quite right to judge Christianity by its results. Christ told us to judge by results. A tree is known by its fruit; or, as we say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.” As humans we cannot see forgiveness, we cannot see imputed righteousness, we cannot see justification. What we can see are the effects of the work of the Holy Spirit in an individual’s life. James does not contradict Paul. He contrasts intellectual knowledge with true saving faith. Mere acknowledgement of a set of historical facts will not save anyone and James says that this type of faith is “dead.”

Jesus spoke of this dichotomy when he was talking with Nicodemus. He said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus was confused by this statement and he asked Jesus: “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” As a Pharisee Nicodemus wanted to follow God but he had been blinded by the traditions of men.

Jesus was looking at a spiritual rebirth and Nicodemus was thinking in the material realm. Jesus then gave a classic response that describes how human beings can have evidence in the material realm about what is happening behind the scenes in the spiritual world. He said: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Jesus was telling Nicodemus, and us as well, that a man who truly has faith and who is truly saved will demonstrate his justification through his actions.

What then is the Biblical process and how is justification achieved? The Bible tells us: “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” We also learn from Scripture that we have been “…justified by His blood…” and this statement refers to the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross of Calvary. In addition the Bible says that a man is “justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” Also, we are told that as believers we are “…justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…”

How do a man’s works relate to salvation? Paul clears up the controversy in the Book of Ephesians. He tells us: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

The fog has lifted and the concept is now clear. Justification is not a result of the works of the Law, it is by the grace of God, it is by the blood of Christ and it is by faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work at Calvary. However, when a person is saved and justified he is new creation and his actions will show evidence of what has already happened on the inside in his or her heart. The only “works” that are required by God that are related to justification are described by Jesus. He said: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

In summation of what we have learned: justification is a judicial act of God in which the believer is declared to be righteous. The Greek words used for justified and justification have two related and yet slightly different meanings. When Paul speaks of being justified he is looking at it from God’s perspective where believers are seen to be righteous. When James speaks of justification he is looking at it from man’s viewpoint. There should be evidence in a believer’s life that justification has taken place. If there is no evidence then it is questionable that faith, belief, salvation and justification have occurred. The Catholic viewpoint on justification is that faith alone is not sufficient and that faith must be coupled with works, but this position is not Biblical. The Reformed Protestant position is that works are not required and that faith alone is sufficient to justify the believer. Justification is achieved by faith alone, through God’s grace alone in Jesus Christ alone.

What are the results of justification and how can I, as an individual Christian, make application of the Bible truths about salvation in my daily life? As I read about the history of the Church and the development of various theological doctrines several thoughts come to mind which I have applied in my approach to Bible study. The first is to recall the words of Paul as he spoke to the elders of the church at Ephesus: “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”

It is very important for me to study the entire Bible. I grew up going to Sunday School at the Christian Science church. Christian Scientists engage in “cut and paste” theology. They will only read a portion of a verse and then a portion of another verse and then put together a false concept of God, man and Jesus. After I became a true Christian it took me several years of consistent study to flush this false theology out of my system.

Another area of application is that I must keep God’s promises in mind each and every day. I am a new creation in Christ and I need to act that way. I have been forgiven and, since God has forgiven me, I need to be careful not to condemn myself when I stumble. I have been restored back into God’s favor and I need to respond in love by serving God and others. I plan to continue to serve my church as a teacher and in the area of outreach. I plan to continue to serve my community as a member of our festival planning committee.

As a believer in Jesus Christ I have been given the righteousness of Jesus Christ as a free gift. But it is my responsibility to make righteous decisions every moment. I am enabled to do this through the power of the Holy Spirit. Titus tells us that “having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

I have been assured of my future glorification. There is a place in Heaven that has been reserved for me. This life on planet earth has been given to me as a time of preparation for my eternal future in Heaven with Jesus. Because of this I need to have regular time in God’s Word and in personal communion with Him. I need to live each day looking for the Lord’s soon return. I need to be like the Bereans who "received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”

Bibliography:

Catholic Answers: “The Necessity of Baptism,” www.catholic.com/library.

Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry: “The Roman Catholic View On Justification,” www.carm.org/religious-movements/roman-catholic.

Clarke, Adam: Commentary on the New Testament. Cedar Rapids: Parsons Tech, 1999.

Elwell, Walter A.: Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids:
Baker Books, 1996.

Elwell, Walter A.: Comfort, Philip Wesley: Tyndale Bible Dictionary. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001 (Tyndale Reference Library).

Enns, Paul P.: The Moody Handbook of Theology. Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press, 1997, 1989.

Evans, William; Coder, S. Maxwell: The Great Doctrines of the Bible. Enl. ed. Chicago: Moody Press, 1998, 1974.

Farlex: “The Free Dictionary,” http://www.thefreedictionary.com.

Geisler, Norman L.; Nix, William E.: A General Introduction to the Bible. Rev. and expanded. Chicago: Moody Press, 1996, c1986.

Gerstner, John: “History of the Doctrine of Justification,” www.apuritansmind.com.

Hodge, Charles: Systematic Theology. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997.

Lewis, C. S.: Mere Christianity. New York: Harper Collins, 1952, 1980.

Schaff, Philip; Schaff, David Schley: History of the Christian Church. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997.

Shelley, Bruce L.: Church History in Plain Language. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982, 1995.

Smith, Chuck: The Word for Today Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2005.

Smith, Chuck: The Gospel According to Grace. Costa Mesa, CA: The Word For Today,
1981, 2002, 2007.

Strong, J.: Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. Cedar Rapids: Parsons Tech., 2003.

Swain, James: “Luther’s View of the Canon of Scripture,” www.ntrmin.org.

The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Nashville: Nelson, 1982

Thiessen, H.C.: Lectures in Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1949, c1979.

Torrey, R.A.: Difficulties in the Bible: Alleged Errors and Contradictions. Willow Grove: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1998, c1996.

Theoi Project: “Dike,” http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/HoraDike.html.

Wilmington, H. L.: Wilmington’s Bible Handbook. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1997.

Are Christians Today Ashamed of the Gospel?

2010-03-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

Please click on the play button to view this video Bible study and teaching message based on Romans 1:16:

For questions or comments please contact Bob by Email: captboblb@gmail.com

Are Christians Today Ashamed Of The Gospel?

2010-02-12T13:25:00.000-08:00

Our Scripture today is Romans 1:16: The NIV reads: *I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.* (Rom. 1:16 – NIV)

The New Living Translation reads: *For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes--Jews first and also Gentiles.* (Rom. 1:16 – NLT)

Will you please join me in prayer? Heavenly Father, we love you and we want to know more about you. Thank you for your word given to us in the Bible. We believe that your word is true. Please open our hearts and minds to what you have to share with us today. May your Holy Spirit show us how we can put Your words into practice in our lives. In Jesus Name - Amen

Today we are going to look at some of the reasons why first century Christians might have been ashamed of the Gospel and then the situation today in our own country and culture. Next we will define The Gospel message itself and then deal with some objections and concerns that Christians have about evangelism.

As I was looking at Romans 1:16 one of the first questions I asked was: *Why did Paul even mention being ashamed of the Gospel?* After all, isn*t Paul the bold, fearless apostle who hiked thousands of miles telling people the Good News about Christ and planting churches throughout Asia and Europe. What did he have to be ashamed of?

In the first century it was the height of absurdity to say that the world was saved by a peasant Jew that was crucified by the Romans. At that point in time the Jews were totally despised by everyone but themselves. When Paul went to Mars Hill and began to preach to the philosophers they essentially asked: *Who is this *seed picker* that is bringing strange things to our ears.* (See Acts 17:16-33)

Mars Hill (part of the Acropolis of Athens) is a very impressive place. Some of the temples to the Greek gods have been standing for more than 2,500 years. Paul going there and speaking with the most learned people of his age would be like one of us going to Oxford and telling the academic community that they are all wrong and that the solution to all of the world*s problems is found in a Jewish carpenter who was executed as a criminal. We would get laughed right off the campus. The interesting thing to me is that some of the philosophers did believe.

Paul is writing this letter (The Epistle to the Romans) to the church in Rome. Rome was the seat of political power for the entire Roman Empire. Throughout the Roman world Christians were the subject of persecution. In many cases they were ostracized by their families, they often lost their means of income and they were in constant physical danger. During his ministry Paul himself was ridiculed, beaten, stoned, jailed and eventually executed.

Under the reign of Emperor Caesar Nero the execution of Christians was a form of public entertainment. Some were killed by covering them with skins of wild animals and letting dogs tear them apart. Others were covered with pitch, attached to stakes and used as human torches. I remember several years ago standing in the Coliseum in Rome and thinking about all of our brave brothers and sisters in Christ who were not ashamed of the Gospel no matter what the consequences.

Some people during that time decided it was better to blend in with the rest of the culture than to become a true Christian and be a witness of the basic, simple and yet foolish sounding message of the Gospel. Others preached a different Jesus or a different Gospel. The Judaizers added the Law to the Gospel and the Gnostics claimed that they had a higher understanding.

What was Paul*s answer to these challenges? He said that another Gospel was *…no Gospel at all.* (Gal. 1:7 - NIV) He also warned believers: *See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.* (Col.2:8 - NIV)

Paul had an eternal perspective. He knew he needed to be faithful to his calling from God and that God would take care of the details. He told Timothy: *Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.* (2 Timothy 4:8 - NIV)

We have look at things from a first century perspective. What is the situation in the United States today? Do we have reasons to be ashamed of the Gospel? Here are a few recent examples of why we might be tempted to be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

A high school student in Florida was suspended for handing out religious literature before and after - but not during - school hours. A Christian employee of Hewlett Packard was fired for posting Bible verses on his desk. When we say *Merry Christmas* to those outside of our church family the answer is often a quizzical look and the politically correct response *Happy Holidays.*

God*s truth about creation cannot be taught in the public schools. It has been replaced with the secular humanistic theory about evolution which is taught as fact event though it cannot be proven to be true. The Reverend Patrick Mahoney was arrested for praying on the steps of the Supreme Court. In my personal experience, when I mentioned the Bible recently to one of my co-workers, he said: *Isn*t that just a bunch of myths and fables?*

Unfortunately many church leaders today are responding to these challenges by becoming friends with the world. They try to mix psychology and Christianity. They try to find ways to mesh creation and evolution. They preach messages that do not use supposedly offensive words like sin, repent, holy and wrath. They use marketing surveys to try and determine *felt needs.* They advise Christians to avoid using Scripture when they share the Gospel.

James does not pull any punches as he tells us God*s view on this subject. He says: *…don*t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.* (James 4:4 - NIV)

Christians are supposed to have discernment. No matter what we read in a so-called Christian book, no matter what we hear on Christian or secular radio or TV or in a message from a pastor we need to filter it through the lens of the Bible (See Acts 17:11).

Now our next topic: What is the basic Gospel message that is so offensive to the world at large? Since we are in the first chapter of Romans let*s go to the top of the page and look at the first few verses. In verse 1, we find that Paul is *called* and the he is *set apart for the gospel of God.* In verse 2 we discover that the Gospel was promised by the prophets in the Old Testament. In verse 3 we find that the Gospel is about God*s Son who is both divine and also the descendant of King David in his human nature.

Verse 4 gets closer to the meat of the Gospel so let*s read it: *…and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.* (Rom. 1:4 – NIV)

In verse 5 Paul speaks about his calling and we see the word *grace* which is the very essence of the Gospel message and then in verses 6 and 7 Paul indicates that believers are called to belong to Jesus Christ, they are loved by God and they are called to be saints.

Let*s skip down to the most exciting part of the Gospel message. The statement that changed the lives of Martin Luther, John Wesley and many others – Romans 1:17: *For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: *The righteous will live by faith.** (Rom. 1:17 – NIV)

Just think about that for a moment – not our righteousness but God*s righteousness given to us by faith! In the words of one of my favorite Michele Pillar songs: *When He sees me, He sees His righteousness. He sees His Holy Spirit filling up the emptiness. And when He looks at me, He sees the blood He shed. I know He sees Himself each time He looks at me!*

Most of us are familiar with the words of Jesus in John 3:16: *For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.* (John 3:16 – NIV) To get the more complete picture of the Gospel message in this passage we also need to continue with verses 17 and 18: *For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God*s one and only Son.* (John 3:17-18 – NIV)

The central issue of the Gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Chapter 15 of the Book of 1 Corinthians verses 1 through 5 Paul writes: *Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.* (1 Cor. 1:1-5 – NIV) Paul was very careful to state that he was passing on exactly the Gospel he had received.

To sum up what we need to know about the Gospel let*s look at Ephesians 2:8 - 10: *For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God*s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.* (Eph. 2:8-10) We are not saved by our works but when we are saved we are called to do good works.

All of us are called to let others know about the Good News of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Jesus said in Mark 16:15: *…Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.* (Mark 16:15 – NIV)

In this verse the Greek word translated preach is *KAH-ruh-SO.* This word speaks of being a herald, officiating as a herald, or proclaiming after the manner of a herald. The word carries with it the concept of formality, gravity and an authority which must be listened to and obeyed. In the ancient world, before the days of radio and television, official decrees from the government were proclaimed to the citizens by heralds. The herald had an official duty and if he altered the message or failed to proclaim it he could be punished by death.

Jesus* command to us is really just letting us know that we are to do as Jesus did. The first message of Jesus recorded by Mark is: *The time has come … The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!* (Mark 1:15) Jesus was acting as a herald of the Gospel and we should do the same thing.

So let*s summarize with a broad brush what these verses tell us about the Gospel message: Heaven is a free gift from God but to enter Heaven God demands perfection. We cannot get there by our own efforts. All of us have sinned. We have all broken God*s commandments and we are all guilty. The penalty for our sin is death.

God is loving and merciful but He is also just. He must punish our sin but He loved us so much that He made a way for us to spend eternity in Heaven with Him. Jesus Christ is both 100% God and 100% man. He came to earth, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, was buried and then rose again.

His blood paid the price for all of our sins and purchased a place in heaven for us. His resurrection demonstrated that God was pleased with His sacrifice and looks forward to our own resurrection.

Every person can have the free gift of Heaven and eternal life. It is available to all but it is not automatic. We have a choice. We can receive the free gift - we can repent, turn towards God, believe that Jesus died for our sins and trust in Him alone for our eternal life. Our other choice is to reject Jesus (or just to do nothing) in which case we are already under the judgment of God and we will experience God*s wrath.

As Christians we have not just *Good News* but really fantastic news to share with others. Every other religious system in the world is based, in some way, on individual effort. It is do, do, do and if there is a Heaven and maybe if you are good enough, you might get there.

The message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is really one word: *DONE!* Jesus did it all. When we believe in Jesus and trust Him alone for our eternal life God gives us the perfect righteousness of Jesus.

We cannot ever do enough good things to be righteous enough to earn God*s favor. As believers our righteousness is God*s righteousness. It is given to us as a free gift because of God*s grace and faith in Jesus. Our salvation is not based on just faith – it rests on the object of that faith – Jesus Christ.

We have looked at the situation in the first century, in America today and also at the basic Gospel message. Next we will take up concerns Christians have about sharing their faith.

As Christians we are official ambassadors of Jesus Christ (See 2 Cor. 5:20). We are called by Him to herald the Good News. So why are we ashamed to tell others about the free gift of heaven and eternal life? Let*s look at five concerns and also at some possible solutions.

First, many of us really don*t want to be involved in evangelism. We read about what Jesus has told us to do, we hear messages about the Great Commission and we may even attend classes about sharing Jesus with others. The bottom line is that we do not have a burden for the lost. If we were being completely honest with ourselves we would probably have to admit we just don*t care.

If we do not care about our friends, family and neighbors who are lost we are not following Jesus* example. Mark tells us in his Gospel: *When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.* (Mark 6:34 - NIV) Jesus cared enough to tell people with words how to be saved.

How do we solve this issue? Through prayer. Jesus tells us to *bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.* (Luke 6:28 – NIV) The world may not like us but we are commanded to bless them and pray for them. Make a list of people that you need to share the Gospel with. Ask the Lord to open the door of opportunity for you.

Second, we think we don*t know enough, we don*t know what to say and we think that it is the Pastor*s job to preach the Gospel, right? This is sort of like having a Moses syndrome. Did God let Moses off the hook? No.

Peter tells us: *Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…* (1 Peter 3:15 – NIV) David says in Psalm 119: *I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.* (Ps. 119:11 – NIV)

Here is my question – are you reading your Bible every single day? Not sharing the Gospel is a sin of omission. Start memorizing Scripture. Develop your own brief personal testimony. Be ready when a door opens.

One caution about sharing with others. In Romans 1:1 Paul tells us that he is *set apart for the Gospel of God.* (Rom. 1:1 – NIV) Many Christians seem to be set apart not FOR the Gospel but FROM the Gospel. They focus on talking about their views on political hot button issues like same sex marriage or abortion. The Gospel is about Jesus Christ. Keep the main thing as the main thing. Don*t get side tracked and spend time going in circles on rabbit trails.

Now the third concern, some of us do not know very many non-Christians. We talk a lot about relational evangelism or friendship evangelism but who do we hang out with most of the time? Our friends from church, the members of our home fellowship or Community Life group and the people we serve with in ministry here at church.

But, we are not supposed to totally isolate ourselves from everyone who is not a Christian. Jesus prayed in John 17: *My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.* (John 17:15 – NIV) Get involved in your child*s school, volunteer to serve at the Senior Center, help out with the local community festival. We need to be intentional about getting out of our comfort zone and making friends.

How well do you know your next door neighbors or the people across the street? Have a neighborhood barbeque or open house, start a Bible study, take food to someone who is sick. Pray for God*s leading and then take action.

Fourth, we are concerned about what others might think of us if we admit we are Christians or that they might be offended if we ask them questions about their spiritual beliefs and share our faith. Here is what Paul has to say on the subject: *Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.* (Gal. 1:10 – NIV))

From my own personal standpoint I am much more interested about what God thinks than what my neighbors or co-workers my think. Here is what our Lord has to say: *If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father*s glory with the holy angels.* (Mark 8:38 - NIV)

Our fears are mostly the result of spiritual warfare. The last thing the enemy want is for us to share Jesus with others. Our primary offensive weapons in spiritual warfare are the Word of God and prayer (See Eph. 6:16-17). Pray for the peace of God.

Paul tells us: *Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.* (Phil 4:6-7 - NIV)

The other side of this coin is that Jesus told us that the world would hate us (See John 15:18 – NKJV). If everybody loves you, no one ever gets upset with you and you are never persecuted for your faith you may want to ask yourself if Jesus is really shining through you? You may have your lamp hidden under a bowl or in a jar? (See Luke 8:16)

Now for the fifth and final objection – our fear of failure. Surveys show that this is probably the number one reason we do not tell others about Jesus. We must remember that evangelism is not about us. It is all about God. God elects who will be saved (See Rom. 11:17). God calls people to salvation (See Rom. 8:28). The Holy Spirit convicts people of their sins (See John 16:8). God gives a person the faith to believe (See Eph. 2:8). Yes, there is the area of human responsibility – everyone has a choice (See 2 Thes. 2:12). But their choice is not up to you. Your job is to proclaim the message. You are the ambassador but you are not the King. You are only His messenger, the herald that God has chosen. But the power is not in the messenger – it is in the message itself.

The word translated as *power* (in Rom. 1:16) is the Greek word *du-nah-mes.* It speaks of inherent power, power residing in something by the virtue of its nature, power for performing miracles. It is the root for our English words dynamite and dynamic.

This is why it is critical to use God*s Word when we share the Good News. The power is in the word of God. The Gospel is *…the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.* (Rom. 1:16 – NIV) *…the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are.* (Heb. 4:12 - NIV) The prophet Isaiah records what God thinks about the power of His Word: *so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.* (Isaiah 55:11 - NIV)

When we voice our own opinion and our own ideas we can get ourselves into trouble. We may actually be interfering with what God wants to do. When we speak God*s Word we are speaking with God*s authority. God *wants all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.* (1 Tim. 2:4 - NIV) But not everyone will be saved because *Many are called but few are chosen.* (Mat. 22:14 - NIV) But we have a responsibility to proclaim God*s message. Jude tells us to: *Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them…* (Jude 1:23 - NIV)

Let*s see what this concept of snatching people from the fire looks like. You are walking down the street in your neighborhood and you notice some of your neighbors up on their second floor balcony. They are barbequing some steaks, drinking beer and watching the super bowl game on TV.

You also notice that there is some smoke coming out of a window on the ground floor of their home. You pray about what to do. The smoke on the ground floor is now flames. You decide to be a witness for Jesus through your lifestyle. You go home, get your Bible and walk up and down in front of your neighbor*s home reading passages about loving your neighbor as yourself. You smile and hope they will notice you.

The fire has now consumed a portion of the first floor of your neighbor*s home and is spreading rapidly. You decide that it would be a good community service project to demonstrate how to fight a fire and maybe your neighbors will get the idea. You get some paper and a match and a fire extinguisher, go back to your neighbor*s house, stand out in front of the balcony, light the paper on fire and then put it out with the extinguisher.

By this time the first floor of the neighbor*s house is fully engulfed in flames. But there is one outside stairway from the balcony down to the ground that is still intact. It is the only way out. But your neighbors are still blissfully ignorant of the entire situation. Are you getting the point? You need to clearly warn them (with words) not just actions that their house is on fire and that they had better make a choice to go to the only escape route and get out of the house quickly or they will die. You may even have to get their attention by running up the stairs where they are so they can hear the words you are speaking. Now that they know the situation the choice is up to them. They can die or they can be saved.

Now I know that this illustration may sound a little bit far fetched. But it typifies the attitude of many Christians towards evangelism and the Gospel. We don*t see the urgency. We get wrapped up in learning about how to share our faith and we spend time supposedly earning the right to talk to others about Jesus while every non-Christian is in a spiritual house that is burning down.

Take your responsibility personally. Paul did – three times in his writings he refers to the Gospel as *my gospel.* (See Rom. 2:16) People need someone to tell them how to be saved - that someone is you, that someone is me and the time is now!

During our study so far we have looked at the concept of not being ashamed of the Gospel. We started in the first century, moved to the 21st century, defined the basic Gospel message and dealt with some common concerns about sharing our faith.

Today – right now - approximately 150,000 people in this world will die. Statistics show that perhaps 1/3 of the world is Christian. This means that at least 100,000 of these people will die without believing in Jesus Christ. Your family, your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors who are not saved will spend eternity being tormented and separated from God.

Despite the declarations of some liberal theologians there is a final judgment. Revelation 20:15 tells us: *If anyone*s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.* (Rev. 20:15) – NIV) While I have been sharing this message more than 1,400 people have died without being saved and are on their way to Hell.

Have we answered our initial question? Are Christians today ashamed of the Gospel? The answer is *Yes.* Many are ashamed. I know that there have been many times that I knew I should tell others about Jesus but have been reluctant to do so.

We need to stop being so concerned about what others might think of us and think about the eternal well being of those around us. We need to prepare ourselves and pray for God to open hearts and minds to the life changing message of Jesus.

In the dynamite power of the Holy Spirit we must stop being ashamed of the Gospel. The Gospel is not *God helps those who help themselves.* The Gospel is not *do unto others as you would have them do unto you.* The Gospel is not living out the phrase *what would Jesus do?* The Gospel is what Jesus has already DONE! We need to let the world know starting in our own neighborhood with words.

Will you please join me in prayer? Heavenly Father, we come before you in the Name of your precious Son Jesus Christ. We thank you for providing Him as the only means of salvation. Lord, help us to have a burden for the lost. Give us your strength and your courage so that we will not be ashamed of the Gospel. Fill us with the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses for you. Open the doors of opportunity for us to share your plan of salvation with others. Amen.
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Bibliography:

Horton, Michael: Christless Christianity, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2008.

Laurie, Greg: Equipping Believers to Impact Their World, Riverside, CA: Harvest Ministries.

MacArthur, John: Ashamed of the Gospel, Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1993.

Pillar, Michelle: When He Sees Me, 1991

Smith, Chuck: The Gospel According to Grace, Costa Mesa, CA: The Word For Today, 2007.
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This message was presented at Friday Chapel on February 12, 2010 at Cypress Church, 6143 Ball Road, Cypress, CA 90630. For more information about the Gospel or if you would like to receive Jesus Christ as your savior please visit: http://www.Decision4Jesus.com
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Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are from The New Living Translation, Copyright © 1996, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Why Do Bad Things Happen?

