Total Life Journal

Legacy of Mass Evangelism

By Wayne Bristow

© 2012 Wayne Bristow

 

Growing up in West Texas with a bi-vocational Nazarene cowboy preacher for a maternal grandfather and the son of a Baptist deacon for a father, I thought bi-annual revival meetings were as normal as cotton harvests and Friday night football.  Spring revivals were scheduled after plowing and planting were done.  Fall revivals preceded harvest time.  During the 1940s they lasted for two full weeks, covering three Sundays.  The first week was looked on as a time for the church to be awakened and broken.  Those days were marked by preaching to the saints, intense prayer, and backsliders rededicating their lives to Christ.  It was a “getting ready” time.  The second week was pure evangelism.  The pastor and the evangelist were out visiting lost people in their homes and in farm and ranch fields.  The services were marked by strong, emotional gospel preaching and long invitation times. 

Most churches could anticipate most of their conversions and baptisms coming during their annual revivals.  Every conservative, fundamental denomination could count its gifted harvest evangelists in the hundreds.  The majority of these men were fulltime itinerant preachers, with Southern Baptists accounting for the largest number and the best known evangelists.  Their reputations were forged by the strength of their preaching and the response to their invitation appeals.  It was not uncommon for a good, well-known evangelist to have his calendar filled two years in advance.  To get a desired preacher, pastors scheduled that far ahead.

Revivals were bigger attractions than rodeos, blockbuster movies or football games between arch rivals.  I can remember school being dismissed so students could attend weekday morning services.  With the exception of Saturdays, revivals were marked by morning and evening services.  Especially dedicated merchants would often close their businesses during the morning services.  School calendars were arranged so that there was no conflict with revivals in a town’s most prominent churches.

Following World War II, a wave of powerful mass evangelism swept across America.  Inspired by Jack Wyrtzen’s dynamic Word of Life radio programs and rallies in New York City, Torrey Johnson launched the Chicagoland for Christ rallies.  From this was born Youth for Christ International.  The first full-time YFC evangelist was Billy Graham.  The rest is history.

Led by many war veterans, intense student prayer meetings on the campus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, broke out into a youth-led revival movement that spread to campuses across the nation and resulted in scores of local church and area-wide evangelistic campaigns.  The preachers and musicians were inexperienced students with burning hearts.  Encouraged by such men as W. F. Howard, the director of student work for the Baptist General Convention of Texas, these preacher boys were used to stir entire cities for Christ.  They included men who went on to places of strong leadership in business and church life; men such Howard Butt, Jr., Angel Martinez, Jackie Robinson, Bill Tanner, Ralph Langley, Bruce McIver, and Bo and Dick Baker.  Thousands of high school and university students were drawn to Christ, and hundreds responded to God’s call to preaching, missionary and music ministries.

All of this was born out of a mass evangelism tradition that had its origins in the outdoor preaching of John Wesley and George Whitfield.  The strategies for these campaigns were established and refined through the evangelistic ministries of Charles Finney, D. L. Moody, R. A. Torrey and Billy Sunday.  In America, revival meetings and united crusades had their roots in camp meetings and protracted meetings. 

When asked to define a protracted meeting, I have replied that it was when churches began having services on the middle Sunday of August and continued at “dark-thirty” every night until God said, “That’s enough.”  Mordecai Ham’s 1934 Charlotte, North Carolina, crusade that resulted in the conversion of Billy Graham ran from August into November.  Graham did not respond to an invitation appeal until November.  His 1957 New York City crusade continued for six weeks.  Now, we have regressed from that to two-week revivals, one week revivals, five-day revivals, weekend revivals and one-day revivals.  I have heard it rumored that one Baptist church recently held its spring revival between Sunday school and the worship service on Sunday morning.   

For all of this, I am thankful because two great watershed moments in my life came during revival meetings.  The first was in 1947, when I was eleven.  The other was in 1953, the summer I turned 17.

Even when I was still shining shoes beside my father’s chair in Lud Taylor’s Muleshoe barber shop, and up until I went to work as a soda jerk in Buck Wood’s drug store, I spent extended vacations with my maternal grandparents in their rural home in Jones County Texas near Hamlin.  Those summer days are large in my memories.

My maternal grandfather, Rev. Sam King, had left his Missouri home as a young teenager and made his way out to West Texas, finding work as a cowboy on the Swenson brother’s ranch near Stamford.  Along the way, the young cowboy met Jesus and from that day he followed Him.  While attending Simmons College in Abilene (later to become Harden-Simmons University) he was influenced by a strong holiness emphasis that was sweeping through Wesleyan churches.  The result was a lifelong affiliation with the Churches of the Nazarene.  While I later learned to lovingly avoid any discussion of the doctrine of sanctification, he and my grandmother, Josie King, were the great spiritual influences in my young life.  I always called them what my mother, aunt and uncle called them, “Mama and Dad.” 

During the hot August of 1947, Mama and Dad took me to every service of a two-week long revival meeting at the Church of the Nazarene in Hamlin.  I remember several things about those days; no air conditioning, being fanned by Mama with a fan that was covered with ads for local merchants and the funeral home, and coming under a real conviction of sin for the first time in my life. 

On the first Sunday night, the evangelist preached on the Second Coming of Christ and the End of the World.  I was overwhelmed by the realization that one day this Earth is going to be destroyed by fire and that a day of judgement is coming.  When I went to bed that night, I knew if Jesus came before morning, I was not ready to meet Him. 

That awareness deepened night after night for two weeks.  I knew I was spiritually lost, and I listened intently to what was being said about how to be saved.  The essence of the Gospel, the atoning death and triumphant resurrection of Jesus took on personal significance.  All of this added to the strong impact of the altar calls at the end of each service. 

 This turmoil in my mind and heart caused me to approach each service with a mixture of dread and anticipation.  When it was time for the final service of the series, something had to give, and it did.  When the appeal was made, I found the courage to slip out from beside Mama and make my way to the aisle.  As the congregation sang, “Love Lifted Me,” I dropped to my knees at the altar and soon sensed my grandfather kneeling beside me.  The tradition in those old Nazarene churches was to “pray through.”  This meant that a lot of loud earnest praying was going on across the front of the church.  I do not remember being caught up in any of that, but I do remember earnestly and simply, with childlike trust, submitting to Jesus as my Savior. 

My lasting impressions of that first really significant revival meeting were strong preaching, deep conviction, the drawing power of the invitation and life changing decision.

From that time, I can say that as a boy I genuinely enjoyed attending revival meetings.  I liked the enthusiastic singing, I drank in the preaching and I eagerly looked forward to the invitation appeals.  When the meeting “broke” and the aisles were filled with people being converted or rededicating their lives to Christ, I went home with the same exhilaration of seeing our high school football team defeat one of our arch rivals.

During the first half of the fifties, a second wave of the Youth-Led Revival Movement swept across Texas.  Baylor continued to be an incubator for passionate young preachers, but other schools – Wayland, Hardin Simmons, Howard Payne and East Texas Baptist - were beginning to field their own evangelists.  Still it was Milton DuPriest and Buddy Johnson, a team from Baylor, that God used to capture my spiritual attention as a teenager. 

Youth-led revivals had added third meeting to churches’ mass evangelism calendars.  These events were reserved for the summer months and always featured student preachers and singers.  This allowed effective teams to fill entire summer vacations with revivals.  In spite of the old pros not being on the platforms, these meetings often stirred entire communities and ignited a spiritual of revival among teenagers that carried over into the coming school year.  Many times, the revival teams were “carrying fire” from their own campuses that were still feeling the impact of the first wave of the Youth-Led Revival Movement. 

When the DuPriest/Johnson team came to First Baptist Church of Muleshoe, I was electrified by preaching that connected and pierced.  The invitations were clear, specific, personal and powerful.  The response was great.  I was witnessing something extraordinary and being stirred as never before. 

This makes it strange that the tipping point for me did not come during one of these services.  Instead, one evening, Milton shared that the previous year he had served as a summer missionary in Italy.  He said that, following the service, he was going to show some slides and talk about his experiences.  Fascinated, I chose to stay to watch and listen.  As he talked about traveling overseas to share the Gospel in a predominantly Roman Catholic country, my heart and mind were stirred for the first time with a sense of calling. 

When I went to work at the local Piggly Wiggly Super Market the next day, I daydreamed about traveling to faraway places and preaching like I was hearing Milton DuPriest preach.  That night, I sought him out after the service and asked if I could talk with him.  He agreed to meet me in the pastor’s study the next afternoon.  Now, I see the two hours we spent together as one of the most critical time frames of my life.  For this reason, I have tried to never say “no” when a young person asks for some time with me.

If my memory is not failing, that was on a Thursday.  I left my time with Milton having confessed that I was a Mickey Mouse Christian, that I had been horsing around with God and that my testimony was not worth a hill of beans.  Repentance became very specific and I was ready to say, “Not my will but Yours be done.”  I had not walked down an aisle, but I had experienced revival.

 

For the next three days, I was obsessed with something that had never crossed my mind until that week.  I wanted to preach.  I felt compelled to preach.  I had heard my pastor and evangelists talk about a call to preach.  Now, I understood.  I felt called.

On Sunday night, I could hardly wait to get down the aisle and tell my pastor, A. W. Blaine, that God was calling me to preach.  I do not remember exactly what he said, but I do remember him telling the congregation that he was asking me to preach the following Wednesday night.

In one week, my life direction had been determined, my passion for evangelistic preaching had been ignited, and there was that lingering dream of traveling to faraway places doing what God was calling me to do.  I could not have imagined just how that would become a reality.             

 

Paul’s Motive for Ministry

 

2 Corinthians 5:9-21

9 Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad.

11 Knowing, then, the fear of the Lord, we persuade people. We are completely open before God, and I hope we are completely open to your consciences as well. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in the outward appearance rather than in the heart. 13 For if we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we have a sound mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: if One died for all, then all died. 15 And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.

16 From now on, then, we do not know anyone in a purely human way. Even if we have known Christ in a purely human way, yet now we no longer know Him like that. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. 18 Now everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ; certain that God is appealing through us, we plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 21 He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.[1]

When Paul wrote his second letter to the church in Corinth, he was a battle scarred, embattled old soldier for Christ.  He had been beaten, stoned and shipwrecked.  He had gone hungry, slept on cold ground, without enough clothing to keep him warm.  He had been opposed by both Jews and Gentiles.  Constantly, false teachers came along behind him trying to undermine his work.  Now, some of the people he had led to the Lord were buying into the talk that he was a crazy old man; that he was losing it, that all those beatings had taken their toll.  His foes were saying that it was time for the Apostle to the Gentiles to hang it up and walk away.

It is one thing to have your enemies speak out against you; it is something else when you own children take up the chant.  That hurts! 

As a young Jewish theologian, Paul had committed social and political suicide.  He had been positioned to “have it all.”  His education was comparable to degrees today from Yale and Oxford.  He was in the upper echelon of the Pharisees, the conservative interpreters of the Law.  Today, his books, exposing the cult of the Nazarene, would be on the religious best-sellers list.  His blog would take thousands of hits every day.  He would be in demand as a conference speaker.  His seminars would garner him a fortune in fees, and back-of-the room CD, DVD and book sales.  Then, he took himself out of the loop of Judaism’s religious elite. 

He declared, “Everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:7-8)

Concluding his letter to the churches of Galatia, he wrote: “From now on let no person trouble me [by making it necessary for me to vindicate my apostolic authority and the divine truth of my Gospel], for I bear on my body the [brand] marks of the Lord Jesus [the wounds, scars, and other outward evidence of persecutions--these testify to His ownership of me]! (Galatians 6:17, The Amplified Bible)

He had laid it all on the line.  He had not left anything on the field.  Somebody in Corinth should have stepped forward to defend their spiritual father, but no one did.  So, Paul did the most difficult thing a father will ever have to do; he defended his authority and position to his own children.  Above all else, he wanted them to understand the motive for his ministry.  That is the theme of 2 Corinthians 4 & 5.

Paul’s motive was to please God:  “Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:9-10)

Twice in 2 Corinthians 4, Paul wrote, “we do not give up” (vv. 4 & 16).

In the movie, “Rocky Balboa,” Rocky is verbally going one-on-one with his son, Rocky, Jr.  He says, "Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you get hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done."

What compelled the Apostle Paul to take one hit after another and keep moving forward?  He was driven by three powerful incentives: fear, love and commission.

FEAR

In 2 Corinthians 5:10-11, Paul wrote: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad.  Knowing, then, the fear of the Lord, we persuade people.”

During his days as the University of Alabama football coach, Paul “Bear” Bryant inspired awe-struck respect from his players.  Jim Bunch, an All-America offensive tackle for the Tide from 1976 until 1979, recalls, "You could walk into a meeting room, and you could hear yourself breathe.  You could hear your own heartbeat. Everyone had so much respect for Coach Bryant."

That is just a hint of the kind of fear Paul was talking about when he wrote “knowing, then, the fear of the Lord.”

Paul was constantly in the grip of something that is too often lacking in the minds and hearts of Christ’s servants in the 21^st Century.  He was overwhelmed by the awesomeness of God.  For him, “reverence” was not a word glibly spoken.  Every thought of Christ was weighed down with respect, worship and exaltation.  The words had not been written; but, if they had, Paul would have sung from his heart:

Come, Thou Almighty King,

Help us Thy name to sing,

Help us to praise: Father all glorious,

O’er all victorious,

Come, and reign over us, Ancient of Days.

Paul’s reverential fear of God was the controlling force of his life.  It drove him through any fear of what men might say or do.  He so feared God that he was bold and fearless before kings, accusing religious zealots and angry pagan mobs. 

B.F. Westcott, a 19^th Century English Bible scholar, wrote, “Every year makes me tremble at the daring with which people speak of spiritual things.”

What would he think of the rampant blasphemy of our day?

Phillips Brooks used to warn about “clerical jesters” whose jesting about the Bible robbed the Scriptures of their glory and power.

Paul’s compulsion to please God was strengthened by his realization that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)

Any athlete who has missed a tackle, committed a foolish foul at a critical time, blown an assignment or failed to play with intensity, knows the awful dread to having to go back to the sideline and face his coach.  Knowing that the game film will be stopped repeatedly during next week’s team meeting and a player’s performance will be graded before all of his teammates and coaches is a powerful incentive to not leave anything on the field.

Paul lived every moment with the realization that one day he would stand before his Lord.  Even though his work might go unappreciated by men, he desperately wanted to hear the only commendation that counts.  He wanted to hear his Lord and Master say, “Well done!”

Here is Eugene Peterson’s translation of Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:11, “That keeps us vigilant, you can be sure. It's no light thing to know that we'll all one day stand in that place of Judgment. That's why we work urgently with everyone we meet to get them ready to face God.”

LOVE

Paul was motivated by a reverential fear of our awesome, holy God, but there was another force that drove him, love.  He wrote, “For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: if One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

If Paul was ever tempted to be disobedient, to cut-and-run, or to retire and play it safe, he was stirred to renewed diligence by the awareness of Christ’s love that compelled our Lord to empty Himself by assuming the form of a slave, to take on the likeness of men, to humble Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross (Philippians 2:7-8).

Paul was consumed with the awareness that Christ died for us so that we might die with Him, and that He lives so that we might experience His life in us.  He testified to the personal experience of this in Galatians 2:20, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Calvin said, “Christ died for us that we might die to ourselves.”

When Paul wrote that “Christ’s love compels us,” two relevant pictures are brought to mind; (1) a strait that forces a ship into a narrow channel, such as The Strait of Gibraltar that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain from Morocco, and (2) a squeeze chute that, pushing in on each side, forces a cow into a position where it cannot move so a rancher can administer medication.

Paul was saying the love of Christ kept him in its grip.  It controlled and directed him.  It kept him in line, constricted within the boundaries of the gospel.  This love had such a powerful hold on him that he was immune to the any other influence.      

In 2002, during the month before I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma of the bone, I was crushed by excruciating pain.  For 24 hours, before going into the emergency room, I was in the grip of constantly recurring muscle spasms.  The pain controlled my mind, body and spirit.  I could not think about anything else.  I was absolutely dominated by it. 

From the day that Paul was blinded by his encounter with Christ, he was compelled, constrained, ruled by his Lord’s love.  The Amplified Bible translation of 2 Corinthians 5:14 reads: “For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us.”

Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, was interviewing some young people who had volunteered for the Lord’s service. He asked each one, “And why do you wish to go as a foreign missionary?”

“I want to reach others across the sea because Christ has commanded us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature,” one replied.

