Joy

Joy - What is it? Is it a feeling, an emotion, a state of being? Is it something we can hold in our hands, or is it just for our mind and heart to experience?

Let's see what the definition of joy is.

joy

–noun

1. the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation:

2. a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated:

3. the expression or display of glad feeling; festive gaiety.

4. a state of happiness or felicity.

–verb (used without object)

5. to feel joy; be glad; rejoice.

from Latin gaudia, to rejoice

So how does the definition of Joy fit into the story of Christmas? Let's go to the story of the shepherds in Luke Chapter 2, verses 8-18:

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

Can you see where joy fits in? Can you see in your mind's eye the emotional response that the shepherds had when the skies opened and the host of heaven gave them the news of the Savior's birth?

My guess is that they had an emotion of great delight or happiness caused by this exceptionally good and satisfying event! I would also assume that the announcement of Jesus' birth had to be a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight, since the Savior that was foretold in prophecy was someone greatly valued and appreciated.

The shepherds expression of glad feeling and festive gaiety most likely caused a state of happiness or felicity in many of those who heard the story the shepherds told.

I am also certain that seeing Jesus in person probably caused the shepherds to feel joy, be glad, and rejoice.

The coming King had arrived! The shepherds told the news to whomever would listen, and they did it with Joy!

Here is our King!

Here is our Love!

Here is our God who's come to bring us back to Him!

He is the One! He is Jesus!

The Purpose of Christmas - Life

Christmas!!! This has to be one of the most favorite times of the year on the Church calendar, and the world calendar in general! It's the time of year when we get to sing Jingle Bells, gaudily decorate every square inch of your home and church, and sing those beloved carols that we all know so well.

For many, it's a time of oversleeping, over-eating, overspending, and overextending themselves to the point of exhaustion, with just enough time to reflect on all of that overindulgence before making a resolution never to do it again (at least not until next year...).

However, there's a story that somehow peeks its way through the din of all the commercialism that the world has placed upon this particular part of the calendar. It's a story that begins the incredible journey back toward God for all of humanity, and it starts with a pair of lives changed by faith. We find the beginning of that story in the book of Luke.

Luke 2:1-7 - In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

We all know that this is the beginning of "The Christmas Story". However, we need to go back a little further. Back to the point where Joseph and Mary were betrothed to each other.

Luke 1:26-35 - In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary , you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, so the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."

Life change for Mary -

15-16 years old, pledged to be married, a virgin in waiting. All of a sudden, she has this amazing experience with an angel of the Lord and is given the task of bearing the Son of God.

How did this look to her family? Her friends? Her neighbors? Her soon to be husband's family?

She is sent away from town to her cousin Elizabeth's home (who, by the way, is pregnant in her old age by the work of God as well), and lives there until Joseph is ready to come get her.

Now let's look at the other main character in this story. Go with me to the book of Matthew.

Matthew 1:18 - This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

Life change for Joseph -

17-20 years old, pledged to be married, went home to prepare a place for them to live on his father's land. Comes back for his bride to be, only to find that she is pregnant and has only some wild story about an angel of the Lord and the Holy Spirit making it possible.

What would his family think? His friends? His neighbors? Coming home with an extremely pregnant wife BEFORE they consummated their marriage?

What a life change!!!

How crazy must it have been for the two of them? Even within God's chosen people and all the absolutely amazing things that God had done over the years, everyone knows how a girl gets pregnant, and it's certainly not by a chance encounter with the Holy Spirit, right?

The most interesting part of this story to me, however, is the amount of faith that Mary and Joseph had in the midst of something that would bring them hardship and suffering. Their faith was used by God to set the plan of humanity's redemption into motion.

Mary's Faith: I can only imagine how incredulous Mary was when she received those words from the angel that day. Probably just as incredulous as her cousin Elizabeth was when she became pregnant in her later years. Remember Sarah and Abraham? How crazy did they think it was to have a child at 90 and 100 years old respectively?

She asks the direct question "How am I supposed to be pregnant when I haven't even had sex yet?" The angel's answer of the Holy Spirit coming upon her was probably a daunting answer to hear, and yet she answers with unswerving faith in her God.