2009-11-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

Everyone wants to be happy. In the United States, our Declaration of Independence states that “…Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…” are “unalienable Rights.” We think that having the “good” things in life will make us happy. When “bad” things happen, and they do happen a lot, we are not happy campers.

Many people believe that they are entitled to have good things. When the unexpected occurs they feel that life is just not fair. Most of us have heard that God is good and loving and we blame Him when things don’t go our way. So why do bad things happen anyway?

Some would say that because bad things happen then God (who is supposed to be good) must not even exist. The church I attended as a child took a different approach. They denied the very existence of anything that was not perfectly good.

The problem lies in our limited human understanding and in how we define the word “good.” We think that anything that causes pain or suffering is bad and that things that make us happy are good. But the truth of the matter is diametrically opposed to this viewpoint.

God defined all of creation including man as “good” in the Book of Genesis. Jesus told the rich young ruler: “Only God is truly good.” (Mark 10:18 – NLT)

The Bible tells us: “No good thing will the LORD withhold from those who do what is right.” (Psalms 84:11) The Apostle Paul writes: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28 – NLT)

We have an example of this principle in the Book of Genesis. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. Conventional wisdom would say that this was a “bad” thing. But later on, because God was in ultimate control of the circumstances, Joseph was in a position to save the lives of his entire family. Joseph told his brothers “God turned into good what you meant for evil.” (Genesis 50:20 – NLT)

Joseph’s brothers were acting in a sinful, evil manner when they sold him into slavery. The apparent bad thing that happened was the result of their sinful choices. But God was and is able to turn the tables.

The bottom line on this issue is that God is in control. He is, by definition, good. When we accept the “Good News,” the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are “doing right” and are in a position to receive good things from God. Even suffering, pain and things we formerly saw a bad we now understand are being used for our ultimate good as God is shaping our character to be more like that of Jesus Christ.

If we are trusting in ourselves, or in a god that is the figment of our imagination, then we have actually put ourselves under the control of Satan and he is trying to work his evil plan through us.

If we trust in Jesus Christ alone for our eternal life, we have joined God’s Kingdom and we will experience true joy both now and in the future. Our happiness will not depend on circumstances but on our eternal perspective. As Jesus has told us: “The thief's (Satan’s) purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.” (John 10:10 – NLT)

Discover God's Free Gift For You.

Life is Full of Surprises!

2009-11-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

Life is full of surprises. The company I work for was doing very well but our business started to slide in 2006. Three years later we are doing forty percent (40%) less business.

A good friend of mine was planning and saving for retirement for many years. Just two years after he took his pension he died of prostate cancer.

On September 11th of 2001 thousands of people got on the train, subway, taxi or personal car and went to work just like every other Tuesday morning in their life. Others boarded airplanes for a vacation or business trip as they had done many times before. Unfortunately many of these same individuals did not live to eat their lunch much less go home to their families or retire in comfort.

We discover in God’s Word (The Bible) the He (God) has “…decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.” (Job 14:5 – NLT). James tells us: “How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone.” (James 4:14 – NLT).

How do we make sense of these tragedies? Do we live long because we are “good” people and do we die young if we are “bad” people? Is God sort of like an evil puppet master who takes sinister delight in pulling the rug out from under us just when we think everything is wonderful?

There are many things that we have trouble understanding. We see from our experience that, from our perspective, bad things happen to “good” people and good things happen to "bad" people. Solomon asks the question: “What do people get for all their hard work?” (Eccl. 1:3 – NLT). Later he observes: “Both of them die. Just as the fool will die, so will I.” (Eccl. 2:15 – NLT).

At this point in our thinking the overall outlook is pretty bleak and depressing. We will examine solutions to our dilemma later in this discussion. To give you a little preview of coming attractions Paul tells us that God has “...great love for us...” (Romans 5:8 – NLT) and that “…God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them...” (Romans 8:28 – NLT).

So don’t despair! There is a bright spot on the horizon and we will discover what that is in a future post.

Click HERE to discover God's Free Gift for YOU!

Biblical Financial Principle #19 - Obtain Wisdom From God

2009-09-26T11:51:00.000-07:00

In the Bible Book of Proverbs the overarching theme is that God is the source of true wisdom and knowledge. Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 2:6 - For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 9:10 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Another related thread is that wisdom is extremely valuable and that the wise are more likely to find themselves on the path that leads to blessings. Proverbs 3:13-18 - Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed. Proverbs 16:20 - Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.

The Book of Proverbs also gives us some interesting insight by contrasting the wise man and the foolish man. Proverbs 12:15 - The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. Psalm 14:1a – The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." Proverbs 1:22 - How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? Proverbs 10:8 - The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin. Proverbs 10:14 - Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin. Proverbs 10:23 - A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct, but a man of understanding delights in wisdom. Proverbs 15:14 - The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

If we are not wise then why would God choose to bless us with financial resources? Without wisdom we would not make the correct choices in our stewardship of His resources. Proverbs 17:16 - Of what use is money in the hand of a fool, since he has no desire to get wisdom?

Of course wisdom implies correct action. We can have all the knowledge in the world but if it is not coupled with correct actions our great learning is meaningless. Solomon tells us at the conclusion of the Book of Ecclesiastes: Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Eccl 12:13 NIV)

If a person focuses on getting more money then he or she is on the wrong track. The correct course of action is to focus on developing a deeper relationship with and knowledge of God through Jesus Christ. Click here to learn more.

Biblical Financial Principle #18 - Follow Wise Godly Counsel

2009-07-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

Search out, listen to and follow wise godly counsel:

Talk radio and TV news shows really “bug” me because they can be so deceptive. We are willing to take advice from KABC talk radio or CNN and make life changing decisions about our finances but we do not listen to God.

In the Book of Psalms we read: “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” (Psalm 33:11)

Solomon has more insight in the Book of Proverbs:
Proverbs 1:5 – “…let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance…” Proverbs 11:14 – “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure.” Proverbs 12:15b – “…a wise man listens to advice.” Proverbs 15:12 – “A mocker resents correction; he will not consult the wise.” Proverbs 15:22 – “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”

If we want to cooperate with the Lord and His plan we need to listen to godly advice, but where do we find it? One place is from the video seminars available on the “Life Navigation” ministry web site (http://sites.google.com/site/lifenavigationinturbulenttimes/). Another is from someone trained by Christian organizations such as Glass House Ministry (http://www.glasshouseministry.org/) or Crown Financial Ministries (http://www.crown.org/)

The key to success in all areas of life (including money management) is having a correct set of priorities. That means putting God first in every area of our lives. Many of us have tried in our own strength to set up and maintain a budget but we have failed. One reason for that is that we are sinners and by nature we are not able to do “the right thing.” We keep sinking lower and lower.

How do we change this downward spiral? By establishing a personal relationship with our creator God and giving our lives over to Him. CLICK HERE to find out more.

If you live in Southern California visit Cypress Church at 6143 Ball Road near Valley View. Sunday Services are at 8:45 am and 10:30 am.

Biblical Financial Principle #17 - Choose Your Friends Wisely

2009-07-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

Choose your friends wisely:

Have you ever noticed how much we humans tend to reflect the manners, speech and dress of those around us? If you are not certain you agree with this idea, just spend a few moments watching Junior High or High School kids on their way to and from school. You will see small groups of two, three, four or several students that have very similar clothing. If you listen to them speaking they will be talking about similar subjects and using similar slang expressions. God's word tells us: "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." (Proverbs 13:20)

If we want to develop good habits we need to be cautious who we become friends with. Psalms 1 gives us excellent advice: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers." (Psalms 1:1) Solomon agrees and tells us: "Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men." (Proverbs 4:14) In our age of internet and TV this advice applies to choosing our “virtual” friends as well.

If we are tempted to stray from God's directives we need to stand firm in the truth. Country Western singer (and esteemed Bible commentator?) Aaron Tippin cautions us that "...you've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything..." The Bible states: "My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them." (Proverbs 1:10)

In the New Testament the Apostle Paul advises us: "Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.' (1 Cor. 15:33)

Here are a few more Bible references on this topic: Proverbs 4:19 - "…the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble." Proverbs 5:3-4 - "…the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword." Proverbs 22:24 - "Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered." Proverbs 23:20-21 - "Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags." Proverbs 24:1 - Do not envy wicked men, do not desire their company."

So if we are not supposed to keep company with "wicked men" who should we "hang out" with? Solomon tells us in Proverbs 18:24: "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Who is that friend? Many Bible commentators see this as a reference to Jesus Christ. Is Jesus your friend? Would you like to know more about starting a personal relationship with Jesus? If so CLICK HERE. For video seminars on the economy and job search topics visit the Life Navigation web site.

Biblical Financial Principle #16 - Be Generous To Those In Need

2009-07-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

Be generous to the poor, needy and disadvantaged:

God's Word is very clear in stating that we should be generous and kind to those who are disadvantaged. There are many verses on this subject:

Proverbs 3:28 - "Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"-- when you now have it with you." Proverbs 11:24-25 - "One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

God loves each one of us and takes our needs very personally. If we turn our back on the needy we are, in effect, turning our back on God.

Proverbs 14:31 - "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God." Psalm 41:1 - "Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble." Psalm 37:21b - "…the righteous give generously."

We should include systematic giving for the assistance of the needy in our financial planning. Lev. 23:22 - "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God."

Paul described his own actions in the area of generosity when he spoke to the elders from Ephesus. "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Acts. 20:35)

This may be a hard concept to accept but in God's economy we are not expected to do His will in our own strength. We will desire to be generous based on our relationship with Jesus Christ. Do you have a relationship with the Lord? Click Here to discover "The Life Changing Message Of Jesus."

Biblical Financial Principle #15 - Do not love money

2009-07-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

Do not love money, trust money or focus on getting more money:

The world tells us that we need to strive to get ahead, make money and be successful in business. "Go for the gusto" is the mantra of secular society. We are focused on getting ahead and planning for the future instead of being focused on Jesus.

God's word tells us in Proverbs 11:28 -"Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf." The Apostle Paul told Timothy: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (1 Tim. 6:10) So according to Paul if we focus on finding our fortune it could damage our most important relationship.

Many people get so focused on making money that they literally work themselves to death. Some have spent a lifetime planning for retirement and gone to the grave before they left their job or shortly thereafter.

Solomon tells us in Proverbs 23:4: "Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint." So stop working through your vacation time and find a ministry project where you can be a part of building up the Kingdom of God. Then you will be storing up treasure in heaven.

Paul gave very strong instructions to Timothy: "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."

Put God first in everything and if you have not begun a relationship with the Lord CLICK HERE to discover how to take this important step.

Biblical Financial Principle #14 - Be Patient and Wait On God

2009-06-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

Be patient – God does things in His timing – Do not act hastily:

In our culture of "instant gratification" we may be tempted in interact with God as if He was a "Designer Diety." We pray as if to "our butler in Heaven." But this approach does not work in God's economy. Let's see what God's Word has to say.

Prov. 13:3b – "…he who gathers money little by little makes it grow." Proverbs 19:11 - "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense."

David was a great example of patience. He was annointed as the new king of Israel as a teenager but did not actually gain the throne for more than a decade. Psalm 37:7 tells us - "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."

Solomon got impatient and decided to try every possible road "under the sun" to find happiness and satisfaction. Here is some of his inspired, sage advice from Eccl.7:8 - "The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride."

Proverbs 14:15 - "A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps." Proverbs 21:5 - "The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty." So we need to give thought to our steps, not rush into financial decisions and if we are diligent we are apt to be lead to profit but if we are hasty we are very likely heading towards poverty.

Paul includes patience as part of the fruit of the spirit - the evidences of true conversion: Gal. 5:22 - "…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…" When we exhibit patience it is one of the outward signs that our heart has been changed through a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

How about you? Are you a patient person? Do you wait on God's timing? Do you have a personal relationship with God? CLICK HERE to discover more.

Biblical Financial Principle #13 - Don't Worry - Be Content

2009-06-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

Be content with what you have – Do not worry:

God’s Word is chock full of admonitions about being content ... Prov. 15:16 - "Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil." Eccl. 5:19 - "Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work--this is a gift of God." Heb. 13:5 - "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" Phil. 4:11b - Paul tells us: "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."

Jesus was clear in His teachings that we should not worry. Luke 12:22-23 - "Then Jesus said to his disciples: 'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.'" Luke 12:29 - "And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it."

Most of the things we worry about never happen anyway. We need to start our day with prayer and continue to talk to God throughout our day. As God leads us we must take responsible action to follow His directions. He will meet our needs.

Paul provides us with some great counsel: 1 Timothy 6:6 - "…godliness with contentment is great gain." Phil. 4:19 - "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

Our biggest problem with this concept is that we fail to separate “needs” from “wants.” We continue to try and do things our way instead of trusting God and His plan.

God has a plan and purpose for your life. CLICK HERE to find out more.

Biblical Financial Principle #12 - Do not be envious or greedy

2009-06-28T03:29:00.000-07:00

Do not be envious or greedy:

Many years ago I read an article in the Readers' Digest that made a lasting impression on me. I believe the title was "Keeping Up With The Jones." The writer's main point was that we really do not know how others are spending their resources.

One family might be putting 4 kids through college. Another might have a motorhome and their friends might take a trip to Europe each year. Someone else might have a Harley and their next door neighbor might spend a good deal of money on insurance policies.

There is no way we can even begin to keep up with everything that everyone we know is doing so don't even bother to try. Be content with what God has given you and be a good steward of what you have. Here are a few Scripture verses that bear on this topic:

Proverbs 14:30 - "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."

Proverbs 23:17 - ":Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord."

Job 5:2 - "Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple."

Luke 12:15 - "Then he (Jesus) said to them, 'Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.'"

As Christians our inheritance is the Lord and we have been blessed with access to all of His many resources. We need to keep Him at the very top of our priority list. If you would like to discover how to begin a relationship with God - CLICK HERE. For information and video seminars on the economy, resume writing and job interview tips visit: Life Navigation In Turnbulent Times

Biblical Financial Principle #11 - Treat Other Christians Well

2009-06-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

According to Jesus the “acid test” of our faith is how we treat other Christians:

Jesus gave a very telling illustration about end times events: "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" (Mat. 25:34-40)

Jesus said: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35)

The Apostle John asks us: "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" (1 John 3:17)

Review your checkbook or whatever record you keep of how you spend your financial resources. What have you spent on assisting other Christians who are in need?

Biblical Financial Principles - A Note Of Caution

2009-06-25T06:04:00.000-07:00

Warning about false financial teaching:

Recently in this blog we have set forth ten Biblical Financial Principles. Now it's time for a note of caution. In our "something for nothing," "immediate gratification" culture we are often looking for quick fixes. Even in the community of so-called "Christian" teachings there are issues with improper Biblical interpretation.

When reading, studying and applying Biblical Principles:
1) We must be certain that we understand who is speaking. The Bible quotes Jesus and also quotes Judas and Satan.
2) We also need to know who the writer is speaking to. For example some Biblical injunctions apply specifically to the nation of Israel.
3) We need to keep everything in context of the full counsel of the word of God (the entire spectrum of Biblical teaching).
4) We must recognize figures of speech, parables, prophecy, poetry and other literary and cultural features in Scripture.
5) We need to compare Scripture with Scripture before applying Biblical teachings to our lives.
6) We must to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide our study and show us how to discern the truth.
7) We can also use conservative, evangelical commentaries to make certain we are not going off on an incorrect tangent.

At all costs we must avoid "cut and paste" theology. One of the best examples I know of to illustrate this point is to take Judges 7:17 and combine it with Matthew 27:5b. If you do this you get a paragraph that reads: "'Watch me,' he told them. 'Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do.' Then he went away and hanged himself."

We should be cautiously optimistic when listening to Bible teaching messages. Everything we hear and read must be seen through the lens of Scripture. Since God does not contradict Himself we should not accept teaching that conflicts with God's written word, the Bible. This applies even if someone claims a Divine revelation or a specific message to them from God or an angel.

When listening to secular advice (whether in person, on radio, on television or from the newspaper, books, etc.) we must be firmly grounded in Scripture and be certain to sort out truth from fiction. There is a story (perhaps an urban legend) that the way banks train tellers to recognize counterfeit bills is to instruct them primarily about the characteristics of the "the real deal." By knowing what an actual $100 bill looks and feels like, the teller is quickly able to detect a fake one.

So let's get specific, who should we listen to for sound, Biblical financial advice? Visit the Life Navigation website for some good leads. Also, Glass House Ministries and Crown Financial Ministries offer excellent resources.

Whom should we avoid? Stay away from TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) and from touted advice peddlers like Suze Orman and Oprah Winfrey. The Bible tells us that we should evaluate individuals like a fruit inspector. If you investigate the life styles, values and teachings of Suze and Oprah you will discover that they are outside the boundaries set by Scripture.

In addition steer clear of any teaching that claims to be Biblical and yet promises a formula for success. This would include teachings that might be described as word-faith, word of faith, seed faith, name it and claim it, health and wealth, the prosperity doctrine and/or positive confession. God is not "our butler in heaven." He is sovereign and that means that He is not obligated to (for example) give you a million dollars just because you gave a seed faith gift of $1,000 to help fill some television preacher's coffers.

In the final analysis all of our efforts to gain wisdom and manage our finances are fruitless unless we are basing everything we do on the foundation of a correct personal relationship with our Lord, our God and our Creator, Jesus Christ.

Here are some suggested books you may wish to consider adding to your library:

Basic Bible Interpretation - Roy B. Zuck

How to Study Your Bible: The Lasting Rewards of the Inductive Method - Kay Arthur

Biblical Financial Study, Collegiate Edition - Crown Financial Ministries

Here are some suggested web site links:

Life Navigation (a ministry of Cypress Church)

Manage Your Money God’s Way

The Life Changing Message Of Jesus

Biblical Financial Principle #10 - Put Yourself In Position For God's Blessings

2009-06-23T03:52:00.000-07:00

Obedience to God puts you in a position where you are ready to receive God's blessings:

Obedience does not come automatically. We have choices to make all day long. These choices determine our character and our destiny. Jude writes: "Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life." (Jude 1:21)

Proverbs 2:7-8 – (The Lord) "...holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Proverbs 3:9-10 - "Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine."

Proverbs 10:6 - "Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked." Proverbs 15:29 - "The Lord is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous."

But God’s blessings are not “automatic” and He may choose not to bless in the way we might have expected. Paul asked God three times to remove his “thorn in the flesh.” God’s response: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (2 Cor. 12:9)

Jesus taught: "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." (Luke 6:35)

The writer of Hebrews reminds believers: "And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." (Heb. 13:16)

God does bless everyone on earth every day with sunshine and air to breath. He has special blessings in store only for His children. But God doesn’t necessarily reward His followers with material things that “moth and rust corrupt.” Our blessings from God may include the material but He has much better spiritual treasures reserved for us.

Discover the first step you must take to become a child of God and experience all the richness He has in store for you. CLICK HERE

Biblical Financial Pinciple #9 - Do Not Limit God's Blessings

2009-06-19T03:26:00.000-07:00

Do not limit God’s blessings:

God desires to bless us. He promised blessings to Abraham: "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing." (Genesis 12:2) The Aaronic priestly blessing begins with these words: "The Lord bless you and keep you..." (Numbers 6:24)

When King Balak asked the prophet Balaam to curse Israel all he could do was bless them: "Balak said to Balaam, 'What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!'" (Num. 23:11)

The history of the nation Israel is "typical" history and provides spiritual lessons for us today. Israel tested God ten times (Num. 14:22) during the wilderness wanderings: "How often they rebelled against him in the desert and grieved him in the wasteland! Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed (NKJV – limited) the Holy One of Israel." (Psalm 78:40-41)
They limited God’s desired blessing by their disobedience and their lack of faith.

Jesus taught us how we can be blessed by God: "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." (Luke 11:28b) If we are truly disciples of Jesus Christ then our lives (our actions) will give evidence of our faith. We cannot just "talk the talk" and call ourselves true Christians. We read in the book of James: "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:17)

Put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Discover "The Life Changing Message Of Jesus."

Biblical Financial Principle #8 - Give God Your First And Your Best

2009-06-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Give your first and your best back to God:

Many people have developed the habit of giving their leftovers to God. The Bible is very clear that God desires our first and our best. This is in keeping with the Matthew 6:33 concept of putting God first in everything we think, say and do.

Proverbs 3:9 - Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;

Exodus 23:19a - Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

Deut. 26:10 - …and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O Lord, have given me." Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him.

Lev. 22:21 - When anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable.

When King David wanted to obtain some land for a location for the Temple the owner of the property offered to give it to him. David responded: "I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." (2 Sam. 24:24) David wanted the best for God. He would not give God his leftovers. He would not give God something that did not require a sacrifice on his part. We need to follow David's example.

Biblical Financial Principle #7 - Give Regularly on a Percentage Basis

2009-06-17T07:24:00.000-07:00

Give back to God's work regularly and on a percentage basis:

Obedience to God is developed through practicing Godly habits. Many of us go to church, pray and read the Bible on a regular basis. In our financial planning we must make a regular habit of investing in God's Kingdom.

Paul taught that regular and proportional (percentage) giving was appropriate: "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made." (1 Cor. 16:2)

This agrees in principle with Old Testament teachings: "Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you." (Deut. 16:10)

Our motive for giving is God’s spiritual blessing in our lives, but our measure for giving is God’s material blessing. Paul made this clear when he wrote to the Corinthians in his first letter, “Let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him” (1 Cor. 16:2). Paul did not lay down any mathematical formula, because grace giving is not limited by a tithe (10 percent).

Grace giving is systematic, but it is not legalistic. It is not satisfied with only the minimum, whatever that minimum might be. God does not want to make us destitute through the process of giving to others. Her wants to bless us so that we will, in turn, bless others.

The first step in getting our financial house in order is getting our lives in order with God. Click here to discover "The Life Changing Message Of Jesus."

Biblical Financial Principle #6b - Cheerfully and Willingly Invest in God’s Kingdom

2009-06-16T15:28:00.000-07:00

Cheerfully and willingly invest time, talents and assets in God’s Kingdom - Part 2:

During Paul’s period of ministry there was a need to assist the believers in Jerusalem. He told the Romans: "For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem." (Romans 15:26)

In this context of giving to help the poor among God’s people Paul wrote: "And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints." (2 Cor. 8:1-4)

Paul urged the Corinthians to be part of this opportunity but he did not “command” them. Paul stressed the correct attitude of willingness: "But just as you excel in everything-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us-see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have." (2 Cor. 8:7-12)

Paul mentioned a desire that he had for “equality” amongst the believers. Then he continued with the emphasis on being eager and enthusiastic: "For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action." (2 Cor. 9:2) In the Book of Acts we are told that: "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." (Acts 4:32)

Paul told the Corinthians about the need for being generous and not giving grudgingly and then said: "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: 'He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.' Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God." (2 Cor. 9:6-12)

In 2 Cor. Chapters 8 and 9 there is no appeal here to the tithe as a standard against which to measure our giving. Instead Paul pointed to other believers and to Jesus, whose love moved them to give, first themselves and then money.
Paul taught the Corinthians: "...we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God." (2 Cor. 4:14-15)

The Greek word for "grace" is "charis." Kenneth Wuest comments that the word comes to its highest and most exalted content of meaning in the New Testament. It refers to God’s offer of salvation with all that that implies ... offered without any expectation of return, but given out of the bounty and free heartedness of the giver (God) ... there is no room for good works on the part of the sinner as a means whereby he could earn his salvation, or after salvation, whereby he might retain that salvation ... good works naturally issue from and are required by grace.

In the case of material giving Paul exhorted these churches to give to the poor. He personally spear-headed a collection from predominantly Gentile Christians for the needs of mostly Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. Yet when he specified the manner in which giving was to be done, he did not follow the Old Testament pattern of a fixed tithe. Rather, he told the Corinthians that “each one should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income” (1 Cor. 16:2), suggesting proportional giving but leaving the decision about degree or extent to individual determination. In a later letter he reminded them that “each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).

The principles we can glean from this situation are that out of love for God and love for others we should willingly and enthusiastically and cheerfully express our generosity. Whatever we do for the Lord, the Church, other Christians and the world our motivation needs to be love and gratitude and joy. Our gifts and our service must proceed from a cheerful heart and we must never give out of compulsion.

