Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Who Are You Trying To Please

We make some people smile when we come and we make some people smile when we leave.


1 Thessalonians 2:1-4  You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure.  2  You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there.
Yet our God gave us the courage to declare His Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition.  3  So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.  4  For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.

Paul and his friends had just been run out of town at Philippi (Acts 16), leaving town was the only way to make them people smile, but down the road we see that the church at Thessalonica smiled to see them coming and welcomed them with great enthusiasm (1 Thessalonians 1:9).

What happened? Did the missionary team get together and decide that the message needed to be changed so they could be liked? No, Paul said that they preached the Good News with strength and courage from God

Paul said that they were the real deal, they didn't change the message because it made people unhappy in the last town we were in, they didn't sway from the truth of the gospel so that they could get more friends on Facebook. (Would it be Facescroll back then?)

Spiritual warfare didn't stop the spread of the good news of Jesus. As messengers approved by God, he is the one we are trying to please so there is no way that we should waiver from the truth, after all he is the one that examines our hearts and knows our true motivation for everything we do.

Everything that I do is for God's glory and if I never come out of the shadows and get any praise then that is just fine. My purpose is to please God, the message of the gospel or the technique that is used may offend some but I must continue to be obedient to him.

Help me to stay in your word everyday Lord so that I will be true to what you want me to do despite any opposition.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

A Soul Winning Church

Let's stir things up a bit.


 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10  For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you.

6  So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord.  7  As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece--throughout both Macedonia and Achaia.

8  And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don't need to tell them about it,  9  for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God.  10  And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God's Son from heaven--Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the One who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.

Ever been on a mission trip?  Missionary work is exciting, it is so cool to watch the Lord work and to used in his work in a concentrated way for a few days or a week.

The early missionaries, Paul, Silas, and Timothy with the help of the Holy Spirit brought the good news to the Thessalonians where it was received wholeheartedly.  They were full of joy when they received the gospel message, joy that they had never known before despite the suffering and persecution that came with the good news.

The church was a testimony throughout all of Greece, there was a big stir as these people began living out the "Christ-follower" lifestyle, dropping their old ways for a better life.

There was no way to hide what was happening here. The world couldn't help but notice this church that was setting aside their idols, imitating Jesus and they were living with joy despite the suffering that came their way from the government and religious leaders.

Most of the churches across the United States are not creating any kind of commotion, there should be an excitement about church that rises above our circumstances. We should be giving the world a good reason to be talking about us and cause them to want to learn more about what makes us different.

I want to be a part of a church that stirs things up and causes the world to take notice.

Lord help our churches to always be an exciting place of hope and joy.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

God Loves His Church

Together we can do great things


1 Thessalonians 1:4  We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be His own people.

Ephesians 1:4-5  Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.  5  God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.

The organization that we call the church is made up of God's people, the people that he truly loves, people that bring him great pleasure. And why not, after all the church accomplishes a lot of great things for the kingdom. God established the church so that we can work together in cooperation to be his hands and feet to share his love to a world full of hate, a world full of despair, a world that doesn't have any hope without his son Jesus.

Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church and shared how much God loved them, this was a church comprised of Jews and Gentiles, notice that God's love has been shared with everyone no matter their origin or family tree.

I need to be connected with my local church so that together we can accomplish great things for the kingdom. By myself I can only do what I can do but together as a body we can get the upgrade and do bigger things to show the world that Jesus loves them.

Lord Jesus I am so thankful that you have chosen to use me to work for you, help me to always stay in tune with you and your will for my ministry.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Praying For My Church

Thriving churches aren't made on effort alone.


1 Thessalonians 1:1-3  This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May God give you grace and peace.

2  We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly.  3  As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Paul started a lot of churches, he was the master church planter of his day, he started churches in Thessalonia, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, and Colosse. They were all over the place geographically and Paul resorted to using letters to reinforce doctrine and to encourage the new believers instead of traveling these great distances again and again.

Paul said that he was praying for all of these churches constantly, that's no small task when you consider how many churches Paul started, he knew that he couldn't make these churches thrive on his own power, just look at the begining of each letter that he wrote to his church plants. Paul always let them know from the begining of his letter that he was praying for them. (Rom 1:8-9, 1Cor 1:4, Eph 1:15-16, Phil 1:3-4, Col 1:3)

So whats the problem with this church? The Thessalonian believers looked like they were doing very well, Paul said that they were known for their faithful work, their loving deeds, and their enduring hope, they seemed to have it all together. They were doing all the right things and yet Paul knew that they still had the capacity to fail and needed divine help in order to be a successful church plant.

As we plant a new church at Christ Fellowship it is of extreme importance that we remain constant in prayer despite the faithful work and all of the good deeds that we are doing, if we are doing, doing and doing some more and we are not constant in prayer then we aren't guaranteed very much success for all of our effort. The only thing that our efforts are going to do is make us tired if we do not have the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and through our efforts.

I will commit to pray for: my church, my pastor, and my ministry work constantly. I do not want to be busy doing my plans and missing out on God's best plans for my life, my ministry and my church.