Luke 1:38 - "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."

"May it be to me as you have said." What faith! What courage as a young girl to believe so much in God that she would face all the potential ills that would accompany her through this situation! Oh, if we were only to have a small measure of that kind of faith today...

How about Joseph's faith? The Bible shows clearly his character and willingness to follow God's path set before him.

Matthew 1:19-24 - Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will saved his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" - which means, "God with us." When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Joseph was truly a caring man. He could have had Mary publicly humiliated and stoned to death for breaking her wedding vows, but instead was going to let her go quietly because he loved her. However, when the angel of the Lord appeared in the dream, his faith in God stirred him to take on the responsibility and ridicule of a man who had a pregnant wife and was not the father of the child.

This was only the beginning of the radical life change that God would bring about through His plan of salvation in Jesus.

How about the shepherds in the fields? Here they are "abiding" in the fields with their sheep, and suddenly the sky opens up and the host of heaven sings the Hallelujah Chorus, telling them of the birth of the Savior of the world! How crazy!

What about the Magi? Following a bright start until it lands them at the door of a stable where a young couple are tending to a newborn in a feed trough? How strange that must have seemed.

What about the common men who were called to be disciples, and then ultimately started the spread of the Gospel to all nations on the day of Pentacost? Who would have thought tradesmen would be spouting the message of Christ in varied languages with no training or education in foreign language?

All of these events were set into motion by Mary and Joseph's willingness to be used by God in an extraordinary way. There wasn't anything special about the two of them. They were ordinary Jewish people, and God changed the course of history with them.

The shepherds? Ordinary. The disciples? Ordinary. You and me? Ordinary.

Oh... wait. Did you see that? We're ordinary people, just like the disciples who took the message of Jesus to the world, the shepherds who told the whole countryside of what they had seen, and the young couple who birthed the Son of Man.

Do you know what that means? Radical life change through the birth of Jesus can be ours as well! How crazy it that?! How amazing is it to know that we don't have to be super special or highly educated to be given a life in Christ? How inspiring is it to know that we don't have to have special talents or skills in order to be used for God's purpose and plan?

There's a simple set of verses that we all have heard many times whether we're a new believer or a maturing Christ-follower. It shows God's plan for life change.

John 3:16-17 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

We are all part of that "whoever", no matter who we are or what we've done! Let me say that again. We are ALL part of that "whoever"! Through Christ's birth, life, death, and resurrection, we are given a golden opportunity to believe and be used by God in radical, life changing ways.

There is a price that we must pay for this radical life change, however... We must give ourselves completely away to Him. Yep, you heard me right. We cannot keep any of ourselves back, but we must be willing to give all we have and all we are to be used by God in whatever way He chooses.

Only then can we truly say "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."

Who Is Man?

I had the honor of preaching this past Sunday on part of The Truth Project. I thought I would share my notes with you! If you wish, you can go to the sermon player on the side bar to listen and read along at the same time.

Who is man? Are we a product of the desire of Almighty God to have love and companionship that chooses freely to abide with Him, or are we just a product of “the stuff in the box”? Do we freely think and choose for ourselves, or do we simply respond to stimuli? Are we made in the image of God, or are we the image of “Goo” that evolved by happenstance over billions of years?

Are we inherently good and then our belief systems create the struggle of good and evil in our lives, or are we inherently sinful and in need of saving?

What does the world say?

Abraham Maslow was a celebrated psychologist and noted as the founder of Humanistic Psychology. He created what is known as the Hierarchy of Needs.

Maslow’s thoughts and now some of the world’s Anthropology

Basic Assumptions

man, by nature, is good

mental health and happiness come through self-actualization...

and getting in touch with one’s real ‘good’ self

social institutions are responsible for man’s evil actions

HOWEVER…

Those who watched the video last week will remember Dr. William Provine, professor of Atheistic Humanism. He stated this:

*no gods or purposive forces

*no life after death

*no ultimate foundation for ethics

*no ultimate meaning in life

*no free will

Clarence Darrow was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenage thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Bobby Franks (1924) and defending John T. Scopes in the Scopes Trial (1925), in which he opposed William Jennings Bryan (statesman, noted orator, and three time presidential candidate for the Democratic Party).