Biblical Financial Principle #6a - Cheerfully and Willingly Invest in God's Kingdom

2009-06-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

Cheerfully and willingly invest time, talents and assets in God’s Kingdom:

One of our greatest challenges in financial management is incorrect priorities. We must put God and His Kingdom and His desires at the very top of our "list:"

Proverbs 11:4 – “Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.” (NIV)

Psalm 100:2 – “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (NIV) (The NKJV says: “Serve the Lord with gladness…”)

After Israel’s battle with the Midianites the army officers came to Moses “and said to him, ‘Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing. So we have brought as an offering to the Lord the gold articles each of us acquired--armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces--to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.’" ( Numbers 31:49-50) This was apparently a voluntary offering of all the gold taken in battle.

Deut. 16:17 – “Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.” (NIV)

God had given Moses the plans for the Tabernacle and it was time to begin construction. The Lord commanded that an offering be taken but did not designate who was to give or any specific amount that was to be given. “From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze;… and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord.” (Exodus 35:5 & 21-22)

As construction was moving forward: “They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work and said to Moses, ‘The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.’ Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: ‘No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.’ And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.” (Exodus 36:3-7)

Mat. 6:20-21 – “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (NIV)

Gal. 6:6 – “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.” (NIV)

Paul had a great heart for helping God’s people. He emphasized that our generosity must have the right attitude as its foundation when he said: "If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." (1 Cor. 13:3 – NIV)

More on Principle #6 in the next post...Visit the "Life Navigation" web site for free video seminars on the economy, finances, resumes, interview tips and more.

Biblical Financial Principle #5 - Obedience Is Essential

2009-06-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

Be obedient to God:

Once we have discovered God's purpose and will for us through Bible study and prayer then, as His servants, we must obey. We read in Proverbs 10:8 - The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.

Many of us believe that partial obedience is acceptable. King Saul was given a command but chose not to follow completely. The prophet Samuel told him: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams." (1 Sam. 15:22)

The prophet Jeremiah urged Judah: "Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you." (Jer. 26:13) Jesus taught: "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." (Luke 11:28)

Being obedient to God is a choice but it is also much more than that. "...without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Heb. 11:6) So we must have faith and our faith must have the proper object. Paul writes: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (1 Cor. 5:17)

If we belong to Jesus, have faith in Him and He is our Lord; then it would be an oxymoron for us to say "No, Lord" when he tells us to do something. God leads us one step at a time. If we are obedient each step of the way then we are open for His leading to show us the next move to make.

Be A Godly Influence In Your Community

2009-06-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

22 – Prov. 29:2 – Influence community – “When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.” (NIV)

In the City of Cypress we are fortunate to have some “righteous” leaders. Our city council was one of just a small number of government bodies in the area to vote in favor of displaying the words “In God We Trust.” We need to support and encourage and lend a helping hand to our public servants. We need to be “good neighbors” in the community where God has placed us. As you get to know others through serving them you can build relationships that will become bridges for sharing Godly counsel.

It is easy to drift along and be swept away in the currents of secular society. It is easy to make excuses and say that you are too busy to get involved. But it takes courage to swim upstream. King Asa of Judah could have drifted with the current. But the Bible tells us that “he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land” … and … “he repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord's temple.” Asa bucked the trend. He went against popular opinion and took Godly action. This action caused Judah to take “an oath to the Lord with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.”

Hebrews Chapter 11 is the “Hall of Faith” in the Bible. These men and women demonstrated their trust and reliance on the Lord through their words and also through their actions. They were also examples of courage. It took courage for Noah to keep building the ark. No doubt his neighbors scoffed at him and tried to discourage him. It took courage as well as faith for Rahab to hide the two spies. She would have been killed if they had been discovered.

How can you demonstrate faith and courage and be part of the Cypress Church vision and influence your community? Attend a city council meeting, express your opinion about legislation, come to a Chamber of Commerce networking event, join the Cypress Volunteers in Policing. Go over to the Senior Center and take part in the Meals on Wheels program. Bring some unexpected desserts to the police department or to the fire house – show our public servants that you care about them. Help out at your child’s school. Organize your small group to do a community service project, clean one of our city parks, go out with the Knights of the Holy Grill and serve others in our area.

Would you like to see times of rejoicing in your community? Would you like to have rest on every side? As you pray to the Lord today, ask Him what He wants you to do – right now, this minute – to be a Godly influence in the lives of everyone you meet TODAY.

Biblical Financial Principle #4 - We Can Discover God's Will About Money

2009-06-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

God’s will, purpose and direction is found through Bible study and prayer:

This includes God's desires about how we are to manage our money!

Proverbs 16:16 - How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!

Knowing what God desires (and then doing it) is more important than money.

Psalm 119:11 - I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Mark 11:24 - Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

John 15:17 - If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

Romans 12:12 - Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

1 Thes. 5:17 - pray continually…

1 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

We are called by God to do good works but we are not saved by our works. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

Click here to discover more about "the life changing message of Jesus."

Are You Part Of "The Problem" or "The Solution?"

2009-06-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

21 – Prov. 11:14 - “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure.” (NIV)

The Bible gives us many examples of the principle of sowing and reaping. Paul tells us in Galatians that: “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."

Our nation is on the wrong track and during this economic downturn we are reaping the consequences what we and others around us have been sowing. As Christians we know the solution to the problem: The Bible tells us: “if my people, who are called by my name, will 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.”

God wants people everywhere to repent and turn to him. National revival is the only Biblical answer to our present situation. Our Cypress Church vision statement gives us guidance on how we can be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. We can be involved in community boards, clubs, schools and government.

This means we need to vote at election time, join the PTA, volunteer to help with organizing the Cypress Community Festival, be a part of a local service club like Kiwanis, or maybe even run for the School Board or our City Council. It takes courage to do some of these things.

When the disciples were on the Sea of Galilee in the midst of a storm Jesus was walking on the water. They thought he was a ghost. He said: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Peter then had the courage to step out of the boat and walk on the water towards Jesus at His command. When he began to sink Jesus lifted him up. With this experience under his belt and the filling of the Holy Spirit, Peter found the courage at Pentecost to boldly preach a sermon that brought salvation to 3,000 people.

Use your God given courage to step out of the boat and speak up for Jesus. Proverbs 10:11 tells us that the words of a righteous (and wise) person are like a fountain of life.” When we give Godly counsel we bring life to others. You may be hesitant to speak the truth but the Lord will not let you fall. He will be your strength and He will give you the words He wants you to speak.

During your quiet time today ask God how he wants you to be involved in your community. Open your heart to the Lord’s answer and then move forward in obedience. Put yourself in a position where God can use you and a door of opportunity may open for you to make a real difference. As Mordecai told Queen Esther: “…who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

Biblical Financial Principle #3 - We Are God's Stewards

2009-06-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

Christians work for God as stewards of what He owns:

As Christians we are servants of Jesus Christ. Paul introduces himself as "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus..." in the first chapter of the book of Romans. Peter begins the book of 2 Peter with these words: "Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ..." (2 Peter 1:1).

We are to serve faithfully until Jesus returns. We do not know when the Lord is coming back but it could be at any time. In one of Jesus parables he discusses this situation...

Luke 12:42-44 - The Lord answered, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions."

We will be rewarded for eternity if we are faithful now...

Romans 6:22 - But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

Jesus gives us a hint of what we may hear Him say when we meet Him in Heaven...

Mat. 25:21 - "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'"

We must manage well the time, talents and treasures entrusted to us by God.

Biblical Financial Principle #2 - God Owns Everything

2009-06-05T05:11:00.000-07:00

God Owns Everything:

We may think we own our house, our car, our clothing and our bank account, but everything we have was given to us by God's grace.

Mat. 5:45b - He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

God created everything...

Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Col. 1:16 - For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

He also sustains everything...

Col 1:17 - He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

God holds us in his hand. If He decided to "let go" for a milisecond we would not be able to take another breath.

Since God created everything and holds it all together then it stands to reason that He "owns" it all!

Psalm 24:1 - The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

Psalm 50:10 - for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.

We ARE The Light Of The World - But What Kind Of Light?

2009-06-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

20 – Prov. 14:34 - “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” (NIV)

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As Christians we have right standing with God only through our faith in Jesus Christ. But in this proverb “righteousness” or in some translations “Godliness” refers not to our position in Christ but to Godly and just principles and actions. It refers to our character – to the things that we say and do.

Part of our Cypress Church vision is for us to serve the purposes of Jesus IN our world by being involved in our communities and by us being “Salt and Light.” We are IN the world but we are not supposed to be OF the world.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:14 - "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. What Jesus does NOT say in this verse is that you have any kind of choice about whether or not you will be “light.” We ARE “light” – our actions and our words are powerful. We influence everyone we come into contact with – for good or for bad - whether we want to or not!

Exactly what can we do to be “salt and light” for Jesus … IN our world? Here are some ideas: Be kind and polite to your neighbors and co-workers, be a courteous driver and obey traffic laws, keep your home and yard neat and clean. Be a good employee or a good boss. Give your company an honest day’s work and then some. Do not be a whiner or a complainer or a gossip. Demonstrate your overall faith and trust that God is in control – no matter what happens!

When Israel was encamped at Kadesh Barnea 12 spies were sent to check out the Promised Land. Of the 12 only two men (Joshua and Caleb) brought back a good report. The children of Israel sided with the majority and refused to move forward. As a result of Israel’s lack of courage and faith in God’s ability to protect them, they had to wander for 40 years before they could enter the Land. Both Joshua and Caleb stood up for God. They serve as examples of what we need to do each and every day. We must have faith that God is in control and that only He knows what is best for us. Then we need to have the courage to act on what we know to be true. Joshua and Caleb could have gotten discouraged because their ideas were rejected but they knew that God’s plan would work out. They showed that they had faith and great courage and God rewarded them.

As you are spending time alone with God today, ask Him to show you just one thing that needs to be changed in your life so that the light of Jesus Christ can shine more brightly through you. Ask Him what you need to do specifically to show others that you trust Him to meet all of your needs. When He does answer you, have the courage and the faith to take action. The Lord will give you His strength to do what He wants you to do.

Biblical Financial Principle #1

2009-06-03T03:45:00.000-07:00

Put God First:

God is big on "priorities." The first commandment in the Law states: ""I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:2-3)

Proverbs 3:5 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Jesus taught that we should: "...seek first his (God’s) kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Mat. 6:33)

When asked to give the greatest commandment in the Law Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.'" (Mat. 22:37-38)

Psalm 37:4 - Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

If we are truly in tune with the Lord then our desires will also be His desires.

Mat. 6:24 - No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Good messengers needed ... global & local

2009-06-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

Prov. 25:13 – “Like the coolness of snow at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the spirit of his masters.”(NIV)

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Did you know that you are a messenger? After Jesus had risen from the dead he spoke to his disciples and told them: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”

At Cypress Church we take this command of our Lord seriously. We understand that each Christian is a messenger of Jesus Christ. Our purpose statement ends with these words “… reaching … OUT … with the life changing message of Jesus.” The word “reaching” speaks about doing something on purpose and the word “out” means beyond the walls of Cypress Church. So … “reaching out” means intentionally sharing Jesus with others in our local community, cross-culturally and globally.

OK this sounds great on paper but how do we, each one of us, individually … put shoes on this concept of “reaching …. out …. with the life changing message of Jesus?”

Here are some practical ideas: Invite your neighbors to church or to join your small group. Be part of our Outreach Team at the Cypress Community Festival. Join one of our missions teams to Ecuador, India or Mexico.

Another idea is to start a neighborhood Bible study using materials like “The Truth Project” or “Choose The Life.” Organize a yard sale on your block. Make sure you have some pamphlets or flyers on the tables. Strike up conversations with your neighbors about the new Bible study that is starting at your house next week. Ask them to join you.

Does it take courage to do something like that? Yes it does. In essence you are like a soldier in enemy territory. When the children of Israel were getting ready to cross the Jordan River and take possession of the Promised Land they knew that there were enemies ahead and they were afraid. Moses told them. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." They crossed the Jordan and they were able to take possession of every place they went when they looked to the Lord for guidance.

When you open your Bible today ask the Holy Spirit to show you exactly what He wants you to do to take possession of your neighborhood for Jesus Christ. You are a royal ambassador with a message to the world from King Jesus. You speak with authority given to you by God.

The Apostle Paul understood his responsibility to share Jesus. He said: “I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” He also recognized that the Lord has rewards in store for his trustworthy messengers. If we allow ourselves to be used as God’s tools to build His Kingdom then we can look forward to a time in the future when Jesus will say: “Well done, good and faithful servant! …Come and share your master's happiness!”

Cypress Church Web TV

2009-03-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Check out Cypress Church Web TV. This is a loop broadcast featuring Bible teaching, Christian music and the latest news and events from Cypress Church - here is a sample:

"Choose The Life" at Cypress Church

2008-12-14T17:53:00.000-08:00

Paul Mascarella begins teaching a 10 week series entitled "Choose The Life" at Cypress Church beginning on January 4, 2009. This series is based on books and material Paul has co-written along with Bill Hull. Traditional thinking about what it means to be a Christian will be challenged. One major question will be: "What is wrong with the Gospel taught in contemporary Western culture?" Each participant will be called upon to rethink what it means to them to be a follower of Jesus Christ. The classes are scheduled from 8:45 am to 10:00 am each Sunday morning from Jan. 4, 2009 through March 8, 2009. Cypress Church is located at 6143 Ball Road just east of Valley View. More information is available by calling (714) 952-3001 or email info@cypresschurch.net - Click Here for information on how to purchase "Choose The Life" - Click Here for information on how to purchase "A Disciples Guide To Choose The Life"

Children Of The World Choir at Cypress Church

2008-10-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

As part of its 2008-2009 U.S. tour, World Help presents Children of the World. This choir, comprised of orphaned and disadvantaged children from several different countries, will be performing at Cypress Church on Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 8:45am and 10:30am.

Their high-energy and inspiring program will feature several songs, in both English and native dialects, as well as stirring personal testimonies. The children have performed in such venues as Focus on the Family, Brooklyn Tabernacle, Crystal Cathedral and Disney World.

Children of the World represents millions of innocent hurting children who are suffering needlessly as a result of the AIDS pandemic in Africa. Their purpose is to generate compassion and inspire individuals to get involved in helping over 15 million children who have been orphaned and their lives drastically impacted by AIDS. A special video presentation will take you into the heart of this crisis and show you how to make a difference.

Cypress Church serves all of northern Orange County including the cities of Buena Park, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Garden Grove, La Palma and Cypress. The church campus is located at 6143 Ball Road just east of Valley View. For additional information call (714) 952-3001 or email: steven@cypresschurch.net

The event web site is: http://cypress.church.events.googlepages.com/childrenoftheworldchoir

New Online Showroom

2008-10-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

We have developed an affiliate relationship with Amazon.com. You can buy your Bibles, Christian Books, Christian Music and Christmas gifts at our "Best Of The Web Shopping" Online Showroom.

New Web Site Online

2008-10-24T20:31:00.000-07:00

Our new website is now online at:
http://www.bobjeanproperties.com/

We will soon be offering Christian books, music and gift items.

Serving Others Is A Blast!

2008-08-18T18:44:00.000-07:00

Jean & I spent a good part of the day Friday (8/15) at Camp Pendleton helping with a retirement party fo a Marine Lt. Col. We were serving with the Patriots Ministry of Cypress Church and the "Knights of the Holy Grill." We had lots of fun. Check out the pictures at this link: http://donate.patriotsministry.us.googlepages.com/colonellowellrector

Cypress Church is offering a really great opportunity to experience the joy of serving others on Sunday, Sept. 21st. We are going to have a "Cypress Community Service Day" where we find lots of ways to help our community. Find out more at this link: http://cypress.church.40doc.googlepages.com/missionsproject

Cypress Church at the Cypress Community Festival

2008-08-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Cypress Church, the Patriots Ministry and the Truth Project had adjoining information booths at the Cypress Community Festival on Saturday, July 26, 2008 at Oak Knoll Park. We distributed about 1,100 free bottles of water to thirsty festival goers plus Bibles and "Daily Bread" pamphlets. The Cypress Church band played for the community in the afternoon on the main stage. Follow this link for the event report and a slide show of photos from the Festival:
http://cypress.church.events.googlepages.com/cypresscommunityfestival

The Shepherd Seeking His Sheep

2008-07-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

The Shepherd Seeking His Sheep:
Presented at the Seal Beach Military Christian Community on
July 13, 2008 by Bob Koehler

Scripture - Luke 15: 3-7:
So He spoke this parable to them, saying: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”

The Shepherd Seeking His Sheep - Introduction:
Dozens of times in the Bible, the people of God are referred to as sheep. A few of the more notable passages that come to mind are: Psalms 79:1 – “…we thy people and sheep of thy pasture…”
Psalms 95:6-7 – “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand…”
Psalms 100:3 – “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
Isa. 53:6 – “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
In John Chapter 9 Jesus opens the eyes of a man who was born blind. The Pharisees (who think they have a monopoly on God’s truth) can’t figure out how it is possible for Jesus to do this. Jesus says that they are blind but think they can see. Then in John Chapter 10 Jesus uses the pictures of sheep, a shepherd and the sheepfold to describe to these religious leaders what God’s family of believers looks like.

Then, of course, there is probably the most beloved Psalm in the Bible, Psalm 23, where David says: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
There are many good reasons why we are called sheep in the Bible and one of them is because of the basic character of the sheep. From a military standpoint the closest parallel I can think of is that sheep are about on the level of a recruit on his or her first day at boot camp. By nature, sheep already have 3 strikes against them.
Let’s turn to our outlines and you can fill in the blanks as we go along.

1st … Sheep are Dumb - In other words, they are not the smartest animals in the world. As a result, they are constantly getting into terrible situations. People are exactly the same way! People who are away from the Lord live lives that are often just plain dumb.
The prophet Jeremiah describes those who do not know the Lord. In Jer. 5:4 he says: Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor. They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the Lord, The judgment of their God.”
Unfortunately, even after a person is saved, there is still a lack of understanding about how to live an abundant, victorious Christian life among many of the Lord's sheep. Next…

2. Sheep are Directionless - If a sheep wanders off from the rest of the flock, it will have a hard, if not impossible time, finding its way back. Sheep have no sense of direction. So it is with those who do not know Jesus and who do not belong the God’s family, there is simply no sense of spiritual direction in their lives. They cannot find their way to the Lord by themselves. Number...

3. Sheep are Defenseless - Lions have teeth and claws, bears have the same. Snakes have fangs, even the birds of the air have some type of defensive mechanism. Not so with sheep. They have absolutely no means of protecting themselves from danger. If they are attacked, they are simply helpless! Again, people are the same way. Whether we want to admit it or not we are constantly under spiritual attack. There is no way that anyone can protect himself or herself against the fiery darts of the evil one. We need someone else to protect us and that someone is Jesus.

By their very nature, sheep need a shepherd and I suppose this is another reason why the figure of sheep is used to describe the people of God. No analogy is perfect but just take a moment and transport yourself back to your first day in the military. As a new recruit, how much progress would you have made without some kind of experienced leader (a sergeant or petty officer) to show you to right way to go? In the person of the shepherd in this parable, we see many characteristics that speak of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, it becomes clear that this idea of the shepherd and his sheep is a good way to describe the relationship between the Lord and His people.

In our Scripture passage for today from Chapter 15 of the Gospel of Luke we are given a picture of a shepherd who has lost a sheep. He does everything in his power to find it and when he does, he returns home with it rejoicing that he has recovered that sheep that was missing. In these verses, there is a clear and wonderful picture of the Lord Jesus. I would like for us to see this picture as we think together about the thought of The Shepherd Seeking His Sheep. First let’s look at…

I. THE SHEPHERD'S SORROW
The shepherd is sorrowful because His sheep are…

A. A Personal Possession - This sheep belonged to the shepherd, he had paid a personal price to own it and wasn't going to stand idly by while it was lost. 1 Corinthians 6:20 tells us that (as believers in Jesus) we “were bought at a price.” What was the price that was paid for you and for me? Peter tells us that the price was “the precious blood of Christ” shed for each one of us by Jesus on the cross at Calvary. Even If a person is not yet a believer in Jesus – his or her sins have already been paid for by Jesus Christ. Salvation is a free gift from God to each one of us – but we need to make a conscious decision to receive that gift.
The shepherd is also sorrowful because each one of His sheep is…

B. A Prized Possession - This particular sheep may have been no different from any other ordinary sheep, but it was special to the shepherd. To him, it was a prized possession. Each one of us is special to the Lord! He died for the individual! He died for you and for me. If you were the only person who would have responded in faith in Christ, Jesus would still have gone to Calvary and shed His blood on the cross just for you!
The shepherd is also sorrowful because this sheep is…

C. A Precious Possession - To this shepherd, there were no big sheep and no little sheep. Every sheep he had was precious in his eyes. So it is with the Lord. He loves all His sheep equally. All are precious in His sight. You and I can never begin to understand the value of the human soul. We are so precious to the Lord that He willingly gave up His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. We are precious in His sight.
So there we have the first part of the picture – The Shepherd's Sorrow. Next let’s look at…

II. THE SHEPHERD'S SEARCH
What was the Shepherd’s motive that caused Him to go looking for one lost sheep?

A. His Motive - Unlike our drill sergeant analogy is not in anger to punish, but in love to rescue. The shepherd in the parable doesn't go after the sheep in an effort to beat it for going astray. His motive is to find the sheep and restore it to its proper place in the fold. So it is with the Lord. He doesn't go after the lost ones so that He can give them a “time out” them for their sins. He pursues them in order that He might prove His love for them and that they might be restored to a right relationship with the Lord. His motive is to deliver them from punishment not inflict punishment upon them.
So how does the Shepherd conduct His search?

B. His Method is:
1. He Initiates The Search - The sheep is powerless to find its way back to the flock or to the shepherd. If the shepherd waited on the sheep to return of its own accord, then it would die in the wilderness. Instead of waiting, the shepherd goes after the sheep. He is the One who begins the process. It is the same thing with salvation! The lost ones do not make the first moves toward God. They cannot, because (as Ephesians 2:1 tells us) they are “dead in trespasses and sins.” It is the Good Shepherd who makes the first move toward the sinner. In John 6:44 Jesus says: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and (a fantastic promise) I will raise him up at the last day.” But according to Scripture, no one can ever be saved unless they are first approached by the Lord. He comes looking for us, it is never the other way around! We don’t find Him … He finds us!
So the Shepherd has initiated the search and next…

(2.) He Intensifies The Search - Luke 15:4 says that the shepherd searches “until he finds” the sheep. He doesn't give up after just a few minutes or hours of searching, but he stays on the job until the sheep has been recovered. So it is with the Lord. He never gives up on the lost sheep. He keeps calling and knocking and waiting, hoping that they will come to Him before it is too late. I am thankful and grateful that the Lord didn't give up on me! I am glad that He kept knocking and kept calling until I answered – (Rev. 3:20) I shouldn't be surprised though, after all, that is His business – (Luke 19:10). And we should not give up praying for our friends and family who need Jesus. Jesus wants us to partner with Him in the salvation process. My sister and her husband prayed for me for years before I came to know Christ. I’m glad they did not give up.
OK, we have looked at The Shepherd's Sorrow and The Shepherd's Search. Let’s now turn to:

III. THE SHEPHERD'S SUCCESS

A. He Locates The Sheep - He finds the sheep. God already knows where every lost sheep is. He doesn't have to seek, He knows where you are right now! Remember back in the Garden of Eden in Genesis Chapter 3? God told Adam not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil, Eve got deceived, ate the fruit, gave some to Adam, He ate some too. So they both were disobedient to God. They had sinned. God asks Adam in Genesis 3:9 “Where are you?” Now do you really think that God did not know Adam’s location? God has 100% complete and perfect knowledge. Adam was hiding from God because he knew he was guilty of sin. God was opening a conversation with Adam and giving him an opportunity to confess and repent. So God locates us in the same sense. He opens doors of opportunity for confession and repentance. What does the shepherd to next?

B. He Lays Hands On The Sheep - The shepherd reaches out to the sheep in its need. He doesn't turn away from it and leave it to languish in it dangerous place. He loving lays his hands upon it bringing comfort and hope to the wayward sheep. When the Lord comes to a lost sheep, He too lays His hands upon it. He reaches right into the midst of the mess we find ourselves in and by doing so shows us that there is hope and that there is a God in Heaven who loves us. Now this does not mean that God forces us to do something against our will. We are free moral agents. He respects our decisions. If we choose to remain in hiding (so to speak) He will patiently wait until we decide to accept His loving offer of assistance.

