Monthly Archives: August 2013

Watch Your Connection

Bible Study, , ,

WATCH YOUR CONNECTION

“‘And so this is goodbye. You’re not going to see me again, nor I you, you whom I have gone among for so long proclaiming the news of God’s inaugurated kingdom. I’ve done my best for you, given you my all, held nothing back of God’s will for you.

“Now it’s up to you. Be on your toes — both for yourselves and your congregation of sheep. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people — God’s people they are — to guard and protect them. God Himself thought they were worth dying for.'” Acts 20:25-28 (The Message).

What went through Paul’s mind as he spoke for the last time to his beloved leaders? A few decades before, they were all strangers to him, pagan people in a foreign city worshipping idols out of ignorance. What a price he had paid to share with them the Jesus who had met him, rescued him and sent him to tell them His story! Was it worth it? You bet it was! Nothing could match the joy he had in leaving behind a company of believers who were growing in their faith, led by men of maturity and integrity.

How painful it must have been for Paul to know that this was really goodbye! What was he to say to them, knowing that they were on their own, no Paul to call on for help when problems and troubles arose in the church? It was like cutting the umbilical cord between mother and child when the fledgling youngster leaves home to make a life in the big bad world.

He had the comfort of knowing that it was not his church and he was not ultimately responsible for it. He had played his part to the full but, like his Master, he could leave, knowing that it was in the hands of the Holy Spirit who had called and empowered these leaders to care for the flock. He would always be there to guide them long after Paul had left.

‘”I know that as soon as I’m gone, vicious wolves are going to show up and rip into this flock, men from your very own ranks twisting words so as to seduce disciples into following them instead of Jesus. So stay awake and keep up your guard. Remember those three years I kept at it with you, never letting up, pouring my heart out with you, one after another.'” Acts 20:29-31 (The Message).

Paul was a realist. He knew that there would be those waiting to exploit people for their own ends when he was no longer there to deal with them. Was he aware of who they were even before he left or did he understand human nature so well that his warning came out of much experience?

It was up to these leaders to discern, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who were genuine sheep and who were wolves disguised as sheep. Jesus warned His disciples about the same thing. “‘Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off in some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.'” Matthew 7:15-20 (The Message).

How can we discern who the true and who the false prophets are? Jesus said, “Look at their fruit.” In the early church a prophet was judged, not by his message but by his attitude. How was his message delivered? If it was not delivered in the disposition of Messiah, in an attitude of gentleness and humility, it was rejected,

Paul said, “Look at their attachment.” To whom are they attaching the sheep, to themselves or to Jesus? He warns us to beware of leaders who insist that they are right, and often the only ones who are right, and that we follow them. Credible leaders are those who strive to attach people to Jesus, to become followers of Him, not them. They are only the messengers, not the message; facilitators, not objects of worship.

Your Jerusalem

Christian Life, , ,

YOUR JERUSALEM

“But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I do know that it won’t be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead. But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about the extravagant generosity of God.” Acts 20:23-24 (The Message).

So Paul did know what was up ahead for him!

Like any other human being in a similar situation, Paul had one of two options — run from the trouble ahead or embrace it like Jesus did.

Why did God tell Paul beforehand what was going to happen? I think it was to enable him to set a steady course because he was sure of God’s will. Was he fazed by the revelation? Not at all! Long years of walking with Him had strengthened Paul’s confidence in God. He had suffered more hardship than many another person, but he had learned through experience that “those who put their trust in Him will never be disappointed.”

Like Jesus, Paul set his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem because Jerusalem was in the mix for him. He could deal with whatever was to happen in Jerusalem because God was already there, preparing the way for him.

We all have our own “Jerusalem”, the place of trouble and testing and we are very often not aware of what is happening and caught off guard. Most of the time our first reaction is to blame the devil, or someone else, or ask the question, “Why me, God? What have I done to deserve this?”

Our outrage stems from the belief that we don’t deserve this kind of treatment — the “Job” response. With that kind of attitude, God will remain as silent with us as He did with Job. The quickest way to get an answer is not to ask “Why?” but “What?” God is sovereign. He is not obliged to respond to our whining but He gladly answers an honest question, “What’s this all about so that I can co-operate with your plan?”

Our answer comes from Peter who had his own “Jerusalem” to contend with and came out a humbler and wiser man. This was his conclusion: “In this you greatly rejoice (all the benefits of God’s salvation), though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV).

God is passionate about the quality of our confidence in Him. It’s all we have to link us to the resources of grace He provides for us to live this life. He has to do something to alert us to the “what ifs” and “if onlys” we hold onto that dilute our trust and make us wobbly and insecure. What better way to expose our insecurities than to orchestrate circumstances that show up what we are actually thinking and believing?

Instead of blaming God or life for giving us a bad deal, let’s use these times to ditch our suspicions and mistrust of God by owning our faulty thinking and changing our minds about God and His ways. Isn’t it true that, up to this point in our lives, many of us have wasted our trials by going the same route over and over again? We get upset and ask “Why?” In true “Dr Phil” style, how has that worked for you?

The height of folly is to do the same thing again and again and expect a different outcome! I know a way that works — admit to God that you mistrust Him and ask Him to reveal His ways. You’ll be surprised at the relief you will feel and the newfound confidence you will have in Him when you realise that He is at work in your circumstances to change you from the inside through what is happening on the outside!

