Your Heart Before Your Service

     If you have your Bible, I would encourage you to turn to the book of Jude. Jude is one of the books you would probably turn to if your pastor told you to memorize an entire book of the Bible. Why? The entire book is shorter than many chapters in the Bible. If you are like me, it probably took you about five minutes to figure out where in the world Jude was because it takes up one side of a page in your 1500 page Bible.
     Despite its small size, Jude contains a huge amount of truth; truth that includes one of my favorite passages on evangelism. Look toward the end of the book (it's not far). We will look at verses 20-25.
     20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
     21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
     22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
     23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
     24 Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory,
     25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
This is a very short passage of Scripture. Most of you are probably thinking you could read through that in the time it takes for you to sneeze. Nevertheless, over the next couple of weeks, we are going to look at this passage and the truths it contains. You'll see that even these six short lines have huge practical application for the witness.
     Right now, we will start with verse 20-21; what it means and how it applies to the witness. There are four main exhortations in these two verses, and all of them lead up to the same point. We see an exhortation to build our up our faith, pray in the Holy Ghost, keep ourselves in the love of God, and look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. In application to the witness, this all leads to one conclusion: we are unable to witness effectively in and of ourselves. We must be prepared.
     Let's take a look at each of these individual principles.
     For starters, we are called to build up our faith. Taking the other statements and the rest of the Word into account, we cannot neglect time in the Bible. If we are to be effective witnesses, we must pour time into increasing our knowledge of God, seeking His face, and preparing our hearts to be used of Him. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes from the Word of God. We need to spend time in the Word so that we are able to recognize opportunities as God provides them, and so that we are able to communicate His truth clearly when the time comes.
     Second, we see the need to spend time in prayer in and with the Holy Spirit.. Romans 8:26 inseparably links the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to our prayer. The Bible is how God speaks to us; prayer is how we communicate back. John 14:13-14 reads,
     13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
     14 If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. (emphasis mine)
These words were spoken by our Lord. He teaches that if we pray for opportunities to glorify the Father, God will honor those prayers. Not only does prayer open doors for evangelism, the two-way communication of reading the Word and prayer is how we stay attuned to the heart of God.
     Thirdly, we are given an exhortation to keep ourselves in the love of God. Where do we see the love of God most. I would submit that we see the greatest display of God's love on the cross. Romans 5:8 says,
     8 But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
I've said it before, and I will say it again. If we are to be effective as believers in all areas of life, not just evangelism, we must constantly look to the cross. It is to be the focal point of our lives. Even in the very deep, "theological" books of the New Testament, the authors constantly return to the cross. It is the beginning, heart, and end of everything we do and are. We must constantly return to the cross and be reminded of the love of God so that we can show that love to others. We will look at that a little more in the next post.
     Lastly, we are to be looking ahead for the coming of our Lord. We are not of this world. Our Lord is not of this world (John 17:14). When this world sets its face against us, our hope is in the return of our Lord. When trials and tribulations come, our hope is in the return of our Lord. We did not trust Christ for the sole purpose of a better life on earth; our hope is in the return of our Lord. (1 Thess. 4:13-18) We live, not in light of this earh, but in light of eternity with our Lord, glorifying His name (2 Cor. 5).
     I know this has been a long post, but I hope that it has been benficial in some way. If nothing else, remember that we cannot expect or even hope to be effective witnesses without being fully attuned to the will and way of the One we serve.

My Banner Will Be Clear

      I ran across something the other day that was both a challenge and an encouragement to me. I hope it does the same for you.
     The following letter was found in the study of a young pastor in Zimbabwe, not long after he was martyred for the cause of Christ.
         

      "I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit's power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line, The decision has been made- I am a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.

    I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t
    have to be first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean in His
    presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer, and I labor with power.
         My face is set, my gait fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my
    companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought compromised,
    detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or decayed. I will not flinch in the face of
    sacrifices, hesitate in the presence of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or
    meander in the maze of mediocrity.
         I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached
    up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach
    till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no
    problem recognizing me...my banner will be clear."