Here is a little insight into how God the Son (Jesus Christ) deals with lost sheep. The prophet Isaiah tells us: “A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench;” (Is. 42:3) Thank God that He doesn't condemn us when He comes alongside us. I am grateful that He comes to us in grace and mercy offering hope, forgiveness and a new beginning to everyone who will place their faith in the shed blood of Christ. After the shepherd has located and laid hands on the sheep …

C. He Lifts The Sheep - This shepherd doesn't stop with a mere touch. He reaches down and lifts the willing, repentant sheep out of the place where he finds it. He removes it from the place of danger. Jesus Christ, out Good Shepherd does the same for those He finds wandering the dark valleys of sin. He comes alongside them, reaches out to them and when they respond to His touch (when they choose to place their faith and trust in Him), He lifts them out of their sin and removes them from the danger they were in. Thank God, when Jesus comes into a heart and life, He delivers us. The 23rd Psalm tells us: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Now Jesus does not promise us a life with no problems. Sometimes in the short term we may feel like God is not solving our situation the way we think it should be solved. But in the long term eternal perspective we need to trust God’s Word that promises us: “…that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28)
So the Good Shepherd locates His sheep, lays hands on them, lifts them up and…

D. He Lugs The Sheep Home - the Bible says that this shepherd lifts the sheep and lays it upon his shoulders. I can picture him taking the front feet in one hand and the hind feet in another. This way, the sheep is draped around the neck of the shepherd and is absolutely safe and secure! Next, the Bible teaches us that the shepherd carries the sheep home. Notice that the sheep is not required to get there under its own power, but it goes there under the power of the shepherd. This is a picture of our salvation. When Jesus comes to where we are and finds us in our sins, He places us securely in Himself and carries us home. Jesus tells us in John 10:27-28: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” None of us are going to get to Heaven in our own power, but if we go, we will go through Jesus and Him alone! This is also a picture of how Jesus is available to help each and every believer every single day if we will only turn to Him and decide to rely wholly on His love, His care, his provision. He won’t force us to get our marriage back on track. He won’t force us to throw away that bottle of Scotch or toss that little plastic bag of weed. But if we will make the decision to open our Bibles, study God’s Word, do what God wants us to do and seek support and strength from the Lord in prayer … He WILL answer!!!
OK - We have looked at The Shepherd's Sorrow, The Shepherd's Search, The Shepherd's Success and now we come to…

IV. THE SHEPHERD'S SATISFACTION

A. There Is Rejoicing - When the shepherd returns home, he calls all the neighbors together and they all rejoice in the fact that the shepherd has had his sheep restored to the fold. Again, this is a picture of what happens when a lost sheep comes into the fold of the Lord. According to Luke 15 verse 10 there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels. Apparently, God the Father gets excited when a lost sheep is rescued. There is rejoicing in Heaven an there ought to be rejoicing in the earth. If there was ever anything to get excited over it is the redemption of souls.

B. There Is A Reason for this rejoicing - The Sheep has been saved from:
1. Disuse - As long as it was lost, it was of no benefit to the shepherd. The Lord cannot use a wayward life. He wants us to be available to Him and obedient to His wishes. When we are obedient, when we become doers of the Word and not hearers only, God can use us in a mighty way for His Kingdom purposes. So the sheep has been saved from disuse and the sheep has also been saved from…

2. Danger - Unless the shepherd had intervened this sheep would have remained in serious danger. It could never have defended itself or rescued itself. As long as you of I are apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, we are in serious danger. Hell and judgment are out there in front of anyone who is not saved. If you are saved but are not presently being obedient to God you will face earthly consequences for your sins and a possible loss of rewards in heaven. Only the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ saves us from the penalty for sin. Only the power of the Holy Spirit enables us to live a life pleasing to God. Finally the sheep has been saved from…

3. Death - If the shepherd had not come looking for the sheep, it would have most certainly died out there in the wilderness. But now, it lives all because the shepherd came looking to save a wayward sheep.
Back to Isaiah 53:6 - “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way …”
Now what does gone astray mean? In Romans 3:23 Paul tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” OK so all of us have sinned but what is sin? James tells us that “to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Have you ever known deep down inside that there was something you should do and you deliberately decided not to do it? I know I have! So I have sinned … and you have sinned and the Bible tells us in Romans 6:23 that "the wages of sin is death." Without the intervention of the Good Shepherd (Jesus Christ) the lost sinner has no hope and will eventually wind up in Hell. We need to understand very clearly that there is only one means of salvation for all men and that is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Any other religion, any other method, any other system of belief, no matter how good it looks by human standards, is doomed to fail.

Jesus said in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Speaking of Jesus Christ Peter tells us in Acts 4:12: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

And then there is one of the most quoted verses in the entire Bible, John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Whoever believes in Him, not Buddha, not Mohammed, not Ted Turner, not Oprah Winfrey. Only Jesus saves a person from eternal separation from God and everlasting torment and, instead of spiritual death, gives them the free gift of an abundant life both now and forever.

Let’s Review what we have covered so far:
Sheep are Dumb
Sheep are Directionless
Sheep are Defenseless
The Shepherd’s has Sorrow because the sheep is
A Personal Possession
A Prized Possession and
A Precious Possession
The Shepherd’s Search begins with
His Motive – loves rescue & restoration
His Method
He Initiates the search and then
He Intensifies the search
The Shepherd’s Success (we know God cannot fail)
He Locates the sheep
He Lays hands on the sheep
He Lifts the sheep
He Lugs the sheep home on His shoulders
The Shepherd’s Satisfaction
There is Rejoicing in heaven
There is a Reason – the sheep has been saved from
Disuse; Danger and Death

We have just one more point to cover and it’s not on your outline. Let’s look for just a moment at the last verse of our Scripture passage for today, Luke 15:7: “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” Is the Bible saying that some of us are in such good standing with God that we do not need to repent? Heaven’s standard is perfection. Jesus said in Matthew 5:48: “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Are you perfect? Is any human being perfect? I know I’m not perfect. John tells us in 1 John 1:8: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” So what is this verse saying?

Our Scripture for today begins with these words: “So He spoke this parable to them…” Who is them? An important principle of Bible interpretation is that we must know not only who is speaking but to whom the text is addressesd. If we go back to Luke 15:2 we discover that Jesus is giving this parable to the scribes and the Pharisees. These are the guys who thought they knew it all. These are the guys who thought they could enter the Kingdom by obeying the Law of Moses and the traditions of the elders. Jesus is pointing the finger of God’s truth at them. They complained about Jesus even talking to the tax collectors and the people they saw as “sinners.” They thought they were righteous. They thought they did not need to repent. Jesus is telling them that heaven rejoices when someone is convicted of their sin by the Holy Spirit, repents of their sin, agrees with God that nothing they can do on their own will get them into heaven and believes that faith Jesus Christ alone is the only way to a personal relationship with God Himself.

John tells us how we dumb, directionless, defenseless and, yes, dirty sheep can be cleansed of our sin and really know God. In 1 John 1:7 he says: “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son (that’s God’s Son or God the Son) cleanses us from all sin.” Then he goes on to say in verse 9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” That’s the ticket. That’s the way to heaven. It’s Jesus. His death on the cross, His blood, His resurrection from the dead. And our part? It’s faith! We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

Conclusion:
So … How about you? … where are you today?
Are you in the sheepfold? Are you safe and secure in a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ? Or, are you wandering about in the wilderness of sin in danger of death and damnation and living a life without purpose, a life of disuse apart from the Lord?
Maybe at some time in the past you were walking closely with Jesus and something happened in your life that made you feel distant from God. You know there’s got to be more to life and you just can’t figure out what you’re missing.
Or maybe you are struggling with some personal sin, difficult relationships in your family or a bad habit you would like to break away from?
If you have never trusted Jesus as your Savior, then I would like to invite you to come to Him now. If your relationship with God needs to be restored or strengthened or if you are struggling with family issues, sin or addiction I invite you to trust Jesus Christ to place you on His strong shoulders and bring you back home to a life of purpose and meaning.

Let’s go to the Lord in prayer:
Father in Heaven, thank you so much for all of your blessings. You are awesome and gracious and merciful. Thank you that Heaven and Eternal Life is a free gift. Thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross and pay the penalty for my sins and purchase a place in heaven for me. Thank you that He rose from the dead to prepare that place reserved just for me. I know that your standard is perfection and I know I have missed the mark. I am a sinner and I confess that now. Lord I turn away from my sins and I turn to you. I ask you to forgive me and to accept me into your family or return me to a close personal relationship with you. Lord, I want to live a life of purpose and meaning but I need your help. Please show me how you can restore the damaged relationships in my life. Lord please fill me with your Holy Spirit and help me to see the way out you have promised to show me so that I can live a life that is pleasing to you. Help me break the chains of sin and bad habits. Deliver me from the evil one. Count me worthy by the blood of Jesus Christ to spend eternity in Heaven with you. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.

Based on a message by Alan Carr from: http://www.higherpraise.com/outlines/newtestament/Luke 15_3-7.htm

You Were Made For A Mission

2008-06-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

Week Six - Week Six - You Were Made For A Mission:
Purpose Driven Life 40 Days StudyMessage Presented by Bob Koehler at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons StationFor the Military Community Christian Community
Sunday, June 8, 2008

Good Morning. Welcome to our Sunday Bible Study.

Let’s read our Scripture Verse together: “…Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20

Sermon Outline Notes:

Welcome to our Sunday Bible study. Let me set the stage … You are in the military. You are off duty for the moment and are at home eating dinner with your family. The telephone rings. Your wife picks up the phone, says “Hello” talks for a moment, turns to you in amazement and says: Honey, It’s the White House. You think she’s pulling your leg, but, to humor her you take the phone. Sure enough, the President’s secretary is on the line. He says: I’m sending you a First Class ticket to Washington, DC. The President has a special mission for you.

You pack your gear, get your dress uniform on, fly to DC, there is a limo with a police escort waiting for you. You get to the White House and are escorted to the Oval Office. The President greets you like a long lost friend. All this time you just can’t figure out what this whole deal is all about. Then The President, your Commander in Chief says: “You are getting a promotion. I want you to be my ambassador. I have a special mission for you.” How would you feel at that moment? Your buttons would be popping off your uniform! You be proud! What a privilege that you were chosen!

That is exactly what happened when you accepted Jesus Christ into your life. God chose you for a mission. He wants you to share the good news about Jesus Christ with the world. He has provided the resources of His Word, the Holy Spirit and the Church to equip you. And he expects you to complete your mission.

At the beginning of your outline you can write in the blank:
MY 5th PURPOSE IS TO SHARE THE GOOD NEWS about Jesus Christ. Sharing the Gospel is called Evangelism or Outreach.

The Apostle Paul was given a mission from God. In the Book of Acts in Chapter 20 He is on his way to Jerusalem at the end of his 3rd missionary journey. He sends for the elders of the church at Ephesus and they come to Miletus to have a meeting with him. Paul gives a brief account of some of his mission activities and then he says: “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20:24 (NKJV)

The most important thing to Paul was for him to complete his mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave him to do and that was to tell people the Good News about God's grace.

The Book of Ephesians is a great place to get a broad sweeping view of God’s master plan. In chapter 3 Paul talks about “…the eternal purpose which He (that’s God the Father) accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eph. 3:11 (NKJV). And what is the plan that God has had since before the beginning of time? In Chapter 1 of Ephesians we find these words: “…having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” Eph 1:9-10 (NKJV)

So God’s plan is to bring everything together and He is accomplishing this through Jesus. If Jesus is the primary instrument for accomplishing God’s mission, maybe we should ask ourselves:

What was (or what is) Jesus’ mission? Jesus answers that question for us in His own words. He says in Luke 19: “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10 (NIV)

He also tells us in John: “For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.” John 18:37b (NKJV)

Jesus also says: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 (NKJV)

So Jesus’ own view of His mission is to seek and save the lost, to bear witness to the truth, and to give people life and not only just life but life in all of its fullness or abundance. Ok, that is Jesus’ mission. It sounds good, but, other than the fact that I am happy Jesus saved me and that I am going to spend eternity with Him in Heaven (which – don’t get me wrong – is a good thing) … what am I supposed do with this knowledge.

Why Is Jesus’ Mission important to me? Let’s look at 10 Reasons why Jesus Mission should be important to each one of us.

So here is the 1st reason:

1. My life mission must be like His mission.

In the Book of John Chapter 17 Jesus is talking with God the Father. He says: “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” John 17:18 (NKJV) God the Father sent Jesus (God the Son) into the world on a mission. Jesus sends his followers on the same kind of mission. Letting others know how they can have a relationship with God.

Next…

2. Jesus expects me to continue His mission.

Our Scripture verse today from Matthew has been called “The Great Commission. But there are actually 5 Great Commissions. One in each Gospel and one in the Book of Acts. One principle of Bible interpretation is that when God repeats a certain message in many different places it is especially important. So let’s review what the Bible says about our mission. Each of these 5 Great Commissions was spoken by Jesus Himself to the 11 remaining Apostles after He was risen from the dead during the 40 days he was on earth before He ascended back into Heaven. First from Matthew:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” Mat 28:19-20 (NKJV)

Now Mark: “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15 (NKJV)

Next Luke: “…“Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Luke 24:46-47 (NKJV)

The Apostle John quotes Jesus saying: “As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you." John 20:21 (NIV)

And finally Jesus says in Acts: …you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NKJV)

Putting all five of these verses together we find that the basic concept is action. We have been sent, we are to go, we are to go out, we are to tell others about Jesus, we are to teach them to do what Jesus has commanded, we are to disciple them, we are to be witnesses to the power of Jesus we have seen in our own lives. We do not do this in our own power or strength because Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit and our mission is not optional. Jesus does not say “If you feel like it or when you have a little extra time.” The Great Commission is not the Great Suggestion.

3. Sharing the Good News is my responsibility.

Let’s go to the Old Testament Book of Ezekiel and find out how God commissioned his servants a few hundred years before Christ. Ezekiel’s ministry was during the time of the Babylonian captivity about 575 BC. God tells Ezekiel: “When I (God) say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you (speaking of Ezekiel) give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 19Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.” Ezek. 3:18-19 (NKJV)

A person that God has appointed as his servant has obligations. Has God changed His mind since then? I don’t think so and Paul agrees. In 1 Corinthians he says: “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” 1 Cor. 9:16 (NKJV) If you are a Christian sharing the Gospel is not optional.

Now on to reason number 4…

4. Sharing the Good News is a privilege.

“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation … Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 2 Cor. 5:18 & 20 (NKJV)

“…I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” Romans 1:16 (NKJV)

Paul says that he is not ashamed. What is the opposite of being ashamed? It’s being proud! Paul has the special privilege of sharing the life changing message of Jesus. He is proud about that!

5. I am grateful for what Jesus has done for me.

Paul tells us to remember that before we were saved we “were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” Eph. 2:12 (NKJV)

He also says that “…the love of Christ compels us…” 2 Cor. 5:14 (NKJV). The idea here is that we were hopelessly lost, God sought us out and He saved us. We are so glad that God has forgiven us and cleansed us that we can’t hold it back. We can’t stop ourselves. We are bursting with enthusiasm. We’ve just got to share this great news with people around us. Is that how you feel? Are you excited about your relationship with Jesus? Are you grateful enough to Jesus that you share Him with others?

That brings us to reason number 6:

In the Bible in the Book of Acts after the Apostle Peter had been used of God to heal a man who had been lame from birth - he takes this opportunity to explain God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. Peter says about Jesus: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 (NKJV)

6. People are hopeless without Christ.

The Book of Romans tells us that: “…“whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That’s great, that’s the Gospel in a nutshell. We need Jesus. But so does everyone else in the world, so Paul goes on the say: “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” How shall they hear without a preacher!

Who is that preacher? It’s you and it’s me and it’s everyone who calls Jesus his or her lord. We are all called to tell others about Jesus because anyone who does not know Him and trust Him alone for their eternal life is hopelessly lost and will die in their sins without Jesus, everybody in the world needs to know this, they cannot know this unless they are told, and they won’t get told unless you and you and you and you I tell them.

Why does God want us to tell others? This moves us along to reason number 7…

7. God wants everybody to be saved.

In 1 Timothy Paul reminds us that God “…desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Tim. 2:4 (NKJV)

Peter tells us in 2nd Peter that the Lord is: “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)

God loves us. He does not want to see us get punished. He does not want anyone to end up in Hell. He wants to forgive us. He gives us many opportunities to spend eternity in Heaven with Him. In fact, to end up in Hell a person literally has to trip over God to get there … and they do! Jesus is referred to in Scripture as a stumbling block. But it’s our choice to accept or reject that offer of forgiveness. God will not violate our free will. If we do not want to obey the Lord and join Him in that special place He is preparing for us He won’t force us to do it.

8. I will be rewarded for eternity.

Paul counsels us that “…whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” Col. 3:23-24 (NKJV)

Some of Paul’s final words to Timothy are: “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” 2 Tim. 4:8 (NKJV)

Have you loved His appearing? Are you a faithful servant of Jesus? Are you sharing the Good News with others? Are you looking forward to Christ’s return? Then you will be rewarded.

The subject of Christ’s return is an interesting one. Near the end of Jesus’ ministry His disciples had some questions on the subject of the end times. In Matthew Chapter 24 Jesus tells them that “…this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Now I have to be honest with you, I don’t have all the answers to what this means but one thing is clear - in some way …

9. God’s timetable for history is linked with my mission.

God wants every one to be saved, but there will come a time when the door to salvation will be shut. In the Book of Romans, Paul talks about some special events that will happen “when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” Rom. 11:25 (NKJV) God has appointed a time and when He is ready Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to rule and reign. “Every eye will see Him.” Rev. 1:7 (NKJV)

If you know Jesus then you are looking forward to that day. If you do not know Jesus, if you have not been walking closely with Him, if you are not certain about your salvation, then you are probably not very excited about having Him return any time soon, if at all.

10. Heaven rejoices when people turn to God.

In Luke Chapter 15 we find the parable of the lost sheep. We are going to talk about this in detail during our series on the parables of Jesus which is starting the last Sunday in June. In this illustration Jesus teaches that there is joy in heaven when even one sinner repents.

Ok, there are our 10 reasons why Jesus’ mission should be important to us. We know we have a mission and that our mission must be like that of Jesus. But what steps do we need to take to do what the Lord wants us to do? Well fortunately He gave us specific instructions – marching orders if you will - about how we are to go about completing our mission.

COMPLETING MY MISSION:

The Chapter 1 of the Book of Acts Jesus tells His followers: “You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8 (NIV)

So here is the game plan: First we are to go to:

“Jerusalem” which would be the people closest to us, then to
“Judea and Samaria.” That would be people who are geographically close to us but are culturally different from us. Then we are to go to the “Ends of the earth” and that means everybody else! So next on your outline …

1. I MUST SHARE WITH THOSE IN MY WORLD.
In Luke Chapter 8 is the account of Jesus casting demons out of a man who lived in a graveyard. Christian recording artist Bob Bennett sings a great song about this called “Man of the Tombs.” You may recall that Jesus sent the demons out of this man and into a herd of pigs. Some believe that this is the first mention in history of “deviled ham.” At any rate after the herd of “deviled ham” ran off a cliff into the sea we read: “Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, and “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.” Luke 8:38-39 (NKJV)

This is just one of the many examples in Scripture of evangelism close to home. The woman at the well in John 4: “…left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” John 4:28-29 (NKJV)

We need to start close to home, but then...

2. I MUST DARE TO REACH BEYOND MY WORLD.

In 1 Corinthians Paul says: “…I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more … I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” 1 Cor. 9:19 & 22 (NKJV) The idea here is that whatever a person was like, Paul tried to find common ground with them so that he would have an opportunity to share Christ.

How can we do this in the year 2008? In Galatians 6:2 Paul tells us that we should “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” We are supposed to reach out to people who are poor, needy and oppressed. At Cypress Church we go into the Central part of Los Angeles on holidays like Thanksgiving and feed meals to the homeless. We also have a ministry that provides blankets for homeless people in Orange County. There are all sorts of opportunities available to serve others. The Book of James says that we should: “visit orphans and widows in their trouble.” (James 1:27) When we do things like this we build bridges that can open up opportunities to talk about how to know Jesus.

Jesus gives us a great lesson on this subject in Mathew. He says that when we do good things for others in need it is like doing them for Jesus Himself. “I was hungry, and you fed Me. I was thirsty, and you gave Me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited Me into your home. I was naked, and you gave Me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for Me. I was in prison, and you visited Me.” Mt. 25:35-36 (NLT)

And lest we think that there is all give and no take in this life of sacrificial service … just read in Mark Chapter 10 where Jesus tells us that those who give their lives to Him will be rewarded 100 times over.

3. I MUST CARE ABOUT THE WHOLE WORLD.

The idea of reaching out to the world did not begin in the New Testament. God’s mission for the Jewish nation was to be a witness to the world. In the Psalm 67 we find these words: “God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us … That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.”

Jesus said to His followers in Mark 16:15: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. .” Mark 16:15 (NKJV) In Acts 1:8 He says we are to be his witnesses “to the end of the earth.”

Many of you know the popular worship song: “Come, now is the time to worship.” But do you really know it? Let’s look at some of the words in that song:
“One day every tongue will confess You are God.One day every knee will bow.Still the greatest treasure remains for thoseWho gladly choose you now.”

Those words were not the figment of Brian Doerksen’s imagination when he wrote those lyrics.

Let’s look at Philippians 2:10 & 11: “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

You see some day there will come a time, the Day of Judgment, when every person will have to confess that Jesus is Lord. If you know Jesus and are trusting in Him alone for your eternal life then you will already be ruling and reigning with Jesus on that day. Those who have not accepted Jesus as their Lord during the time that the gift of God’s grace was available will hear God say: “…’Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth…” Luke 13:27-28 (NKJV) Why? Because those who do not know Jesus will spend all eternity separated from God. The Book of Revelation tells us: “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Rev. 20:15

So let’s summarize what we have talked about today up to this point. We were made for a mission - to share God’s Good News, the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Our mission is like Jesus’ mission, He expects us to continue His mission. Jesus’ mission of sharing the Good News is not optional, it is our responsibility and it is also our great privilege. We do it because we are grateful that Jesus saved us and we know that everyone who has not accepted Jesus as the Lord of their life is absolutely lost, hopeless, destitute, and bankrupt. Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to partner with God and be His body, his arms, his legs, his mouth and share Jesus with others during our time on planet earth. We will be rewarded eternally for fulfilling our mission, our mission is part of God’s overall plan and timetable for history and Heaven rejoices when people turn to God. We are to begin close to home and move out from there to other cultures and areas.

Ok, we know that we need to (and want to) share the Gospel, the Good News, the life changing message of Jesus, with others. But just exactly what do we say. How to we take this idea and put it into action?

First we develop our own personal testimony or our God story and then we make use of that to share Jesus with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Here is an example for you. In this illustration I am going to be having a conversation with my friend named “Bill.” Bill has just told me about some problems he has been having at work and that has opened the door for me to talk about Jesus.

Wow! Bill that’s a tough situation, but I want you to know you’re not alone. Several years ago I was having a number of issues in my life. I had a good job, but I also had a bad attitude. My boss gave me an ultimatum to shape up or I would get fired. I was worried about finances, wasn’t being a good husband or a good father, had few close friends and was drifting along with no real focus except how to have a good time.

One day a friend of mine helped me discover that I was definitely on the wrong track. From that point on my life changed dramatically. Now things are going very well at work, my family situation has improved; I am not worried as much about finances and have lots of friends. Sure I have problems to deal with just like everybody else. But I know where to turn for solutions. And the greatest thing of all is that I know for sure, if I were to die today, that I have eternal life![1]

May I ask you a question, Bill? Have you come to the place in your spiritual life where you know for certain that if you were to die today you would go to Heaven? Or is that something you would say you’re still working on? Bill’s response is that he does not think he can say for sure.

You know, Bill, God tells us in His Word “I write these things to you … so that you may know that you have eternal life?”[2] May I share with you how I came to know I have eternal life and how you can know it too? Bill says: “OK, I guess so.” May I ask you another question so that I can be more clear for you? Bill says: “Sure, Go ahead.”

And I continue … suppose you were to die today and stand before God[3] and He said to you, “Bill, why should I let you into My Heaven?” What would you say? Bill responds: Well, I guess I’m good enough, I mean I’ve done a few bad things, but I’m not as bad as some people I know.”