“The Purpose of man is like the purpose of the pollywog – to wiggle along as far as he can without dying, or to hang to life until death takes him.”

WOW!!! That’s what got me out of bed this morning! Let’s all wiggle along and try not to die today!

In other words, “A bug, is a pig, is a dog, is a boy.” All creatures are merely a product of evolution, and merely animals that respond to stimuli.

And yet the world worries about evil! If a bug, is a pig, is a dog, is a boy, then why are we so concerned when people are killed? Why do we care enough to have laws that dictate that it is wrong to kill people?

As Dr. Tackett put it, “do you think that the lion out on the African plain ever feels bad about taking down that poor defenseless zebra?” No. Why not? It’s survival of the fittest! If a bug, is a pig, is a dog, is a boy, then when someone kills someone else isn’t that just natural? Why are we so concerned?

Why does evil bother you? Why do you feel bad about evil?

Isn’t EVIL, as described, simply the natural outworking of the evolutionary process?

It bothers us BECAUSE THERE’S SOMETHING BIGGER WITHIN US THAT SCREAMS THAT IT IS WRONG!!!

The big problem here is that, as we can see from these peeks into the World’s thoughts on man that even they can’t agree as to what man is!

Can you see now why it is so important for us to know the truth? We MUST know who we are so that we can better understand why we believe what we believe. That knowledge can only come from gazing upon the face of God.

We know a bit of what the world says who man is, but what does the Bible say?

What Is True – We Are God’s Workmanship!!!

Genesis 1:27 - So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Ephesians 2:10 – For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Psalm 139:13-16 - For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

We have been created in the image of God! Imageo Deo! However, sin entered the world when God’s creation turned to it’s own desires.

Romans 5:12-14 - Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

Genesis 6:5 - The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

Description & Names of the Old Man

evil dead blind deaf lost rebellious

without hope haters of God desperately wicked children of the devil

Humanity was in need of a Savior!!!

John 3:16 ALL TOGETHER

Revelation 5:9 - And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

God sent Jesus to redeem us and give us a way to get back to how it was between Himself and Man in the Garden before the fall. The problem is we still have that “Old Man” within us, seeking to follow the natural desires of self instead of the supernatural desires of God.

Romans 7:21-23 - So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

We know that What Is True is that we are God’s workmanship. We also know that, even as His workmanship we were lost to sin and had to be redeemed. So how do we continue on the road toward an authentic relationship with our Creator?

What To Do – Choose God’s Grace

Ephesians 2:8-9 – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.

Romans 3:23-24 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Titus 3:4-7 - But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

When we choose God’s grace, we accept that we are fallen and in need of a Savior! We allow God to take us to the next step of completing His plan to reconcile us to Him. It is in choosing God’s grace that we have a leg to stand on when it comes to putting off the Old Man and his natural desires, and taking on the New Man in Christ.

Descriptions & Names of the New Man:

Redeemed Saints Priests Called out ones People of God A holy nation

children of God Sons of God Beloved Wear white robes Born from above

Aren’t those the descriptions we want to bear? I certainly do!

We are God’s Workmanship. He created us to have a lasting communion and companionship with Him, not only in this mortal life, but in the life to come.

In order to have that relationship, we need to choose God’s grace each day so that we might put off the characteristics of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and take on the characteristics of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Reputation Can Be Everything

I was watching a brand new show on the Discovery Channel last night called "Swords - Life On The Line". It's kinda like Deadliest Catch, but instead of crab fishing in the Bering Sea these folks are fishing for swordfish off the Outer Banks.

In this particular episode there was a captain that hadn't been out during the season in ten years, but her legend was such that she easily filled out her crew and got to work on the fishing grounds. Other boats were giving her a wide berth and allowing her to fish the places that she used to, all because of who she was.

However, there was also a younger captain from the south who had come up to fish the Banks with his crew. He was a very aggressive bully of a captain down where he was from, and the other captains on the Banks had heard of his actions back home. They were not willing to give up some of their fishing area, and were very wary of giving him information and sharing any supplies.