Another said, “I want to go because millions are dying without ever having heard of Jesus, the only One who can save them.”

Others had similar answers. 

Looking at them thoughtfully, Taylor said. “All of your motives are good, but I fear they will fail you in times of severe testing and tribulation—especially if you are confronted with the possibility of having to face death for your testimony. The only motive that will enable you to remain true is stated in 2 Corinthians 5:14. Christ’s love constraining you will keep you faithful in every situation.”[2]

There is the legend of a group of American tourists visiting an Asian leper colony.  One man in the group was the stereotype of the ugly American; pale legs protruding from baggy shorts, sandals worn with black socks, a loud Hawaiian shirt, an ill-fitting straw hat, dark sunglasses, the stub of a cigar clapped in his teeth, and an expensive camera sitting on a pot belly.  Seeing a young nurse ministering to a deformed man, the obnoxious intruder raised his camera to capture another shot for his travel album.  When he zoomed in on what was happening, he saw the repulsive, puss-oozing sore which the nurse was attempting to cleanse.  In disgust, the tourist dropped his camera and loudly asserted, “I would not touch that for a million dollars!”

Turning her head and giving the American a sad look, the young nurse replied, “Nor would I, but the love of Christ compels me.”

COMMISSION

Paul was compelled by fear of God, the love of Christ, and the commission of Christ.

When you look into a mirror, who do you see?  What do you see?  Who are you?  What are you?  Do you really know?

Paul knew who he was.  He introduced himself to the church at Ephesus as “an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will.” (Ephesians 1:1)

“Apostle” is the English transliteration of the Greek word “apostolos” (ap·os·tol·os).  It means a delegate, messenger, someone sent forth with orders.  Paul knew that he was a “sent one.”  He had a message from his Master.

Paul could never forget what he thought he knew about Jesus before he really met Him.  Perhaps, as a young Pharisee, he had been among those who badgered the Galilean Teacher with questions about the Law.  He had been so sure that he was serving God when he brutally persecuted the early believers.  Then came that day on the road to Damascus; since then, he had not been able to think about Christ in merely a human way.   

When he wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come,” he was writing out of his own transforming encounter with his Lord.  He knew from experience the truth of the message he was sent to proclaim.  He understood that God has taken the initiative to reconcile rebellious men to Himself; that Christ died so that we might have peace with God and therefore know the peace of God.

That is why he wrote, “Now everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ; certain that God is appealing through us, we plead on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God.’ He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).

Dr. Warren Wiersbe wrote, “The key idea in (verses 18-21) is reconciliation. Because of his rebellion, man was the enemy of God and out of fellowship with Him. Through the work of the Cross, Jesus Christ has brought man and God together again…God does not have to be reconciled to man…It is sinful man who must be reconciled to God. ‘Religion’ is man’s feeble effort to be reconciled to God, efforts that are bound to fail. The Person who reconciles us to God is Jesus Christ, and the place where He reconciles us is His cross.”

Charles Spurgeon said that we are imploring people to “yield to the grasp of those hands which were nailed to the cross for you.” 

This is the message Paul was sent to proclaim as an ambassador for Christ.  This is the message we are sent to proclaim.  It has been entrusted to us.  We are its delegated messengers.  We are commissioned to do this.

Someone asked the Duke of Wellington, “Is it of any use to send missionaries to India?”

He responded by asking, “What are your marching orders?”

Those orders are plain: “Go…and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19)

Over the years, I have had many opportunities to observe the circumstances in which “sent ones” serve their Master.  I have watched pastors endure the hostility of those who should be their greatest supporters.  I have seen the heartache of missionaries as they sent their small children away to distant boarding schools.  I remember sharing sleeping quarters at an Africa pastors’ retreat with a dear friend who had risked everything while braving the madman Idi Amin’s reign of terror in Uganda.  For the week we were together, I watched him suffer the fever and chills of a vicious malaria attack, and I asked. “What has kept him here through all of this?”

Then I remembered talking with a mission volunteer who had worked briefly with a missionary in an extremely difficult place.  He had been shocked to discover that this man of God was without needed equipment, he was under attack from people who opposed his work, and he was separated from aging parents.  Finally, the volunteer asked, “Why do you stay here?”

Amazed, the missionary replied, “Because God sent me here.  That’s why I stay.  He sent me!”

In 1963, just as I was stepping out by faith into a ministry of evangelistic preaching, John W. Peterson put music to a poem that Margaret Clarkson had revised from an earlier version.  Over these years, its words have been used to reinforce my Lord’s commission:

So send I you- by grace made strong to triumph

O'er hosts of hell, o'er darkness, death and sin,

My name to bear, and in that name to conquer-

So send I you, my victory to win.

 

So send I you- to take to souls in bondage

The word of truth that sets the captive free,

To break the bonds of sin, to loose death's fetters-

So send I you, to bring the lost to me.

 

So send I you- My strength to know in weakness,

My joy in grief, My perfect peace in pain,

To prove My power, My grace, My promised presence-

So send I you, eternal fruit to gain.

 

So send I you- to bear My cross with patience,

And then one day with joy to lay it down,

To hear My voice, "Well done, My faithful servant-

Come, share My throne, my kingdom and My crown!"

 

"As the Father hath sent Me, So send I you."

We are sent to a world that has declared war against God with the good news that God has declared peace for those who will be reconciled to Him through Christ. 

As Christ’s “sent ones,” we have His authority.  As we go, in obedience to Him, we have His power.  We are not responsible for how His message is received; we are responsible for faithfully delivering the message.  Our faithfulness is not be determined by how people treat or mistreat us.  Convenience and safety are to have no bearing on where we take the message of the King.  Our motive is to please Him.  We are compelled to keep moving forward by a reverential fear of God, the love of Christ and our commission as His ambassadors!

We cannot do more.  We must not do less!

 

© 2007 Wayne Bristow All right reserved. 

 

 

 

 

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[1] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. 2003 Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.  Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the HCSB.

 

[2] Tan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations.  Garland TX: Bible Communications.

 

 

The God of the Second Chance and More

As we enter 2011, you may be looking back on a year when resolutions were not kept, promises were broken, opportunities were missed, and goals were not reached.  Perhaps the best way to welcome a new year is by remembering that our God is the God of the second chance and more.  In light of this, I have felt impressed to repost something I wrote four years ago.  I hope you will join me in finding encouragement in the discovery of young John Mark; the discovery that failure is not final. - WB

 

FAILURE IS NOT FINAL

By Wayne Bristow

Copyright © 2006 Wayne Bristow

 

To me, one of the evidences that the Bible is the inspired Word of God is that it is not just a book of glory stories. Over and over, it tells us about people who failed and went on to learn that failure need not be final. They discovered that ours is the God of the second chance and more.

These days, I’m a great fan of any achiever who is over 65 years of age. That’s why I had a special interest in this year’s Orange Bowl football game. It had been hyped as “one for the ages,” pitting coaching legends Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden against each other. Joe Pa led his Penn State Nittany Lions onto the field at the spry age of 79. Bowden, the coach of the Florida State Seminoles was only 76.

For a while, it looked as though the length of the game was going to equal their ages. Finally, in the third overtime, at 1:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, Kevin Kelly booted a 29-yard field goal, securing a 26-23 win for Penn State.

When the football sailed through the uprights, you could almost see the monkey leaping off of Kelly’s back. He had previously missed kicks of 29 and 38 yards that would have won the game.

Paterno’s reaction to his place kicker’s failures sealed his place in my personal hall of fame. After the second miss, the aging coach put his arm around Kelly’s shoulder and said, “I’m too old for this. It’s past my bedtime.”

Then, on a second down, he calmly patted the freshman’s back and sent him back onto the field for another try.

It’s my guess that Joe Pa’s willingness to give him another chance will have a positive impact on Kelly’s life long after he has played his last football game.

Have you ever needed another chance?

        * Have you already broken a New Year’s resolution?

        * Have you ever really messed up?

        * Have you blown an opportunity?

        * Have you started something that you failed to finish?

        * Have you ever broken a promise?

        * Are you struggling with a major failure that you think is unforgivable?

If your answers were “no” to all of the above, you might want to stop here and find something more profitable to do.

If you said “yes” to at least one of those questions, stick around. I’m talking to you.

Chuck Martin, a syndicated columnist and best-selling business book author, recently surveyed senior executives and managers concerning failure. About 70 per cent of those responding said they could recall a time when they wish they had been given a second chance.

Martin concluded that someone who has failed the first time around, and gets a chance to do it over, just might be the person who becomes charged enough to take his or her part of the business to a new level.

Bill Gates says, “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”

General George S. Patton said, “Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.”

Charles “Tremendous” Jones says, “Things don’t go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.”

Zig Ziglar reminds us that “Failure is an event, never a person; an attitude, not an outcome.”

Someone has said, “Success doesn’t mean the absence of failures; it means the attainment of ultimate objectives. It means winning the war, not every battle.”

You might say, “Yes, but you have to know when enough is enough and it’s time to throw in the towel.”

Before you go too far with that, think about this:

        * He failed in business in 1831.

        * He was defeated for the legislature in 1832.

        * He failed in business again in 1834.

        * His sweetheart died in 1835.

        * He had a nervous breakdown in 1836.

        * He was defeated in an election in 1838.

        * He was defeated for Congress in 1843.

        * He was defeated for Congress again in 1846.

        * He was defeated for Congress again in 1848.

        * He was defeated for the Senate in 1855.

        * He was defeated for Vice President in 1856.

        * He was defeated for the Senate in 1858.

        * In 1860, he was elected President of the United States of America.  Of course, his name was Abraham Lincoln.

To me, one of the evidences that the Bible is the inspired Word of God is that it is not just a book of glory stories. Over and over, it tells us about people who failed and went on to learn that failure need not be final. They discovered that ours is the God of the second chance and more.

This was true of young John Mark. He seemed destined for spectacular success. He was from a privileged home in Jerusalem, probably with a Levite heritage. His mother, Mary, was a godly woman. He was often in the company of men who would go on to write great chapters in Christian history. He probably was among those who saw the resurrected Christ. He saw the results of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. He saw the power of prayer when Peter was delivered from prison and showed up at the gate of his mother’s home. He was in the right place at the right time to go with his cousin, Barnabas, and Paul on their first missionary journey. He looked like a shoo-in for the “rookie of the year” award.

Then, he hit the wall; the wheels came off and everything went south!

When the missionary team determined to go into the interior of Asia Minor, when Paul’s evangelism was about to be focused on the Gentiles, Mark left and went home to Jerusalem.

“Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem,” Acts 13:13, NASB.

We don’t know why this happened. Mark may have been homesick. Maybe the rigors of travel, the strange food and culture shock finally got to him. Perhaps, as a devout Jew, he was not ready to accept Paul’s determination to reach out to the Gentiles. Whatever the reason might have been, he dropped out. He quit and went home to Mother.

We don’t know all that happened when Mark returned to Jerusalem, but it is believed that he came under the influence of the Apostle Peter, a man who knew a lot about something that Paul did not know - failure.

It makes sense that there would have been a strong connection between the young missionary dropout and the impetuous disciple who had denied his Lord.

When her dejected son came home, Mary may have invited Peter for dinner. During the meal, Mark might have talked about the problem he was having with Paul’s determination to make the Gentiles the focus of his ministry. I can hear Peter saying, “I’ve had to cross that bridge. Let’s take a walk, and I’ll tell you how it happened.”

Perhaps, walking in moonlight on the slope of the Mount of Olives, Peter talked about the vision he saw at the house of Simon the tanner in Joppa. He would have told Mark about having to learn that what God has cleansed we are not to consider unholy. Then, he would have related the glorious work of the Holy Spirit in the home of the Roman centurion, Cornelius.

Peter might have put his arm around Mark’s shoulder and said, “Son, they call me ‘Rocky,’ and the hardest thing about me is my head. It hasn’t an easy lesson for me to learn, but this good news about Jesus is for everybody everywhere. Paul’s tough. He’s demanding. He’s not always the easiest guy to get along with. Take it from me; if you get out of line about this Gentile thing, he’s going to get in your face. But he’s right.”

That’s when Mark might have confessed that, in his heart, he knew that all of this was true. Then, he might have said, “It looks like I’m just a quitter. I’m always running away. That night in the garden, when they came to arrest Jesus, you know that it was me who ran home naked. I was scared to death. I spent the whole night hiding. I can’t think about it without shame…Now, this! I’ve run home to Mother again.”

Shaking his head, Peter would have said, “Hey, look at me. Who do you think you’re telling this to? I’ve been there and done that big time!”

All the rest of that night, Mark would have listened while Peter talked about his own denial of Jesus, the restoration breakfast on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the coming of the Holy Spirit, the awesome work of God on the Day of Pentecost and the real meaning of our Lord’s commission to go into the entire world.

As the sun was rising over the Mountains of Moab, Mark might have knelt, with Peter’s hand on his back, to confess failure and submit himself afresh to the Lordship of Christ.

During the days ahead, there must have been many hours spent in sharing between the young man and his mentor. Peter didn’t pull any punches. He didn’t just tell the glory stories. As he reminisced about all that happened during those three years with Jesus, he would have talked about how he and the other disciples just didn’t get it. He would have allowed his own failures to be seen by this young man who had been crushed by failure. He would have admitted how his mouth constantly ran ahead of his understanding; how he made promises when he didn’t even know what he was talking about. He would have talked about the Master’s impatience with religious legalists and his compassion for the multitudes. He would have remembered the miracles, and the amazing things that happened when they dared to appropriate the authority and power they were given as sent ones. In conclusion, he probably confessed how it seemed that all was lost on that awful Friday, when they realized that Jesus was really dead.  Then, Sunday came and things had never been the same.

Peter might have taken Mark by both shoulders, looked him straight in the eyes and said, “Listen, if you don’t hear anything else that I’m telling you, get this; failure is not final!

As Peter poured himself into John Mark, the young man’s heart must have burned with a new awareness of the living Christ and with a sense of mission. He probably started writing it all down in a journal. Purpose replaced failure. He felt inspiration welling up inside him. He felt compelled to be a good steward of what he was hearing and learning. He felt that he had to tell this story!

Then, a day arrived that Mark had dreaded. Paul and Barnabas returned to Jerusalem. Maybe Mary invited the missionaries to dinner and her son asked himself, “How can I face them? What are they going to say to me? What can I say to them?”

 That meeting must have been awkward. As these evangelists to the Gentiles talked about the response they had seen and God’s sustaining power in the face of persecution, Mark would have been thinking, “I missed getting in on that…I could have been there…I could have seen and experienced that.”

His encounter with Paul was probably akin to that of the tough coach of a winning team running across a player who had quit just before the season’s biggest game. Neither of them had much to say.

After Paul had excused himself and it was just family, Mary might have said, “Son, why don’t you tell your cousin Barnabas what has been happening since you came home?”

As Barnabas listened and as he observed Mark’s growth over the next few days, he became convinced that vital lessons had been learned, that his cousin was ready to try again.

Later however, in Antioch, when Barnabas suggested to Paul that they take Mark with them to visit the churches they had planted - that they give him a second chance and let him see what he had missed - he got a firm, “No way!”

Barnabas’s name meant “Son of Encouragement.” He had the tendency to look at someone and ask, “What can God do for and through this person.”

Paul was a totally sold-out, no nonsense man, obsessed with an urgent mission. He looked at someone and asked, “What can this person do for God?”

In The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases Acts 15:37-41: “Barnabas wanted to take John along, the John nicknamed Mark. But Paul wouldn’t have him; he wasn’t about to take along a quitter who, as soon as the going got tough, had jumped ship on them in Pamphylia. Tempers flared, and they ended up going their separate ways: Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus; Paul chose Silas and, offered up by their friends to the grace of the Master, went to Syria and Cilicia to build up muscle and sinew in those congregations.”

Now, instead of one missionary team, there were two. It wasn’t that Barnabas was right and Paul was wrong. However, one was quick to offer a second chance and the other was saying, “Not until I’m sure. Too much is at stake. Show me.”

Barnabas’s attitude, welcoming him back into the loop, was the encouragement the young man needed to recommit himself to his calling in Christ. Paul’s attitude, and the example of that apostle’s sharp singular discipline and focus, challenged Mark to discover a new level of determination.

Every day, he must have remembered the lesson he had learned from Peter: “Failure is not final!”

Over the next few years, Mark’s journal grew and grew - and he grew. One of the best days of his life must have been when Paul once again invited him to join his team. Ten years after that sharp disagreement between the Apostle and Barnabas, we find the young missionary dropout with Paul during his house arrest in Rome. When a letter was written to Philemon, Mark’s name is included with that of Luke and others who were standing by the evangelist to the Gentiles (Philemon 24).

Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae contains a strong word of commendation about Mark: “Barnabas’s cousin Mark (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him),” Colossians 4:10b.

A strong bond was formed between Mark and Paul to the extent that, when the Apostle was imprisoned in Rome a second time, he wrote to Timothy saying, “Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service,” 2 Timothy 4:11.

Mark’s bond with Peter remained strong. Obviously, they were together when that Apostle wrote 1 Peter, his letter to believers scattered throughout the Roman Empire. He refers to “my son, Mark.”

It is likely that Mark lived to see the two men who had the greatest influence on him lay down their lives for Christ. Perhaps he remained in Rome after Paul had been executed. He saw Nero turning up the heat on Christians. With all of this swirling about him, he was inspired to write the “gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” the story he had heard over and over from Peter. Ironically, the young Levite wrote to a Roman, Gentile audience what Peter, the apostle to the Jews, had seen and heard. If he had difficulty at one time understanding that this message was for everyone everywhere, he had learned his lessons well.

Applying what God taught Mark to our own lives, what should we remember?

        * Don’t give up on yourself because God hasn’t given up on you.

        * Be humble and honest enough to let other people learn from your failures. You might end up being a Peter to another John Mark.

        * Take a chance and be a “Son of Encouragement” to someone who is ready for a second chance.

        * Don’t be harder on other people than God is on you. When someone proves himself, welcome him back to the team.

        * Keep your focus on Jesus. Without Him, you can do nothing.

        * Remember an important lesson that Mark surely learned from Paul: “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 3:12-14, NASB.

Mark learned what we must learn - failure is not final.    

Stories That Stretch and Stir

“Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don’t forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren.” Deuteronomy 4:9 (HCSB)  

Stories are vital.  They are the seeds of dreams.  They show us what is possible and expand our horizons.  They tell us about people who endured and conquered, making us believe that we can too.

History is the story of how our sovereign God has worked with and through humans.

Recently, I read a book filled with good stories.   In fact, its title is A God-Sized Vision, Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir.[1]  Its authors are Collin Hansen, the editorial director for the Gospel Coalition, and John Woodbridge, research professor of Church History and History of Christian Thought at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. 

In the book’s preface, they conclude that most modern Christians have become so satisfied “with small things that they have lost their taste for big things.”  Their accusation is that “few of us today are tempted to dream too big.  Rather, our vision shirks to the size of our limited experience.”[2]

Like the Israelites of old, we quickly forget what God has done…But our problem today may be worse than mere forgetfulness; we have never even heard the stories of many of the revivals that have shaken nations and changed history.

“We need to recover these testimonies of God’s faithfulness.  Already, too many generations have been cut off from their legacy. ”[3]

From 1938 until 1968, Martyn Lloyd-Jones was the pastor of London’s Westminster Chapel.   He had a heart that hungered for revival, but he never saw it.  Instead, during his years of anointed ministry, he watched the British churches surrounding his realize too late the mess they had created.  They had relied too long on their ancestors’ legacy and could not feel the foundation crumbling beneath them.  He never persuaded the bulk of his country’s evangelicals to pursue the God who can do in a moment what incremental organization can hardly accomplish in a lifetime.   He must have been often discouraged, but Lloyd-Jones called the reading of church history “the greatest tonic to a drooping spirit.”[4]

Jonathan Edwards, who was powerfully used during our country’s first Great Awakening, believed that the stories of God in action in the lives of His people contributed to every outpouring of the Holy Spirit in revival.  He wrote, “It has been found by experience that the tidings of remarkable effects of the power and grace of God in any place, tend greatly to awaken and engage the minds of persons in other places.”[5]

Habakkuk was stirred by the stories of God’s mighty works in the redemptive history of his people, and he was moved to pray, “Lord, I have heard the report about You; Lord, I stand in awe of Your deeds.    Revive ⌊Your work⌋ in these years; make ⌊it⌋ known in these years.  In ⌊Your⌋ wrath remember mercy!” (Habakkuk 3:2, HCSB)

In 1863, Scottish doctor William Mackay felt drawn to this text and wrote the hymn “Revive Us Again.”

In 1875, D. L. Moody’s music associate, Ira Sankey, included it in his compilation of Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs.  As he and Moody reflected on the great prayer revivals of 1857-1859, it expressed their heart cry for God to do it again.[6] 

Where is our heart cry?  Do we even know that there is something more for which we should long?

An important reminder regarding revival:  God sends revival not merely for our sake, but for the glory of his own name.

“God of our salvation, help us — for the glory of Your name.  Deliver us and atone for our sins, because of Your name.” (Psalm 79:9, HCSB)

No need will ever surpass our need for God Himself.  God-centered revivals withstand the temptation to treasure the blessings of revival over the One who blesses.[7]

There is no New Testament exhortation to pray for revival.  You do not pray for God to send revival when you are living in one.  However, there is much that we can learn from First Century Christianity about the nature of a revived church:[8]

• There was the equipping of the Holy Spirit for the powerful proclamation of the gospel.
• Large numbers of people were drawn to Christ.
• Followers of Jesus could not keep away from each other; their community was marked by love.
• The world took notice of the Church.
• Christians were living in the experience of what happens when there is repentance:  “Therefore repent and turn back, that your sins may be wiped out so that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…” (Acts 3:10, HCSB)
• When revival comes, God answers Paul’s prayer for the church at Ephesus: “⌊I pray⌋ that He may grant you, according to the riches s of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. ⌊I pray that⌋ you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and width, height and depth, and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:16-19, HCSB)
• When revival comes, for an extended period of time, the Church knows and demonstrates the power of the Holy Spirit:  “For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with much assurance. You know what kind of men we were among you for your benefit, and you became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with the joy from the Holy Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 1:5-6, HCSB)

During revival, the church worships, prays, preaches and evangelizes with intensified force.  The church militant catches a glimpse of its future as the church triumphant. 

When you think about the history of revival in North America, two men come quickly to mind in marked contrast, Jonathan Edwards and Charles Finney.[9] 

Many historians regard Edwards as the greatest revival theologian.  He came from his studies at Yale to succeed his grandfather as the pastor of the Congregational church in Northampton, Connecticut, in 1729.  During the next 21 years, God visited that community with two major revivals.  Edwards believed that God employs certain means, such as preaching the Word of God, in order to spur revival.  But he did not teach that any series of events could guarantee an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Only god himself could bestow such a blessing on his people in his own sovereign timing.  He described the sudden and spontaneous outburst of religious fervor in Northampton in 1741 as a “surprising work of God.”

Charles Finney was the most prominent American revivalist in the 19^th Century.  He taught that only our reluctance hinders revival.  He said, “You see why you have not a revival.  It is only because you do not want one.”

Finney said, “Revival is nothing more than a new beginning of obedience to God.”

He employed what he called “new measures” that would yield the fruit of revival, much like a wise farmer practices when hoping for an abundant harvest. 

However, he believed that no one obeys divine commands unless God intervenes in response to prayer.

Ironically, while Finney is often accused of making religion a human work and of having a theology that leads to manipulation, his evangelistic ministry is one of the greatest illustrations of the sovereignty of God. 

He was converted in October, 1821.  He was used to reach over 100,000 people for Christ between 1830 and 1831 in Rochester, New York.  In 1821, there were not that many people living in Rochester.  However, the year after Finney’s ordination, in 1825 the Erie Canal was opened.  Thousands of people flooded into the Western Frontier, and one of the times when people are most reachable is during a time of transition. 

Men such as Edwards and Finney are reminders that God has been pleased to use individuals as His instruments during times of revival.  Others of note have been George Whitefiled, John Wesley, Timothy Dwight, Jeremiah Lanphier and D. L. Moody.

I believe that America was uniquely touched by revival during and immediately after World War ll.  In the late 1940s the Youth Led Revival Movement broke out on the campus of Baylor University in Texas, and then a second wave of that movement began within the Cadet Corps at Texas A&M University in the early 1950s.

In 1944, Torrey Johnson started Chicagoland Youth for Christ.  At the first rally, Evangelist Merv Rosell preached, and a young radio disc jockey on Moody Bible Institute’s radio station sang.  His name was George Beverly Shea.  Soon, a recent graduate of Wheaton College would be preaching at YFC rallies across the country.  His name was Billy Graham.[10]

From 1950 to 1958, church membership grew from 57% of America’s population to 63.7%.  In just five years, between 1947 and 1952, Bible sales doubled.[11]      

During those days of spiritual awaking among American young people, an almost blind lady, Henrietta Mears, became the director of religious education at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, California.  In just three years, under her leadership, Sunday School enrollment increased from 450 to 4,500.[12] 

In 1944, a young Oklahoma cowboy from Coweta, a range management graduate of Oklahoma State University, moved to California and came under the influence of Henrietta Mears.  She led him and, eventually, his Oklahoma fiancée to Christ.  She not only discipled Bill and Vonette Bright, she invited them to live with her.  Challenged by her call to be “expendable for Christ,” Bill and Vonette began aggressively reaching out to students at USC and UCLA.  When they were ready to launch an official college ministry, Dr. Wilbur Smith, Bill’s favorite professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, suggested the name Campus Crusade for Christ.[13] 

As I read A God- Sized Vision, I was struck again with how often revival fires are ignited in the hearts of young people on college and university campuses; Yale during Timothy Dwight’s tenure as president at Yale, the awakenings at Ashbury College and Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, the Youth-Led Revival Movement and many more.  Out of these revivals God has called and sent young men and women who have written new chapters in the history of missions and evangelism. 

As the Prayer Revival that began in New York in 1857 spread across the country, revival broke out on the campuses of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Amherst, the University of California at Berkeley, Dartmouth, Davidson, Oberlin, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Wisconsin and Wake Forest.  As many as ninety college revivals swept through American campuses.[14] 

At this season, the fruit of one of these campus revivals should be of special interest to us as Southern Baptists.  In 1859, John A. Broadus became a founding professor of New Testament and preaching at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Before that, he was the pastor of Charlottesville Baptist Church and then chaplain for the University of Virginia.  In 1852, revival broke out in Charlottesville, but when Broadus became the university chaplain in 1855, he found that the UVA students showed few signs of revival.   He could only identify 95 Christians in the student body. 

He had to wait until 1858, at the tail end of national awakening, to see revival again in Charlottesville.  That year, working with the YMCA, churches, university and parachurch groups worked together in a common cause.  Over 200 students participated in weekly prayer meetings.  The YMCA president spent Sunday afternoons teaching slaves about Christianity. 

In December of 1858, Broadus convened evangelistic meetings for the male and female students in town.  The Albemarle women prayed especially for the salvation of one student; the one student they were sure would never attend one of their meetings.  To their shock, Lottie Moon did attend.  On December 21, 1858, she publically professed her faith in Christ.  She had gone to that first meeting to scoff, but returned to pray all night. 

Broadus followed his evangelistic meetings with a call for students to consider spending their lives as missionaries or pastors.  He probably did not expect that a woman would be the most famous student to respond. 

When she was 33, Lottie Moon went to China, where her sister was already a missionary.  She led hundreds of people to Christ; instilled a passion for missions in the hearts of Baptist women back at home, extended herself for the Chinese people during war and disease, withered away, and weighing only 57 pounds, died on Christmas Eve in 1912.  What started during a campus revival in Charlottesville had reached the world and transformed a whole denomination. [15]   

---

[1] Zondervan, A God-Sized Vision, ©2010 by Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge

[2] Ibid, p. 12

[3] Ibid p. 14

[4] Ibid, p. 16

[5] Ibid, p. 16

[6] Ibid, p. 19

[7] Ibid, p. 25

[8] Ibid, pp. 25-29

[9] Ibid, p. 32

[10] Ibid, p. 159

[11] Ibid, p. 168

[12] Ibid, 160

[13] Ibid, pp. 170-173

[14] Ibid, p. 89

[15] Ibid, pp. 89-92

What If You Won the Lottery? By Gary Taylor

 

You see the signs almost every day.  They promise multiplied millions of dollars if you can just hit the jackpot with a winning lottery ticket. 

 

When you see those outlandish sums emblazoned on the billboards, do you dream about what your life would be like if it happened to you?  What if it did?  Would you suddenly become a better, happier person?  Would all of your dreams come true?  Would all of your problems be solved?  Would you be guaranteed a long and happy life?

 

Several years ago a friend of mine, who is a bank executive in my hometown of Jackson, Tennessee, looked up from his desk.  Through a glass window that looked out onto the lobby he saw an anxious couple.  Both the man and the woman were wearing jeans and T-shirts.  They were obviously from the hard working lower middle class.  He quickly pegged them as being broke and desperately hoping for a loan.  When his administrative assistant called asking if he had the time to meet with new customers, he reluctantly said that he did.

 

Within moments after receiving the couple in his office, all of the banker’s assumptions were dispelled.  The couple had just won a $10 million lottery jackpot!

 

They were from a large city, about an hour’s drive from the small town bank.  They had made the trip hoping to find a safe haven for their new riches; a place where they could deposit the money without anyone knowing.  They were looking for a way to escape the glare of publicity and its certain complications.   

 

As the baffled banker listened, the couple explained what seemed to be a logical plan for eluding the hazards that such a windfall brings in its train.  They wanted to do this right, and it seemed that all of their dreams had just come true.   

 

Now, put yourself in their place.  What would you do if you won $10 million? 

 

If asked that question by a television interviewer, most people would announce that their first intention was to give to their church or some charitable organization.   In reality, this seldom happens.  People say those things to picture themselves in the best possible light.   

 

Within a few weeks after the newly rich couple had deposited their winnings in the small town bank, the news about their fortune leaked out in their community.  That which they had feared came upon them.  Everyone wanted a piece of their action.  Their days and nights were spent fighting off the pitches of financial consultants, estate planners and insurance salesmen.  Then they began getting calls from family members they had not known existed.  This one needed a new car, another needed a loan.  On and on it went. 

 

In desperation, the couple tried to appease their clamoring family while satisfying themselves with the luxuries they had always dreamed about.  After giving each member of their family what they saw as a generous allotment, they bought new cars for themselves.  They bought a new house, then a second home in Florida.  They secured the stuff they thought necessary to appear and feel that they had arrived.

 

However, the more they helped their family, the more their family wanted. As they continued to be bombarded with lavish requests, they watched their lives begin to spiral out of control.  People they loved and really wanted to help were angrily arguing over who had received the most money. 

 

As the storm raged around them, the couple started drifting away from each other.  The wife spent more and more time away from her husband while he tried to hold things together.  Then, the day came when she announced that she wanted out of their relationship. 

 

Just 18 months after winning $10 million dollars, a broken man wept in the office of my friend, the banker.  Slamming his fist onto the desk, he groaned, “I wish we had never won that lottery.”   

 

Now, let me ask you again, “What would you do if you won $10 million?” 

 

God is not really interested in how we answer that question.  He is interested in what we are doing right now with what we already have.

 

We have to understand that we cannot cut deals with God.  His principles are non-negotiable.  We can say that we would do this or that if we just had better circumstances and more stuff.  But, what really counts is what we are doing with what we have. 

 

A wide canyon separates the United States of America from the rest of the world.   We have only four percent of the world’s population, but we own and consume about 30% of the world’s produce.  We consume more electricity, fuel and food products per person than any other country on the planet.  Our dreams are based on consumption, power and money.  For the most part, we are ruled by greed. 

 

Why do we in America love money so much?  We love it because it gives us a temporary fix to our addiction to control, power and influence.  We love taking care of ourselves, and it is hard for us to see beyond ourselves.  We believe we are better than other people because of what we have.  We have bought into the lie that money and power will bring happiness.  However, the reverse is really true.   

 

For over 20 years, I have worked with people in poverty-stricken Third World countries.  I am constantly amazed by what I find.  In the poorest places, in the places where people have the least, I find those whose lives are overflowing with joy.  They know Christ in deep intimate relationships.  They have made the liberating discovery that nothing outside of Him can make them really happy; no person, place or possession…not even $10 million. 

 

How does this happen? 

 

Of ourselves, we cannot make it happen.  We cannot will the greed and lust out of our hearts.  By nature, we are controlled by an attitude of selfishness and rebellion.  As a result, our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9).  We must have new hearts (Ezekiel 36:26).  All we can bring to God is our broken selves.  We must come to the end of ourselves and come to Him just as we are.  Drawn by the Holy Spirit, there must be an “about face” in our lives.  We need total transformation (John 3:3).  We need to have a new direction and focus.  Everything within us needs to be realigned (2 Corinthians 5:17).  We need to be delivered from our addictions to money, power and control.  We need to be addicted to Christ, controlled by Him (Ephesians 5:17). 