You are right on target with the majority of folks, Bill. Many people think the same way you do about this. But I’ve got some really good news for you. God tells us that Heaven, or eternal life, is a free gift.[4] Now I know that is hard to believe, I mean we all know that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, right? But this situation is different. Even if we were to try to pay to get into Heaven in some way,[5] God tells us in His Word that it is not earned or deserved.[6] Sure there is a price;[7] the good news is that it has already been paid.[8]

But there is a problem that needs to be solved.[9] As we look around us we can see that there are some major problems in the world[10] and even in us. These are due to something that God calls sin. Man is a sinner.[11] God says that everyone has sinned.[12] How would you define sin, Bill? Bill says: “Something bad, like stealing, I guess.” Well, God says that sin is anything that falls short of His perfect standards. He tells us in the Bible that we need to be perfect![13] How hard is that? I know there’s no way that I’m perfect. How about you? Bill says: “I don’t think I could ever be that good.” I continue: Ok, suppose that I invited you over for breakfast and fixed you an omelet with 2 good eggs and one rotten egg. Would you want to eat that omelet? No way! And we can’t ask God to accept us into heaven based on our imperfect lives. He doesn’t grade on a curve.[14] What this means is that man can’t save himself.

Why can’t we save ourselves? Because of what we know about God. The Bible tells us that God is love.[15] He is merciful and does not want to punish us,[16] but the same Bible also says that God is just[17] and will by no means let the guilty go unpunished.[18] The wages of sin is death[19] and so sin must be punished. Let’s suppose that I robbed a bank, got caught and stood before the judge. Even if I gave all the money back and promised never to rob another bank the law demands that a penalty be paid. So, how does God get us out of this mess?[20]

His solution for us is Jesus Christ! We all know the Christmas story and we’ve seen the nativity scenes with Jesus as a baby in the manger.[21] The incredible thing is that Jesus Christ is both 100% God and 100% man at the same time.[22] God tells us that the Word (that’s Jesus[23]) was God[24] and that the Word became flesh and lived here on earth among us![25] Jesus came to earth,[26] lived a sinless life,[27] died on the cross[28] and rose from the dead[29] to pay the penalty for our sins[30] and purchase a place in heaven for us.[31]

Let’s go back to the bank robber situation, God the judge[32] declared us guilty,[33] pronounced the penalty[34] and then stepped down from the bench, took off His robe[35] and paid our penalty for us.[36] Now that the penalty has been paid we are free to have a personal relationship with God.[37] Isn’t that incredible?

I remember when my son was about 4 years old. We visited the Grand Canyon. When he looked over the edge he said, “Daddy, I think God lives here.” Imagine that you are standing on one side of the Grand Canyon and that God is on the other side. The Canyon itself represents our sin. There is no way we can jump over to the other side. But God built a bridge in the person of Jesus Christ. God tells us that Jesus is the only way for anyone to reach Heaven.[38] God put all of our sins on Jesus when He was on the cross.[39] When Jesus had paid the penalty for our last sin He said, “It is finished.”[40] The phrase He used is exactly the same as the word the Greeks use for a debt that is “paid if full.” Now forgiveness and the free gift of eternal life are available to all.[41]

But … it’s not automatic.[42] How do we take advantage of this free gift of Heaven? By faith.[43] Now this faith that God talks about is not just head knowledge. The Bible tells us that even the demons know about Jesus,[44] but they aren’t going to heaven.[45] And this faith is more than just trusting God to provide us with a place to live or food to eat or praying when we’re sick or in trouble. That may be only a temporary, crisis kind of faith.[46]

True saving faith is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for our eternal life.[47] It means transferring our complete trust away from ourselves and anything we ever thought we could do that would get us into Heaven[48] and relying on Jesus. The Bible tells us that if we “believe on (or trust in) the Lord Jesus Christ we will be saved.”[49] It’s sort of like this chair next to me. I know the chair can support me. That’s head knowledge. But until I actually sit in that chair, I don’t really have faith.[50] We need to get up out of the chair we are sitting on that we made ourselves and sit in the chair that God provided, Jesus Christ.

Well, Bill, you’ve just heard the greatest offer of all time. Does this make sense to you? Would you like to receive God’s free gift of eternal life right now? If you would, I can pray for you and then, if you wish, I will lead you, step by step, in a prayer asking Jesus to come into your life.[51]

Bill says: Wow, this seems like a really big step. I’m not sure I’m ready right now. This sounds almost too good to be true.” I respond: “Tell you what Bill, I found out about God’s Free Gift of Eternal Life at the Sunday Bible study right here on the base. How about I come by Sunday morning about 10:30 and we can go over there together and get some of your questions answered, what do you say? Bill responds: “OK, you know where my place is, I’ll see you at 10:30.”

Now in this scenario Bill did not want to make a decision right away and that is OK. The main thing is he has heard the Gospel, I have shown that I love him enough to care about his future and I have invited him to investigate further. You can do this too. You have many relatives and friends who need to hear about Jesus Christ.

Friday when I was at work in Long Beach Harbor I was piloting a big container ship. While I was up on the bridge of the ship I went to get something to drink. The cup I picked up had the ship owner’s company logo on it and these words in bold type: “Take it personally!” When I looked at that cup I thought, these guys definitely have the right idea. When you have a job to do the way to be successful to really care about what you are doing. As members of the body of Christ we have a job to do. We are on a mission from God. We need to tell the world about Jesus. In order to be successful in completing our mission we need to “Take it personally!”

Let’s pray: "Father God, more than anything else, I want to fulfill the purposes you made me for. So today, I accept this fifth purpose, my mission to tell others. I want you to use me any time, any way, any place. I want to bring others to you. I want to serve your purpose in my generation. And I want to be a part of what you are doing in the world. From this day forward, I want to build my life around Your eternal purposes, and I want to help our church do the same. Help me to reach one more person for Jesus. I take my mission personally. In Jesus Name. Amen.”
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Outline for this message drawn from material provided by Rick Warren & Saddleback Church. Some content drawn from "Share Your Faith" workhop resources.
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Footnotes:

[1] 1 John 5:13
[2] 1 John 5:13
[3] Revelation 20:11-12
[4] Romans 6:23 (NLT)
[5] Matthew 7:22-23
[6] Ephesians 2:8-9
[7] Romans 6:23
[8] 1 Peter 1:18-19 (NLT)
[9] Isaiah 59:2
[10] John 3:19
[11] Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8-10
[12] Romans 5:12
[13] Matthew 5:48
[14] James 2:10
[15] 1 John 4:16
[16] John 3:16-18
[17] Isaiah 45:21
[18] Exodus 34:7
[19] Romans 6:23
[20] Ephesians 2:8-9
[21] Luke 2:7, 12 & 16
[22] 1 Timothy 2:5; Romans 9:5
[23] 1 John 1:1; Revelation 19:11-13
[24] John 1:1; 1 Timothy 2:5
[25] John 1:14; 1 John 5:20
[26] 1 John 4:2
[27] 1 John 3:5
[28] 1 Corinthians 5:3
[29] 1 Corinthians 5:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14
[30] 1 John 4:10
[31] John 14:2-3
[32] Romans 2:16
[33] Numbers 5:6
[34] Ezekiel 18:4 & 20
[35] Philippians 2:8
[36] 1 Corinthians 6:20; Hebrews 9:15
[37] 1 John 1:3
[38] John 14:6
[39] Isaiah 53:6, Hebrews 9:28; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 Peter 2:24
[40] John 19:30
[41] Acts 16:31, 1 John 2:2
[42] 1 John 2:12 (NASB)
[43] Romans 1:17, Galatians 2:16
[44] James 2:19
[45] Matthew 25:41
[46] Matthew 7:22-23
[47] Acts 4:10-12
[48] Titus 3:5
[49] Acts 16:31
[50] John 6:29; James 2:17
[51] Romans 10:9:

You Were Shaped For Serving God

2008-06-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

You Were Shaped For Serving God:
Purpose Driven Life 40 Days Study - Week 5
Message Presented by Bob Koehler at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station
For the Military Community Christian Community
Sunday, June 1, 2008

Good Morning. Welcome to the Seal Beach Military Christian Community.

Deep down inside we all want to be successful – we need to believe that our lives have meaning. But most people feel uneasy about where they are at in life. They want something more.

The literary genius Henry David Thoreau said, "Most men live lives of quiet desperation." H. G. Wells, the famous historian and philosopher, said at age 61: "I have no peace. All life is at the end of the tether."
Ralph Barton, a top ranked cartoonist, left this note pinned to his pillow before taking his own life: "I have had few difficulties, many friends, great successes; I have gone from wife to wife, from house to house, visited great countries of the world, but I am fed up with inventing devices to fill up twenty-four hours of the day."

So how do we find meaning and success in our lives? Here is what Kareem Abdul-Jabar has to say about the subject: "Ive had enough success for two lifetimes. My success is talent put together with hard work and luck."

Here is another idea from a web page called “Top 7 Business/Life quotes: "The perfectness of who you are, knows which direction is right for your life. In order to discover this path, you must be quiet, calm your mind, and LISTEN intently to your subconscious mind as it will guide you to what your role on Earth is supposed to be." Now those are some the ways that “the world” tells you to find meaning and success.

Today we’re going to find out more about God’s way as we continue our 40 Days of Purpose Bible Study. In our first week we asked the question “What on earth am I here for? We discovered that God has five primary purposes for our lives: We have studied worship, fellowship and discipleship. Today we are going to look at God’s fourth purpose for your life, there on the top of your outline…you were Shaped For Serving God.

“We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph. 2:10 (NIV)

Now whenever God gives us an assignment to do something, He never gives it to us without equipping us first. As Job was talking about God he said: “Your hands have made me and fashioned me, An intricate unity;” Job 10:8a (NKJV)

God uses five things to fashion or shape you: Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences. That spells ‘SHAPE’. Those five things make you who you are and God uniquely shapes you, different from anybody else in the world, for a purpose. And that purpose is to serve Him.

Let’s look for a moment at 1 Peter Chapter 4 Verse 10. Take a look at your outline and you will see the first part of the verse:

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to “make lots of money???” Is that what the Bible says? No

“Each one should use whatever gift he’s received to serve others.” 1 Pet. 4:10 (NIV)

Do you remember the first line in the Purpose Driven Life book? “It’s not about you.” Your purpose in life is to be what God made you to be. And He gave you gifts and talents and abilities and background and experiences and all these things for the benefit of other people, to be used in serving others.

So write this down:
MY 4th PURPOSE IS TO: SERVE GOD BY SERVING OTHERS

Let’s turn in our Bibles to Mathew Chapter 20 … move down the page to verse 27. Two of Jesus’ disciples, James and John, the “Sons of Thunder,” have just asked Him (through their Mom!!!) if they can get promoted. They want to sit on either side of Jesus when He rules in His kingdom. Jesus tells them that the people who will sit in those places of honor have already been pre-determined by God the Father. Then He uses their question to teach an important lesson.

Listen to the words of Jesus Christ on the subject of service and ministry: He says: “…whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mt. 20:27-28

So Jesus has told us that : Our attitude … must be like His attitude … Because He did not come to be served, but to serve...”

So let’s talk about LEARNING TO SERVE LIKE JESUS:
First of all SERVING LIKE JESUS MEANS BEING AVAILABLE.

One of the interesting things about Jesus’ teaching method is that He almost always gives us a principle that is closely linked to an example of He … Himself … doing what He wants us to do.

Let’s look at verse 29: “Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.” So Jesus is with his entourage. He is in the limelight. He is being admired. People are following Him. He is BUSY!!!

Verse 30: “And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”

These guys know that Jesus is someone special. They have never seen Him but they have heard about Him. They believe that He is the Messiah. They believe He can help them.

Let’s listen to the normal human reaction to this situation. Vs. 31:
“Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”

The crowd has pre-judged these blind men. They probably thought, as many of us do in our hearts, that the reason these guys have a problem is because of some sin or personal failure in their lives. The crown is selfish. They want Jesus for themselves. After all just a few chapters back he fed them for free. They react as many of us normally react. We do not want to interrupt the flow. We do not want to stop what we are doing. We are TOO BUSY to help anybody else.

But look at what Jesus does! In verse 32: “So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
Jesus stopped – He took the time to care – He made Himself available. Verse 33: “T hey (the blind men) said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.”

Verse 34: So Jesus … said He had to hurry and find a room at the inn and He might be able to see them tomorrow??? NO
So Jesus … said call Mary and make an appointment??? NO
So Jesus … said its not in my job description. You see, I’m in my civvies today but I am actually the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I’m in a hurry to get to Jerusalem because I’m scheduled to be Grand Marshall of the Triumphal Entry parade. These Spec Four Healers here can take care of you!! No!

The Bible tells us in Verse 34: “So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.”

Jesus took the time to care and to actually do something for people in need. The Bible tells us in the Book of Proverbs: “Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you.” Prov. 3:28 (NKJV)

What is the matter with us? Why is it that we are so unwilling to actually stop what we are doing and serve other people? Let’s talk about three barriers or mental roadblocks we have that can keep us from doing what God has told us to do:

Write this down … the 1st Barrier is: SELF-CENTEREDNESS

In Philippians Paul says: “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4
This means we need to “Forget (ourselves) long enough to lend (others) a helping hand.” Phil. 2:4 (MSG)

Let’s turn to the Gospel of John the 15th Chapter: Jesus and His disciples have just finished the last supper. He is giving them final instructions because He will soon be going to the cross. He has just talked with them about bearing fruit and shared with them that the only way a person can bear fruit that is pleasing to God is to be connected with or to abide in Him - Jesus Christ.

Let’s go to verse 9: Jesus is speaking:
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

OK – so how do we have a joy filled life, how do find purpose and meaning? We love others and we serve them by laying down our lives for them. If you are in the military you may actually be called to put your life on the line. You might have to go to Iraq. You might get shot at. You might have to risk your life to save someone else. You might die for your country. If you have a civilian job you go to work and you follow the boss’s instructions. You know what it means to serve. That’s your job.

So yes, you are serving when you are at work. You follow orders. But while you are wearing your uniform or while you are at your job, are you serving your fellow soldiers or the other men and women in your unit or your department? When you get back from drill or from work, when you are on leave or vacation with your family, when you are out in the community, are you making sacrificial service to others a priority?

We need to have correct priorities. The military is loaded with alphabet soup acronyms. Here is one to help you remember a biblical truth:

JOY: J = Jesus; O = Others; Y = Yourself. Put Jesus first, then you will want to serve others, and you will have plenty of time to spare for yourself. The result of this will be a joy-filled, purposeful and successful life.

Now we turn to the 2nd Barrier, you can jot this in your notes:

The 2nd Barrier is: PERFECTIONISM

When I was in charge of a boat group for the SEAL Team in Viet Nam, the SEAL platoon leader would always plan our missions very carefully. One false move might mean detection by the enemy. Careful planning is important but when our goal is actually accomplishing a mission there is a time to stop planning and move out.

Using the example of agriculture, the Book of Ecclesiastes says: “He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap” Eccl. 11:4. Now what is this verse talking about. If the farmer waits for absolutely perfect conditions the job will never get done. And there will be no crop – i.e. no fruit.

I am a student in Bible College. When Cypress Church opened the door last fall and asked me to be responsible for Outreach I could have said, “I’m not sure this is the right time. I still have some more classes to take to finish the program.” Instead I recognized the need and asked God to use me, as an admittedly imperfect tool, to accomplish His purpose on a moment by moment basis. We need to train to expect the unexpected. We need to pray for God to open doors of opportunity. When the door for service opens we need to move out.

Now on to the… 3rd Barrier which is: MATERIALISM

In the Gospel of Luke we read: “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Or “money” in the NIV.

All of us like money. Why? Because we use money to buy stuff or go on vacation or go out to dinner or go to a Lakers game. Speaking of money, I’ve got some good news for military families. The House of Representatives has just approved a possible 3.9% pay increase starting in 2009. Assuming this goes through, where will that extra money go?

I would like to invite you to give yourself a couple of little tests. First, open your checkbook or look at your last couple of bank statements or credit card statements and see where you spend most of your money. Have you given any to charity? Have you contributed to God’s work?

Next, start keeping track of how you spend your time. How much time do you spend studying God’s word and praying for your family, your church, your community, your nation and the world? How much time do you spend actually doing something for someone else?

You have control over two very basic assets in your life: Time and money. Whenever you spend time or money doing one thing you are sacrificing the opportunity to have or to do something else. You will spend the most time and the most money on what you care about the most. Whatever that thing is … it is in essence your Lord and Master or your God.

Paul tells us in the Book of Romans: “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? Romans 6:16

Romans 12 Verse 1 tells us: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

Jesus tells us that as his disciples we must be obedient to His word and sacrifice our time and energy and money … the things that the world thinks are valuable … so that we will be able to devote our time, our energy and our money (everything available to or produced by our bodies) as a living sacrifice to serve God by serving others. In the process of serving others, we (that is our character) will be gradually transformed into the image of Christ.

We have all seen the bumper sticker that reads “He who dies with the most toys wins.” But that is a very short sighted, secular, non-Christian viewpoint. How many of you have ever seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer to the cemetery. You can’t take it with you! Invest in God’s kingdom and you will receive eternal rewards in heaven and a joyful, abundant life here on earth.

Next - #2 - SERVING LIKE JESUS MEANS BEING GRATEFUL.

In the Gospel of John Chapter 11 we read: “Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard Me. I knew that you always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here...’" John 11:41-42 (NIV)

The Book of Psalms says to: “Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.” Ps. 100:2 (NKJV)

Paul writes in Philippians: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:6 (NKJV)

And later in 1 Thessalonians he tells us: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thes. 16-18 (NKJV)
I want you to notice that each of the last three verses we just looked at were not suggestions but commands. We must find ways to be thankful for the opportunities God gives us to serve.

But, once again, there are barriers in our path. Serving others is not always easy. Our sinful human nature tells us that we really need to compare ourselves with others, see ourselves as overburdened and be critical. The first barrier that keeps us from following God’s command to be thankful as we serve others is:

1st Barrier: COMPARING & CRITICIZING

How many of you have every tried to get some help with a project and run into some of the members of the Tate Family? They are everywhere. You find some of them at work, some right here on the base, some in your family and also some at church.

There is old man Dic-Tate who wants to run everything, while Uncle Ro-Tate tries to change everything. There's sister Agi-Tate who stirs up plenty of trouble, with help from her husband, Irri-Tate. Whenever new projects are suggested, Hesi-Tate and his wife, Vege-Tate, want to wait until next year. Devas-Tate provides the voice of doom, while Poten-Tate wants to be a big shot. Then there is Aunt Imi-Tate, who wants her church to be like all the others.

In Romans chapter 14 Paul says: “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.” Rom 14:4 (NKJV). So Paul is telling us here: “Who are you to criticize someone else's servant? The Lord will determine whether His servant has been successful.” Rom. 14:4 (GW)

Jesus says in Luke Chapter 6:37-38: “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven . Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Now the 2nd Barrier: WRONG MOTIVATIONS

Self-promotion and servant hood don’t mix, but it’s easy to get them mixed up. A lot of our service, let’s just be honest, it can be self-serving at times. Sometimes we serve to get others to like us. We serve to be admired. We serve to achieve our own goals. We serve as sort of a bargaining chip with God. You know … we say: “God, I’ll serve and You take care of me over here.” There are all kinds of wrong motivations.

Jesus said: “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Mat. 6:1 (NKJV)

So this means that when you do good deeds, don't try to show off. If you do, you won't get a reward from God.

# 3. SERVING LIKE JESUS MEANS BEING FAITHFUL.

Now what does that mean? It means you don’t give up. You keep on going. You don’t quit in the middle of your assignment. At the end of Jesus’ ministry on earth, Jesus said this in John 17:4: “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” John 17:4 (NKJV) In the NIV this verse reads: “I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave me to do.” John 17:4 (NIV)

We need to be faithful not just because it sounds like it might be a good idea. We need to be faithful because God tells us to do so:

Look at the next verse in your outline (1 Cor. 4:2 and Fill in the blanks): “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. 1 Cor. 4:2

Paul tells us: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 15:58 (NKJV) Another way to say this might be: “Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for Him is a waste of time or effort.” 1 Cor. 15:58 (MSG)

In the book of Hebrews we read: “He (that’s Jesus) will not forget how hard you have worked for Him and how you have shown your love to Him by caring for other Christians.” Heb. 6:10 (NLT)

Some of Paul’s final words in 2 Timothy are: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” 2 Tim 4:6-8 (NKJV) That’s you and me he’s talking about. Because we love God we will love our others and serve them and God will give us a reward.

So how do we find meaning and success in life? We serve Jesus by serving others. We make ourselves available to Him. We do this by having our hearts and minds God centered instead of self centered. We do not allow the barriers of perfectionism and materialism to slow us down. We are thankful to Jesus for saving us and opening doors of opportunity for us to serve others. We avoid comparing ourselves to others and criticizing them. We search our hearts regularly to be certain that our motives are pure. And we determine to be faithful to whatever God has called us to do.

This sounds like a hard job and if we try to do it in our own strength it is absolutely impossible. But if we rely on the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit we will one day hear Jesus say: “'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things so; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!” Matt. 25:21 (NIV)

Jesus is telling us here that as we serve others and are obedient to Him in small tasks, He will use our obedience in small things to train us and change our character so that we will be ready for more. And that this process of fulfilling His purpose for us, through serving others, gives our lives meaning and as a result we will be successful in God’s eyes and we will share in His happiness.

Let’s pray together: Father I realize that I was shaped to serve You by serving others. Forgive me for the times I’ve put a “do not disturb” sign on my heart. Help me to see the interruptions as opportunities to serve. Help me to make time for what matters most. You’ve been so good to me. I want to give something back. I want to serve You freely and gratefully and faithfully, and I want to practice before I get to heaven so one day I can hear You say “Well done, good and faithful servant … Come and share your master's happiness.” In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

(Above message outline and materials drawn in part from resources provided by Saddleback Church and the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren)

Now let’s turn to the subject of Communion:

Let’s open our Bibles John Chapter 6. Here we have one of the Gospel accounts of Jesus miraculously feeding the 5,000. Afterwards He goes across to the other side of the lake and the people follow him. Jesus knows that they are following him in hopes of another free meal.

In Verse 26: “Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” 28Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 30Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 35And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” John 6:26-35 (NKJV)

Then skipping down to verse 53: “Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:53-54 (NKJV)

So let’s unpack this concept. Jesus says that we are not supposed to work to get stuff … because “stuff” is the food that perishes. We are to work for the food that endures forever … the food that will give us everlasting life. Then Jesus tells us that we must “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood” in order to have eternal life. But … we know from the book of Ephesians that we are not saved by anything we can do. We are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. When we admit we are sinners, believe that Jesus’ finished work on the cross has paid our sin debt in full, confess our sins to God, turn away from our sins and commit our lives to Jesus by asking Him to be the Lord of our lives … at that moment we have partaken of Jesus because we have fully joined our new lives to Him.

Once we have been born again in Christ we will desire to be obedient to Him. We are told in Ephesians 2:10: “For we (that means every Christian believer) are His (that is God’s) workmanship (that means that your new life in Christ is all God’s doing), created in (meaning we trust and abide in) Christ Jesus for good works (we are supposed to serve others), which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (that means to actually serve others – not just talk about doing it).”

From the beginnings of the early church, believers have gotten together on a regular basis to study God’s Word, worship Jesus and fellowship with each other. From the very start we, as Christians, have observed two customs or ordinances: Baptism, that we talked about 2 weeks ago, and communion. At Cypress Church our custom is to offer communion to believers on the first Sunday of each month.

How did communion originate? At the last supper, just before He went to the cross, Jesus explained in detail about how Christians should remember Him. Paul tells us about this moment in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11:

23For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.27Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” 1 Cor. 11:23-28 (NKJV)

Let’s bow out heads. As our heads are bowed and are hearts are turned towards God, let’s silently ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us anything sinful in our lives that we need to confess. I’m going to give you a moment to talk silently to God and then we will pray together asking Him to forgive us.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for sending Jesus to die on the cross and pay the penalty for our sins. Lord we know that we have not always done what is pleasing in your eyes. We confess our sins to you and we turn away from them now. Thank you Lord that your Word promises us “If we confess our sins, (You are) faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We believe in you Jesus and we place our eternal destiny in your hands. Thank you for the free gift of eternal life. Amen

When you are ready you may take the elements. The bread represents (but does not literally become) the body of Jesus Christ that was broken for you. The grape juice represents (but does not literally become) the blood He shed to pay the price for your sins. Please take a piece of bread, dip it in the juice, and we will partake of the elements together.