Isn't it interesting? Two captains doing the same thing, and yet with completely different reputations and responses from other people.

Now, the southern captain was very respectful of other boats' fishing areas and did was very cordial and respectful when speaking to them. All to no avail, however, as the other captains simply could not believe that his niceties were genuine due to what they already knew about him. Is it fair? Not necessarily, but it is human nature to distrust what seems to be out of the ordinary.

Remember Saul? Acts 8 introduces him to us as a man on the hunt for people who follow "The Way", otherwise known as Christ-followers. In Acts 9, he is running wild from town to town in search of people that he might arrest and bring back to Jerusalem for imprisonment or death for their belief in the Lord Jesus Christ until he literally has a "come to Jesus meeting" and changes his ways.

What do you think his reputation was like? I can't imagine that he was very popular with the Jews or Gentiles that believed in Christ.

Once his experience there on the road to Damascus happened and Ananias was used by God to restore his sight, Saul had become a fully changed man. No longer interested in persecuting Christ-followers for their faith, he began to preach and proclaim the story of Christ to anyone who would listen. The problem here was that he had spent so much time building the reputation of a persecutor of Christians, there were not very many who were interested in what he was saying as much as they were interested in finding a way to dispatch him to the happy hunting grounds!

Several times his life was in danger and those who did believe him had to sneak him out of those potentially fatal situations. Even the disciples where wary of meeting with him for fear of being arrested! Saul's reputation was going to take a very long time to reverse itself.

The same thing happens in our lives today. Our reputations precede us wherever we go, and they can either smoothly pave or roughly tear up the road to where we are going. When we become followers of Christ, there are parts of our reputation that we have to overcome in order to be accepted as such.

Let me make this clear: You DO NOT NEED TO FIX THEM TO COME TO CHRIST!!! He accepts us as we are, and we don't have to "clean up" in order to become a follower. However, once we become a follower we are to accept the terms of that relationship, which means we have to do what it takes to live a Biblically sound life.

This is where it gets even more tricky when it comes to our reputation. In many cases, we accept Christ into our lives but it simply becomes "fire insurance" because our lives continue to reflect the world instead of the cross. Our reputation, instead of being one of a nice person who lives a worldly lifestyle, becomes that of a hypocrite because we speak one thing and do another thing which completely contradicts what we said.

To live a life of worship that is completely authentic takes more than lip service. Take a look at what James has to say about this:

James 2:14-26 - What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for wha the did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in the different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

So now comes the tough question: What does your reputation look like? Do people believe that you live a life that worships the Almighty all day, every day, and in every way? If not, it may be time to have a Damascus Road experience yourself.

The Church Scattered - The Good and The Not So Good

Acts 8 is an account of what happened after Stephen was stoned to death. It was on that day that some of the most horrific persecution of the church begins with Saul at the helm. Many Christ followers lost their homes, fortunes, property, jobs, families, and lives during this time in the Church's history. They were taken, beaten, chained, jailed, and killed for believing that Jesus was who He said He was. However, this is not the most important part of the story in this chapter.

I firmly believe that it was God's intention to have the Church scattered away from Jerusalem. I firmly believe that God used Stephen's stoning as the flashpoint for the transmission of the message of Christ to the masses. It was through this gruesome event that He began the world-wide effort to bring all nations to Himself.

We read starting in verse 4 that Philip went to Samaria and began preaching the good news of Christ to an area that was full of gentiles. Jews and Samarians normally didn't mix, but Jesus had made it clear that His message was for the Jew AND the Gentile, and so Phillip brought that message to them.

The spread of Jesus' teachings was not limited to Judea and Samaria, however. Starting in vesre 26, we see Philip being led by an angel of the Lord to go to a certain area, where he happens to meet up with a eunuch from Ethiopia. This person was in charge of the treasury for the Queen of the Ethiopians. A very important man indeed! The eunuch is in a carriage reading the book of Isaiah, but not understanding it. God had positioned Philip in the right place at the right time to join this person of high stature and help them to understand what they were reading. In addition, Philip was able to share the good news of Christ with them, and baptize them in a pond on the roadside. The passage said that the eunuch went away rejoicing and praising God! Now we don't know for certain, as the Bible doesn't make reference to it, but it is my educated guess that the eunuch took the message of Christ back to Ethiopia, thus spreading the Gospel outside the borders of Judea/Samaria.

