Judged Yourself Unworthy

One of the things non believers often ask is how could a loving God condemn people to hell?  I found what I think is a great verse to refer to in answering that question. 

Acts 13:46(NKJV)
46Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. 

In this verse Paul is speaking to the Jews in Antioch but I think we can apply this verse to anyone who has heard the Word of God and rejected it. 

Take a look at the highlighted part.  "But since you reject it (the Word of God), and judge yourselves unworthy".  As I've written in the past.  The great thing about salvation is that it is available to all.  God offers it freely.  God is the creator and the ruler of the universe.  He gets to set the rules.  Anybody and everybody who chooses to follow the rules God has set for salvation can be saved.  The only ones who are condemned to hell are who?  Those that have chosen to reject God.

Now has God taken away their ability to be saved?  No.  Is it one strike and you are out?  No.  As long as you haven't blasphemed the Holy Spirit, God will always give you a chance to change your mind and accept Jesus.    

So in reality who determines if you are condemned to hell?  You do!  God is a loving God and He has provided each and every person the opportunity to be saved.  That whole free will thing again.  You can judge yourself unworthy and choose hell or you can choose everlasting life.  You choose!

Putting Tow and Two Together

Isn’t it cool how God structured the Bible so that to really know Him you have to work at it a bit?  He could have simply written a book of rules and left it at that.  Would have been easier for us, that's for sure.  But He didn't.  God expects us to be able to put two and two together.  I love this example from Acts of how Peter does it.

Acts 11:15-17(NKJV)

15And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. 

16Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 

17If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”

Look at the process here.  He goes against hundreds if not thousands of years of Jewish tradition and law by associating and sharing with non Jews.  In the previous verses God had spoken to him through the Holy Spirit.  He remembers Jesus saying something that now seems relevant and he connects that dot.  Then Peter thinks it through using a bit of simple logic or common sense.  "If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”

I just think that this is a great example of how we need to use all of our resources to try and fully understand God.  We need to be in prayer, we need to be in the Word, we need to listen to the guiding of the Holy Spirit, we need to use our powers of observation, and we have to use our God given intellect together in our quest to grow closer and closer to God.

Seem like a lot of work?  It is!  But here is what is really cool.  It's worth it!

I'm so grateful to be included!

Acts 10:9-15(NKJV)
9The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. 
10Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance 
11and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. 
12In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. 
13And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”
14But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”
15And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” 

Acts 10:34-45(NKJV)
34Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. 
35But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. 
36The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—
37that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: 
38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. 
39And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom £they killed by hanging on a tree. 
40Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, 
41not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 
42And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. 
43To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”
44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 
45And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 

As we celebrate this season of our Risen Lord and Savior let's remember to thank Him for including us.  As this passage illustrates, historically the Jews expected the Savior of the world to be just for them.  When you combine these passages with the conversion of Paul and his missionary assignment to take the Word to the rest of the world, we can see that God had a much bigger vision here than just saving the Jewish people.

Take a look at verse 45.  "And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. "

Were they astonished that people were receiving the Holy Spirit?  Nope.  They were astonished that Gentiles were receiving the Holy Spirit.

So may prayer for this Easter season is one of many thanks.

Thank you God for sending your son Jesus to die for our sins.  As a father of three I just can't imagine loving others so much that you would be willing to do that.  Guess that's part of what makes you God and me not!

Thanks you Jesus for voluntarily taking on my burden.  Again as a human being it is hard to imagine doing that when you know all you have to do is say the word and you can stop it.  That was an incredible sacrifice!

And finally, Thank you God for including me and all of the other non Jewish believers from around the world.  Thank you for including me in your salvation plan and thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you in any way I can.  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Amen!

Now folks if you are in the Kalamazoo area and would like to attend an Easter Celebration like no other, I'd like to personally invite you to join us at Valley Family Church.   You can click on the link below to learn more.

The Doxology Experience - Easter 2012

Don’t miss Easter at VFC! The “Doxology Experience” will be an interactive, musical, multi-media experience where we brush the dust off of some of the good traditions from church history that are worthy of revisiting. The Doxology Experience is literally, and by definition, “an expression of praise to God!” This Easter is our chance to praise God from whom all blessings flow! Invite everyone you know and join us this Easter for “Doxology,” a powerful message and meaningful service where we celebrate the truth that Jesus is alive!

Easter Weekend
Saturday, April 7 | 5pm
Sunday, April 8 | 9 & 11:30am

Behold, the days are coming...

Interesting verse in Amos today.  Now Amos was one of the first prophets after King David and King Solomon.  He was alive around 760 BC and was a contemporary of another minor prophet, Hosea.

Amos 8:11(NKJV)

11    “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord GOD,      “That I will send a famine on the land,     Not a famine of bread,     Nor a thirst for water,     But of hearing the words of the Lord.

A famine of hearing the words of the Lord.  It's pretty easy to imagine that today might be the time that Amos was talking about.  When we look around at how Christian speech is being attacked world wide. 