Thank you Lord for what you are doing through Christ Fellowship, I pray as Paul did, that you will give us grace and peace and that you will keep from getting off track from your will.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Receive The Gift of Power

Are you feeling a little puny?


 Luke 24:49  "And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as My Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven."

Acts 1:8  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.

And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere--in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Those of us that know the Lord have an awesome source of power that we need to be sure doesn't come unplugged.

The Holy Spirit takes care of us directly and he gifts us gifts so that we can do things that we couldn't have imagined doing. (1Cor 12:11). Check out what he does for us:
  • He is our Advocate that will always be with us (John 14:16).
  • He will be there to lead us into truth, he will teach us and he will remind us of the things that Jesus already taught us (John 14:26).
 It was not intended for me to follow Jesus commands without any help. I need to be sure that I am as powerful as I can be by staying in the word each day and praying for God's direction in every detail of my life.

You might like to read: Commands of Jesus blog series.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Baptize My Disciples

Baptism is the second step in the great commission, but is it really that important?


 Matthew 28:19  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Romans 6:4-5  For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.  5  Since we have been united with Him in His death, we will also be raised to life as He was. 

You can easily see the importance of the first part of this well known verse, the command to go and make disciples, that is obviously important, but we may not consider the second part of this verse to be such a big deal. Why is it so important?

It is through baptism that we testify to the world that we were in need of getting cleaned up, it says that we have found the only way to get rid of the stain that sin has left on our soul, with baptism we acknowledge the fact that we cannot wash ourselves of our sin and that we needed someone else to take away the eternal penalty of our sin.

It is important to make it clear that baptism cannot make anyone right with God. It is only a testimony to the fact that I have already been cleansed and it tells my friends and neighbors that my life is now to be associated with my Savior who did the ultimate for me when I wasn't even his friend.

It tells everybody that for now on I have a new way of living that for now on I will be striving to look like my savior, selfless, kind, patient and all of those other traits that we have been commanded to live by.

It is an oath by which we renounce the world and the flesh, as rivals with God for the throne in our hearts; and an oath of allegiance by which we resign and give up ourselves to God, to be his, our own selves, our whole selves, body, soul, and spirit, to be governed by his will.

Help me to always live for you Lord. I want to always keep fresh in my mind that you gave it all so that I could have it all. Thank you for loving me to the extreme before I was even your friend.

You might like to read: Commands of Jesus blog series.

Thursday, November 04, 2010

Feed My Sheep

The Good Shepherd gave us an assignment


John 21:15-16  After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these? " "Yes, Lord," Peter replied, "You know I love You." "Then feed My lambs," Jesus told him.

16  Jesus repeated the question: "Simon son of John, do you love Me?" "Yes, Lord," Peter said, "You know I love You." "Then take care of My sheep," Jesus said.

John 10:9-11  Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through Me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.

10  The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.  11  "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices His life for the sheep.

Lost animals are very sad to see, most of the time in our society we see lost dogs instead of lost sheep but the look is the same, they have a desperate look and seem about ready to panic.

Jesus saw the crowds of people that were under the care of the religious leaders and he had to sympathize with the lost sheep of Israel, they were desperate for a shepherd. They didn't have a leader that would tend to the flock and protect it, instead the religious leaders were exploiting the sheep and watching out for their own interest. (Matthew 9:36) 

Just before Jesus left this world he told those of us that are leaders in the church to be his hands and feet while he is gone. The Great Shepherd took care of his sheep, he laid down his life for the sheep and then after he rose from the dead he told us to carry on his work and feed, guide and protect his sheep until he returns.

1 Peter 5:2  Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly--not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.

Jesus transferred the responsibility to us, I need to be found faithful to my duty and be a better shepherd than the ones that he found the last time he was here.

You might like to read: Commands of Jesus blog series.

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Watch and Pray

Jesus two step plan to keep us out of sin.


Matthew 26:41  Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!"

Ephesians 6:18  Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

James 1:14  Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.

Jesus gives us the best strategy that we could possibly use to keep us from giving into temptation and he kept it simple too, that is important because we don't need a plan that is hard to implement when temptation is so easy to fall for, we have to have something that is very doable.

Step one: Keep watch
Remember that your body is so weak and that it is easily enticed by the desires of our sinful nature. We have to keep a constant guard up because we are just one stupid decision away from doing something that will haunt us for a very long time. One decision away from wrecking our family, our homes, our testimony. 

Step two: Pray
While it is good to be physically prepared and keep up your guard it is even more important to deploy the strategy of prayer to fight against the enemy. Jesus said that our spirit is willing but we have to overcome that weak body that is so ready to compromise. The only way to reinforce that wimpy body is to stay in prayer constantly, asking God to give us the strength and protection that we need everyday.

Lord Jesus thank you for providing a way out from every temptation. Help me to stay vigilant and praying at all times. I need to rely on you to help me to overcome.

You might like to read: Commands of Jesus blog series.