     The passion of this young man effectively puts the apathy of many Christians in our nation to shame. He said that "the die has been cast." He recognized that, when he made the decision to follow Christ, he cast in his lot with the King of Kings. He obviously felt a desire to serve God, but we also see that he felt himself to be under an obligation to serve God.
     Look what this young pastor says at the end. "And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me...my banner will be clear." This young man made an on-purpose effort to be clearly identified with Christ. In Hebrews 11, we find what is known by many as the Hall of Faith. In verse 13, we read,
     "13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
     14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. (italics mine)"
These heroes of the faith did not keep their faith hidden. They didn't "hide their candle under a bushel." They were not afraid to be identified with the One they served. Verse 13 says that they confessed the fact that they were not of this world. Verse 14 says that they declared plainly their pilgrimage to the place to which God was calling them.
     I hope and pray that my standard, my affiliation, will be as clear.

Never Cease

     I just thought I would write a quick post and share something with you. Today is an awesome day for me, because it was exactly two years ago that I came to Christ. I was sitting in my Explorer at 0100 in the parking lot of a hotel the day before we were about to move to this base, and I committed my life to my Lord.
     As I was thinking about this, I realized how powerful it truly was to look back on my salvation. I felt almost re-energized as I replayed my conversion experience, what Christ saved me from, and everything God did over the course of my life to bring me to Him.
     That said, I have found that we never outgrow the gospel. We should never cease to be amazed by it. I was listening to a sermon last night about what it took to purchase our salvation, and I was thoroughly blown away. It doesn't get old! The only reason God could show me mercy was because He showed Christ none. And His only Son! Think about that. One Christ suffered for a few hours on the cross to purchase redemption for all of mankind; past, present, and future. How could this be? Simply because He is worth more than all of us put together. Yet God saw fit to make "Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Tell me that's not incredible.
     Think back to when you were saved. Think about where you would be had Christ not gave Himself for you. And never cease to be amazed.

His Job...Not Ours

    I just wanted take a moment a quickly share something that happened to me the other day. I was meeting up with some people and two of my friends showed up with a guy I had never me before. One of my friends was debating with him creation vs. evolution, and we all kind of got in on it. It got to the point where he wasn't really able to answer questions about how life could begin without design, foundations for morals, and things like that, but he would not budge from his position. For starters please pray for this young man.     As a side note, I was reminded something that is easy to forget. There are many different organizations mobilized to help equip believers to defend their faith scientifically, logically, philosophically, etc. These organizations are great and are doing a great work, but at the end of the day, we cannot win someone to Christ by our arguments alone. Without the conviction of the Holy Spirit, no amount of scientific evidence will win someone to Christ. Many scriptures indivisibly link the Holy Spirit to the process of salvation. A few of these are 1 Cor. 6:11; John 3:5; Tit. 3:5; and John 16:7-8. The conviction of the Holy Spirit brings the "godly sorrow [that] worketh repentance" (2 Cor. 7:10). I just thought I would share that with you.