What I find interesting here though is that God says "That I will send a famine on the land."  He isn't just letting it happen.  He is causing it to happen.  What could be the purpose of that?  I'm not sure.  I thought God's ultimate goal was that everybody has a chance to be saved.  How does sending a famine of the word work towards that goal?

Here is one thought based on the famine analogy.  A famine is an extreme lack of something, usually food.  Now what happens during a famine in regards to people's want of food?  It increases doesn't it?  They become more and more intense in their want of food, which they need to survive, as it becomes more and more scarce.  Maybe that is a bit of what God had in mind here.  People need to word of God just as badly as they need food, they just don't realize it.  Don't know if that really is God's strategy or not but it seemed to make sense to me.

What do we know?  We know that we are charged with the duty of sharing the Word with all.  As the scarcity increases, we are to be God's army out there offering what people are becoming more and more desperate for.  There is a reason churches like Valley Family Church are growing like crazy.  People are searching for the Word.  Let's do everything we can to fight the famine and provide it!

Then and Now

Acts 7:30-34(NKJV)
30“And when forty years had passed, an Angel £of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. 
31When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, 
32saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ £ And Moses trembled and dared not look. 
33‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 
34I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.”’ £

Isn't it interesting how times have changed?  I used the above passage to illustrate how direct interactions with God were characterized back in the OT.  There was fear, and trembling, and they dared not look, etc.  They were always surprised to hear directly from God. 

Contrast that with the relationship that we get to have with God through our belief in His son, Jesus Christ.  We are heirs with Christ.  We can talk to God and through the Holy Spirit God communicates directly with us.  We don't have to fear it.  We don't have to be surprised by it.  In fact it should be a regular event.  We should expect it.  And we can take comfort in it.

Just one more difference being part of the family of God makes.  Would you like to hear from God?  Then accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.  Are you feeling that tug in your heart that is telling you to accept Jesus although you are still a bit hesitant?  Well guess what?  You are hearing from God.  Now just surrender to God's leading and accept Jesus.  Welcome to being heirs in Christ.    The communication that you just experienced from God is just the tip of the iceberg.   Welcome to the family!

When the path is clear...

Don't hesitate! 

Genesis 43:1-14(NKJV)
1Now the famine was severe in the land. 
2And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”
3But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 
4If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 
5But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”
6And Israel said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?”
7But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”
8Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 
9I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 
10For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”
11And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 
12Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. 
13Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. 
14And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”

Just so we are all on the same page let me recap the events.  Because of the famine, Jacob/Israel sent all but one of his sons to Egypt to buy grain.  The one he didn't send was the youngest.  He didn't send his youngest because he didn't want anything to happen to him. 

Their brother Joseph who they had sold into slavery is running things in Egypt.  The brothers don't recognize him.  He sells them the grain but keeps two of the brothers and tells the other brothers that they have to bring back the youngest brother for Joseph to see before he will let the two other brothers go.

Now here is where it gets interesting.  Jacob leaves his two older sons sitting in  jail in Egypt.  He is so afraid of something happening to his youngest son that he won't send his youngest son down there to get the other two out.  What does this prove?  What those of us who are older siblings have known for years.  They always love the baby the most!  LOL. 

But seriously, here is a situation where the path is clear to Jacob but he continues to hesitate.  He keeps hoping for the situation to change.  For things to get better.  He thinks about this bad thing that can happen or that bad thing that can happen.  How this or that could go wrong.   But in the end, after all of that mental torment and anguish, Jacob is resigned to take that path anyway.  "If I am bereaved, I am bereaved."

There is a life lesson here folks that we have all probably learned at least once in our lives but bears repeating.  If the path is clear, don't hesitate.  Take the path.  For those of us that have gone through this a time or two what do we find?  Nine times out of ten things turn out fine.  All of those things that we feared would happen, didn't.  All of that time and mental anguish was wasted.  And what about that one out of ten times when things turn out badly?  Well at least you get it over with.  You avoid the weeks or months of torment you put yourself through.

So what is the key to dealing with these situations?  Rely on Jesus to be with you through the whole thing.  As long as you have Jesus by your side, when the path is clear, don't hesitate because Jesus will be there every step of the way to help you deal with it!

Delegate, Decline, and Focus

As you know one of the things I try to focus on is what I call practical Christianity.  Things that we get from the Bible that have practical everyday uses.  I ran across this scripture today. 

Acts 6:1-4(NKJV)

1Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists,£ because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 

2Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 

3Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 

4but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

I think there is an important lesson here both in the way we serve God and also for our daily lives.

Here is what I mean.  We all have different skills and abilities.  We need to make sure that we focus on using those skills and abilities that are most useful to helping God fulfill His plan for our lives.  We need to learn to Delegate, Decline, and Focus.

We need to learn to delegate things to others so that we can focus on the things that we are best at.  We need to decline to try and do everything.  Sometimes we get such a big heart to serve that we find ourselves volunteering to help everywhere.  We need to learn how to say no.  Say yes to the things we are really good at but say no to the things that we are really average at.  Let someone who is better equipped do those things. 

And finally if we do the first two things it will allow us to really focus the talents and energies that God has given in the most efficient way possible.  So if you truly want to serve God then learn to Delegate, Decline, and Focus!