Glued By The Holy Spirit

Bible Study, , ,

GLUED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

“Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and travelled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit and sang out exuberantly.

‘You’re so blessed among women,
and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
And why am I so blessed that
the mother of my Lord visits me?
The moment the sound of your
greeting entered my ears,
The babe in my womb
skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.
Blessed woman, who believed what God said,
believed every word would come true.'” Luke 1:39-45 (The Message).

What a beautiful exchange between these two country women! Family they were, but now they were bound together by something much deeper than family ties. Just as John and Jesus were joined by a mission from God that prompted the unborn prophet to respond to the embryonic Messiah, so their mothers were tied together in worship of the One who had chosen them to bear their sons.

In Mary’s excitement to share her story with Elizabeth and to share Elizabeth’s joy that she no longer bore the stigma of barrenness, she dropped everything and travelled across Galilee and Samaria on foot to the little Judean town where Elizabeth lived. Newly pregnant with all the discomfort that a fresh pregnancy brings, her joy carried her across the miles on winged feet.

It was a dangerous journey and she travelled it alone. It may have taken her many days. Where did she sleep? What did she eat? Did she find shelter in the homes of friendly countrymen? What of her journey through Samaria where she would have found only hostile stares and an unfriendly reception.

None of these things seemed to bother her. Luke’s story tells only of her arrival at Elizabeth’s house. It’s almost as though Elizabeth were expecting her. What unseen bond tied the older and younger women together? The moment Elizabeth laid eyes on Mary, something extraordinary happened. For a new mother-to-be, who feels only the unfamiliar flutters of her growing child, Elizabeth felt movement so strong that she said the baby danced!

At that moment both Elizabeth and Mary, and John and Jesus, were glued together by the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth burst out with an exclamation of acceptance and affirmation. Out of her mouth poured words that were powered by the Holy Spirit. She knew nothing of the chequered life story of Mary’s boy yet to be lived, but in her heart she already knew and accepted Him as her Lord.

What an extraordinary woman she was! Five months in seclusion, alone with God to savour and enjoy the unusual favour of God who not only miraculously rescued her from the unbearable state of barrenness but had also chose her to be the mother of the greatest of all the prophets and the forerunner of Messiah.

How often we miss true greatness in the glare of fame and bright lights! It is not always the ones who occupy the stages and platforms of the world who are the true greats. God’s opinion of greatness is simple; childlike obedience to His will. Elizabeth spoke blessing over Mary because she believed and accepted God’s word to her, whatever the cost.

“After removing Saul, He made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David, son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'” Acts 13:22(NIV)

Stuck On Jesus

Bible Study, , , ,

STUCK ON JESUS

“From Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the leaders of the congregation. When they arrived, he said, ‘You know that from day one of my arrival in Asia I was with you totally– laying my life on the line, serving the Master no matter what, putting up with no end of scheming by Jews who wanted to do me in. I didn’t skimp or trim in any way. Every truth and encouragement that could have made a difference to you, you got. I taught you out in public and I taught you in your homes, urging Jews and Greeks alike to a radical life-change before God and an equally radical trust in our Master Jesus.'” Acts 20:17-21 (The Message).

What a testimony! Saul, the Pharisee, who had poured his heart and soul into getting rid of Christians because he thought they were wrong, became Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, because he had experienced an encounter with the One he was vehemently persecuting.

Paul was not stuck on himself! He was passing the baton on to those entrusted with the church he had founded. What kind of leaders were needed to steer the believers in Ephesus through troubled waters during a time when they were the target of serious misunderstanding and opposition by Jewish radicals and Roman rulers who thought they were God? To declare that Jesus, not Caesar, was Lord, was treasonable and punishable by death. One after the other, the caesars zealously protected their “divine” status by persecuting those who insisted on worshipping this Jesus, not them, as Lord.

The church needed leaders with the same measure of loyalty to Jesus as Paul had, who would shepherd the believers with the same integrity and passion that they saw in him. They needed men who were followers of Jesus, not leaders who were intent on binding people to themselves and building little kingdoms around them. They needed shepherds who would show them the way as well as teach them the Word of God.

Paul could write to congregations he had founded and taught: ‘Follow me as I follow Christ.’ That was a bold and dangerous statement unless it was absolutely true. How many pastors and teachers can say that today? Yet is this not the role of the true shepherd of God’s flock? Jesus has entrusted His sheep to men and women with the confidence in them that they will fulfil their commission as those who are accountable to Him.

It is a shameful thing that many so-called “shepherds” use their position to lord it over their congregations and to milk them in the name of “faith”, or “sowing seed”, or even unashamedly declaring, ‘God will save a soul for every dollar you give,’ and then build bigger houses and drive better cars because God is “blessing” them. What has happened to the Paul-like generosity that spends itself for the sake of others?

For Paul there was a guiding principle that he followed, remembering that there was more to life than a few short years on this earth. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV). Like his Master Jesus, Paul always took the long look. To live only in the now, forgetting that this life is an apprenticeship for the life to come, is the height of folly.

He could look in his Master’s face with confidence, knowing that he had not wasted or prostituted the gifts and calling he was given on his own pleasure and comfort. He gave himself fully to his task because he knew there was an eternal reward for a job well done.