 

There can only be one priority in your life (Matthew 6:24).  Christ must occupy that place.  He takes that place, the throne in your heart, when you come to the end of yourself and submit to Him. 

 

Jesus said, “Do not be called masters…because you have one Master, the Messiah.” (Matthew 23:10, HCSB)

 

When Christ becomes your Priority, you are on the right path.   Then, everything and everyone gives way to Him (Galatians 2:20).

 

Out of this relationship with Christ, I have discovered my own personal mission.  It is summed up in these words, “Seek not the powerful and the privileged, nor admire the rich and famous, but search for the poor and needy and you will find the power of God.”

 

God’s kingdom operates in ways that are radically different from the world’s values and laws.  In the world, one plus one equals two.  In the Kingdom of God, one plus one can equal 100 or even more.  God can multiple what is yielded to Him and cause it to expand at an incomprehensible rate.  He uses the weak to shame the strong (I Corinthians 1:28). 

 

Will you allow the trials and heartaches, the storms of life, to bring you into a vital relationship with Christ?  Will you yield yourself to total dependence on Him?  Will you let Him realign and adjust your worldview to His own?  Will you submit and allow Him to reign in your life as Lord?  

 

As Christians, we gain by losing.  The smaller we become, the greater He becomes in and through us. 

 

Jesus said, “Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it.” (Matthew 10:39, HCSB)  

 

Would that new luxurious home ultimately make you happy?  Would a career promotion, that meant spending less time with your family, really result in fulfillment and satisfaction?

 

Personally, I have had to stop, take an inventory, look deep within myself, examine my motives and ask if I am really allowing Christ to radically touch a lost world through me.       As I struggle to be set free from the grip of materialism, I am arrested by the gravity of Jesus’ command, “Go…and make disciples.” (Matthew 28:19a, HCSB)

 

You may say, “If I won $10 million dollars, I would give most of it to God.”

 

You could do that and still not give God what He wants.  He wants more than any material thing you can give Him.  He wants your heart fixed completely on Him.

 

The Christ for Every Crisis

More and more, I am being challenged to jettison the term “Christian” and talk about being a follower of Jesus.  Isn’t that what it really means to be a Christian?  Only as we follow Him can we know Him, experience Him and hope to become like Him.

 

This is wonderfully illustrated in the lives of the twelve men who heard Jesus say, “Follow Me,” and did just that.  Join me in following with them through an amazing night and day of their journey.  As we do so, we will see Jesus as they saw Him, as the Christ for Every Crisis.

 

In the Crisis of the Storm

 

“On that day, when evening had come, He told them, ‘Let's cross over to the other side [of the lake].’” (Mark 4:35)

 

Jesus had spent a long day sitting in a boat and teaching people gathered on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. In this natural amphitheater, He had used stories to communicate vital truths about the Kingdom of God.

 

Jesus was teaching His followers that they were not with Him just to receive blessing. They had been called so that they could become channels of blessing. He was equipping them to be servants. They were being entrusted with a powerful, revolutionary message about the King and His Kingdom.

Now, Jesus decided that it was time for an object lesson. He had business to do on the eastern shore of the lake and on the way His men would learn faith in the grip of fear.

 

“So they left the crowd and took Him along since He was [already] in the boat. And other boats were with Him. A fierce windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him up and said to Him, ‘Teacher! Don't you care that we're going to die?’” (Mark 4:36-38)

 

It is easy for me to imagine this scene. In 1978, our son, Rob, was with me in Israel. We had enjoyed a good meal at our hotel in Tiberias, on the south shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Before going back to our room, we walked out onto a pier to watch the moonlight on the water and the lights on the Golan Heights. Then, we stretched out on our backs and marveled at the brilliance of the stars over Galilee. Not a breeze was stirring. The sky was clear. The only sounds to be heard were music and laughter from the hotel, and the gentle sloshing of lake water against the sea wall. We retired soothed by the tranquility of such a night.

 

At about 2:30 a. m., I was jolted from sleep by the crashing of thunder, the howling of wind and blinding flashes of lightning. Sheets of rain were being driven against the hotel’s windows. I had washed a pair of Rob’s jeans before going to bed, and had laid them on our balcony to dry. When I rushed out to retrieve them, I was stunned to see the lake, which had been so quiet a few hours earlier, now churned into angry crashing turbulence. I thought, “This is what happened on that night that Mark wrote about.”

 

Most of the men who were with Jesus were experienced fishermen. This lake was home to them. They had been in storms before, so this one must have been the mother of them all. The boat was filling with water. They were powerless against its fury. They were afraid…and Jesus was asleep.

 

Have you ever been afraid? Sure you have. Show me a man who says that he has never known fear, and I’ll show you a man who is either lying, or he doesn’t have a clue about the realities of life.

 

Here’s the test. What do you do when you are afraid?

 

King Jehoshaphat of Judah was faced with an overwhelming invading force. In 2 Chronicles 20:3, the Bibles says that he “was afraid, so he resolved to seek the LORD.”

 

When he stood before His people to pray, he said, “We are powerless before this vast multitude that comes [to fight] against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to You.” (v. 12)

 

Here is the answer to His prayer: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.” (v. 15)

 

This is the lesson Jesus was teaching His disciples and us during that threatening storm.  In their fear, they cried out to Him. He woke without alarm. When he spoke, an immediate calm fell on the lake; no wind and no rain. The danger, that had been so real, fled at His command.

 

“Then He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful? Do you still have no faith?’" (Mark

4:40)

In retrospect, it is easy for us to say, “Hey, guys, why were you afraid? Jesus had already told you that you were going to the other side. Your destination was guaranteed. He was with you, and He was perfectly at peace in the midst of the storm…so, no problem!”

 

Put that to the test the next time you get a bad report from the doctor or the bottom falls out of the economy. Then, paraphrase Jesus’ response to His men like this: “Okay, you were a little slow making the call and a little shrill when you did, but you made the right call. Count on this, storms will keep on coming, all kinds of them. Some are going to be a lot worse than the one you have just been through. When they come, remember tonight. And remember this; your faith is only as strong as its object.”

 

John may have whispered under his breath, “Whoa! Who is this?”

 

Staring at the glass-like surface of the lake, Peter may have said, “I think that’s what He’s trying to tell us.”

 

• Being in a storm does not always mean that you are out of God’s will.  Jonah got into a storm because he was disobedient.  The disciples got into a storm because they were obedient.
• Jesus told the disciples that they were going to the other side.  He did not promise an easy trip.  He did promise a safe arrival.
• Because Jesus is the Master of Circumstances, His followers can say, “I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, Lord, make me live in safety.” (Psalm 4:8)
• The greatest danger was not from the storm, but from the unbelief in the hearts of the disciples.  Our greatest problems are within us, not around us.  We must beware of “an evil heart of unbelief.”

 

In the Crisis of a Broken Life

 

In the first light of a new day, the dark mouths of the caves along the lake’s southeastern shore may have greeted Jesus and His disciples like the eye sockets of the dead.  In reality, this place, on the edge of the region of the Gerasenes, was a graveyard. That stark reality would have added to the shock of what was about to happen. The adrenalin rush of the stormy night had left the disciples shaken. Now, they were all but wiped out by the screaming of a naked man who was running straight at them. Again, Jesus showed no surprise.

 

“As soon as He got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met Him. He lived in the tombs. No one was able to restrain him any more—even with chains — because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had snapped off the chains and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. And always, night and day, he was crying out among the tombs and in the mountains and cutting himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before Him.” (Mark 5:2-6)

 

In our “civilized” Western world, encounters with demon-possessed people are the stuff of Stephen King novels and Hollywood horror films. However, in much of the world these fantasies pale in the face of reality.

 

In 1979, my dear friend, Jimmy Hodges, and I arrived in Uganda just as the madman Idi Amin was about to plunge that country into eight years of unimaginable carnage. Before we went into the bush for two weeks of village ministry, Missionary Webster Carroll gave us his “this isn’t a game” field orientation. One segment went something like this: “Fellows, this is a place of darkness; a place where the devil and his demons have had free reign in the minds and hearts of people. If you go out there carelessly, thinking that you know all the right words and moves, you will not only get surprised, you might get hurt. Don’t attempt anything in your own strength. Go in Christ’s strength, completely dependent on Him.”

 

Since then, I have had encounters in Africa, Central America, Brazil and Haiti that I can’t explain. I have seen people in the grip of something that unmasks the folly of our civilized skepticism.

 

That morning, Jesus was confronted with a man who was out of control. He couldn’t control himself. His family couldn’t control him. Society labeled him as a hopeless menace. Its answer was to isolate and bind him. Even that didn’t work. He was destroying everything he touched and he was being destroyed. He was a walking dead man, existing in a graveyard. He was a horrifying example of Satan’s plan for man.

 

Jesus said in John 10:10, “A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy.”

 

In 1 Peter 5:8-9, we are warned, “Be sober! Be on the alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being experienced by your brothers in the world.”

 

Describing us before we were drawn to Christ, Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:1-3, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to this worldly age, according to the ruler of the atmospheric domain, the spirit now working in the disobedient.”

 

Amazingly, while the disciples were still wondering who Jesus was, they heard it clearly confessed by demons. Having been ordered out of the man, the unclean spirit “cried out with a loud voice, ‘What do You have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You before God, don't torment me!’” (Mark 5:7)

 

Satan and his demons know who Jesus is, and they fear Him. In James 2:19, we are told,

 

“You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder.”

 

As this pitiful man trembled before Jesus, it is interesting to note that the multitude of demons possessing him did not know what Jesus was about to do. They were begging Him not to cast them into the pit of hell. They knew His power, but they couldn’t read His mind.

 

We often give the devil more than his due.

• He is not present everywhere.
• He is not all powerful and all knowing.
• He is a fallen creature.
• He cannot do anything that God does not permit.

 

However, in their arrogant rebellion against God, men choose to cooperate with Satan’s destructive plan for their lives. Because of this, our neighborhoods and campuses are full of people who are out of control. Even though they may not be possessed by a legion of demons, sin has accomplished the same terrible work in them that we see in the Gerasene madman.

 

• Like him, they have lost everything; homes, families, friends and decency. 
• They are bound by the chains of addiction.
• They are without peace and purpose.
• They desperately need to an encounter with Christ!

 

When Jesus gave the demons permission to go into a herd of pigs, we see the finished product of the Thief, death and destruction.

 

When people from the nearby town heard that something was happening by the lake, they came running. One would think that they would have rejoiced to find a man made whole, clothed and in his right mind (5:15), sitting before a Man with power over demons. Instead, the Bible says, “They were afraid. The eyewitnesses described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and [told] about the pigs. Then they began to beg Him to leave their region.” (Mark 5:15b-17)

 

Given a choice between people and their needs over against anything that might have a negative impact on the economy, it’s always the economy.

 

Jesus is a gentleman. He does not stay where He is not welcome. The King landed on their shore and they asked Him to leave.

 

We should tremble as we see America doing the same thing. His name is the most offensive word that can be spoken in our nation. Over and over, He is being told, “You are not welcome in our courthouses, our libraries, our classrooms and boardrooms.”

 

However, where Jesus has touched and transformed a life, there is an undeniable witness to His saving power. Men may treat the Bible with contempt. They may belittle the churches and scoff at God’s law. But they cannot explain a new man. For as long as he lived, there was a man among the Gerasenes announcing the good news about Jesus.

 

Every person who had known anything about him before his deliverance knew that he was the proof of what he was saying.

 

In the Crisis of Desperate Need

 

Early that afternoon, the Christ who had been rejected by the Gerasenes was enthusiastically welcomed back to the shore near Capernaum.  Jesus both repels and attracts.

 

“When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him while He was by the sea.” (Mark 5:21)

 

In that crowd were two people with great need. One was a respected and wealthy religious leader who was discovering that position and money could not save his dying daughter. The other was an unknown woman who had already lost all of her money and health. Now, she saw Jesus as her only hope.

 

Before she could press her way through the crowd, Jairus, the synagogue leader got Jesus’ attention and laid claim to His time.

 

“He fell at His feet and kept begging Him, ‘My little daughter is at death's door.  Come and lay Your hands on her so she can get well and live.’

 

“So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against Him.” (Mark 5:22b-24)

 

Jesus was on an urgent mission.  A young life was slipping away. There was no time to be lost. No distractions could be allowed.

 

“Hold my calls. Cancel all of my afternoon appointments. Don’t let anyone bother me.”

 

That’s how it is done when important people are doing important things.

 

With Jesus it was different. He is never surprised and He doesn’t wear a watch. When someone showed up without an appointment, there was no waiting. When He was “on His way,” look out! Something unexpected and good was about to happen!

 

As He walked through the streets with the anxious Jairus, He was being thronged by many, but He was about to be touched by one. That timid touch got His undivided attention.

 

“A woman suffering from bleeding for 12 years had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. Having heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His robe. For she said, ‘If I can just touch His robes, I'll be made well!’ Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was cured of her affliction.

 

“At once Jesus realized in Himself that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched My robes?’

 

“His disciples said to Him, ‘You see the crowd pressing against You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'

 

“So He was looking around to see who had done this. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came with fear and trembling, fell down before Him, and told Him the whole truth. ‘Daughter,’ He said to her, ‘your faith has made you well.  Go in peace and be free from your affliction.’” (Mark 5:25-34)

 

Jesus didn’t have to be told what had happened when the sick woman touched Him. It was done. She was well. Still, He did not allow her to slip away. He called her out of the crowd. Why?

 

He wanted her to have more than a healing experience. He wanted her to know Him and have a relationship with Him.

 

If she had touched Him and gone away healed, she might have seen what happened as the magic result of a superstitious action. He wanted her to know that she was the object of God’s love. For as long as she lived, she would remember Him calling her “daughter” as much as she would remember being healed. She probably talked more about Him than she did about her health. One day, she would lose her health again. In Him she had something that could not be lost.

 

Can you imagine the turmoil in the mind and heart of Jairus while Jesus was stopping in the street to deal with this unclean woman? Then, his worst fears became reality.

 

“While He was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader's house and

said, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?’” (Mark 5:35)

 

Just when it seemed prayer was going to be answered, everything was lost! What if someone had stopped that woman from distracting Jesus? Those precious lost minutes might have made the difference between life and death. His shoulders sagged and the light of hope went out in Jairus’ eyes.

 

“But when Jesus overheard what was said, He told the synagogue leader, "Don't be afraid. Only believe." (Mark 5:36)

 

Literally, Jesus was saying, “Go on believing.”

 

He was telling Jairus, “It took faith and courage for you to come to me in the first place.  I know that your fellow synagogue leaders would not approve of you asking me for anything. You saw what just happened when that woman reached out to me. Now, don’t give up. Stay with me and keep believing.”

 

After telling everyone else to stay put, Jesus took Peter, James and John (Rocky and the Sons of Thunder) with Him and followed Jairus home. Long before they entered the house, they heard the wailing and warbling of the professional mourners. Everyone in the neighborhood knew that the girl was dead. That reality gave what Jesus said next a ring of absurdity.

 

“He went in and said to them, ‘Why are you making a commotion and weeping?  The child is not dead but asleep.’” (Mark 5:39)

Something is not dead until Jesus says that it is dead.

 

Ignoring the mourners’ laughs of derision, Jesus cleared the house of everyone but the grieving mother and father and that trio of men on whom He was staking so much. He never conducted a healing crusade or advertised His next big miracle. He was stirred with compassion for broken hearts, and He was teaching vital lessons about Himself.  From the storm until now, this night and day had unfolded according to His agenda.

 

Speaking in her mother tongue, Jesus took the girl by the hand and said, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"

 

Here Mark used his favorite word. He was inspired to write, “Immediately the girl got up and began to walk.”

 

In less than 24 hours, Jesus had calmed a violent storm, delivered an out of control demon-possessed man, healed a desperately sick and ostracized woman, and given a dead child new life. At the end of all of that, He demonstrated simple, practical, common sense. Turning to the girl’s “utterly astounded” parents, He said, “Give her something to eat.”

 

When Jesus brings life out of death, feed that which is now alive.

 

Back out on the street, James, shaking his head, might have turned to Peter and John with, “And we thought the storm was something!”

 

Perhaps the Apostle Paul had heard his first mentor, Peter, talk about that extraordinary night and day with Jesus.  No doubt, he had remembered it time after time during the crisis of shipwreck, beatings, rejection and sickness.  He may have been thinking about it when he was inspired to write:

 

 ‘In all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!’” (Romans 8:38-39)

 

It was true then, and it is true now.