Lord Jesus, thank you for your finished work on the cross. We do this in remembrance of you. Thank you for giving us new life so that we can use our time, our energy and our resources to serve others in your strong Name. Amen

The Reliability of the New Testament

2008-05-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

The Reliability of the New Testament

Prepared for TH365 "Apologetics Evangelism" at Calvary Chapel Bible College
By Bob Koehler - March 24, 2007

“When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’”[1] This is the most critical question we will ever have to answer because our eternal destiny depends on what we believe about Jesus Christ.[2] Most of our information about Jesus comes from the Bible and, more specifically, the New Testament. How do we know that we can trust what we read in the pages of Scripture? How do we know that what we are told about Him in the New Testament is the truth?

The Bible came from God to us through four different processes which are like links in a chain. These are inspiration, canonization, transmission and translation.[3] After God had spoken through the inspired authors, their writings were assembled and recognized. From studying the writings of the early church fathers we know that very early in the history of the church the writings of the apostles were spread throughout the Christian world, collected and preserved. According to scholar and theologian Norman Geisler: “The corroborative quotations of the church Fathers from the first few centuries, totaling over 36,000, include almost every verse of the New Testament.”[4]

“The story of the transmission and translation of the Bible is an exciting one, and confirms our confidence in Scripture.”[5] In this paper we will examine the reliability of the New Testament. Since the original Bible documents were written thousands of years ago, what confidence can we have that these writings have been preserved intact down through the ages? Were the scribes faithful in fulfilling their duties? Did they add to or subtract from the original text? Are the manuscripts we have reliable? Are biblical assertions supported by archaeology, science and history?

The first specific area we will examine is the manuscript evidence for the New Testament. Manuscripts are handwritten documents, in contrast with printed copies. An autograph is the first or original document produced by the author. Norman Geisler states: “There are no known extant original manuscripts of the Bible. However, the abundance of manuscript copies makes it possible to reconstruct the original with complete accuracy.”[6]

Critics frequently attack the New Testament’s reliability. But if they throw out the New Testament then they need to question all other ancient literature such as the writings of Plato, Aristotle and others. This is because there are more that 5,600 Greek manuscripts and more than 19,000 non-Greek manuscripts for a total of more than 24,000 documents supporting the New Testament. In comparison there are only about twenty manuscripts of the writings of Plato’s Tetrologies and five for Aristotle’s works.[7] Concerning the reliability of non-biblical ancient writings, Lee Strobel, in his book “The Case for Christ” states that “there is but the thinnest thread of manuscripts connecting these ancient works to the modern world.”[8]

Another very interesting and important fact is that many of the manuscripts supporting the New Testament are very close in date to the time the original “autographs” were produced. For many years skeptics have contended that the Gospels were not composed until many years after the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. They claimed that myth and legend had crept in to the historical account. Liberal German theologians have argued that the Gospel of John was not written until the late 2nd century.[9] Their claim was that the manuscript copies were too far removed in date from the originals. The recent discovery of the John Rylands P52 papyrus fragment narrowed the time gap between autograph and manuscript to as little as 25 years.[10]

The next area we will look at is archaeological support for the New Testament. This field of study fascinates me. I am absolutely thrilled beyond belief when I read about discoveries of ancient artifacts from the Bible lands. We know that archaeology “can’t prove whether the New Testament is the word of God”[11] but it can serve to bolster our faith and trust.

One discovery of note is the James Ossuary. This may be the earliest archaeological find related to James and Jesus. In the days of the early church grave sites were at a premium. After a person was placed in a tomb and the flesh had completely decayed, it was common practice for bones to be placed in a special container called an ossuary so that the tomb could be used again. The James Ossuary dates from about 63 AD and bears the Aramaic inscription: “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.”[12]

The Gospels give us accounts of Jesus standing before Pilate and being sentenced to scourging and crucifixion. Many liberal critics discounted this portion of the New Testament due to a lack of any external evidence about the existence of Pilate. In 1961 a team of archaeologists led by Dr. Antonio Frova were digging in an old amphitheatre near Caesarea Maritima. They found a block of limestone with an inscription of dedication to Tiberius Caesar.[13] The Latin lettering on the block showed specifically that the dedication was from: “Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea.” This is the only evidence available outside Scripture that verifies Pilate’s title and name.[14]

A major portion of the New Testament, more than 20 percent, was authored by Luke, a physician and companion of the Apostle Paul. Conservative scholars have long settled on a mid-first century date for Luke’s writing of the book of Acts. Sir William Ramsay, a noted archaeologist, tried to prove that Acts was written at around 150 AD. During his research he changed his mind and “became a firm defender for the mid-first century authorship of Acts.”[15]

Doubters have assailed Luke’s writings as being unreliable because of his usage of certain words and also his mention of specific locations which had not been verified elsewhere. Researcher Colin J. Hemer has written a book entitled “The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History.” In this work Hemer defends a 66 AD date for Acts and also Luke’s authorship. He provides extensive evidence from archaeological finds about Luke’s accuracy as a historian. Some examples include: A natural crossing between correctly named ports (Acts 13:4-5); Perga as the proper port for a ship crossing from Cyprus (Acts 13:13): The correct location of Lycaonia (Acts 14:6) and many, many more.[16]

Next we will turn to the area of scientific evidence that supports the New Testament. The Old Testament contains many truthful assertions about our world which are accepted today as fact by the secular scientific community. The New Testament contains declarations by Jesus that the Old Testament writings are inspired. For example in Matthew 12:39 He verifies His belief in the book of Jonah and in Matthew 22:43 He says that David was speaking “in the Spirit”[17] when he wrote the book of Psalms. In an indirect way this shows that the Bible as a whole should be seen as a unified document. The Old Testament looks forward to Jesus through its prophetic statements and Jesus, speaking in the New Testament, agrees with the Old Testament, which includes correctly stated scientific facts.

We have already seen that there is a great body of manuscript and archeological evidence supporting the New Testament. The dates of these manuscripts and archaeological finds have been determined using modern scientific methods. The book of Hebrews speaks correctly about the Second Law of Thermodynamics. In Chapter 1 we read: “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment.”[18] Also in Hebrews, long before the discovery of the atom, the New Testament told us that, from man’s observational perspective, everything we see was made from invisible material: “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”[19]

The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is the central event of Christianity. Many skeptics have attacked the New Testament accounts of these historical happenings. Jesus had to die in order to fulfill God’s righteous requirements as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. If Jesus’ death cannot be verified some might doubt their salvation. But “professional medical opinions are unanimous in concluding that Jesus certainly died as a result of being crucified.”[20]

Now let’s review some of the historical evidence supporting the New Testament. In his book “Vintage Jesus,” Mark Driscoll makes a compelling case for our Christian faith. He states that “Jesus’ death was widely known and reported” among the ancient Romans, Greeks and Jews since they “all agreed” that they “opposed Jesus and wanted him dead.”[21] He then goes on to describe statements in the secular historical writings of Josephus, Suetonius and Pliny the Younger that back up the New Testament accounts.

We know from chapter 27 of the book of Matthew that while Jesus was on the cross “from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.”[22] This is also mentioned by Luke in chapter 23 of his Gospel as well as in Mark chapter 15. In addition we are told: “Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.”[23] Here are two unusual miraculous events associated with Jesus and the New Testament. Of course many liberal theologians deny even the possibility of the miraculous and these accounts have been criticized as being exaggeration, metaphor or myth.

But here is a very interesting account from Phlegon, a Greek historian who wrote an extensive chronology around AD 137: “In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (i.e., AD 33) there was the greatest eclipse of the sun … it became night in the sixth hour of the day [i.e., noon] so that stars even appeared in the heavens. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea.”[24] This event is also spoken of by the ancient historians Africanus and Thallus. We see that manuscripts, archaeology, science and history all help to support the reliability of the New Testament.

The next area we will examine is the development of the modern day English Bible translations. The history of the text of the New Testament is a fascinating story. The King James Version based on the Textus Receptus was widely accepted from its inception in the early 1600’s until the late 1800s.

Since about 1881 there has been a heated debate among scholars and theologians regarding portions of the New Testament text. Rev. Brian Felce describes the controversy: “Until 1880 the Authorised Version (KJV) was used by almost everyone in the English-speaking churches. Since 1881 there has been doubt about 10% of the New Testament in over 5,000 different places, and in effect there have been in existence two different New Testaments … Upon which … are we to rest our souls…?”[25]

Over time different schools of New Testament text developed. Some have classified these in as many as four different types of New Testament text, but others suggest that there are really only two basic sources: The Majority Text or Textus Receptus preserved by churches of true Christian Protestant believers (such as the church at Antioch) and the Minority or Alexandrian text group used primarily in Catholic Bibles.[26]

The first major text to be published which countered the Textus Receptus was the combined work of two scholars from Cambridge: B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort. This was the text primarily used for the New Testament in the Revised Version of 1881.[27] David Brown asserts that “at present there are two basic textual traditions that command serious scholarly followings: the Textus Receptus/Majority Text and the Nestle-Aland text” [28] based on the work of Westcott and Hort.

One primary issue in the textual debate is the question: Which ancient manuscript or type of manuscript should be selected as the most reliable witness to the original text? Westcott and Hort based their work primarily on three or four uncials which are purported to be some of the oldest extant evidence. Their contention is that the age of the manuscript is the most important factor in determining reliability.

Volumes have been written on this debate. The key factor is that proponents of the Westcott and Hort and the Nestle and Arland texts have not always told the complete truth. Dr. Brown sums up the situation nicely: “Finally, I must point out something ironic about these two alleged "oldest and best" manuscripts. They do not agree with each other!”[29] These modern day scholars have chosen age as their primary criteria while ignoring a great body of evidence on the other side of the question.

It appears that Westcott, Hort and their supporters have let their own personal bias color their judgment. Here are two examples of the underlying ideas which may have affected their research. Hort believed that “no such state as 'Eden' (I mean the popular notion) ever existed, and that Adam's fall in no degree differed from the fall of each of his descendants.”[30] This is a direct contradiction of the doctrine of original sin and the basic conservative theological position that everyone descended from Adam and Eve inherited a sin nature not possessed by our “first parents.”

In another example Westcott declared: “I never read an account of a miracle (in Scripture?) but I seem instinctively to feel its improbability, and discover some want of evidence in the account of it.”[31] This is blatant anti-supernaturalism. Can a person doubt miracles (like the resurrection) and still be a Christian?

Here are the words of theologian David Fuller: “Textual criticism cannot be divorced entirely from theology. No matter how great a Greek scholar a man may be, or no matter how great an authority on the textual evidence, his conclusions must always be open to suspicion if he does not accept the Bible as the very Word of God.”[32]

Even though there is debate over the various English translations there is a basic issue that will never be resolved. The problem is that “exact translation is impossible. Meanings of words and grammatical structures in any two languages do not generally correspond.”[33] So where do we go from here? How do we have confidence that we are really reading and studying God’s Word?

Despite the controversies, both of the major Greek texts used for English Bible translations are extremely accurate. Before his death in 1952, British paleographer and scholar Sir Frederick Kenyon stated:

“The interval then between the dates of original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed. Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established.”[34]

The New Testament Greek text, as we have it today, is about 98 to 99.5 percent correct.[35] If a person chooses a widely accepted scholarly English Bible, translation differences or variant readings are not significant enough to call into question major Bible doctrines.[36]

My studies in Apologetics and my reading and research in preparation for this paper have firmly convinced me that the Bible I hold in my hand contains the “vox” (voice or meaning) of God’s Word. I can base my faith, my hope of salvation and my abundant life in Christ on the principles found in Scripture with no doubt that God has spoken to me through its pages.

I will continue praying for God to open up more opportunities for service and especially for teaching his Word and reaching out to others who need to know more about Jesus. In addition I need to pray for humility and be certain that my goal in my studies is not just head knowledge.

I plan to use material from this class whenever possible as I lead Bible studies and teach at my church. I will continue reading and studying Scripture as well as other books on Christianity. My goal is to be faithful to the principles taught by Paul when he told Timothy: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”[37]

I need to be diligent to ask for the Lord’s guidance about priorities so that I am being faithful to my biblical duties as a husband, father and son. My desire in everything is to seek to know Jesus more fully and completely and apply what I learn so that my life will continue each day to be conformed more into His image.

Bibliography:

Beecham, R.: “Which Bible Translation?” http://ourworld.compuserve.com.

Blunt, David: Quotes from Westcott and Hort, www.acts1711.com.

Brown, David L.: The Great Uncials, http://www.deanburgonsociety.org/%20CriticalTexts/uncials.htm.

CARM.org: “Manuscript Evidence for Superior New Testament Reliability,” http://www.carm.org.

Driscoll, Mark & Breshears, Gerry: Vintage Jesus, Wheaton: Crossway, 2007.

Elwell, Walter A.: Comfort, Philip Wesley: Tyndale Bible Dictionary. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001 (Tyndale Reference Library).

Felce, Brian: The Revised Version: The Debate Over the Text of Scripture, http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk.

Geisler, N. L. and Nix, W. E.: A General Introduction to the Bible, Chicago: Moody, 1986.

Hodge, Charles: Systematic Theology. Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, 1997.

Holden, Joe: Apologetic Evangelism Appendices, Murrieta, CA: CCBC, 2005.

Holden, Joe: Apologetic Evangelism Notes, Murrieta, CA: CCBC.

Jaroncyk, Ryan: “Darkness at the Crucifixion: Metaphor or Real History?” http://creationontheweb.com.

Koehler, R.: “Transmission of the Biblical Text,” Research Paper for CCBC, 2007.

Licona, Mike: “Can We Be Certain That Jesus Died On A Cross?” http://www.4truth.net.

McGee, Mark: “Archaeology and the Bible,” http://www.mindspring.com/~mamcgee.

Miller, Betty: “History of the Authority and Infallibility of the Bible,” http://bibleresources.bible.com.

Richards, Lawrence O.: The Bible Readers Companion, electronic ed. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1991; Pub. in electronic form by Logos Research Sys, 1996, S. 13.

Russell, R.: “The Pilate Inscription,” http://www.bible-history.com/empires/pilate.html.

Strobel, Lee: The Case for Christ, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998.

The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Nashville: Nelson, 1982.

Waite, D. A.: Westcott & Hort's Greek Text and Theory Refuted, http://www.deanburgonsociety.org/.

A good source for Christian Books and Music is BestOfTheWebShopping.Com

Footnotes:
[1] The Holy Bible, The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Mt 16:13
[2] Hodge, Charles: Systematic Theology. Oak Harbor, WA : Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997, S. 1:498
[3] Geisler, N. L. and Nix, W. E.: A General Introduction to the Bible, Chicago: Moody Press, 1986, p. 321.
[4] Geisler, N. L. and Nix, W. E.: A General Introduction to the Bible. Chicago : Moody Press, 1986, S. 345
[5] Richards, Lawrence O.: The Bible Readers Companion. electronic ed. Wheaton : Victor Books, 1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996, S. 13
[6] Geisler, Norman L. ; Nix, William E.: A General Introduction to the Bible. 1986, S. 386.
[7] Holden, Joe: Apologetic Evangelism Appendices, Murrieta, CA : CCBC, 2005, 18.
[8] Strobel, Lee: The Case for Christ, Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan, 1998, 77.
[9] Strobel, Lee: The Case for Christ, Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan, 1998, 80.
[10] Holden, Joe: Apologetic Evangelism Appendices, Murrieta, CA : CCBC, 2005, 17.
[11] Strobel, Lee: The Case for Christ, Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan, 1998, (quoting John McKay) 127.
[12] Holden, Joe: Apologetic Evangelism Appendices, Murrieta, CA : CCBC, 2005, 26.
[13] Russell, R.: “The Pilate Inscription,” http://www.bible-history.com/empires/pilate.html.
[14] Holden, Joe: Apologetic Evangelism Appendices, Murrieta, CA : CCBC, 2005, 26.
[15] McGee, Mark: “Archaeology and the Bible,” http://www.mindspring.com/~mamcgee.
[16] Holden, Joe: Apologetic Evangelism Notes, Murrieta, CA : CCBC, 60.
[17] The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Nashville: Nelson, 1982, Mat. 22:43.
[18] The Holy Bible, The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Heb 1:10-11.
[19] The Holy Bible, The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Heb 11:3.
[20] Licona, Mike: “Can We Be Certain That Jesus Died On A Cross?” http://www.4truth.net.
[21] Driscoll, Mark & Breshears, Gerry: Vintage Jesus – Timeless Answers to Timely Questions, Wheaton : Crossway, 2007, 140-141.
[22] The Holy Bible, The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Mt 27:45.
[23] The Holy Bible, The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Mt 27:51.
[24] Jaroncyk, Ryan: “Darkness at the Crucifixion: Metaphor or Real History?” http://creationontheweb.com.
[25]Felce, Brian, The Revised Version: The Debate Over the Text of Scripture, http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk
[26]Brown, David L.: The Great Uncials, http://www.deanburgonsociety.org/CriticalTexts/uncials.htm
[27]Geisler, N. L. and Nix, W. E.: A General Introduction to the Bible, Chicago: Moody Press, 1986, p. 455.
[28]Geisler, N. L. and Nix, W. E.: A General Introduction to the Bible, Chicago : Moody Press, 1986, p. 461.
[29]Brown, David L.: The Great Uncials, http://www.deanburgonsociety.org/CriticalTexts/uncials.htm.
[30]Blunt, David: Quotes from Westcott and Hort, www.acts1711.com.
[31] Blunt, David: Quotes from Westcott and Hort, www.acts1711.com.
[32] Blunt, David: Quotes from Westcott and Hort, www.acts1711.com.
[33] Beecham, R.: “Which Bible Translation?” http://ourworld.compuserve.com.
[34] Geisler, N. L. & Nix, Wm.: A General Introduction to the Bible. Chicago : Moody Press, 1986, S. 405.
[35] CARM.org: “Manuscript Evidence for Superior New Testament Reliability,” http://www.carm.org.
[36] Miller, Betty: “History of the Authority and Infallibility of the Bible,” http://bibleresources.bible.com.
[37] The Holy Bible, The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. 2 Ti 2:15.

An Excellent Evangelism Tool for the 21st Century

2008-05-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

An Excellent Evangelism Tool for the 21st Century
Review of “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel
Prepared by Bob Koehler for TH365 at Calvary Chapel Bible College
May 22, 2008

“The Case for Christ” looks at the evidence about Jesus Christ from the perspective of a skeptical investigative legal reporter searching for the real story. The author, Lee Strobel, is a former law student from Yale who went on to become “an award winning journalist” with the Chicago Tribune. The Tribune link intrigued me as my grandfather, Philip Kinsley, was a reporter there during the 1930’s and 1940’s.
Strobel is extremely well qualified to address the task of examining the evidence for Jesus. In addition to his law degree from Yale he holds a journalism degree from the University of Missouri. He has been a pastor at two mega churches, Willow Creek and Saddleback, and is a prolific author. He describes “The Case for Christ” as his effort to retrace the steps of his own spiritual journey prior to making his personal commitment to follow Jesus many years ago.
This book recalls to my mind a time in the early 1990s when I was searching for answers as the Spirit of God was lifting me out of the deceptive doctrines of Christian Science. At that time I read the two volume series by Josh McDowell, “Evidence That Demands a Verdict.” Like McDowell, Strobel examines evidence but in an entirely different way. Strobel’s book is the account of his travels and interviews with thirteen leading Christian scholars and apologists. He uses his hard hitting, pointed questions and the answers provided by these scholars to build a very convincing argument, similar to a legal brief, in favor of Jesus Christ and the Christian faith. He concludes with an appeal to his readers to reach the same verdict.
The first topic Strobel tackles is the reliability of the accounts of the life of Jesus in the New Testament. His interview is with Dr. Craig Blomberg who is “widely considered to be one of the country’s foremost authorities on the biographies of Jesus” (the four Gospels). Initially Blomberg verifies that the Gospels of Mathew, Mark and Luke are almost certainly written by the traditionally accepted authors. He states that there is some debate about which “John” wrote the fourth Gospel. On the subject of common source material which may have been used by the three writers of the synoptic Gospels, Blomberg states that the supposed “Q” document is “nothing more than a hypothesis.” He makes a strong case for early authorship of these accounts of Jesus’ life and also discusses early Christian creeds. In Blomberg’s opinion the “fundamental beliefs in Jesus’ atonement, his resurrection, and his unique association with God” can be traced back to a time “within two to five years of the events themselves.”
The next interview is with Dr. Bruce Metzger who has authored or edited more than fifty books, is a noted theologian, holds numerous degrees and is the chairman of the New Revised Standard Version Bible Committee. The topic of this interview centers on the abundant documentary manuscript evidence supporting the New Testament. In addition the composition of the canon of Scripture is discussed as well as the Nag Hammadi documents. Strobel states that after this interview “no serious doubts lingered” about the reliability of the text of the New Testament.
Third on the list of experts is Dr. Edwin Yamauchi of Miami University in Oxford Ohio. Their discussion centers primarily on evidence for Jesus outside of the Bible itself. After discussing writings of Josephus, Tacitus and others, Professor Yamaucui concludes: “For me, the historical evidence has reinforced my commitment to Jesus Christ as the Son of God …”
The next topic is archaeology and the expert witness is none other than John McRay, Ph.D., the author of “Archaeology and the New Testament” and consultant for the cable TV program “Mysteries of the Bible.” Strobel verifies that Luke’s remarkable accuracy as a historian is verified by archaeology as well as details in Mark and John. McRay shows how the evidence of document 4Q521 from the Dead Sea Scrolls has helped unravel some riddles about Jesus. The McRay interview helps Strobel conclude that archaeology provides “important corroboration” for the reliability of the New Testament.
As the interviews continue expert Gregory Boyd refutes contentions of the Jesus Seminar about the Jesus of history being different from the Jesus of faith. Strobel’s discussion with Dr. Ben Witherington focuses on Jesus’ view of himself and his claims to deity as revealed in Scripture. Next the psychological evidence is reviewed with Dr. Gary Collins. The idea that I found most intriguing from this chapter was Collins’ contention that, to a degree, people find what they are looking for. While discussing the topic of Jesus’ exorcisms he states: “People who deny the existence of the supernatural will find some way … to explain a situation apart from the demonic.”
In the eighth interview Strobel grills Dr. Donald Carson of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School about the incarnation. They also discuss the relationship of Jesus to God the Father and controversy surrounding the word “begotten” used in many English Bible translations. Carson’s scholarly view is that a better translation of “begotten” might be “unique one.” The word does not indicate that Jesus is “ontologically begotten in time.”
The next interview is with Messianic Jewish scholar Louis Lapides. Predictably their discussion focuses on Jesus’ Jewishness and His fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Lapides dismisses the thought that anyone could have orchestrated their life in such a way as to satisfy the many and varied predictions that Jesus did. “Not a chance,” says Lapides. “The odds are so astronomical that they rule that out.”
Medical evidence is reviewed next with forensic pathologist Dr. Robert J. Stein. Then Strobel and Dr. Bill Crane discuss the empty tomb, Joseph of Arimathea and the harmonization of Gospel accounts about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Next the biblical accounts of Jesus after His resurrection are reviewed with author and scholar Gary Habermas who has written seven books on the subject of Jesus rising from the dead. Their conversation includes a look at the debate on the short and long endings of Mark’s Gospel as well as various alternative theories about Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances.
The last interview is with the noted philosopher and theologian Dr. J. P. Moreland. This chapter deals with circumstantial evidence in support of the Christian faith. Topics include the fact that the disciples died for their beliefs, the conversion of hardened skeptics to Christianity (James and Paul), changes in social structure in the first century, the emergence of the church and the ordinances of communion and baptism.
Strobel’s final chapter is a brief review of his thirteen interviews with a summary of each subject. He then presents his “Formula of Faith” which is to believe in Jesus, receive God’s free gift through a step of faith and become a child of God through gradual character changes “with Christ’s help.” The final section invites the reader “as a fair and impartial juror” to reach a verdict in favor of Jesus Christ. The author closes with the classic words spoken by C. S. Lewis about a person who says that Jesus is a “great moral teacher” but who do not accept “His claim to be God.” Lewis states that Jesus “has not left that … (option) … open to us. He did not intend to.”
Throughout the narrative Strobel intersperses stories from his secular journalistic encounters with his current quest for the truth about Jesus. This technique has the effect of making the book read “like a captivating, fast-paced novel. But it’s not fiction.”
The approach seems to work and Strobel does make a thorough examination of many areas where seekers and skeptics might have doubts or concerns. Community reviewer Marlene at chapters.indigo.ca states: “I was not really a sceptic (sic) but found that questions that I haven't even thought of were answered and evidence produced that I didn't know existed. This is an excellent book for those on the edge.” Scott Foutz echoes these views at theologywebsite.com: “Strobel's book … directly addresses the approach my students most commonly take when confronted by the topic of Jesus … The writing style is highly readable and engaging.”
Probably the best feature of the book from my personal perspective is that it serves as a condensed research project with documentation of the views of many well respected Evangelical Christian scholars. “Strobel is to be commended for summarizing the work of so many leading apologists for Evangelical Christianity in such a compact and easy-to-read format.”
Although many reviews are very complimentary there is definitely another side to the coin. Strobel interviews only proponents and supporters of Christianity. He totally ignores actual contact with detractors although he does speak about their views. In addition one reviewer, Gloria Kan, comments that the book is “loaded with logical fallacies, falsehoods and half-truths.” Her assessment seems a little too harsh to me.
Overall I personally preferred the presentation of Josh McDowell in “Evidence That Demands a Verdict.” I thought that Strobel was heavy on quotes and light on detailed references to the actual evidence referred to by the subjects of his interviews. Atheist Kush K. remarks: “Strobel, without doubt, is a dramatic writer. Unfortunately, drama cannot substitute for substance, logic and consistency. Drama is not evidence.”
Although Kush’s comment may be true (at least in part) one must consider the source. As with any issue in Christian apologetics, if a person does not have an open mind they will most assuredly find what they are looking for. Their theological conclusions will reflect the presuppositions of their jaded worldview.
I believe that this book is a great tool for outreach. I have already recommended it to a friend and will continue to do so. My desire to dig deeper and learn even more about Jesus has been increased as a direct result of taking the class on Apologetics Evangelism and reading “The Case for Christ.” I have been teaching an adult Sunday school class on apologetics using the framework of the first five centuries of Christian Church history. I have already woven material from this book into my class.
I am scheduled to preach at our new satellite campus in Seal Beach on a regular basis and will be using material from Lee Strobel whenever it is appropriate to the topic of the week. I plan to continue my research about Jesus and am already halfway through Mark Driscoll’s book “Vintage Jesus – Timeless Answers to Timely Questions.”
As Outreach Base Coach for Cypress Church I have been teaching classes in evangelism and am planning a workshop for our congregation on the subject of personal evangelism. I plan to weave the material from this book into the workshop along with some of the excellent resources made available to me through this class.
I firmly believe that every time I commit my heart to seeking the Lord and learning more about Him that my faith is increased. The more I learn the more I want to learn. As I make myself more available to serve Jesus in ministry, I find new doors opening. As I put into practice what I learn, I find that God is drawing me closer to Him and showing me even more about Himself.
I know that God provides enough time for me to do exactly what He wants me to do each day. However, I still find myself wanting what I know it is impossible to have - more hours in the day for more service in Jesus’ Name.