That's the good news. Now for the not so good news.

Many were following along in the new found freedom that the message had given them, but there were also a few that followed to see what kind of personal gain they could receive.

Simon the Sorcerer is the main character that displays this selfish intent. When Peter and John join Phillip in Samaria and the Holy Spirit starts to indwell the people of the area, Simon tries to buy his way into having the Holy Spirit.

Acts 8:18-24 - When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin." Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me."

Simon had been doing magical things for a while in Samaria, and people followed him because of his magical powers. He even had gone so far as to call himself "The Great Power". When Philip came into town doing miracles in the name of Jesus, it seems that Simon wanted to find out just how he was doing that so that he might add it to his own repetoire. It only makes sense that, once he saw Peter and John laying hands on the recently baptized so that they would receive the Holy Spirit, he would try and buy it from them so that he might gain more notariety and fame as a giver of the Holy Spirit. Peter and John saw straight through him and recognized that he was not truly asking for the Holy Spirit because he believed, but rather, for personal gain.

It is unfortunate, but even in the beginnings of the spread of Christianity, we see counterfeits popping up and endeavoring to taint the name of Jesus with false doctrine and devious intentions in mind. If satan can create something that looks, speaks, smells, and acts like the real thing, then there's a good chance that some will follow where they lead.

We must be on guard church, for if we are not diligent, we can be come a counterfeit without even knowing it!!!

The spread of Christianity has never been halted, and it should not stop now. What God began by scattering the Church after Stephen's death we continue today as the Body of Christ. There has never been a more opportune time for Christ's message to get to the masses! Let's live our lives of Worship before the world so that they may see Christ in us.

Matthew 5:13-16 - "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither to people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

The Stoning of Stephen

I've been stewing on Acts 7 for a while now. At first glance, it's a fairly unassuming chapter due to most of it being dedicated to Stephen's speech to the Sanhedrin. However, if you look a little deeper, you see some things that may catch your heart a bit.

Now, remember back in Chapter 6 that Stephen had been falsley accused of speaking against the Law and the Temple. Verse 15 said that everyone in the room saw that Stephen's face was like the face of an angel. My best guess is that in that very moment, the Holy Spirit was filling Stephen with the strength he would need to answer the question that followed.

Acts 7:1 - Then the high priest asked him, "Are these charges true?"

An interesting side note here is that the high priest asking the question (according to most scholars and theologians) was Caiaphas, who was the very priest that set the wheels in motion for Jesus to be betrayed and ultimately killed. How ironic that he also presides over the making of the first Christian martyr?!

At this moment, Stephen could have done what you see much of on television these days. He could have gone the tried and true "no these accusations are purely false and I will prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are" route, but instead, God had a different plan for him. God had Stephen give the Sanhedrin a history lesson.

Reading through Verses 2-50, you will find a cliff notes version of the happenings between God and His chosen people from the time of Abraham all the way up to Solomon. One would think that this was to remind them of the amazing things God had done for them, but if you read it carefully you notice the common theme: Rejection of God's teachings and persecution of anyone who would bring them back to the forefront. This culminates with Stephen basically going postal on the Sanhedrin in Verses 51-53:

Acts 7:51-53 - "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers; You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet that your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And how you have betrayed and murdered him - you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."

Those words cost Stephen his life at the hands of the Sanhedrin. They stoned him to death for his beliefs. They stoned him to death for being an activist for his faith. They stoned him to death for stepping on their time honored laws, traditions, doctrines, and theologies. They stoned him to death for making them look bad in public. This event began the persecution of the church that spread and scattered it througout Judea and Samaria.

Now, while we don't see people physically stoned by others for their words and deeds in the church today, we see something very similar going on spiritually, emotionally, and mentally which is almost worse in some ways.