• Storms will rage.
• The devil will take his best shot. 
• Health will fail and death will come.
• Through it all, He is more than enough.
• He is the Master of Circumstances.
• He is never dismayed.
• He is always in control.
• He is the Christ for Every Crisis

All scripture references are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

© 2010 Wayne Bristow

 

Brazil 2010 Report

June 25-July 4, 2010, I had the privilege of leading 18 volunteers from Edmond’s First Baptist Church to participate in an extremely well-organized and effective human needs/evangelism strategy under the auspices of Pioneer Missions, a non-profit missionary organization affiliated with Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.  Our project was organized in cooperation with Iregja Batista Nacional Betania in Vitoria da Conquista, a city of 300,000 people.  Our specific object was to facilitate a new church start in one of the city’s poorest and most crime-infested communities. 

 

Our team partnered with a team of eight volunteers from Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, TN, a corps of committed and gifted interpreters, and many local Christians.  Our Brazilian coordinators were Pioneer Missions missionaries, Rosanne and Eduardo Soares of Porto Seguro.  They were accompanied by their daughters, Jessica and Lorena.  Our North American coordinator was Gary Taylor, a founder and director of Pioneer Missions and a veteran of countless missions throughout Brazil.  His right-hand man was Dr. Phillip Jett, pastor emeritus of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, MS.  They were also engaged in the construction of a church/community center/trade school in another poor neighborhood.  Their dream is the transformation of entire communities. 

 

Our work was a component of a larger strategy envisioned by Pioneer Missions missionary, Pastor Carlos.  He sees Vitoria da Conquista as the base for calling out, equipping and sending a multitude of national missionaries/evangelists/church planters throughout the vast regions of northeast Brazil, where there are hundreds of unreached towns without any evangelical church.  Pioneer Missions has made a multi-year commitment to the city councils and Baptist churches of the cities of Porto Seguro and Vitoria da Conquista.  I have not observed a sounder and more fruitful strategy anywhere in the world.

 

Ours was a diverse team.  In ages, we ranged from 80 to 16.  In experience, we ranged from seasoned veterans of volunteer projects to those who were doing this for the first time.  We were energized by our young people; three high school students, two university students and a young married couple.  They were led by our youth pastor, Jonathan Pickett.  They arrived in Brazil well rehearsed and spiritually ready for their exhausting multiple performances of the powerful evangelistic drama, The Redeemer.  Our coordinators commented several times about their being the best prepared team with which they had worked.

 

Travel wise, this was not an easy trip.  Going down we had ample opportunities to see each other in all the stages of exhilaration and exhaustion.  Everyone stuck tight as a group, I kept our yellow team T-shirts in sight and, in spite of close connections, we sped through four airports and made it into Porto Seguro on schedule.  After lunch and rest at a good hotel, we hooked up with our Tennessee counterparts after their delayed flight and made the six-hour bus trip to Vitoria da Conquista under a full moon.  We arrived at our hotel at 2:30 AM, over 40 hours after taking off in Oklahoma City.  Everyone was in good spirits, but glad to hear that Sunday morning breakfast would not be served until 10:30 AM.

 

Sunday:  After a late breakfast, we gathered with our coordinators and interpreters for a good orientation session.  Everyone immediately sensed the passion of Gary Taylor as he welcomed and challenged us.  We met our interpreters individually and heard Pr. Carlos and local leaders talk about their burden and vision.  From there, we were treated to a traditional Brazilian feast at a local churrascaria, a meat lover’s dream come true.  Before returning to our hotel, we visited the neighborhood where we would be working Monday through Friday.  The pastor of the new church start and Pr. Carlos challenged us, and we formed a prayer circle on the street. 

 

That night, our people got to experience Sunday night worship at a Brazilian Baptist church.  This is when the big crowds come out, and 1500 to 2000 people filled Igreja Batista Nacional Betania.  The celebration worship might scare the daylights out of a staid North American congregation, but our folks entered into it with abandon.  I had the joy of doing my favorite thing in Brazil, preaching.  My interpreter, Guilherme de Paula, is a 26-year-old theological student.  We bonded immediately and I felt complete liberty with him at my side.  It was a special delight to see people quickly responding when the invitation was extended.  The highlight of the evening was a father shouting when his teenage daughter came to Christ.

 

Monday – Thursday:  We were up at 5:00 every morning, to breakfast by 6:00 and on the bus at 7:00.  We arrived at our work site at 7:30 and found a long line of men, women and children waiting for us to receive them.  Because the city’s public schools were closed for the winter break, we were able to use the Escola Muncipal Ramundo da Nova, just two blocks for where the new church had been able to secure a small building.  After gathering for a devotional and prayer, we went quickly to work. 

 

People were registered at the church site, giving them an immediate tie to the new work.  They were admitted through the gate in groups of 40.  This group saw the drama performed by our young people.  From there they made their way to get shoes, have teeth cleaned or get reading glasses. 

 

Children’s families had been given appointment cards for shoes.  When a child arrived, shoes in his or her size were waiting.  Each child had his/her feet washed and lotion applied.  Then, they were fitted with new socks and shoes.  All the while, they were hearing the good news about Jesus shared with tenderness and love.  It was not uncommon for a child and/or mother to pray, receiving Christ before they left the shoe room. 

 

After the shoes, each child was enticed by the promise of a bear or HotWheel car to have their teeth cleaned.  Rhonda Ford, a charming dental hygienist from Jackson, Tennessee, trained our team members in cleaning teeth and lovingly sharing with children.  Before the cleaning, Rhonda talked to groups of about 30 children about good dental habits and presented the gospel.  After the cleaning, each child received a Beanie Baby Bear or a HotWheel car, tooth paste and a tooth brush. 

 

As all of this was happening, the reading glasses room was a busy place as people of all ages came to get visual help.  Throughout the day, this room was packed.  There was little doubt that the 1,000 pairs of glasses were going to all find needful owners. 

 

Each person receiving any human needs ministry was asked if they had a special prayer need or if they would like to talk to someone about the good news they had been hearing.  These were directed to our prayer room where four teams of prayer warriors/soul winners were waiting.  From morning until quitting time this sharing went on without interruption.  Over and over, people could be heard submitting to Jesus as Lord and Savior. 

 

Most days, we would close down at 4:00 and board our bus by 4:30.  It is winter in Brazil, and we arrived back at our hotel as the sun was setting.  By the time we went down to dinner at 6:00, it was already dark.  Dinner was followed on Monday and Wednesday nights by Bible study.  I had the joy of sharing during these times.

 

Violent Streets:  We were working in two extremely poor and violent neighborhoods.  One week before we arrived, a teenage boy was shot and killed across the street from the school where we were working.  Over and over, in the prayer room, we heard the stories of abused wives and children, murdered husbands and sons, fear and desperation.  On Wednesday afternoon, one block from the construction site where the community center is being built, over 40 shots rang out.  The police had staged a surprise drug raid.  The ring leader escaped, but two 16-year-old boys were shot down in the street.  One died and the other was left in critical condition.  The dead boy was living with a 15-year-old girl who has a three-month old baby.  Pr. Carlos conducted the funeral service on Friday.  Twice, Guilherme, Jonathan Pickett and I went out onto the streets and shared with tough young men.  We saw seven of these them submit to Jesus as Lord.  Four of them came to our Friday night celebration, made their public professions of faith and were counseled by members of the new church.  The young people of these neighborhoods are without jobs, have dropped out of school, are being sexually exploited and are enslaved by drugs.  They are finding their “families” through gang membership.  However, without exception, I found them to be open and responsive.  They were the reason we were there. 

 

Construction:  Four of our men, Chase Simmonson, Nathan Worthley, Jerry Foster, Jr. and Zach Snider, got in on the construction of the new community center.  When this is completed, it will house a meeting place for a new church, will be large enough for indoor soccer, will be a community event center, and will house a trade school.  It will be the center of community transformation. 

 

Tuesday Night:  We closed a bit early on Tuesday afternoon.  That evening, we were back at Betania and were greeted by another large crowd.  Our bus driver, Paulo, had come under deep conviction on Sunday evening.  He had told Guilherme that he wanted to come to Christ on his birthday, which was on Tuesday.  When I extended the invitation that night, everyone rejoiced when he stepped out immediately.  Two birthdays in one day!

 

Thursday Night:  Eduardo exchanged money for everyone, and we boarded the bus after dinner on Thursday for an evening of shopping at a local mall.  A sporting goods store proved the most popular place for our guys.  Everyone came home with at least one Brazil football (soccer) shirt.  Brazilian chocolate also proved to be a best seller. 

 

Friday:  On Friday, everything stopped in time for us to join our Brazilian friends over lunch and before a TV at the school to watch Brazil play the Netherlands in World Cup competition.  That ended on a sad note with Brazil losing.  However, spirits were more than lifted as we boarded our bus for a trip to an orphanage supported by Igreja Batista Nacional Betania.  Our young people engaged the boys in a soccer game.  Our drama team performed.  Every boy got new shoes, a bear and a HotWheel.  There were lots of hugs and expressions of love. 

 

The best was still to come.  We wanted to do something to tie the new church start even closer to the surrounding neighborhood.  We talked about having a big celebration at the little meeting place on Friday night, but we knew that it would be too small.  However, all week, we told people that there was going to be a celebration at that site, and word spread like wildfire.  There was nothing to do but go out onto the street.  When we arrived at 6:00, a flatbed truck had been parked in front of the bar across the street from the church, a band from Betania was ready to play and a big crowd was gathering.  At exactly the right time, the Lord opened the door for me to preach.   Over 40 people stepped out of the crowd in response to the invitation. 

 

While the counseling was underway inside the church building, the band struck up traditional Bahian music and folks started dancing in the street.  Soon, most of the members of our team were joining them.  Chase Simmonson and Nathan Worthley were dancing with children straddling their necks.  Jonathan Pickett had a little girl by both hands and was hustling to keep in step with her.  Then, Guilherme told me that the street boys we had led to the Lord wanted me to dance with them.  I was not about to say “no” to those guys, so… 

 

When we finally boarded our bus, the whole crowd was waving and shouting to us.  Tears flowed and over and over I heard members of our team saying, “I coming for two weeks next year.” 

 

WOW!  What a way to end a great week of work!    

 

Back at the hotel, a late dinner on Friday night was followed by a brief devotional time, lots of “thank you” and “we love you.”  Gifts were presented to the Soares family and our interpreters.  There was even a birthday cake to be shared.  Amazingly, we were able to do all of that and still get to our rooms at 10:30 to pack and prepare for the long trip home.

 

At 7:00 on Saturday morning, baggage was loaded and we were on our bus.  At 7:15, tears flowed again as we waived “goodbye” to our beloved interpreters, Gary, Dr. Jett and the remaining Tennessee team.  They did come for two weeks. 

 

Paulo took us on a beautiful but daring trip down out of the mountains.  We back in Porto Seguro in time for lunch and our check-in at the airport.  It was déjà vu in reverse as we again dashed through airports en route home.  A brief hold because of a thunder storm over the OKC airport was our only delay.

 

Statistics fail to tell the story.  We do know that our drama team performed an average of 14 times each day, before a total of over 3,200 people.  We did put shoes on 300 children.  1,000 pairs of reading glasses are being worn by needy people.  All of the dental supplies are in the hands of children with clean teeth.  A local dentist has volunteered his time, without charge, fill any cavities that were discovered.  Any leftover bears or HotWheels will be ready for the children who line up at the next project.  Pioneer Missions has promised a detailed report, telling us how many people prayed to receive Christ.  Only eternity will reveal the fullness of what happened in Vitoria da Conquista.  Looking back, we can all say, “God did it.  To Him be the glory!” 

 

In Brazil, we plugged into a strategy that really is transforming communities, having an impact on a state and that has the potential to have an impact on the third giant of the Western World.  We did something that can and should be repeated. 

 

July 12, 2010

Missions: A Personal Mandate

Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:18-20, HCSB)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, HCSB)

“For this is what the Lord has commanded us:  I have appointed you as a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 13:47, HCSB)

 

Frequently, I see the words “Missionary Baptist” in a church’s name.  This strikes me as extreme redundancy.  This is like the term “born again Christian.”  It is impossible to be a real Christian and not be born again, and it is impossible to be a real New Testament church and not be missionary.

You can only see missions as optional by having a wrong or inadequate definition of missions.  

Here is a good definition of missions:  Beginning where you are, lovingly share the good news about Jesus with lost people everywhere, teach believers to love and obey Jesus as Lord, plant and develop New Testament churches and meet human need around the world. 

Edmond’s First Baptist Church’s stated purpose leaves no doubt that our priority is missions.  Go to our website and these words will immediately capture your attention, “Our purpose is love God and others through Jesus Christ.”

However, it not enough to say that our church is committed to missions.  You and I must take missions personally. 

To be a Christian is to acknowledge that Jesus is your Lord and Savior.  If He is Lord, your Master, your King, His commands are to be taken personally and obeyed unconditionally.  As a believer, your Lord has commissioned you to be a missionary:

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:18-20, HCSB)

In his book, Missions in the Plan of the Ages, Dr. W. O. Carver wrote, “No one can understand the Bible without reading it in the missionary spirit.  No one can know and believe the Bible and receive the Holy Spirit without becoming missionary.”

Hudson Taylor, who was used powerfully as a pioneer missionary to China, declared, "The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.”

If yours is not a missionary lifestyle, it is possible to faithfully attend worship services and Bible study groups, to hold church offices, to master theology and fill notebooks with conference and sermon notes while living outside the will of God.

If you have not yet seen yourself as a missionary, that can change today.  If this happens, your life will be radically changed and, ultimately, lives around the world will be changed. 

John R. Mott, who challenged thousands of university students to “evangelize the world in this generation,” said, "It is possible for the most obscure person in a church, with a heart right toward God, to exercise as much power for the evangelization of the world, as it is for those who stand in the most prominent positions."

Our Lord’s Great Commission is to go, making disciples of people from every class, race, language and nation, marking them as His followers by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe everything He commanded.

Ours is a Great Commission church and you and I have a personal mandate to be Great Commission Christians.

James Stewart, Scotland’s most powerful 20^th Century pulpit voice, said, "The concern for world evangelization …can never be the province of a few enthusiasts…It is the distinctive mark of being a Christian."

Three things will mark you as a great Commission Christian:

A GREAT COMMISSION CHRISTIAN WILL PRAY.

Samuel Zwemer, who was called “The Apostle to Islam,” said, "The history of missions is the history of answered prayer."

There have been great sweeping movements of the Holy Spirit without great preaching, without great music, and without great planning; but, there has never been a mighty, history changing work of God in missions and evangelism without someone having paid the price in earnest, prevailing intercessory prayer. 

When early Christians prayed, the place where they prayed was shaken:  “When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak God’s message with boldness.” (Acts 4:31)

Those first believers prayed ten days, preached ten minutes and 3,000 people were drawn to Christ.  Today we are inclined to pray ten minutes, preach ten days and hope to see someone converted.

The English reformer, John Knox, prayed: “Give me Scotland or I die!”

Mary Queen of Scots said, “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than of an army of ten thousand men.”

In 1806, five students from Williams College in Massachusetts knelt under a haystack during a violent thunder storm.  They were overcome with a burden to take the gospel to the lost people of Asia.  When they got up from their knees, God had given birth to the modern missionary movement in North America!

During a dramatic six years, 1826-1832, Charles Finney was used of God to lead thousands of people to Christ.  A man, known as Father Nash, seldom heard Finney preach, but he took a room wherever the evangelist went and gave himself entirely to intercessory prayer. Today, his grave is marked with a simple stone. On it is carved, "Father Nash, helper of Finney."

In 1857, four years before our republic was to be tested by the horrors of a civil war, there were 30,000 men idle on the streets of New York.  Drunkenness was rampant, and the nation was divided by slavery.  God raised up Jeremiah Lanphier, a praying businessman and a convert of Charles Finney. On September 23, 1857 he began a noontime prayer meeting the old Dutch Reformed Church on Fulton Street in the Financial District of Manhattan. Out of a city of one million people, six people showed up a half hour late.

The group decided to meet the next week and there were 14. The next week there were 23. The following week there were 40. Within weeks there were thousands of people meeting daily.  God moved so powerfully that the prayer meeting spread across the nation.  During those days of spiritual awakening, it is estimated that nearly one million people were converted out of a national population of 35 million, including 10,000 weekly conversions in New York City.  

