There are very few of us that open ourselves to personal examination by others. We usually have a mental list of things we have done that the Lord will accept, but rarely ask for others to give us honest feedback. Openness to examination by others seems to be a mark of a true disciple. After Paul and Silas were redirected by the Holy Spirit to enter Macedonia, they came to a Roman colony and “went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer” (Acts 16:12-13). How many connections have you made with people at a place of prayer?
After speaking with the women who gathered there for prayer, they met a “woman named Lydia… a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us” (16:15). Her words are very telling; “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord.” She was not seeking approval from any human standard, but her faith and identification with Jesus Christ required that she be faithful to the Lord. This raises the question as to what standard we use in measuring other people. Is it “the Lord” or some human organizational basis of evaluating. The next question is; are we willing for that kind of examination? I can assure you that person who lives in daily intimacy with the Lord is a person who grows in their willingness to be examined by Him and others. They are also persons who are fruitful in their work because they are doing it for Him, not the applause of men.
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Jesus challenged the rich young man in Mark 10 -- “looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me”” (10:21). Did this young man not hear what Jesus said about that “you will have treasure in heaven.” Like so many, we only want the rewards here and now. This was the challenge Jesus put to the crowds in the beginning of His ministry; “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
The saying in Mark 10 troubled the disciples so that they wondered if it was even possible to enter the kingdom. “Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life” (10:28–30). When we look at the “Big Picture” of the disciples and what God was going to do through them, the momentary sacrifice was nothing compared to the eternal rewards in souls saved and strong churches planted that would reproduce themselves. As soon as the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, sacrificing and having nothing was no problem because they had everything in Christ. The reward is both now and eternal (See 2 Timothy 4:7-8). “[Jesus] said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men”” (Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17).
We saw yesterday that one of the greatest tests to commitment is whether we value a relationship with Jesus above everything else. It is easy for us to say a resounding “YES” until that commitment is put to the test of material things. Would we live and serve whole heartedly for Jesus if we had no promise of money, no place to sleep, and no supply of food? Would we continue preaching the Gospel with fervent passion if we were never paid by any church or denominational organization? Jesus promised none of these material things when He called His disciples to follow Him. Luke records that when Jesus called them in Luke 5:4-11, “they left everything and followed Him” (11). No questions were asked about what they left behind, who would take care of it, where would their meals come from, and many other questions that could be asked. The person of Jesus and the power of His call was all that was needed. Inherent in His call was an understanding that what was needed would be supplied. When the disciples were sent out to preach, they returned and Jesus asked them, “did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing” (Luke 22 35). Do you see the problem we have? I am appalled at the requests we receive in many parts of the world for money and material things, but the desire for a stronger relationship with the Lord, a greater understanding of the Word of God, and a longing for the power of the Holy Spirit to work is not there. Why is this? Please do not misunderstand me, this is not everywhere, but it is more common than we think. We need to RETURN to the call of Jesus. HE is the reason for the call. Tomorrow we will look at the rewards of commitment. Do not let this escape your attention! We saw yesterday that Jesus was not afraid to put the test of commitment to the crowd who were more curious about Jesus and His miracles than they were about following their Messiah. Was Jesus too harsh with people? Would it not be better for Him to draw crowds and then select persons out of the crowd to make a deeper commitment? Twelve disciples and a church beginning with only 120 seems very small compared to what He could have started with - thousands.
These hypothetical questions miss the real reason for Jesus using the direct approach. If persons are not willing for a relationship that accomplished God’s purpose, what is the point of forming a relationship that is not genuine and driven by divine purpose? In John 6, Jesus presents Himself as “the bread of life” (36, 41, 48, 51). This was not just an ethereal idea that had no real meaning. When “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (6:35), He was not making a pleasant suggestion. It was an invitation for persons to take from His life what would give them eternal life and the means o f living for God in this world. The Jews “grumbled” even at the suggestion (41). They never asked to understand what He meant. Then Jesus presses the test a little further by saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (6:53). Now He takes the invitation to a whole new level. Without this deep, genuine relationship with the Lord Jesus we have no life in us. “When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”” (6:60). Had they wanted to understand what this commitment really meant, some may have stayed with Jesus. Sadly, “after this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” (6:66). They did not value the relationship enough to commit themselves to Him. It makes me very sad to see so many today who hold onto habits and traditions, pursuits of money and prominence, more than willing to be humble servants for the sake of Christ being exalted. This relationship with Jesus is only appreciated as we realize there is nothing outside Himself of any eternal value. Commitment decisions should never be made on the basis of cost, but on the basis of what they accomplish. Perhaps Luke 14:25-35 is one of the most testing portions of Scripture from Jesus lips. “Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (25–26).
It is evident in all the Gospels that Jesus appealed to crowds and wanted to minister to their needs, but in most cases, the crowds were more curious and self-centered than desiring to follow Him. When it came to making a commitment to follow Him, there were clear requirements. One of the requirements was a very high standard of love. Love for Jesus must make all other loves seem to be hatred by comparison. That was not all. The one who wants to follow Jesus must “hate his own life.” Elsewhere, Jesus uses the term, “deny himself” (Matthew 16:24). What does this mean? We cannot live self-centered lives. Instead, we must live Christ-centered and ask how every word and action will affect Christ and His glory. Considerations of personal comfort and safety must be subordinated to the great task of glorifying Christ and making Him known to those who have never heard who He is and why He came. The Savior’s words are absolute. Without this degree of commitment, you “cannot be my disciple.” Our love for Jesus must be supreme! Making this commitment also makes a difference in how fruitful we are in personal life, marriage, family, work, church and ministry. Tim and I were discussing this morning the meaning of “commitment.” Several passages of Scripture came to our minds, and I will take the next few blogs to review some of these. The first that comes to mind is Joshua. It is important to look at the larger context of this “young man.”