Bibliography:

“Case for Christ,” http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books;
Foutz, S. D., http://www.theologywebsite.com/books;
http://www.mwillett.org/atheism/strobel.htm;
Lowder, Jeffery J., “The Rest of the Story,” http://www.infidels.org/library;
Kush, K., “Nonsensical “case” for Christ,” http://www.mwillett.org/atheism/strobel.htm;
Strobel, Lee, The Case for Christ, (Grand Rapids, Zondervan), 1998;
“The Case for Christ,” http://www.amazon.com/.
Visit BestOfTheWebShopping.Com as a source for Christian Books & Music.

You Were Formed For God's Family

2008-05-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

Week Three - I Was Formed For God's Family:

Purpose Driven Life 40 Days Bible Study:

Message Presented by Bob Koehler at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station For the Military Community Christian Community.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Responsive Reading:

“That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:3-7 (NKJV)

*****
Good Morning. Welcome to the Seal Beach Military Christian Community. Today we are continuing in our series on 40 Days of Purpose.

A few years ago a woman named Adelina Dominguez died in San Diego. Now, what made her death noteworthy is that according to the Guinness Book of Records, she was the oldest living American. At 114 years of age, she outlived all of her children and some of her grandchildren. When she was asked the secret of her longevity, Associated Press reported that she gave all the credit to God and to His plan and purpose for her life, quote, "I knew God had a purpose for my life."

Two weeks ago we answered the question “What on Earth am I here for? We discovered that God has many purposes for our life. In this series we are looking at five of those purposes:

First is Worship – we were planned for God’s pleasure;Second, Fellowship – we were formed for God’s family;Third, Discipleship – we were created to become like Christ;Fourth, Ministry – we were shaped for serving God;And fifth, Evangelism – we were made for a mission.

Last week, we looked at God’s first purpose, which is for you to get to know Him and to love Him. The Bible calls that worship. And today, we're going to look at the second purpose, which is that you are formed for God's family. Relating with God and with other Christians is called Fellowship.

God has not ever been lonely, but He wanted a family of men and women. In the first Chapter of the Bible – Genesis 1, Verse 26 we read: “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…”

In the Book of Ephesians Chapter 1, Verse 5 Paul writes that God: “…predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,”
He is telling us that: “His (God’s) unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ.”

The Bible is all about Jesus and about God is building His family on Jesus Christ, the Chief Corner stone, using the apostles and the prophets as the foundation and using you and me as the building blocks. The Apostle Peter calls us “living stones” in 1 Peter 2:5. God is building a family for Himself that is going to last not just here on earth, but forever and ever and ever in eternity. It is very important to realize that you were made to last forever.

Now, once you understand and get started on God's first purpose for your life, which we talked about last week, getting to know and to love God … then … God wants you to begin to focus and start practicing on His second purpose for your life.

And here it is in I Peter 2:17: “…Love the brotherhood…” When Peter speaks of “the brotherhood” he is telling us to love our Christian brothers and sisters, the church, our spiritual family.

That's what God wants you to do. That's the second purpose of your life. You see, God says that he wants you to learn to love the people in your family. Why? Well, there are several reasons. First, your physical family is going to eventually fall apart. But your spiritual family is going to last forever. You are going to spend more time with your spiritual family than you do with your physical family. God wants you to learn to love them.

Now, why does He want us to learn to love them? Here are a few reasons. First, it makes us more like God, because God is love. Second, he wants His children to learn to get along together. How many of you are parents? … You know, you usually want your kids to get along with each other ... Right? And number three, it’s practice for eternity. One of the things you're going to do in heaven, in eternity, is you're going to love God. And the other thing you're going to do is you're going to love the other believers that are there. It is going to be a place of love. So God says, “I want you to practice now learning to love other believers.” So let’s write this down:

MY SECOND PURPOSE IN LIFE IS FELLOWSHIP.

That's the word that the Bible uses to describe loving each other. What do you think of when I say the word ‘fellowship’? Some would say a casual conversation, some would say eating out together, some might say going to church. After this service is over, there will be a couple guys out on the patio, and they will be talking and one of them will say, “Hey, what happened to Kobe & the Lakers in Game 4??? Now, did they just fellowship? No! They just chewed the fat. They were just talking. That's not fellowship.

Write this down:

FELLOWSHIP IS LOVING GOD’S FAMILY.
.
And the Bible says this in I John 4:21:
“And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
John is telling us that "The person who loves God must also love other believers." We have to love other believers. Now, how do you do that?

Well, fortunately, the Bible gives us crystal clear instructions. Paul wrote this, he said, “These things I write to you … so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” 1 Tim 3:14-15.

Paul is telling his young disciple and pastor Timothy: “I am writing you these instructions so that … you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God.”

Write this down:
God’s Family is the Church.

The Church is not a building; it is not an institution; it is not an organization; it is not a club. It is a family. A lot of people say, “Well, I’m going to go to church,” as if church is a place you go to. That's not correct. Church is not a place you go to. Church is a family you belong to. Big difference.

FOUR LEVELS OF FELLOWSHIP:

In God's family there are four levels of fellowship. We're going to look at them in detail. If we are going to fulfill God’s purposes for our lives we need to know how He expects us to do that. God did not mean for us to be “Lone Ranger” Christians. He tells us in the Book of Hebrews: “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

The first level of Fellowship is Membership which is (write this in the blank), "Choosing to belong,"

LEVEL 1 -- MEMBERSHIP: CHOOSING TO BELONG.

That's the most basic level. In Ephesians 1:13 we read: “But now in Christ Jesus … you … who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” And then skipping down to verse 19, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,”

So what is the first step in becoming a member of God’s family? Although we were originally created in God’s image, our first parents, Adam and Eve, made the choice to sin. Each of us has inherited a sin nature from them. That is what has made us strangers to God. We have all heard about the 10 commandments that were given to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai and we may pat ourselves on the back by thinking that we have done a pretty good job of obeying them. But if we really examine our lives we will find that we often do things that are not pleasing to God. This is sin and it creates a barrier between us and God. It breaks our fellowship with Him. The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Now I know that forgiveness being a free gift might be a little difficult to understand; especially if you are in the military where forgiveness is hard to come by. Marines have a really hard time with this concept. You see … a Marine knows that to err is human and to forgive is divine … however … neither of the above is Marine Corps policy.

But our God is loving and merciful and does not want to punish us. However, our sin carries a penalty that must be paid. And Jesus Christ took care of that sin debt for us. He, Jesus Christ, God the Son, became a man, lived a sinless life, died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and rose from the dead to go to Heaven and prepare a place for us.

Yes, Heaven, or eternal life is a free gift, but getting there is not automatic. How do we receive this free gift? It’s as easy as A, B, C. Write this down:

A you must admit that you are a sinner, B you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for your sins and purchase a place in Heaven for you and C you confess your sins to God and commit your life to Jesus Christ.

The Bible tells us in 1 John Chapter 1: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

Isn’t that a fantastic promise? God says that if confess our sins to Him (and that means we agree with God that we are sinners) and turn away from that sinful life style and trust Jesus Christ alone for our eternal life … then all of our sins, everything bad we have ever done is forgiven. The slate is wiped clean! Jesus did it all! He says in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Do you have a real relationship with God? Have you asked God if you can be a part of His family? Were you walking closely with God in the past but you have let sin get in the way of you fulfilling God’s purposes for your life? Maybe it’s time for you to make a change of direction.

The next part of Step one is finding a church family and choosing to get connected. Believing in Jesus and trusting Him alone for our eternal life is the essence of Christianity. But living the abundant Christian life here and now is a matter of belonging.

Fellowship begins with belonging, with making that choice. God wants you to identify with and to make the choice to be a part of His family. When you were born, you automatically became a part of the human race. But you have to choose to belong to the family of God, the church. It is a choice.

You may hear some people say, “Well, I’m a Christian, but I don't want to belong to any church.” That just doesn't make sense. The church is where you live out what it means to be a Christian. That's like saying, “I’m in the Army, but I don’t want to be a part of any division or regiment or company or platoon.” It’s like saying, I’m in the Coast Guard, and I want to live in Southern California, but I really don’t want to belong to the 11th Coast Guard District or Sector LA/LB.” It just doesn't work. A Christian without a church family is an orphan. God meant us to be a part of a family.

This next week in the Purpose Driven Life book, you will be reading six reasons why you need to be a part of a church family, why it meets your needs and why you meet other people's needs. The Bible tells us this in Romans 12, verses 5 & 6:

“For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”

When you make a decision for Jesus you belong to every other Christian. We are members together. The word "membership” today is used for being a member of every kind of club and signing up for this and joining that. But originally, the meaning was right here in the Bible; a member of the Body of Christ. Just like your hand is a member of your body, that's how tightly we are tied to each other. This isn't about being a part of some silly club, wearing silly hats and having silly signs. This is about belonging to each other, making the choice to belong to a family.

You know, it is only in America that it is common to have floating believers. By that I mean people who go from church to church to church. Suppose you were, let's say, the liver in the Body of Christ, that was God's job for you. You can't un-attach yourself from one body and try to go attach yourself to another and then to another.

(Leaf/Flower and Plant Illustration)

What happens when you pick a leaf off a tree or pick cut a flower to put in a vase in your living room. It looks great for a while but soon it will wither, shrivel up and not be good for anything.

And the same thing happens to us as believers. We need to attach ourselves to a group of believers, where we say, “I want to be a part of what's going on there.” Jesus loves the church. And you and I need to have the same kind of love. Jesus calls the church the “body.” We need to have that same kind of respect for it, to recognize what it means. What if I said to you, “You know, I love you, I just can't stand your body”? How would you feel about that? The church is Jesus' body. He loves the church. The church is the bride of Christ. What if I said, “I love you, but I can't stand your wife,” how would you like that?

There is a Biblical symbol of belonging to Jesus -- a picture that God gives us about being a part of His family. It is called "baptism." Baptism is an outward sign of what has already taken place in your heart when you committed your life to Jesus. Look at what 1 Corinthians 12:13 has to say about baptism:

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”

When you are baptized you say: “I am identifying with Jesus Christ. I have become part of His body, the church.” Baptism is a public way of proclaiming that we died to our sin, our old lives and now we live to serve Jesus Christ. We died to an old way of life; we're living a new way of life.

I guess the best picture I can give you is that baptism is like the wedding ring of the Christian life. This wedding ring that I am wearing doesn't make me married. But Jean, my charming wife, gave it to me on the day we were married so I could wear it from that day forward as a visible symbol of a commitment of my heart. That's what baptism is. It is visible symbol of the commitment of a person's heart, saying I’m not ashamed to tell the world that I believe in Jesus Christ.

During this last year at Cypress Church we had more than 100 people who took that step. They said that they are not ashamed to identify themselves with Jesus. Three weeks from now, on June 8th, we are going to give you that opportunity. Any of you who have not been baptized and publicly identified yourself with Jesus Christ should plan to attend baptism class on May 25th and then you will be ready to be baptized on June 8th.

So we have talked about the first level which is choosing to belong. The second level of Fellowship is a little bit deeper, when you go a little further into the family of God. We will call this “the friendship level.” Let’s write this down on our notes:

LEVEL 2: FRIENDSHIP: LEARNING TO SHARE.

You see, you were created in God's image. So you were made for relationships. If we go back to the book of Genesis we find that God comments about His creation. Six times He calls it “Good.” After man was created and the six days of creation were complete He said that “it was very good.” But in chapter 2 we read: “And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.””

Life is not a solo act. You need friends. The Bible says this in Acts 2:44 where Luke tells us: “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,” Acts 2:44 (NKJV)

This means that “All the believers met together constantly and shared everything with each other.” Acts 2:44 (LB)

Notice the two keys to developing biblical friendships. The first is meeting together and the second is sharing. Now, the more frequently you meet together, the closer you're going to get. Do you know why most people are lonely? They don't make time for friendships. They are too busy achieving; they are too busy working; they are too busy doing other things. They are not willing to put the time into it. You have to meet together. You have to get together. And until you start making fellowship a priority in your life, you're not going to develop any deep friends. Friendships don't just happen. They happen because you choose to make the time for them. It is not luck. It is a choice. And developing close friendships means sharing. It says, “they shared everything."

Now, those of you who are parents know one of the fundamental lessons children have to learn is learning to share. And God says “You know what? In the family of God I want you to learn to share with other believers.” So what are we supposed to share? Well, the Bible is full of instructions on things we are supposed to share - as Christians - with each other. Let me just mention a few:

Number 1, the Bible says we are to share…write this down:

OUR EXPERIENCES.

Experience is a wonderful thing. I’ve been told that it actually enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again. I think it was my Dad who told me: “Experience keeps a hard school but a fool will learn from no other.”

But the Bible says we learn from each other “just as iron sharpens iron."

When I was just out of the Navy I started working with a guy from San Pedro named Ed who had a charter sailboat. He was getting close to retirement and wanted someone to take over the business. He told me that if I was going to work for him I needed to do things exactly the way he showed me so I wouldn’t get into trouble. Of course, I followed his directions when he was around, but sometimes when he let me operate the boat by myself I would try an “experiment.” One day I thought I would try to get underway from a mooring over at Catalina using only the sails and no engine. I had never done this before, but youth, inexperience and pride won out over obedience. I ended up hitting the LA County lifeguard boat that was on a nearby mooring and had to buy them a new windshield. I could have learned from Ed’s experience but I chose the hard road.

Think of the wealth of knowledge sitting here right now in this fellowship and how much we could learn from each other … if … we just spend the time to get together.

Second, the Bible says we are to share:

OUR HOMES.

The Bible says in I Peter 4:9 “Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.” It doesn't say invite your friend over only if you have a really nice home … just open the doors. Why do we need to share our homes? I'll tell you why – because it is very difficult to fellowship in a crowd. You can only have meaningful fellowship in a small group. Or even one on one. We can get together for Bible study here on Sunday. We can celebrate together. We can learn together. But as our group gets larger we will find that it is necessary to develop home bible study groups of about 6 to 12 people to maintain true fellowship.

Did you know in the first 300 years of Christianity, there were no church buildings? Other that some gatherings in public areas like the temple courts in Jerusalem, church meetings were held in homes. There were no buildings. And that, by the way, was the fastest period of growth for the church.

I am a harbor pilot in the port of Long Beach and my company understands the principle of small groups. Our staff is divided into groups of 6 men who work the same schedule. That way we can really get to know each other, trust each other and share our experiences for the benefit of the other members of our group.

My nephew is a major in the Marines stationed at 29 Palms. As you may know the marines are organized into platoons of 16 men but even these groups are broken down further into a squad of eight or a fire team of four.

We have a Bible Study group here at the Naval Weapons Station that meets on Wednesday evening at Bunker 33 at 7:00 pm. If you have not been to one of the meetings, I would encourage you to make that a part of your week. It is a great way to stay consistent with the 40 Days of Purpose study and develop close friendships.

Now, not only do we share our experiences and our homes, the Bible says, number three, we're to share:

OUR PROBLEMS.

We are not meant to face our problems alone. The Bible says I Galatians 6:4: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

You know when you share a joy, it is doubled; and when you share a problem, it is cut in half? The Bible tells us in Romans 12:15: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”

You don't have to fix everybody's problem. God hasn't told you to do that. He just says share them.

I know when I first became a Christian I made the mistake of thinking I could go to church on Sunday and not get into a home study group. I quickly got off track. It wasn’t until I got into a small group of 4 men who met weekly to share our lives with each other that I really began to make progress.

So Level One of Fellowship is Membership – Choosing to Belong and Level Two is Friendship – Learning to Share.

The third level of Fellowship is Partnership and partnership is … write this down:

LEVEL 3: PARTNERSHIP: DOING MY PART.

Partnership is realizing that you have got a contribution to make; that the family of God needs you. Listen, God brought you here to participate.

The Bible is filled with examples of how people worked together with others to get important jobs done. There are more than 50 times in the New Testament where the Bible says we are to do things with one another. We are to serve one another. We are to love one another. We are to pray with and for one another. The Bible even says we have to put up with one another when we're doing all of this. That's how the Christian life works. Christianity is not a religion – it is a relationship. First with Jesus and then with other believers. This is love in action. Not just in words. You see, it is great to share your heart, that's level two. But it is even greater to do your part. That is what level three is all about.

Listen to what the Bible has to say in 1 Corinthians, chapter 3, verse 9: “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building” And then in verse 16: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Fellow workers means we are partners working together with and for God. But in order to be a part, you've got to find your niche, you have got to find out, “Where do I fit, how I do I fit?” The Bible tells us we all have a niche. Look at Ephesians 4:16 where Paul talks about the church and says that we are … “joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share” … and that this … “causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

So we each have a job to do. Now at first this may look hard, but we don’t serve God in our own strength. Paul tells in Philippians 4:13: “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” God does it as we yield ourselves to Him.

There is an attitude, a heart attitude that is the key for me and should be for all of us. What ever we do it should be: “with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men” and that is from Ephesians 6, Verse 7.

It’s the attitude Jesus talks about in Matthew chapter 25, verse 40 when He says: "Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are the members of my family, you did it to Me."

So I want to encourage you to make this a practical action step this week, if you want to experience a deeper level of fellowship. Look for a practical need in your group to meet this coming week, just some practical thing, and watch what it does for your relationship (your fellowship) with one another.

Now, the fourth and deepest level of fellowship in the family of God is what we are going to call "Kinship.”

Kinship or kinfolk are terms that we don't use much anymore out here on the west coast. But in Arkansas, where my sister and my Mom live, the word “kinfolk” means something very special.

Kinfolk (or kinship) literally means your closest relationships. It means your closest family … you might want to write this down -- the deepest level, is:

LEVEL 4: KINSHIP: LOVING BELIEVERS LIKE FAMILY.

…treating and loving believers like they’re family. You're completely committed to them. The Bible tells us in Romans 12:10 - 11: “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”

Now in the original Greek, the word for fellowship in the Bible is “koinonia." And the basic root literally means being as committed to each other as we are to Jesus Christ; that is the deepest level of fellowship.

Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest says that the word “koinonia” was used in a (Greek) marriage contract where the husband and wife agree to a joint-participation in the necessaries of life. The key idea in the word is that of partnership, of possessing things in common.

Commentator Marvin Vincent states that “koinonia” “was also used in secular Greek as a commercial term for a joint-partnership in a business venture in which all parties actively participate to ensure the success of the business.”

So we need to be as committed to each other as we are to Jesus Christ. That is family relationship. That is kinship. That is saying I’m at the level of being willing to sacrifice for you.

Many of you know John 3:16 … the verse that begins with: “For God so loved the world…" but you don't know First John 3:16 which says: “By this we know love, because He (that’s Jesus) laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

You see, when the Bible talks about loving each other it is not sexual love or the “I love hamburgers!” kind of love. The Greek word for Biblical love is “agapao.” This is the deepest level of fellowship; sacrificing for each other. It's the kind of love Jesus Christ had for you. He died for you.

Friends, this is what life is all about, loving God and learning to love each other. Life is not about accomplishments. It is about relationships. You were put on this earth to know God and love Him, and to know His family and love them, because our Christian brothers and sisters are the people we are spending eternity with.

So right now let’s do a little pop quiz. How do you know if you are truly a member of God's family? How do you know personally? Let me read you three verses that will be the acid test to let you know if you're really a Christian or not. Listen to this, right from the Bible.

1 John 3:10: “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” That's the Bible.

Here is another verse that is very interesting … 1 John 4:20, “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”

And then there’s 1 John 3:14: “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.” Each time you heard the word “love” in those three verses it is the same Greek word: “agapao” … sacrificial love. So we find that love is the proof.

The greatest privilege you will ever be offered in life is a privilege of being a part of God's family. You see, God's family is a laboratory for learning to love. Some of you grew up in homes that didn't have a lot of love. The only love most people know about is sexual love or romantic love. They don't know any other kind of love. So we have to be taught, and the church (the family of God) is where you learn to love real people, not ideal people. Nobody in your small group is ideal and neither are you. We learn to love real people, and that's one of the main reasons God put us on this earth.

So let me ask you a couple relevant questions: which of these levels of fellowship are you at? Have you even made it to the first one, choosing to belong? Or are you a spiritual Lone Ranger? Are you at the Friendship level – learning to share? Have you made it from sharing your heart to the Partnership level - doing your part? Or have you made it to the deepest level – kinship? Are there any other believers that really know … that you … are devoted to them? That you are going to be there for them in their crisis? Are you truly loving others?

And if you are not, it brings up an even more basic question … are you really a part of the family of God? You say, “Well, isn't everybody a part of the family of God?” No. Everybody is created by God, but not everybody is a child of God. You have to choose to be a part of God's family. God gave us one condition in Galatians 3:26: “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

A little earlier this morning I asked you these questions: Do you have a real relationship with God? Have you asked God if you can be a part of His family? Were you walking closely with God in the past but you have let sin get in the way of you fulfilling God’s purposes for your life?

Let’s ask the Lord to bring each of us into His family or to restore our broken relationship with Him right now. Will you bow your heads with me and join me in this prayer committing your life to Jesus Christ.

Heavenly Father, I want to be a part of your family and I want to learn to love my spiritual family just like you do. I know that I have not always done what is pleasing to you. I know that I am a sinner. And I thank you for sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins and rise from the dead to purchase a place in Heaven for me. Lord, I confess my sins to you and right now I turn away from my sins and turn to Jesus Christ as my Personal Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord, that you are faithful and just to forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Thank you that I am now a child of God. In Jesus Name, AMEN.

If you prayed that prayer with me and meant it deep in your heart then you are now a member of God’s family. If you have just made a decision to follow Jesus for the first time or if you have recommitted your life to Christ today please see me after the service so that we can pray together.