How should a Great Commission Christian pray?

Do not pray for the wheat, pray for harvesters. 

Jesus said, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (Luke 10:2)

Pray for clarity and boldness in proclaiming God’s message.

Paul pleaded with the Ephesians believers, “Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should.” (Ephesians 6:19-20)

Pray for the rapid spread of the gospel and for the God’s protection of His missionaries.

Paul asked the churches of Thessalonica, “Pray for us, brothers, that the Lord’s message may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not all have faith.” (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2)

A GREAT COMMISSION CHRISTIAN WILL GIVE.

In his letter to the Roman church, Paul asked, “But how can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15)

The mark of a great church is not how many it seats but how many it sends.  Every time you give, through our church, you are helping to send the good news about Jesus around the world. 

A Great Commission Church is a giving church.  A Great Commission Christian is a giving Christian.  Paul wrote this about the early churches in Macedonia:  “During a severe testing by affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed into the wealth of their generosity. I testify that, on their own, according to their ability and beyond their ability, they begged us insistently for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints.” (2 Corinthians 8:2-4 with my bold face)

Downturns in the stock markets and difficult financial times should never have a negative impact on the giving of God’s people. 

During World War II, R.G. LeTourneau was the person most responsible for equipping the Allied forces with the machinery needed for the invasion of Normandy.  His life was changed by the realization that he could serve God as a businessman. LeTourneau’s first business went bankrupt, sending him into debt by $5,000, a large sum in his day. However, a pastor friend told him that God needed businessmen as well as pastors. During our nation’s Great Depression, he found a construction job.  Eventually, he was able to establish his own company.  When he succeeded, he remembered God’s faithfulness and gave 90 percent of his earnings to Christian endeavors. He often said, “If you’re not serving the Lord, it proves you don’t love him; if you don’t love him, it proves you don’t know him.”

A Great Commission church and a Great Commission Christian should never be “under the circumstances.” 

When Jesus came to his frightened disciples walking on the water, He was demonstrating that everything that threatened to be over their heads was already under His feet!

A GREAT COMMISSION CHRISTIAN WILL GO.

Jesus said, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:21)

He was the Sent One from the Father.  Now, as His followers, we are the sent ones of the Sent One. 

Every member of Edmond’s First Baptist Church can be involved in world missions by praying and giving.  However, there is more that you can do.  We are living during a time when any faithful, spiritually fit Christian, with reasonably good health, can literally have a hands-on involvement in carrying out the Great Commission. 

It may be God’s will for you to go as a career missionary; to learn a new language, to adjust to a new culture, to plant your life in a new place and to spend your life crossing barriers to reach people who have never heard the good news about Jesus.

Today, the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention has over 5,000 such men and women reaching out to nearly 2,000 people groups around the world.  During 2009, their work resulted in 451,301 new believers being baptized and 6,525 new churches being planted.

In addition to the work of these career missionaries, nearly 34,000 volunteers…men, women and young people such as you…are going around the world for periods ranging from two years to a few days.  They are making a world of difference, one transformed life at a time.

Right now, there is something you can do as a volunteer on a mission field.

Does this challenge frighten you?  Does it seem too great a sacrifice to consider?  David Livingstone, who established missionary beachheads throughout the African continent, asked, “If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?”

How can you know if God is leading you to step out of your comfort zone and into a missionary experience?    

William Carey, the father of modern missions, said, “To know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map.”

Isaiah the prophet heard God ask, “Who should I send?  Who will go for Us?”

He responded by saying, “Here I am. Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

Do you have a passport?

If not, get one as soon as possible.  Keep it with your study Bible and journal.  Every day when you have your quiet time, look at your passport and pray Isaiah’s prayer, “Here I am.  Send me.”

Begin where you are:

·        Read the biographies of great missionaries and evangelists.

·        Study the history of world missions.

·        Become a student of world missions in today’s world.

·        Become a student of history and current affairs around the world.

·        Learn a second language (Spanish).

·        Carry copies of gospel tracts, such as our church’s “Greatest Need” booklet.

·        Engage people in conversations about Jesus.

·        Volunteer for local mission opportunities.

·        Inquire about volunteer opportunities in the U.S.A. and internationally. 

“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” –Jim Elliot

“If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24) 

I said, “Let me walk in the field.”

He said, “No, walk in the town.”

I said, “But there are no flowers there.”

He said, “No flowers, but a crown.”

I said, “There’s nothing but noise and den.”

“There is more,” He said, “there’s sin.”

I said, “I’ll miss my friends and they will miss me they say.”

He said, “Choose today if I’ll miss you or they.”

I pleaded for time to be given.

He said, “Is it hard to decide.  It won’t seem hard in Heaven to have followed the steps of your Guide.”

I turned one look to the field and I set my face to the town.

He said, “My child do you yield?  Will you leave the flowers for the crown?”

Into His hand went mine and into my heart came He. 

Now, I walk in a light divine, that path I had so feared to see.

 

If you are ready to be a Great Commission Christian, pray this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I submit to You.  Do anything through me that You choose, anytime, anywhere, with no restrictions on geography or job description.”

 

Wayne Bristow

January 26, 2010

 

 

Knowing God: Personally, Intimately and Fully

"My goal is to know him." (Philippians 3:10a)

 

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.” (John 10:10b) 

He is saying that it is possible to experience a quality of life that most people cannot imagine.  However, this experience is more than a “burning heart.”  It is more than a momentarily exhilarating emotional storm. It is an invitation to experience a fullness of life grounded in reality, to know and experience God.

God is the ultimate reality. Charles Spurgeon, a renowned 19th Century English pastor said, "The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage our attention is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God."

God reveals Himself in His inspired word, the Bible: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”  (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

God’s fullest revelation of Himself is in Jesus Christ.  Throughout the Bible we find the good news about Him.  After His resurrection, He was walking with two of His followers, and the Bible says, “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted for them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”  (Luke 24:27)

Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

When the Apostle Paul wrote to Christians in Ephesus, he expressed his desire that they might know God: “I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. [I pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. [I pray] that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength.”  (Ephesians 1:16-19)

Paul wanted these followers of Christ to know God personally, intimately and fully.

Knowing God Personally

If you do not know God personally, you are in danger of living and dying without really living. The night before He was betrayed and crucified, Jesus was in prayer. He said, “This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent - Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3) 

Speaking to Thomas, one of His disciples, concerning the way to Heaven, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  (John 14:6)

In 1 John 5:11-13, the Apostle John was inspired to write: “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have the Son of God does not have life. I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

To know God personally, you must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. When a shaken Roman jailor asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 16:30-31) 

Concerning Jesus coming into the world, John 1:11-13 says, “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:11-13)

Good News

No doubt, you have heard the word “gospel” all of your life. It is a translation of the Greek word euaggelion (yoo-ang-ghel-ee-on), which simply means “good news.” The New Testament begins with four books that we call Gospels. They contain the good news about Jesus Christ.

What is the good news about Jesus? Paul summed it up in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, “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.”

Your problem, by nature and choice

To understand why this is good news, and to understand the absolute necessity of knowing God personally through a personal relationship with Christ, you must understand the truth about yourself apart from God.

Describing His mission on Planet Earth, Jesus said, “The Son of Man has come to save the lost.” (Matthew 18:11)

By nature, we are all bent toward selfishness and depravity.

We are in rebellion against God; separated from Him. We are lost; spiritually dead. We desperately need to be saved or we will die and spend eternity separated from God. This is a matter of life and death!

In the language of the Bible, we all have a sin nature. This is encoded in our spiritual DNA. King David said, “I was guilty [when I] was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5)

In the Old Testament, we are told, “there is no one who does not sin.” (1 Kings 8:46)

In the New Testament, we are reminded, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

You are probably familiar with the story of our ancestral parents, Adam and Eve. They were created to know and enjoy God. Surrounded by the beauty of a perfect world, they were to have dominion over all that He had made. They were given freedom of choice, because God wanted a love relationship with them, and love cannot be coerced. They were told that there was only one stipulation: “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

Immediately, Satan, in the form of a serpent, called God a liar and tempted Man to disobey Him: “He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?’

“The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’

“’No! You will not die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” (Genesis 3:1-5)

Satan was the first created being to rise up in rebellion against his Creator’s authority and purpose. In Revelation 12:9, he is spoken of as “the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world.”

Jesus said, “He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of liars.” (John 8:44)

Peter warned, “Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

“Satan” literally means, “adversary.” He is a fallen angelic being. He is at war with God. Unlike the “dark force” of Star Wars fiction, he is not a threat to God Himself. He is supernatural, but he is not all-powerful.  He does not know everything.  Known as “the ruler of the demons” (Luke 11:15), he has multitudes of fallen angels who are at his command. In league with them, unable to touch God, he strikes at Man, the object of God’s love.

Paul warned, “Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Man believed Satan’s lie. He disobeyed God. By believing Satan, he joined him in calling God a liar. By willfully disobeying God, he joined Satan in becoming the enemy of God. His relationship with God was broken.

Yes, Man’s spiritual eyes were opened, but not to cleanness, purity, peace, purpose and harmony. Instead, he saw himself naked, afraid, ashamed, and in discord with God and His purpose. He had turned his back on God and gone away from Him into spiritual darkness and lostness. The moment that Man sinned, he began to die.

Physically, thousands of babies are being born with the affliction of sick parents cursing their little bodies with the seed of AIDS. Spiritually, the entire human race, and all of God’s creation, has been infected with the virus of Adam’s rebellion.

Paul was inspired to write, “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12)

You did not have to learn selfishness. You did not have to learn how to lie. You have a sin nature. The Bible says, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick—who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

You are also a sinner by choice.

Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way.”

Rebellious Man rejects the One True God, and attempts to replace Him with gods that are without life and power. By making himself the enemy of God, Man chooses to be the object of wrath instead of mercy.

Paul describes this in Romans 1:18-25: “For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse. For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.

“Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

All of the senseless terrorism, immorality and conflict in our world are the result of man’s determination to go his own way without God. The Bible says, “As a result, people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20b)

Sin has put you in conflict with yourself and other people. Sin has separated you from God now. Sin can separate you from God forever. The Bible warns, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23a)

Death is the absence of life. You can only experience real life by knowing God personally. To die without a personal relationship with Him means that you will spend eternity separated from Him.

Today, we are surrounded with warning labels. Seat belts and airbags are required equipment in automobiles. Airports must thoroughly screen all passengers in an attempt to protect us from terrorism. From childhood, we are taught to look both ways before crossing a street. We go to great lengths to protect our physical lives. However, this life will soon end. What then?

Jesus warned, “Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

Is there any hope?

A story is told of a submarine that was disabled on the floor of the ocean off the East Coast of North America. Since the supply of oxygen was limited, a desperate rescue operation was quickly mounted. As divers pressed around the hull of the stricken vessel, they heard tapping from inside. It was the dots and dashes of the Morse code. Over and over, a sailor was asking, “Is there any hope?”

It is impossible to see the tragic result of our rebellion against God without asking “Is there any hope?”

God’s answer is a resounding, “Yes!”

God has built a bridge across the chasm that separates you from Him. He has made a way for you to come home and be reconciled to Him. Forgiveness is possible. A restored relationship is possible. A new beginning is possible.

The Only Way

An artist painted a picture of a young man engaged in a chess game with a satanic figure. His opponent was the personification of cunning and evil. His eyes gleamed with delight as he observed the bewilderment of what he perceived as a defeated challenger. The painting was titled “Checkmate” and hanged in a public gallery. One day, a great chess master stood before it for a long time. He studied the conquered countenance of the young man. He saw that Satan was confident of victory. Then he pondered the placement of the pawns and men on the board. His mind searched for a move that would allow the young player’s king to escape check. Suddenly, his voice rang through the gallery, “Young man, there is a move, but there is only one!”

This is God’s message for you. He wants to forgive your sin and deliver you from its bondage. He wants you to be justified and righteous. He wants you to know Him personally. He wants you to experience a fullness of life. However, He is telling you that there is only one way. Jesus said, “I am the way.” (John 14:6a)

How can Jesus say such an audacious thing? How and why is He the only way to know God personally?

First, Jesus is God. John began his good news about Jesus by writing, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5)

Secondly, He became Man. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi that, “Christ Jesus…existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8)

2000 years ago, God invaded human history. He came down to walk among those who were in rebellion against Him, to do for them what they could not do for themselves. He humbled Himself and, for 33 years, He lived as a man in a faith relationship with the Father. The most familiar verse in the Bible succinctly tells this good news: “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Jesus did not come to be a great teacher, a good example, a physician or merely a worker of miracles. He came to be, as John the Baptist described Him, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

Jesus was without sin, but He took your sin upon Himself. Hundreds of years before His birth, the prophet, Isaiah, saw this: “We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)

When Jesus was nailed to a Roman cross, He was dying for you. He was suffering in your place. He was bearing your guilt. He was paying the price for your deliverance from the power and penalty of sin. God the Father was judging your sin in His Son. The Bible says, “He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

When Jesus had suffered all the pain the human body can endure, when His blood had been shed for you, He cried, “It is finished!” (John 19:30)

God’s great work of redemption was finished. Sinful men thought that Jesus was finished, but they were wrong. He was raised from the dead and is wonderfully alive today.

When women, who were followers of Jesus, went to His tomb on Sunday morning, after His death on Friday, they were stunned to be confronted by an angel. “’Don’t be alarmed,’ he told them. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been resurrected! He is not here!” (Mark 16:5-6)

Because He is alive, we can experience full and eternal life in Him. Peter wrote that God “has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3)

An old hymn says, “Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain - He washed it white as snow.”

This is why there is only one Way to know God personally. There is Hope; His name is, “Jesus.”

In Ephesians 1:7, the Bible says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”

Your Response

How can you respond to Christ and experience redemption from the bondage and penalty of sin? First, if you are sensing your sinfulness and desiring to know God personally, you must understand that God is taking the initiative in drawing you to Himself. It is not our nature to seek God. The Bible says, “There is no one who does good. God looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise and who seeks God. Everyone has turned aside; they have all become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 53:1-3)

It is God who is seeking you. When you realize this, you must not take it lightly. Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” (John 6:44)

Grace and Faith

You do not deserve it, but God’s unmerited love is being directed toward you. This is called grace. The Bible says, “By grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift - not from works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.”

God is the only adequate object for your faith.  Believe Him.  Take Him at His word.  Stake everything on His faithfulness. You will not be disappointed.

Psalm 100:5 declares, “For the Lord is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations.”

Jesus has accomplished all that is necessary for your salvation. You cannot add anything to what He has done. There is no work that you can do, there is no ritual that can be performed, there is no price that you can pay, there is no pilgrimage that you can take, and there is no sacrifice that you can make. The only thing you can bring to God is your burden of sin. All that you can do is surrender yourself, as a guilty sinner, to Christ, trusting Him as your personal Lord and Savior!

As a young woman, Charlotte Elliott was convicted of her innate sinfulness and wanted to come to Christ. When she asked how she could do this, a wise counselor suggested, “Come just as you are.”

After committing her life to Christ, she wrote: “Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou biddst me come to Thee - O Lamb of God, I come, I come!”

The Bible concludes with this invitation: “Both the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ Anyone who hears should say, ‘Come!’ And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift.” (Revelation 22:17)

Jesus promised, “Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37)

If you have read this far, you can be confident that God is inviting you to receive the free gifts of forgiveness and eternal life that were purchased with the blood of Christ.

 Repentance

Jesus began His preaching ministry by saying, “Repent and believe in the good news!” (Mark 1:15b)

Repentance means to change your mind and to turn around. God is causing you to see yourself in the mirror of His word, the Bible. He is convicting you of sin. He is warning you of the consequences of going into eternity without accepting Christ as your only Hope.

Drawn by the Holy Spirit, you can stop right now, allow God to tear away your attitudes of pride and self-sufficiency, and turn from selfishness and rebellion toward Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Let go of your old life and receive His life in exchange. He said, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:35)

He asked, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37, New American Standard Bible)

Concerning Christ, you have these promises:

“To all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)

“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation. Now the Scripture says, No one who believes on Him will be put to shame, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Lord of all is rich to all who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)

Those words were originally written to people who were required to acknowledge that the Roman Caesar was supreme, the only one worthy of their praise and submission. They were required to publicly declare their allegiance to him; to say, “Caesar is Lord.”   The early followers of Jesus, who refused to declare that the government ruler was divine, were severely persecuted, became social outcasts and were often cruelly put to death.

It was no small thing for a person to turn in submission to Christ and openly confess, “Jesus is Lord!”