He learned leadership skills watching Moses in his relationship with God and how he valued the presence of God. Joshua did the same. He also watched Moses remain steady in leading a nation that was mostly rebellious, yet never gave up or lowered the standard of faithfulness to God. When it came time for transfer of leadership from Moses to Joshua, God spoke three times to Joshua saying, “Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9). Why was this necessary for such a faithful young man? Not much had changed with Israel. Their level of obedience to God was very low and it needed strong leadership to hold them to a godly standard. At the end of Joshua’s life and term of leadership, he again challenges the nation to “put away the gods that your fathers served…and serve the Lord” (24:14). There was little hope they would rise to the challenge. Like them, we hold to tradition more than the living truth of God’s Word. In the face of depressing response from the people, Joshua makes a bold and firm commitment; “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (24:15). There is no question in my heart and mind that we live today in the same conditions. There are very few who are truly interested in RETURNING TO SCRIPTURE AND LIVING BY IT. The question then is; are you? It will take courage and strength from the Holy Spirit to make such a commitment! As Paul was in prison, news came to him about the churches that were planted and how they were growing in the Lord. Persecution had driven many disciples out of Jerusalem and the church there no longer symbolized earthly authority in Jerusalem. It was important for Paul to emphasize a principle that must govern every church. While every believer is a member of the Church, the body of Christ, we must remember that the Church has one supreme authority, Christ the Head.
God has placed Christ in that place of authority; “And He (God) put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:22). There is no exception. “And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent” (Colossians 1:17–18). As we restore in our minds and practice the place God has given to the Lord Jesus, it changes the way we look at human authority that has been established by men and organizations. Submitting to the authority of Christ in the Church and in our churches is essential if the Word of God is going to be properly taught and followed. If we place more authority in institutions than in Christ and His Word, then our obedience to the Word will be hindered because we seek to please men. Notice how strong are Paul’s words: “He (God) put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church.” We are at no disadvantage because Christ is at the right hand of God and the Spirit is here. The Spirit of Jesus is here in the Church constantly communicating the mind of Christ the Head. We are challenged with whether we are hearing His voice. In the seven letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, most were not hearing the voice of the Spirit. Jesus issues the invitation to all, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (2:7, 11,17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). Are your ears tuned to the right authority? It is amazing that there are about 353 prophecies in the Old Testament about the Lord Jesus that have already been fulfilled. When Jesus was facing the cross, what led up to the actual crucifixion was horrific. There was the religious hatred that came out in verbal and physical abuse. Yet, there was something very personal Jesus faced. “Judas…one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs…the betrayer” (Matthew 26:47-48) was foretold in Psalm 41:9.
In the heat of the moment, someone with Jesus “drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place” (26:51-52). It became clear to all that He was not going to take this situation into his own hands or let others divert Him from doing the will of God which was far greater than the suffering. He knew suffering was coming, but he refused to allow anything from fulfilling Scripture regarding Himself. “All this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled” (Matthew 26:56). Jesus knew all the Scriptures that spoke of Himself and not one of them was going to be unfulfilled. From another perspective, I think of all that is written in the New Testament regarding what the Church will be in the absence of Christ. Just to mention two, Jesus said, “you will be My witnesses …to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Paul writes, “that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might be made known” (Ephesians 3:10). I want to make sure that these words of Scripture are being fulfilled in my life. How about you? There are two things that should always go together in our spiritual walk with the Lord; knowing the Scriptures and the power of God. The Pharisees tried to catch Jesus in saying something that would put Him against the Law and their tradition by asking “is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:15-22). Not being able to find fault with Jesus’ answer, the Sadducees tried to stumble Jesus with a question that seemed very exaggerated regarding what would happen in the resurrection. Notice the directness of His answer:
“But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). When we do not know the Scriptures and try to deal with difficult questions of life, we will always come up with the wrong answers because we most likely have placed the authority for what we believe in some human source rather than the Word of God. On the other hand, resting our faith and manner of life on what God says in Scripture will result in seeing the power of God working through the Scriptures to confirm what the Word says. Are you really seeing God work in power in your life and ministry? That is an evidence that you are in agreement with what the Scriptures say on any subject. Be sure that you allow them to inform every area of life and ministry. It is dangerous to be on the “wrong” side of God’s Word. One of the strongest emphases we place in this ministry is RETURNING TO THE SCRIPTURES. Some may say that the Church today uses the Bible all the time. Why make a point of “returning” to it when that is the central textbook of most churches? I want to answer this question by pointing to the difficulties Jesus faced in His ministry for just three and a half years. “Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (Matthew 21:42, quoted from Psalm 118:22-23, also recorded in Mark 12:10-11). Jesus was speaking to the chief priests and elders of the people, the top religious leaders of the day. They of all the people should have known the Old Testament. Because they only had a mental knowledge of Scripture and had never applied it to themselves, their spiritual eyes were blind to what God was doing in their day; right before their eyes. Perhaps most today are like them; reading the Bible, but that is as far as it goes. Our yearning in this ministry is to awaken your conscience by RETURNING TO SCRIPTURE and examining the difference between what God was doing and saying in the Early Church and asking why that is not happening today. Many have said, ‘things are different today.’ Let me ask you; has God changed? Is the power of the Spirit different today than it was at the beginning of the Church? What has changed? Do we NOT want to see God work today as He did then? I believe that most of the problems with our day is that most are not reading Scripture and not observing what happened then, meditating on what happened, asking questions of each other as to why we are not seeing the same thing today, and then determining to make a change starting with our own lives. WHAT ARE YOU READING, MEDITATING ON, AND ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT? If it is the Word of God, you must start making changes or resist the Holy Spirit (Act 7:51). |
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