We have become too comfortable with our surroundings, trappings, traditions, methodologies, doctrines, practices, etc... This issue is not just with one certain age group either! It comes from people of ALL ages who don't want to compromise what they want in order to possibly do kingdom work. When someone comes along and challenges our positions on things that we are comfortable with, we lash out at them verbally to their face, and behind their back. We passive-aggressively undermine their position by gossipping about them and turning small things into giant issues. We choose to say "We've NEVER done it that way before", or "We've ALWAYS done it that way" in the hopes that whatever it is will be left alone. The sad part? This is NOT what God sent Jesus here to die for.

A life of Worship is not a life based on the trappings of traditional or modern practices. It is not a life based on the age of a person or their personal doctrines and agendas. It is a life that is totally surrendered to Him all day, every day, in every way. It is a life that reflects the love of Jesus to others just as the moon reflects the sun. It is a life that causes change just by simply being ready to serve God in whatever way He calls us to each and every time.

Instead of organizing petitions to save the Communion table or the carpet, we should be organizing food and clothing drives to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

Instead of complaining to others about musical style, we should be open to the idea that what is being played and sung may bring others to Christ much in the same way that our favorite musical style did for us.

God calls us to have an authentic worship relationship with Him in order that He might use us to bring someone else into that same relationship.

We are to lovingly rebuke, forgive, and educate instead of harshly rejecting, persecuting, and driving away.

We can only do these things if we choose to surrender ourselves completely to the purpose and plan that God has for us as followers of the teachings of Jesus.

Proclaim Christ, Teach of Christ, Serve Christ. Love God, Love People. Live True. Whatever you want to call it, it's a life of Worship!

Gossip, Lies, Deceit, and the Power of Faith

Acts 6:8-14 - Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called) - Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, but they coul dnot stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God." So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us."

Stephen's story in Acts is a short one, but it brings out very vivid examples of what happens when we choose to follow Christ and allow Him to make us into men and women full of God's grace and power. Satan doesn't want this. In fact, he craves the exact opposite for us. Instead of being men and women full of God's grace and power, he would rather we be men and women full of lies, deceit, and selfish ambition.

When we make the decision to live a life that worships our Lord all day, every day, and in every way, it puts a target on our backs. We might as well call up Hell and declare open season on ourselves! It is NOT EASY, NOT SMOOTH, and NOT ENJOYABLE all the time. It is merely the beginning of a journey to build us into those men and women full of God's grace and power.

Oswald Chambers wrote in My Utmost For His Highest that God beats and pounds us into shape by fire and water, so that we might take a form that more closely resembles His image rather than our own. I can certainly relate to this, can you? His desire is to make us into people that have credibility that is more than skin deep. He desires for us to be in relationship with Him all the way to the core of our being. Stephen seemed to embody this to the point of being able to perform miracles and healings in addition to preaching the Word of Christ.

However, as we all know, one of the quickest and easiest ways to undermine someone's credibility is by destroying their reputation. We see this in Stephen's case. People with different viewpoints and opinions disagree with his teachings, so they seek to discredit him in whatever way possible.

Politicians and their staffers are masters at this. Mudslinging anyone? The Democrats and Republicans differ greatly on issues, so they continually try to discredit each other. Other faiths (and those with no faith at all) don't agree with the stances that followers of Christ take, so they do whatever they can to discredit us.

NOTE: We do a pretty good job of discrediting ourselves with our actions vs our words! The old adage that actions speak louder than words is SOOOO applicable to this!

A life of worship has to "walk the talk" at all times. We are called to a higher purpose, which means we have to put away the childish antics and the constant whining to have it our way. We are called to SERVE, and NOT TO BE SERVED. Stephen served Christ with all he had, and those who did not agree with his view sought to discredit him in front of the world. Now, this is where I really get excited about how authentic Stephen's relationship with and zeal for Christ actually was.

Acts 6:15 - All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Even in the midst of the false accusations and fake witnesses, Stephen was so in tune with God that his face never changed expression! He maintained a face of truth, dignity, and it shown like an angel in the room. He knew what was real and what was not, regardless of the falsehoods being spewed. It didn't matter what man said about him for his faith was not in man.

We'll talk more about Stephen in Chapter 7 when something that is so unthinkable to us here in America happens to him for his faith in Jesus.

Asking for so little, when there is so much more!