To call Jesus “Lord” means you are turning from allegiance to, and dependence on, anyone or anything that you have trusted for forgiveness, worth and rightness. You are turning from any material thing or pursuit that enslaves your affections. You are turning from every ritual, superstition, good work, saint or spirit. You are turning from self to Christ. You are trusting only Him for your salvation. You are willing to openly confess your commitment to Him. You are ready to follow and obey Him.

If you are ready to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, you can pray in repentance and submission and this can be the greatest moment of your entire life!

Remember, you will not be saved by the magic of words, or by the rush of an ecstatic experience. Christ is your only Hope. He alone can save you.

Prayer is not simply repeating words. You can say mere words and nothing will happen. Prayer is opening your heart to God, crying out to Him. Do not be overly concerned about your words; He listens to your heart. Jesus told religious leaders who were trying to impress Him with their self-righteousness and money, “God knows your hearts. For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight.” (Luke 16:15)

Understanding this, here is a suggested prayer that you can pray from your heart:

"Lord Jesus Christ, I confess that I am a guilty and helpless sinner. There is nothing that I can do to save myself, but I have heard the good news about what You have done for me. Thank You for dying in my place. I rejoice that You were raised from the dead. I am turning from sin to You. I submit to You and acknowledge that You are Lord. I am surrendering the control of my life to You. I am turning from every other allegiance. Right now, I trust only You as my personal Lord and Savior. In Your name I pray. Amen.”

If that is the cry of your heart to Christ, welcome to the family of God!

Your New Life in Christ

When you called Jesus “Lord” and surrendered your life to Him, a miracle took place. The Holy Spirit came to live in you, implanting Christ’s life in you. Your old person died and you became a new person. Spiritually, you were born into God’s family. You are a child of God. Your new life is eternal; you are secure in God’s hand. Now, you know God personally!

Take personally the message of these passages from the Bible:

Jesus said, “Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:7-8)

“To all who did receive Him (Jesus), He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Paul said, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure that He planned in Him for the administration of the days of fulfillment - to bring everything together in the Messiah, both things in heaven and things on earth in Him.

“In Him we were also made His inheritance, predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will, so that we who had already put our hope in the Messiah might bring praise to His glory. In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation - in Him when you believed - were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:11-14)

Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish - ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” (John 10:27-30)

Is this real?

Soon, you will ask yourself, “How can I know that this is really happening. How can I know that my sins are forgiven and that I have eternal life in Christ?”

You will probably be tempted to seek assurance in how you feel, but this is deceptive and dangerous. As a follower of Christ, you are not immune to the adverse circumstances and dangers of this world. Christians can suffer financial reverses. They can lose their jobs. Their hearts can be broken by family strife. They can be stricken with sickness. They can become the victims of natural disaster, accidents, violent crime, terrorism or war. Their commitment to Christ will bring them into conflict with the world’s value system. They can be misunderstood and suffer persecution because they are submissive to His Lordship.

Jesus warned His followers: “Because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours. But they will do all these things to you on account of My name, because they don’t know the One who sent Me.” (John 15:19-21)

Jesus said, “You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33b)

Your feelings will ride the roller coaster of circumstances. Do not trust them to determine the reality of your salvation. Trust God. Stake everything on His faithfulness. Believe the promises of His word. If you are trusting anything that you or anyone else can do for your salvation, you have reason to doubt. If you are trusting only Christ for your salvation, you can have absolute assurance.

Remember the promise of 1 John 5:11-13: “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have the Son of God does not have life. I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

After the Apostle Paul surrendered to Christ’s Lordship, he was beaten, stoned, suffered shipwreck, imprisonment and constant opposition.  He wrote this to the persecuted believers in Rome:  “As it is written: Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 8:36-39) 

Knowing God Intimately

Now that you know God personally, He wants you to know Him intimately.

What should you do?

First, confess openly that you are committed to Christ, that He has captured your heart, that He is your Lord and Savior.

When my wife and I were married, we announced it to everyone that we knew. During the marriage ceremony, she slipped a gold ring onto the third finger of my left hand. That was over 50 years ago, and that ring has seldom been removed. It tells everyone that I have entered into a bond with her that is paramount to any other human relationship.

It is contradictory to call Jesus “Lord” and insist on a secret relationship with Him. He said, “Everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33)

Today, openly acknowledge Jesus as your Lord by telling someone that you have committed your life to Him.

Baptism

Spiritually, baptism is similar to putting on the wedding ring at marriage. But, it is much more. It is a public testimony that you have died to self and been raised to new life in Christ. It is a picture of life out of death.

“Baptize” is an anglicized Greek verb baptizo [bap-tid-zo]. Its primary meaning is to dip, to immerse or to submerge.

When you are biblically baptized, you are immersed in water and raised up. For those who witness your baptism, this is a vivid picture of your having died to sin and death and been raised to a new, full and eternal life in Christ. It says that He has washed away the stain of your sin; you are now immersed in Him.

Following Jesus’ resurrection, there is no New Testament record of a person acknowledging Him as Lord and not being baptized. When Peter preached the first sermon after the resurrection, “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them.” (Acts 2:31)

During a journey, Phillip, an early evangelist, shared the good news about Jesus with a government official from Ethiopia: “As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, ‘Look, there’s water! What would keep me from being baptized?’ [And Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart you may.’ And he replied, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’] Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.” (Acts 8:36-38)

Paul was preaching in Corinth and “Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed the Lord, along with his whole household; and many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.” (Acts 18:8)

Do everything possible to make your baptism a special occasion for sharing the good news about Jesus. Send invitations to everyone you know, just as you would to announce a wedding, a birth or a significant anniversary. Ask family, neighbors, friends, co-workers or classmates to attend. Print copies of your Christian testimony, stating what your life was like before you came to Christ, how you were drawn to Him, and what your life is like since acknowledging Him as Lord. Give these to everyone attending your baptism. Ask the pastor to explain the Gospel and make an appeal for people to come to Christ.

Bible Study

Begin immediately to study the Bible. It is impossible to live a victorious Christian life without knowing God’s word. It has been said that the Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.

As you listen to the radio, watch television, read and talk with other people, you will hear many things regarding God and the Christian life. Be careful. The Bible cautions, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)

Paul warned the Christians in Galatia that “there are some who are troubling you and want to change the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! As we have said before, I now say again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!” (Galatians 1:7-9)

Test everything against what the Bible says.

As a young Christian, I was encouraged to memorize Psalm 119:9 & 11, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word…Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (King James Version)

You will probably find Bible study more meaningful if you are reading from a good modern English translation of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. Either The Holman Christian Standard Bible or The New American Standard Bible is a good choice. You will want to select a Bible that has a good concordance. This is an alphabetical index of principal words with their immediate contexts. References within the text, directing you to other relevant passages, are also helpful. As a student, I purchased a copy of The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, co-published by B. B. Kirkbride Bible Co., Inc. and The Zonderzan Corporation. I still keep it close at hand. It has excellent study helps.

A Bible dictionary will help you understand the history, geography, names, and context of the Bible. The Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Homan Bible Publishers, is a good choice.

As you study the Bible, remember that it is a compilation of 66 books written by many men over hundreds of years. All of these writers were inspired by God. The Bible is without error. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

It is the good news about Jesus that gives the Bible its unity. He rebuked religious leaders who failed to understand this: “You don’t have His word living in you, because you don’t believe the One He sent. You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about Me. And you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:38-40)

As you study a passage in the Bible, find answers to these questions:

• Who wrote this?
• When did he write it?
• To whom was he writing?
• What was the culture in which they lived?
• What were the circumstances in which they lived?
• Why did he write this?
• What was the message for those to whom this was written?
• What is the relevance of this message today?
• How should this message be applied to my life?
• What lessons are to be learned?
• Is there a command for me to obey?
• Is there a segment that I should memorize?

Keep a notebook with your study Bible. Record what you discover in your personal Bible study. Take notes as your pastor preaches and teaches. Take notes during group Bible study sessions. Make notes regarding suggested resources for understanding the Bible.

Beginning with one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) is a good way to start your personal Bible study. You might continue by studying the New Testament books of Acts and Romans, in that progression. Don’t rush. Absorb the word of God.

Rejoice because God has promised to help you understand His word. Jesus told his followers, “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.” (John 14:25-26)

Prayer

Bible study and prayer go hand in hand. Your time alone with God should be a conversation with Him. He speaks to you from the Bible, and you speak to Him in prayer. This is why it is good to pray with your Bible and notebook open before you. If you are going to know God intimately, prayer is essential. Immediately, establish three things: a TIME for prayer, a PLACE for prayer and a PLAN for prayer.

A TIME for prayer:

When should you spend quality time alone with God in prayer? Any time is better than no time, but it is better to give God the best time. The best time is in the morning. Jesus is our example: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there.” (Mark 1:35)

A PLACE for prayer:

Wherever you are (at home, in a hotel, as a guest in someone else’s home, etc.), establish a place that becomes the right place at the right time. At any other time, it may be a place without significance, but when it is time to meet God, this is the place for prayer. What qualifies this as the right place? Again, Jesus is our example (Mark 1:35b). It should be a solitary place; a place where you will not be distracted.

A PLAN for prayer:

Without a plan, there is a tendency for your prayer times to be unfocused and repetitious. Many believers have found a plan based on the acrostic ACTS to be effective.

A - ADORATION & PRAISE

In addition to your Bible and journal, include a hymnal in your devotional time tools. Sing praises to God. If you play a musical instrument, you might play it as an expression of your worship. Just as a husband and wife give themselves to each other in exuberant celebration of their love, abandon yourself to the Lover of your soul. This is an intimate time when, without restraint, you can pour out your whole being to God in praise and worship!

Psalm 47:1 describes exuberant worship: “Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with a jubilant cry.”

There is also a place for quietness in worship. A familiar Psalm paints a beautiful picture of peaceful stillness in God’s presence: “He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.” (Psalm 23:2)

C - CONFESSION

When you wait before God, reflecting on His holiness and righteousness, you will become very sensitive to any sin in your life.

It is important to discern between the accusations of the devil and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. In Revelation 12:10, Satan is called “the accuser of our brothers.”

Because you are committed to Christ, Satan hates you. He seeks to discourage and defeat you. His accusations are general and hurtful. He will tell you that you are no good, that you never get anything right, that you are never going to be able to understand the Bible and live victoriously.

God loves you. He wants to encourage and strengthen you. Because of this, the Holy Spirit is always specific when He convicts you of sin.  Don’t pray, “Forgive me of my many sins.” Be specific. If God has revealed something that is hindering your fellowship with Him, name that in your confession.  As a believer, you have this promise in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

T - THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is not the same as adoration and praise. Just as you are specific in confession, be specific in thanksgiving. An old hymn says, “Count your blessings, Name them one by one; Count your blessings, See what God hath done.”

S - SUPPLICATION

Two things are involved in supplication, intercession and petition.

• Intercession is praying for other people. It is difficult and necessary work. It is vital to world evangelism and missions.
  
  Paul pleaded with the Ephesian believers to pray for him. He said, “Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should.” (Ephesians 6:19-20)
  
  When God is ready to do a great work, He calls people to prayer. The work of the prayer warrior is crucial to any Christian enterprise. Through intercessory prayer, you can participate in world missions and evangelism!
  
  During the 19th Century, Charles Finney was used of God to lead thousands of people to Christ in the northeastern United States. A man called Father Nash seldom heard Finney preach, but he took a room wherever the evangelist went and gave himself entirely to intercessory prayer. Today, his grave is marked with a simple stone. On it is carved, “Father Nash, helper of Finney.”
• Petition is bringing your own needs to God. The Bible encourages you to do this. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Occasionally, you might want to try writing your prayers.  Write prayers in your spiritual journal using the ACTS plan.

This is an excellent way to be alone in a crowd. You may be on a crowded airplane, sharing living space with another person, or riding with someone else in an automobile; you can still give God your full attention by quietly pouring out your heart to Him on paper. If you do this, you can anticipate spending longer in prayer and experiencing a breakthrough in praise and worship.

Christian Fellowship

A vital and exciting aspect of being a child of God is fellowship with other Christians. You cannot live the Christian life in isolation. If you attempt this, it will stunt your spiritual growth, limit your awareness of God’s plan to reach a lost world, rob you of encouragement, and cultivate introspection, selfishness, and depression. You will be more vulnerable to temptation and false teaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “Let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other.”

Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

 “Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

Consistently put yourself in the way of blessing by meeting with other Christians for worship, Bible study, fellowship and service activities

Ministry

A pastor was asked “How many of your church members are ministers?”

He replied, “All of them.”

This is certainly God’s intention for every one of His children. One definition of “ministry” is “a person or thing through which something is accomplished.”

There is much that God wants to accomplish through you. When you were born into His family, the Holy Spirit gifted you for ministry. You may not preach or teach, but there is an important work for which you have been spiritually equipped.

1 Peter 4:10-11 says, “Based on the gift they have received, everyone should use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God. If anyone speaks, [his speech should be] like the oracles of God; if anyone serves, [his service should be] from the strength God provides, so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”

Evangelism

Paul admonished young Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist.” (2 Timothy 4:5b)

“Evangelist” is from the Greek noun euaggelistes (yoo-ang-ghel-is-tace). It means someone who brings good news. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) defines an evangelist as “an enthusiastic advocate.”

In other words, an evangelist is someone who has discovered something good and he cannot keep quiet about it. He is a satisfied customer, and he wants everyone to have what he has.

A Christian has an added incentive to gossip about Jesus because he has the Holy Spirit living in him. Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, because He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:13-15)

It is the nature of the Holy Spirit to glorify Christ. He motivates and empowers Christians to talk about their Lord and Savior. Jesus promised, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses…to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

A Spirit-controlled believer will do the work of an evangelist.

Even after Jesus’ early followers had been beaten for teaching that He has been raised from the dead, the Bible tells us that “every day in the temple complex, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that the Messiah is Jesus.” (Acts 5:42)

Persecution of Christians became so severe in Jerusalem that they were scattered as refugees throughout the known world. The Bible says, “So those who were scattered went on their way proclaiming the message of good news.” (Acts 8:4)

When the evangelists, Paul and Silas, came to Thessalonica, the Jewish leaders incited a mob against them, complaining, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” (Acts 17:6)

While the Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:11 that God has specifically called and gifted some people to be evangelists, evangelism is more a matter of obedience than the exercising of a gift.

Here are some things you can do to become an enthusiastic advocate for Christ:

• Be aware of the people around you and sensitive to their needs.
• Study personal evangelism methods. Learn to share effectively the good news about Jesus. If you have found the right church, it will offer evangelism training and make good materials available to you. Ask your pastor for this help.
• Carry a list of at least seven people whom you know who have not acknowledged Jesus as Lord. Pray for them daily. Be ready to share your Christian testimony with them.
• Buy a small New Testament, one that you can easily carry in a pocket or purse. Mark and memorize these verses: Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:6 & 8, and Romans 10:9, 10 & 13. This has been called the Roman Road. During the First Century, all roads led to Rome. The biblical Roman Road can lead a person to Christ.
• Carry booklets such as Four Spiritual Laws, which explains how to become a Christian.  
• Expect positive results. Remember, it is your business to know whether or not a person knows Christ as his or her personal Lord and Savior. Remember that the Holy Spirit is going before you, preparing the hearts and minds of those people with whom God wants you to share. Trust Him to equip and use you. Be alert and sensitive. Opportunities to gossip about Jesus are everywhere!

As you go through your everyday life sharing the good news about Jesus, here are two challenging and encouraging passages from the Bible:

First, concerning Jesus: “When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’” (Matthew 9:36-38)

Finally, concerning you and me: “We are ambassadors for Christ; certain that God is appealing through us, we plead on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God.’” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

Knowing God Fully

If you are confessing Christ openly as your Lord, growing in knowledge of the Bible, spending quality time alone with God in prayer, maintaining fellowship with other Christians in a biblically sound church, and allowing the Holy Spirit to share the good news about Jesus through you, you can be confident of knowing God intimately.

What does it mean to know God fully?

Paul told the believers in Corinth, “You are in Christ Jesus, who for us became wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, in order that, as it is written: The one who boasts must boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31)

“Sanctification” is from the Greek word hagiasmos (hag-ee-as-mos). It means consecration, purification. It means that, in Christ, God has cleansed you and set you apart as one dedicated to Him. You are clothed in Christ and are justified on the basis of His imparted righteousness. He is in the process of making you holy and perfect.