May God Richly Bless Your Life today and every day!

This message was prepared using materials drawn from The Holy Bible (NKJV), messages by Rick Warren, Mike McKay and the Precept Austin website.

Body Builder Bible Study Questions for May 18, 2008

2008-05-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

Church History – Week 9 – Council of Chalcedon & Roman Catholicism

Topic #1 – Jesus Christ - Hypostatic Union:

Scripture Verses: Is. 9:6; Is. 7:14; John 1:1-3; John 1:14; Phil 2:5-8; 2 Cor. 8:9.

Questions:
1 – Is Jesus Christ one person or two persons?
2 – Does Jesus Christ have one nature or two natures?
3 – When Jesus was here on planet earth as a human what happened to His divinity?
4 – Why did Jesus not know the day or the hour of end times events (Mk. 13:32)?
5 – Why was Jesus not able to grant the wishes of John & James (Mk. 10:35-40)?

Topic #2 – Monasticism:

Scripture Verses: Gen. 1:27-28; Gen. 2:24; Mat. 19:10-11; Mat. 5:16; Mark 16:15;
1 John 2:15; John 15:19.

Questions:
1 – What are some of the positive things about monasticism?
2 – What are some of the negative things about monasticism?
3 – Does God desire that some people be celebate?
4 – Does God desire that all people be celebate?
5 – Does God want us to live a life of isolation from the world?

Topic #3 – Roman Catholicism:

Scripture Verses: Mark 9:33-35; Mat. 20:25-28; Mat. 23:9-12; Mat. 16:15-19;
Mat. 12:46-50.

Questions:
1 – What is Jesus’ view about ranking one believer over another?
2 – What is Jesus’ view about calling someone here on earth “Father?”
3 – Did Jesus actually say He would found the church on Peter?
4 – According to Scripture what is Mary’s role in the redemptive process?
5 – What are 5 things that we as Protestants have in common with Roman Catholics?
6 – What are 5 differences we as Protestants have with Roman Catholic beliefs?

Join the Cypress Church "Facebook" Community

2008-05-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

For all those interested in Social Networking check out these links (you must be a "Facebook" member for access to the "Groups"):

Cypress Church now has a page on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cypress-CA/Cypress-Church/16510051890

Cypress Church Student Ministries has a page on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cypress-CA/Cypress-Student-Ministries/32014045832?ref=ts

There is a Cypress Church "Group" on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18593479880

There is a Cypress Church Student Ministries "Group" on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5884314311

Body Builder Bible Study Questions for May 11, 2008

2008-05-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

Church History – Week 8 – The Trinity

Topic #1 – God the Father

Questions: What one thing do we learn from each verse about the Father?*
Phil. 1:2 - _________; Isaiah 64:8 – __________; 1 Kings 8:27 – __________; 1 John 3:20 – __________; Psalm 90:2 – _________;
Luke 22:42 - _________; John 3:16 – __________

In Isaiah 48:16 who is speaking? Who else does He refer to? How many distinct persons are mentioned?

Some have used the model of an egg (yoke, white, shell) to describe the concept of the Trinity. What strengths and what weaknesses do you see in this analogy?

Topic #2 – God the Son

Questions: What one thing do we learn from each verse about the Son?*
Col. 2:9 - __________; John 1:3 – __________; Mat. 28:20 – __________;
John 16:30 – _________; Micah 5:1-2 – __________;
Luke 22:42 -_________; Eph. 5:25 – __________

In Mat. 3:16 – 17 how many different persons or entities are mentioned? Do all of these persons or entities appear to be existing together (at the same time)?

Some have used the model of H2O which exists as liquid (water), solid (ice) and gas (steam) to describe the Trinity. What strengths and what weaknesses do you see in this analogy?

Topic # 3 – God the Holy Spirit

Questions: What one thing do we learn from each verse about the Holy Spirit?*
Acts 5:3-4 - __________; Job 33:4 - __________; Ps. 139:7-10 - __________;
1 Cor. 2:10-12 - __________; Heb. 9:14 - __________;
1 Cor. 12:11 - __________; Rom 15:30 – __________

In Mat. 28:19 how many distinct persons or entities are mentioned. What do you see in the grammatical structure of this verse that might hint at the Trinity?

Some have used human mental functions (mind, emotions, will) as a model to describe the Trinity. What strengths and what weaknesses do you see in this analogy?

* One quality, characteristic or attribute of God from each verse.

For everyone:
What do verses like Romans 11:33 and 1 Corinthians 13:12 say to us about our ability to know and understand absolutely everything about God?

Early Church Creeds indicate equality of Father, Son & Spirit:

Council of Nicea – 325 AD - Nicene Creed – the standard of orthodoxy:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty; maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life; who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spake by the Prophets. And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Apostles Creed – c. 200 AD:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen

To wrap up our discussion from last week about baptism & communion –

Quote from Wilmington’s Guide to the Bible about false views on baptism:

That it (baptism) is necessary for salvation. This is totally erroneous. Dozens of key passages, such as Romans 4:1-6; Eph 2:8, 9; Titus 3:5 and many others make it clear that salvation is by grace through faith plus nothing. The strongest refutation of baptismal regeneration is found in 1 Cor. 1:17: “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel.” In 1 Cor. 15:1-4 Paul explains what the gospel is, and baptism is definitely not a part of it (see also 1 Cor. 4:15).

Quote from “New Commentary” about John 6:53:

Jesus demanded that they eat his flesh and drink his blood in order to appropriate eternal life. Since he spoke of the blood as being separated from the flesh, he was speaking of death. Christ himself, by virtue of his sacrificial death, is the spiritual and eternal life of men; and unless men appropriate this death in its sacrificial virtue, so as to become the very life and nourishment of their inner man, they have no spiritual and eternal life at all.

1 Cor 12:13 tells us all Christians have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ.

WHAT ON EARTH AM I HERE FOR?

2008-05-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

WHAT ON EARTH AM I HERE FOR?

Introduction to the Purpose Driven Life 40 Days Study
Message Presented by Bob Koehler at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station
For the Military Community Christian Community

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Responsive Reading

I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
Psalm 18:1-3 (NKJV)

Sermon Outline & Notes

On the back page of your worship folder is an outline with a place to take notes and fill in some blanks.

Let’s open our Bibles to the Book of Ephesians Chapter 1 and read verses 3 through 6:

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Eph 1:3-6 (NKJV)

Welcome to 40 Days of Purpose. We’re ready to start on an exciting journey that will take us through the next 7 weeks. Today we’re going to look at life’s three greatest questions: 1) The question of existence – why am I alive? 2) the question of significance – does my life matter? and 3) the question of intention – what is my purpose?

LIFE’S 3 GREATEST QUESTIONS:

1. QUESTION OF EXISTENCE: WHY AM I ALIVE?

Now this first question, the “Question of Existence: Why am I alive?” is not exactly a new question. It was asked thousands of years ago. In fact, 7 centuries before the birth of Christ, Jeremiah asked this question in Jeremiah 20:18, “Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow, That my days should be consumed with shame? Jer. 20:18 (NKJV)

Now there have probably been times in your life when you felt that way, too. Was I born just to have a bunch of problems? Was I put on this planet just to have heartache, grief and stress? Jeremiah is essentially asking: “Why was I born? Was it only to have trouble and sorrow, to end my life in disgrace?” Jer. 20:18 (TEV)

Science Fiction writer Arthur Ashley Brilliant said “my life is a superb cast, but I can’t figure out the plot.” Jack Hanley, is an American writer and was a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1991-2003. He wrote, “I hope life isn’t a joke, because I don’t get it.”

Everything that we see both as good and also things we may see as bad have some kind of purpose. In the Book of Proverbs we read:
“The Lord has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.” Prov. 16:4 (NKJV)

The Lord has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for a day of disaster. Pr. 16:4 (NLT)

So “The Lord has made everything for His own purpose…” Prov. 16:4a (GW)

It’s for His purpose. Now God has never made anything without a purpose. Every rock has a purpose, every plant has a purpose, every animal has a purpose and you have a purpose. The truth is God has many purposes for your life. In the next 40 days we’re going to look in detail at five of those purposes. Five of the reasons God put you on this planet.

Today, though, I just want us to see God’s motive.

Lets look at our Scripture from Ephesians again in Verse 4 … “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,”

The idea here is: “Long before He laid down earth's foundations, He had us in mind, and settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love.” Eph. 1:4 (Msg)

If you don’t get anything else as we start this 40 days study, I want you to understand this, God says He made you, to love you. God made you to love you. You might want to write that down in the blank space on the outline. Why did God create me? Write this down… I was created to be loved by God. God is love and God wanted to create someone to love and so He created you. He really didn’t need you. He wasn’t lonely. But He made you in order to love you..Because He wanted you..And before we can talk about anything else, you have to understand that this is what on earth you’re here for–to be loved by God.

I WAS CREATED TO BE LOVED BY GOD.

2. QUESTION OF SIGNIFICANCE: DOES MY LIFE MATTER?

The second key question of life is the “Question of Significance: Does my life matter?” Isaiah asked this question in Isaiah 49:4a. Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain;…

“My work all seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and for no purpose at all.” Isa. 49:4a (NLT)

But he goes on in the same verse to conclude:

Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, And my work with my God.’” Is. 49:4 (NKJV)

You were made for meaning, and if you don’t have a meaning and purpose in your life and you don’t know why God put you on this planet, life just does not make sense.
Elsewhere the prophet Isaiah tells us:
“Thus says the Lord who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you: ‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant; And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring; Is. 44:2-3

“I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born.” Isa. 44:2 (CEV)

During World War II, there were prisoners in a Nazi concentration camp in Hungary, that were put to work in a factory. The allies came along, bombed that factory and blew it apart. So the prisoners had nothing to do. The Nazi soldiers had the prisoners take all the rubble of that factory and move it to another field. The next day, they had them take that same rubble and move it back in reverse. The next day, they had to take that stuff and move it back and day after day they had no meaning, no purpose. It was just work doing the same thing over and over with no meaning and no purpose. Then something strange began to happen. The prisoners began to go crazy. They began to lose their will to live because there was no meaning, no purpose in their work. They were just moving bricks back and forth, back and forth. Many of them began to throw themselves in front of the guards trying to get shot. In essence, trying to commit suicide.

I had a very similar experience when I was running tugboats. We were asked to move a barge to a certain oil dock and load a particular product, then take it to another dock and discharge the cargo into the shore tanks. Then we received orders to load the same product back on the barge and take it back to the dock where we loaded it and discharge it there. The company never told us why, they just said: "do it." We felt like we were just spinning our wheels. This is because our brains are hard wired by God. We know that we were made for meaning and purpose.

In our Scripture reading for today notice verses 5 & 6: “5having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”

Jesus Christ wants to adopt and accept each one of us. We can be part of God’s family if we desire to find God’s purposes for our life.

In the Book of Psalms we read: Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You. Ps. 139: 16-17 (NKJV)

Another way of stating this is … “You... scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!” Ps. 139:16 (LB)

Psalm 33 tells us: The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. Ps. 33:11 (NKJV)

The idea here is that God’s "His plans endure forever; his purposes last eternally." Ps. 33:11 (GN)

So if we are part of God’s plan and His purposes last forever then you can write this in the blank on your outline: God says, “I was made to last forever.”

I WAS MADE TO LAST FOREVER.

I was made to be loved by God, and I was made to last forever. This life is not all there is. One of the biggest ways you can waste your life is thinking that all there is, is here and now. You are going to spend far more time on that side of death, than you do on this side. On this side, you may get to live 60, 70, 80 or 90 years or so. But that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to eternity. It’s like if you stretched out a line from Tokyo to Los Angeles, across the Pacific Ocean. The first millimeter of that line would not even equal how tiny your life is compared to all the time you’re going to spend in eternity. You were made for eternity and this life is preparation for eternity. You’re not going to find that in a self-help book, but it’s the truth. Life is preparation for eternity and in the next 40 days we are going to discover how to prepare, because this is not all there is. This is the key to the meaning of life. Realizing that life on earth is preparation for life in eternity. The Bible says this:

“1For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 1 Cor. 5:1 (NKJV) God is preparing new resurrection bodies for us!

A more contemporary translation might be: “When this tent we live in—our body here on earth—is torn down, God will have a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself has made, which will last forever.” 2 Cor. 5:1 (TEV)

How do we get there to Heaven and in our new bodies. Proverbs tells us: “Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the way of understanding.” Pr. 9:6 (NKJV)

Another way of stating this might be to “Leave your impoverished confusion and live! Walk up the street to a life with meaning." Prov. 9:6 (Msg)

It is extremely and eternally important that we discover how to find the purpose and meaning God wants us to have.

Jesus spent quite a bit of time during his ministry explaining in great detail what specifics He would like to see in our lives and also what He does not want to see in us. After one such message to His disciples about what NOT to do He concluded with these words:

“And these (speaking of those people who were NOT fulfilling God’s purpose) will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Mt. 25:46 (NKJV) Which direction are you going right now?

3. QUESTION OF INTENTION: WHAT IS MY PURPOSE?

Next comes the third question, the “Question of Intention: What is my purpose?”

(Discussion of why we need to know our “purpose” using three electrical devices as illustrations. What happens if we connect something to the wrong voltage?)

So what is my purpose? What on earth am I here for? And that’s what we’re going to spend 40 days looking at. In Psalm 89:47 David asked the question “For what futility have You created all the children of men?” Ps 89:47b (NKJV) Who is David talking to when he says that, himself? No, he’s talking to God.

He is basically asking: “Why did you create us? For nothing?” Ps. 89:47 (NCV)

One of the greatest, atheist philosophers of the last century, Bertrand Russell, an Englishman said .. (Now remember he was an atheist and at least he was intellectually honest enough to say this) … he said, “Unless you assume the existence of God, the question of life’s meaning and purpose is irrelevant.” You see, if there is no God, if you’re just a freak chance of nature, if you came from just some complex pond scum – guess what? – Your life doesn’t matter.

Let’s turn in our Bibles to the very first page of the Book of Genesis and read with me the very first words in the first verse in the entire Bible:
“1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Gen. 1:1

The Bible begins with the statement that God created everything. Then if you move down the page to Verses 27 & 28 you find: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

So you are not descended from some pond scum … God made you and He gave you a job to do.

The Bible tells us in the 1st verse of Psalm 14 that: The fool has said in his heart, “(There is) no God.” The words “There is” were used for clarification in the English translation. The literal translation from Hebrew is: “The fool has said in his heart … NO God.” You do not want to be someone who rejects God and his purposes for your life because there are eternal consequences.

King Solomon was David’s Son. During his reign he was the richest and wisest man in the entire world. Success spoiled him and he had many problems later on in His life. He had it all yet he stumbled and did not completely fulfill what God could have done with him had he been obedient. But … He did learn an important and expensive lesson which he shares with us. In the Book of Proverbs King Solomon tells us: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Pr. 9:10 (NKJV)

What does in mean to fear God? Well, first of all …

Fearing God does not mean being terrified of him. Knowing God increases reverent fear. To fear the Lord is to recognize God for who he is: God is loving and merciful. He is also holy, almighty, righteous, pure, all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-wise. When we regard God correctly, we gain a clearer picture of ourselves: we are sinful, weak, frail, and needy. When we recognize who God is and who we are, we will fall at his feet in humble respect. Only then will he show us how to choose His way of accomplishing His purposes for our lives.

Fearing God leads to knowing him more fully. “Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence him.” God offers intimate and lasting friendship to those who revere him, who hold him in highest honor. What relationship could ever compare with having the Lord of all creation for a friend? Your everlasting friendship with God will grow as you revere him.

In essence God is telling us through Solomon that … "Knowing God results in every other kind of understanding." Pr. 9:10b (LB)

So…Write this down in the blank on your outline. I find my purpose by getting to know God. It all starts with God.

I FIND MY PURPOSE BY GETTING TO KNOW GOD.

We need to know God because we are told in the Book of Colossians: For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Col. 1:16

In a nutshell this means “For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible … everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him.” Col 1:16 (Msg)

If God is our creator (and the Bible says He is) then we are ultimately responsible to Him.

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, Eph. 1:11 (NKJV)

Paul is telling us that “It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for... part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.” Eph. 1:11 (Msg)

God considers 40 days to be a significant time period. In fact, in the Bible, when God wanted to prepare people for His purposes, He often took 40 days. For instance:

· Noah’s life was transformed during 40 days of rain;
· Moses’ life was transformed during 40 days on Mount Sinai;
· The spies were transformed while spending 40 days in the Promise Land;
· Part of David’s transformation happened because of Goliath’s 40-day challenge;
· The city of Nineveh was transformed in 40 days and decided to repent of their sins;
· Jesus was empowered for ministry while spending 40 days in the desert;
· And the disciples were transformed during their 40 days with Jesus after His resurrection.

I am confident that if you participate with us the 40 days of Purpose study your life will be transformed.

Why do we need to know God?

We will live forever. Our bodies will eventually pass away, but our spirit and soul live on. At some point in the future God promises us new, resurrection bodies. After our life on earth there are only two possible destinations. Eternal life with God or eternal separation away from Him.

In our Scripture verses for today in Ephesians 1:3 we read: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”

So the big question is … Are you “in Christ?” This verse is telling us that we are only blessed with every spiritual blessing” if and only if we are “in Christ.”

You see … Eternal life (or Heaven) is a free gift. God wants you to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. Heaven is a perfect place and in order to be accepted there Jesus tells us we must be perfect.

“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Mat. 5:48 (NKJV)

But we all know that right here- right now, we are not perfect. We know that in the world there are all sorts of problems. These are primarily the result of something God calls sin.

What is sin? Sin is doing something that God has told us not to do. And … Sin is also NOT doing what God has said we must do.

Paul says in Romans…”for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Rom. 3:23

How many of you have ever had to qualify with small arms out at the range? The Greek word for sin is hamartia. It is an archery term. Today we can relate that to the Rifle range: Sin is anything except dead center!!! How hard is that? Can you shoot in the exact center of the target every single time? I’ve held an NRA certification as an Expert marksman and Rifle Instructor and I know I can’t.

Even though we are sinners … God is merciful and does not want to punish us. The Bible tells us that “God is love” 1 Jn. 4:8b (NKJV)

But … God is just and must punish our sin. He is “keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, (BUT) by no means clearing the guilty,” Ex 34:7 (NKJV)

This presents a real problem. How can God be both merciful and just at the same time? Well … God is big enough to solve any problem and He solved this problem through Jesus Christ.

Jesus is both 100% God & 100% man at the same time.

The Gospel of John tells us:
1In the beginning was the Word (THAT’S JESUS), and the Word was with God, and the Word (JESUS) was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through Him (JESUS), and without Him nothing was made that was made. … 14And the Word (JESUS) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-3 & 14 (NKJV)

Jesus (God in the flesh), became a man, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay the penalty for our sins and purchase a place in Heaven for us.

All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Is. 53:6 (NKJV)

(Book Illustration of how Jesus took our sin on Himself tied in with Is. 53:6)

It sort of looks sort of like this. When I was stationed on the Minesweeper USS Implicit and one of the crew did something wrong he got written up and went to Captain’s Mast. If he was guilty he received a punishment or had to pay a fine. Let’s suppose that I did something wrong and got fined by the Captain, but then the Captain said: “I’ll pay your fine for you.” He takes out his wallet, gives the money to Disbursing Officer who marks our account “Paid In Full.” If you are Army – think of being found guilty at a Court Martial and having General Combs from the Joint Forces Training Center offer to serve your sentence for you!!!

We are guilty of sin. The Bible tells us: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom. 6:23 (NKJV)

Jesus, the righteous judge has declared that there is a penalty that must be paid for our sin. And Jesus our merciful Savior took off His robes of office, came to earth, became a man just like us, lived a sinless life, went to the cross and died in our place … in your place.

The free gift of eternal life has been paid for, it is available to all, but it is not automatic.

John’s Gospel tells us: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” John 1:12 (NKJV)

Now you might remember back in the Book of Genesis that God originally created man in His image. The next question might be – well, If I was created in God’s image…why do I need permission to be a child of God. When Adam and Eve sinned - man’s fellowship with God was broken. We inherited a sin nature and we need God’s forgiveness to restore the broken relationship.

So how do we go about obtaining forgiveness and becoming part of God’s forever family?

Jesus answered this for us in the first sermon He ever preached. In Mark 1:14 we read - Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

If you’ve ever been a part of a unit that marched or watched a drill team you know what the word “Repent” means. It is the same as “About Face!” Jesus says we need to turn away from our sin and towards Him in faith.

Now this might seem hard to do. In fact many people mistakenly believe that you have to work hard to get to Heaven. They think that God grades on a curve and if they do enough good works they might have a chance of getting in. But that is not God’s plan… Jesus said:

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” John 6:29 (NKJV) Who is the one we need to believe in? Jesus Christ.

How do we do this? By faith in Jesus. But this faith is not just head knowledge. We need to transfer our complete trust from anything we have ever done or could ever do in the future that we think might earn God’s favor and place our faith in Jesus Christ alone for our eternal life.

(Sitting in the chair illustration of what really constitutes faith)

The Bible says in the Book of Romans “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Rom. 10:9-10 (NKJV)

I realize that all of us here today are at different stages in our spiritual journey. That doesn’t matter. Everyone is on a spiritual journey whether they realize it or not. Some of you may be seekers, some of you might no be sure if you buy the whole idea of Jesus and Christianity, some may be new believers and some may have been Christians for a long time. That’s Great! We’re all going to have the chance go through this journey together, no matter what stage you are in. Some of you are strong believers, and you’re going to be able to go deeper with God than you’ve ever gone before and you’re going to bring others along, too. Regardless of where you are in your spiritual journey, listen to what God says in His word: …in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. Acts 10:35b (NKJV)

The idea here is that “It makes no difference who you are or where you're from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open.” Acts 10:35 (Msg)

When I was in 7th and 8th grade I worked at the YMCA in Canton, Ohio. One of the directors there had a sign on his all that I still remember today. It read “always be ready to give up what you are today for what you can become tomorrow.” This speaks of action. Are you ready to take action by turning away from the things you are doing which are not pleasing to God and discovering what His purpose for your life?

Let’s bow our heads – You know God had a purpose in bringing you here today. He wants you to know Him and He wants you to know His purposes for you. Let’s talk to Him right now…

“Heavenly Father, I realize that if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be alive. But because you made me, I know that you have a purpose for me. I admit that I have focused on my plans for my life, not yours. But I want to know your purposes for me, so I commit myself to learning more about you and your plan. Thank you that you made me so you could love me. Thank you that you cared for me even when I didn’t know you. Thank you that I was made to last forever. I want a life filled with meaning. I want to start by getting to know you better. So, right now, I turn away from my sins and I turn towards you. Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for me and purchasing my place in Heaven. To the best of my understanding, I ask you, Jesus Christ, to come into my life and help me to know your purposes for me. I want to take the first step today. In your name I pray, Amen.”

Thank you for joining us today. May God Richly Bless Your Life!

Material for this message drawn from Sermon Notes of Rick Warren from Saddleback Church and from The Handbook of Bible Application Edited by Neil S. Wilson. Most Scripture verses are from the New King James Version. BestOfTheWebShopping.Com is a good source for Christian Books and Music.

Community BBQ Luncheon Honors Military at Seal Beach NWS

2008-04-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

The Cypress Church Knights of the Holy Grill will be at Anchor Field in Seal Beach on Sunday, April 27, 2008 to provide a BBQ lunch for the military. The purpose of the event is to thank the Seal Beach NWS community for their service and sacrifice. The luncheon will be held from 11 am until 3 pm and will include BBQ pork, hamburgers, hot dogs and all the “fixings.” Residents who live at NWS Seal Beach, military retirees, base employees and their families are invited. There will be games and activities for all ages.
Cypress Church sponsors Bible studies at 7:00 pm Wednesday evenings that are open to everyone in the Naval Weapons Station community. There will be a new Sunday Bible study beginning on May 4, 2008 at 11:00 am. The Bible studies are held at Bunker 33 on Forrestal Road. The church has sponsored many events in support of our men and women in uniform. In the past year they have held activities at the Joint Forces Training Center in Los Alamitos and at Camp Pendleton.
Cypress Church is located at 6143 Ball Road just east of Valley View. Sunday worship services are at 8:45 am and 10:30 am. For more information about the NWS BBQ contact Laura or Steve Matayoshi at (562) 493-2438 or the church office at (714) 952-3001. You may also email: matayoshiarmy@aol.com.