No Heart too Hard

     If you have a Bible, I would definitely recommend grabbing it for this post. I will be running through a lot of Scripture passages, so having a Bible close by will make some of this a little easier to follow and provide good context.
     We'll start off in Isaiah 53. For those who haven't done much reading in Isaiah, this chapter deals heavily with prophecies concerning the death of Christ. Let me draw your attention to verse 9. The first phrase, speaking of Jesus Christ, is "And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death..." Later, in verse 11, it foretells that Christ would be "numbered with the transgressors..." There are two prophecies about the Messiah in these verses; today we will look at the first. Its fulfillment is mentioned in all four Gospel books. Matthew 27:38 reads, "then were there two thieves crucified with [Jesus], one on the right hand, and another on the left." (Mark 15:27, Luke 23:32-33, John 19:18) These passages are prophecy fulfilled. Christ died in the presence of two thieves; He died with the wicked, just as Isaiah foretold.
     Now at this point it is tempting to just move on to the next point. "Okay, He was crucified with two thieves; prophecy fulfilled. Check. Moving on." But this is where we will park for the time being. At first glance, these two criminals are of no incredible consequence; they are just the consummation of another foretelling. Placed there to pay for their crimes and stand as yet another proof that the Scriptures can be trusted, and that Christ really was the Messiah. But God had other ideas.
     These thieves were not just fulfillments of another prophecy. They were human. They had wearily trudged up the same road as Christ, had borne an identical cross, and were bleeding from similar wounds. The only difference between their situation and Christ's is their guilt and His innocence.
     Whenever these two are mentioned, they are labeled as thieves or malefactors. These guys are the ones your parents told you to watch out for. They hung around the bad side of town, robbed innocent people, and were probably involved in a murder or two. But their crimes had caught up with them, the judge's gavel fell, and they were paying for their actions, crucified on the same hill as Christ.
     Despite their own pain and humiliation, their evil nature was alive and well. Mark 15 records the derision of the bystanders, priests, and Pharisees (vv. 29-32). This passage ends with the phrase "And they that were crucified with him reviled him." Matthew says, "The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth." (27:44) They took their pain and anger out on Christ. Unable to strike at their tormentors they heaped verbal abuse and sarcastic derision on Jesus. At this point, the two thieves fade out of the accounts given by Matthew, Mark, and John.
     But the book of Luke, written by a meticulous physician by that name, reveals a later episode with the criminals. They have faded out of the other accounts, but these men have one more role to play in the drama of the day (Luke 23:39-43). One of the thieves lets loose another shot at Christ, daring Him to save Himself if He were who He claimed to be. Then, from out of nowhere, the other criminal rebukes the other! We cannot know what caused the change. It may have been Christ's cry of  "Father forgive them!" He may have remembered the miracles Jesus had performed. Maybe he had heard the teachings. Whatever his reasons, this condemned thug suddenly came face to face with the reality of his own guilt. The next few verses show a man who had seen himself for who he was and Christ for who He was.
     Speaking to the other malefactor, he says "Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds:..." He recognizes that he has earned every stitch of his punishment. He has done everything to deserve it. He realizes that, before God and before men, he has nothing to hide behind. His sin and his shame had been laid bare.
     Look at his next words beginning in the latter part of verse 41; "'...but this man hath done nothing amiss.' And he said to Jesus, 'Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.'" This man not only realized his own sinfulness; he also recognized Christ's innocence and perfection.
     He also recognized exactly who Christ was. Look at how he addresses Jesus. He says "Lord". This word in the original Greek is not just a recognition of superiority; it is a word used in reference to God Himself. This man, humbled by his own guilt, recognized what the scribes and Pharisees in their religious pride had missed. This thief knew full well that the One hanging on the cross beside him was the perfect, sinless Son of God.
     This man has come to grips with his guilt. His pain-wracked body constantly reminds him that death is only hours away. He will soon stand before God and give an account. He knows he has no reason to deserve, expect, or even hope for grace, but he still makes the earnest plea, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." He had reached rock bottom...the only place he could look was up.
     Maybe that's you. I have no idea who will find their way to this post. I have no way of knowing where you are in life. Maybe you are at the point where you have come to grips with your sin. You have heard the truth; Christ died to forgive you of your sins and impute His righteousness to your account. Yet you believe God can't forgive you and, what's more, even if He could, why would He want to? I was there once. Face to face with the fact that my "Christianity" was only an act, I truly believed that I had forfeited my right to salvation.
     If that's you, listen to the answer Christ gives in verse 43. "Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." Instant forgiveness. Eternal security. Grace. This thief was hours from death; he would not go to Bible college and become a pastor. He would not travel the world sharing the gospel. He had nothing to offer Christ in return for grace. He likely died within the day. All he had was an earnest plea.
     It was at this point in my struggle with my own sin, that I read the verse Romans 5:8, which states that "God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (emphasis mine) Christ did not die for us because we deserved it or had somehow earned a favor from Him. He died for us because of our inability to save ourselves. I accepted this verse as truth and accepted Christ as Savior on September 12, 2010. What God did in the day of the crucified thief, He still does today. What God did for me, He can and will do for you.
     The application of this account does not only reach to those in need of Christ; it also holds a powerful lesson for the believer. There is no man on earth too far gone or too sinful for God to save. God's grace can crack the hardest heart and build bridges over the deepest chasms of guilt and shame. However, from our limited, finite point of view, it is tempting to pass over certain people in our witnessing for exactly those reasons: they are too sinful to be saved, why would God want anything to do with that person, or those people are just not worth the time and effort. The question I want to pose to you is: where would we be if Christ had said the same about us?