1 Peter 1:16-17 says, “As the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.”

Jesus said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:8)

Obviously, we are not now perfect. The Apostle Paul, one of the greatest spiritual giants in Christian history said, “I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

Sanctification - being set apart in dedication to God, being made holy and perfect - begins the moment you turn in repentance and acknowledge Jesus as Lord. God plants a hunger in you to know Him fully. He is not finished with you. You are a work in progress.

Paul told the believers in Philippi, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you, [enabling you] both to will and to act for His good purpose.” (Philippians 2:12-13)

This was written to Christians, so it is obvious that Paul is not telling them to work to earn their salvation. That is secure in Christ.

Dr. Warren Wiersbe, a trustworthy Bible teacher, says this concerning the Greek verb katergazomai (kat-er-gad-zom-ahee), that has been translated, “work out:” “In Paul’s day it was also used for ‘working a mine,’ that is, getting out of the mine all the valuable ore possible; or ‘working a field’ so as to get the greatest harvest possible.”*

In other words we are to be all that we can be in Christ. It is the purpose of God for us to grow into Christ likeness. He has determined that we “be conformed to the image of His Son.” (Romans 8:29)

Paul said, “[My goal] is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” (Philippians 3:10)

As the day came near when Paul would be executed because he could not keep quiet about Jesus, he wrote a letter to his son in the ministry, Timothy. He said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. In the future, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

One day soon, you will pass from this life into the literal presence of your Lord, Jesus Christ: “For we know that if our earthly house, a tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens…And the One who prepared us for this very thing is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.” (2 Corinthians 5:1& 5)

Jesus gave us this sure hope: “Your heart must not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:1-3)

One day we will be forever in His presence, and we will know Him fully. In the meantime, He is preparing us for that wonderful day. In light of this, we have this inspired directive from Paul in Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

Do this and you will know God personally, intimately and fully.

Here are six exciting things you should do to grow in knowledge, fellowship and service with believers in a Bible preaching New Testament church:

1.     Be faithful in worship services.

2.     Be a good steward of your God-given resources by giving through your church, beginning with the tithe (10% of your gross income).

3.     Enroll as a faithful member of a church sponsored Bible study group.

4.     Participate faithfully in your church’s evangelism ministries.

5.     Explore service opportunities available through your church’s men’s and women’s ministries, music programs, youth and children’s ministries, etc.

* Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary . "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series" -- Jkt. (Php 2:12). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books

 

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible® Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee

Copyright © 2007, 2009 Wayne Bristow   All rights reserved

 

 

Why America Still Needs the Cowboy

This essay was originally published in American Cowboy Magazine’s November/December 2004 edition under the heading, “Wanted: Real Cowboys.”

Why does America still need the cowboy?  We need him because we need to be reminded that pure contentment is not found in a corner office, a ridiculous collection of  high-tech toys, platinum frequent flyer status, and a blue-chip portfolio.  It can still be found while feeling the rippling power of a good horse between your legs.  It can be found while facing a stiff west wind and squinting into the afternoon sun under a big sky.  It can be found when all of your possessions can fit into a battered toolbox, the rusting bed of an old pickup, and a mud-splattered horse trailer.  It can be found in the awakening aroma and the jolting impact of strong coffee that was boiled in a tin pot over a mesquite wood fire.  It can be found in rising early, riding hard, ending sore, eating well, and sleeping sound. 

 

Why does America still need the cowboy?  We need him because we need men on whom you can count.  We need men who take pride in their work and who will “ride for the brand.”  We need men who will talk less, listen more and learn well.  We need men who will reach out to help; whether it is a calf struggling through a difficult birth or a “pardner” down on his luck.  We need men who know that courage is being afraid and still making the ride.  We need men who are strong, quiet and confident enough that they can be trusted by a horse or a dog.  We need men who know the worth of grass, dirt and water.  We need men who understand just how dependent we are on the God who made all of that.

 

Right now, there is unscouted ground up ahead.  There are going to be some stormy nights with a restless herd.  Rivers will be at flood stage.  Every canyon wall will threaten an ambush.  The tenderfoot is going to head back down the trail.  Tough choices must be made before we break camp every day.  Once we ride out, there can be no quit. 

 

Why do we still need the cowboy?  We need him because the times demand it.  It is time to “cowboy up.”

 

Copyright © 2009 Wayne Bristow

The Message of Evangelism

Message of Evangelism

Evangelism’s message has four components:

• Man’s problem, by nature and by choice

• The consequences of Man’s problem

• God’s provision to meet Man’s need

• Man’s response to God’s provision.

Man’s Problem

Talk about the life, death and resurrection of Christ will make no sense to Man until he understands the truth about himself apart from God.

Jesus said, “The Son of Man has come to save the lost.” (Matthew 18:11)

Man is a sinner by nature: By nature, Man is turned toward selfishness and depravity.

In the language of the Bible, we all have a sin nature. This is encoded in our spiritual DNA. King David said, “I was guilty [when I] was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5)

In the Old Testament, we are told “there is no one who does not sin.” (1 Kings 8:46)

In the New Testament, we are reminded that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

Our ancestral parents, Adam and Eve, were created to know and enjoy God.

• Surrounded by the beauty of a perfect world, they were to have dominion over all that He had made.

• They were given freedom of choice, because God wanted a love relationship with them, and love cannot be coerced.

• They were told that there was only one stipulation: “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

Immediately, Satan, in the form of a serpent, called God a liar and tempted Man to disobey Him: “He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?’

“The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’’

“’No! You will not die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” (Genesis 3:1-5)

Satan was the first created being to rise up in rebellion against his Creator’s authority and purpose. In Revelation 12:9, he is spoken of as “the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world.”

Jesus said, “He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of liars.” (John 8:44)

Peter warned, “Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

“Satan” literally means, “adversary.” He is a fallen angelic being. He is at war with God. Unlike the “dark force” of Star Wars fiction, he is not a threat to God Himself. He is supernatural, but he is not all-powerful or all-knowing. Known as “the ruler of the demons” (Luke 11:15), he has multitudes of fallen angels who are at his command. In league with them, unable to touch God, he strikes at the object of God’s love, Man.

Paul warned that “our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Man believed Satan’s lie. He disobeyed God. By believing Satan, he joined him in calling God a liar. By willfully disobeying God, he joined Satan in becoming the enemy of God. His relationship with God was broken.

Yes, Man’s spiritual eyes were opened, but not to cleanness, purity, peace, purpose and harmony. Instead, he saw himself naked, afraid, ashamed, and in discord with God and His purpose. He had turned his back on God and gone away from Him into spiritual darkness and lostness. The moment that Man sinned, he began to die.

Physically, thousands of babies are being born with the affliction of sick parents cursing their little bodies with the seed of AIDS. Spiritually, all of the human race, and all of God’s creation, has been infected with the virus of Adam’s rebellion.

Paul was inspired to write, “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12)

You did not have to learn selfishness. You did not have to learn how to lie. You have a sin nature. The Bible says, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick—who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

Man is a sinner by choice: 

Read Exodus 20:1-17 and test yourself in light of the Ten Commandments:

• Does something or someone have a greater hold on your affections and time than God? The Bible says in verse 3, “Do not have other gods besides Me.”

• Have you ever used God’s name in profanity or in irreverent jest? The Bible says in verse seven, “Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God, because the LORD will punish anyone who misuses His name.”

• Have you ever stretched the truth or told a deliberate lie? The Bible says in verse 16, “Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.”

• Have you taken something that did not belong to you? The Bible says in verse 15, “Do not steal.”

In James 2:10 the Bible says, “For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all.”

If you were judged according to God’s standard, would you be innocent or guilty?

Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way.”

Rebellious Man rejects the One True God, and attempts to replace Him with gods which are without life and power. By making himself the enemy of God, he chooses to be the object of wrath instead of mercy.

Paul describes this in Romans 1:18-25: “For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse. For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.

“Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

All of the senseless terrorism, immorality and conflict in our world are the result of man’s determination to go his own way without God. The Bible says, “As a result, people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20b)

Consequences of Man’s Problem

Sin has put Man in conflict with himself and other people. Sin has separated Man from God now.

Here is how Paul described the Ephesian believers before they came to Christ, “At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, with no hope and without God in the world.” (Ephesians 2:12)

Sin can separate Man from God forever. The Bible warns, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23a)

Death is the absence of life. You can only experience real life by knowing God personally. To die without a personal relationship with Him means that you will spend eternity separated from Him.

Today, we are surrounded with warning labels. Seat belts and airbags are required equipment in new automobiles. Airports must thoroughly screen all passengers in an attempt to protect us from terrorism. From childhood, we are taught to look both ways before crossing a street. We go to great lengths to protect our physical lives. However, this life will soon end. What then?

In Hebrews 9:27, the Bible says, “It is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment.”

Jesus warned, “Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

God’s Provision

A story is told of a submarine that was disabled on the floor of the ocean off the East Coast of North America. Since the supply of oxygen was limited, a desperate rescue operation was quickly mounted. As divers pressed around the hull of the stricken vessel, they heard tapping from inside. It was the dots and dashes of the Morse code. Over and over, a sailor was asking, “Is there any hope?”

It is impossible to see the tragic result of our rebellion against God without asking “Is there any hope?”

God’s answer is a resounding, “Yes!”

God has built a bridge across the chasm that separates you from Him. He has made a way for you to come home and be reconciled to Him. Forgiveness is possible. A restored relationship is possible. A new beginning is possible.

The Only Way

An artist painted a picture of a young man engaged in a chess game with a satanic figure. His opponent was the personification of cunning and evil. His eyes gleamed with delight as he observed the bewilderment of what he perceived as a defeated challenger. The painting was titled “Checkmate” and hanged in a public gallery. One day, a great chess master stood before it for a long time. He studied the conquered countenance of the young man. He saw that Satan was confident of victory. Then he pondered the placement of the pawns and men on the board. His mind searched for a move that would allow the young player’s king to escape check. Suddenly, his voice rang through the gallery, “Young man, there is a move, but there is only one!”

This is God’s message for you. He wants to forgive your sin and deliver you from its bondage. He wants you to be justified and righteous. He wants you to know Him personally. He wants you to experience a fullness of life. However, He is telling you that there is only one way. Jesus said, “I am the way.” (John 14:6a)

How can Jesus say such an audacious thing? How and why is He the only way to know God personally?

First, Jesus is God. John began his good news about Jesus by writing, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5)

Secondly, He became Man. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi that “Christ Jesus…existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8)

2000 years ago, God invaded human history. He came down to walk among those who were in rebellion against Him, to do for them what they could not do for themselves. He humbled Himself and, for 33 years, He lived as a man in a faith relationship with the Father. The most familiar verse in the Bible succinctly tells this good news: “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Jesus did not come to be a great teacher, a good example, a physician or merely a worker of miracles. He came to be as He was described by John the Baptist, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

Jesus was without sin, but He took your sin upon Himself. Hundreds of years before His birth, the prophet, Isaiah, saw this: “We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)

When Jesus was nailed to a Roman cross, He was dying for you. He was suffering in your place. He was bearing your guilt. He was paying the price for your deliverance from the power and penalty of sin. God the Father was judging your sin in His Son. The Bible says, “He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

When Jesus had suffered all the pain the human body can endure, when His blood had been shed for you, He cried, “It is finished!” (John 19:30)

God’s great work of redemption was finished. Sinful men thought that Jesus was finished, but they were wrong. He was raised from the dead and is wonderfully alive today!

When women, who were followers of Jesus, went to His tomb on Sunday morning, after His death on Friday, they were stunned to be confronted by an angel. “’Don’t be alarmed,’ he told them. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been resurrected! He is not here!” (Mark 16:5-6)

Because He is alive, we can experience full and eternal life in Him. Peter was inspired to write that God “has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3)

An old hymn says, “Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain - He washed it white as snow.”

This is why there is one Way to know God personally. There is Hope; His name is, “Jesus.”

In Ephesians 1:7, the Bible says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”

Man’s Response

How can you respond to Christ and experience redemption from the bondage and penalty of sin? First, if you are sensing your sinfulness and desiring to know God personally, you must understand that God is taking the initiative in drawing you to Himself.

It is not our nature to seek God. The Bible says, “There is no one who does good. God looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise and who seeks God. Everyone has turned aside; they have all become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 53:1-3)

It is God who is seeking you. When you realize this, you must not take it lightly. Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” (John 6:44)

Grace and Faith

You do not deserve it, but God’s unmerited love is being directed toward you. This is called grace. The Bible says, “By grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift - not from works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.”

God is the only adequate object for your faith. Believe Him; take Him at His word; stake everything on His faithfulness. You will not be disappointed.

Psalm 100:5 declares, “For the Lord is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations.”

Jesus has accomplished all that is necessary for your salvation. You cannot add anything to what He has done. There is no work that you can do, there is no ritual that can be performed, there is no price that you can pay, there is no pilgrimage that you can take, and there is no sacrifice that you can make. The only thing you can bring to God is the burden of your sin. All that you can do is surrender yourself, as a guilty sinner, to Christ as your personal Lord and Savior!

As a young woman, Charlotte Elliott was convicted of her innate sinfulness. She wanted to come to Christ. When she asked how she could do this, a wise counselor suggested, “Come just as you are.”

After committing her life to Christ, she wrote: “Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou biddst me come to Thee - O Lamb of God, I come, I come!”

The Bible concludes with this invitation: “Both the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ Anyone who hears should say, ‘Come!’ And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift.” (Revelation 22:17)

Jesus promised, “Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37)

When a person is convicted of his/her sin, aware of its terrible consequences, and filled with a desire to turn to God from sin, he/she can be confident that God is inviting him/her to receive the free gifts of forgiveness and eternal life that were purchased with the blood of Christ.

Repentance

Jesus began His preaching ministry by saying, “Repent and believe in the good news!” (Mark 1:15b)

Paul told a pagan crowd in Athens, “God now commands all people everywhere to repent.” (Acts 17:30b)

Repentance means to change your mind and to turn around. God causes you to see yourself in the mirror of His word, the Bible. He convicts you of sin. He warns you of the consequences of going into eternity without accepting Christ as your only Hope.

Drawn by the Holy Spirit, you can stop right now, allow God to tear away your attitudes of pride and self-sufficiency. You can turn from selfishness and rebellion toward Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life.

You must let go of your old life and receive His life in exchange. He said, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:35)

He asked, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37, New American Standard Bible)

Concerning Christ, we have these promises:

“To all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)

“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation. Now the Scripture says, No one who believes on Him will be put to shame, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Lord of all is rich to all who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)

Those words were originally written to people who were required to acknowledge that the Roman Caesar was supreme, the only one worthy of their praise and submission. They were required to publicly declare their allegiance to him; to say, “Caesar is Lord.”

It was no small thing for a person to turn in submission to Christ and openly confess, “Jesus is Lord!”

To call Jesus “Lord” means you are turning from allegiance to, and dependence on, anyone or anything that you have trusted for forgiveness, worth and rightness. You are turning from any material thing or pursuit that enslaves your affections. You are turning from every ritual, superstition, good work, saint or spirit. You are turning from self to Christ. You are trusting only Him for your salvation. You are willing to openly confess your commitment to Him. You are ready to follow and obey Him.

When a person is ready to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, he/she can pray in repentance of sin and submission to Him. This can be the greatest moment of that person’s entire life!

Remember, a person is not saved by the magic of words, or by the rush of an ecstatic experience. Christ is our only Hope. He alone can save.

Prayer is not simply repeating words. A person can say mere words and nothing will happen. Prayer is opening one’s heart to God, crying out to Him. When people pray, they should not be overly concerned about their words. God listens to the heart.

Jesus told religious leaders who were trying to impress Him with their self-righteousness and money, “God knows your hearts. For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight.” (Luke 16:15) When a person really understands the message of evangelism, he/she can pray from his/her heart, repenting of sin and, by faith, trusting only Christ for salvation.

It is not necessary for a person to repeat what has been called “the sinner’s prayer.” It is frightening to consider how many people might have done just that without really repenting of sin and submitting to Christ’s Lordship. It is probably best for a convicted sinner to pray in his/her own words. However, there are times when you may be able to carefully help a person pray at this critical moment. An appropriate prayer might go like this:

"Lord Jesus Christ, I confess that I am a guilty and helpless sinner. There is nothing that I can do to save myself. I can only bring to you the burden of my sin. I am turning from this to you. I submit to You and acknowledge that You are Lord. I surrender the control of my life to You. I am turning from every allegiance, spirit, idol or attempt to justify myself. I am trusting only You as my personal Lord and Savior. In Your name I pray. Amen.”

If that is the cry of a person to Christ, he/she has passed from death into life. He/She has become a follower of Christ.