Acts 3:1-16 - One day Peter and John were going up the temple at the time of prayer - at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said "Silver or gold I do not have, but when I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. While the beggar held onto Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. by faith in the name of Jesus, this man who you see an know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.

The story we see here is so tragically true for many Christ followers and non-Christ followers alike. It is a story of complacancy, and of asking for so little when there is so much more to be given.

The passage says that the man was being carried carried to the temple gate where he was put every day to beg. That was his life! Carried out in the morning to beg, and carried away at night to who knows where. He knew nothing better, nothing bigger.

The passage also says that he called out to Peter and John, but I'm guessing that he wasn't calling out specifically to them at the start, because we read that Peter yelled for the man to look at them. The beggar was merely going through the motions, not expecting anything. He was calling out to the people walking by because that's what he always did. He hadn't focused his attention anywhere or on anyone. The saddest part is that the only reason he focused on Peter and John was because he thought he was going to receive some money!

This is mirrored in many people's lives today. We walk through life doing the same things we've always done without much regard for the effect it has on our lives. We don't try to make anything different happen because "that's just the way I am, and nothing's gonna change." We don't expect anything of ourselves, our lives, our circumstances, or our God, and only focus on any one part of that if we are going to get something selfishly in return.

However, here's where the passage gets interesting. In verse 6, after Peter has the man's attention, he gives him the most amazing gift one could ask for in his position. In the name of Jesus, Peter healed him and he walked for the first time in his life! The crippled man was crippled no more, and praised God by running and jumping all over the place. He was after money, but instead, God stirred this man's faith through Peter and he was completely healed.

We also have the opportunity to enjoy this kind of miraculous wonder in our hearts, minds, and souls. All we need to do is focus our attention on the One who can give us this gift! We have to stop being short sighted in our ways and allow God to give us a bigger perspective on what the gift of His Son really did for us. It takes getting out of the mundane "God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food." prayer life and relationship we had with Him as a child, and focus our eyes on who God is in our lives TODAY.

Only then can we allow our faith in Jesus to grow to the point that we can be spiritually, emotionally, and even physically healed by His awesome and limitless power in our lives! It takes discipline and maturity to develop this mindset.

Ephesians 4:14 speaks to this: Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

As we practice living Worship as a lifestyle, this is a most important point. We must be disciplined and mature in our relationship with the Father. We must not sell ourselves short by maintaining a "this is just the way I am" attitude. We must always expect more of ourselves in Christ because there IS MORE WHEN WE ARE IN CHRIST!

We're all still human after all... for now.

As some of you may or may not know, I was ordained as a full fledged minister of the Gospel by Glenn Park Christian Church on Sunday night! It was an evening full of family, friends, love, laughter, music, singing, and even a light show by God. He decided it would be great to make His presence known by shutting off the power to the building during the prayer by the Elders to commission and ordain me. Pretty cool actually!

The journey to get to this moment in time was a very long one, filled with many hard lessons learned. Here are just a few of the lessons picked up along the way, in no particular order:

1. God has a plan for you. If he's not done with your plan yet, He will bring it to fruition... even by allowing you to walk away from a high speed rollover accident in a top heavy 4x4.

2. If you're not good at studying in high school, you won't be any better in college.

3. Your first love isn't always "the one"

4. Your soul mate will smile and say "that's nice!" when you bring home musical gear instead of an engagement ring on multiple occasions, no matter how much she really wants one.

5. NEVER buy an RV for a band with your own money...

6. If you're not in credit card debt now, don't get there. If you are in credit card debt, get out quickly!

7. Moving away from home for the first time is hard, but moving back home after 2 years of living on your own is even harder.

8. Driving a school bus is only fun for the first few weeks... Then it becomes what it is: Debt reduction!

9. Being a dad is one of the most frustrating and yet most fulfilling responsibilities at the same time.

10. Extended family members are "interesting" at times...

11. There are times when moving your family 1400 miles twice in 15 months is just part of God's plan, even when it looks completely insane to most people.

12. When you are in the center of God's Will for your life, it may seem like things are a little too good. Whatever you do, don't make turmoil for yourself just so you'll have something to worry about. Instead, enjoy the fleeting moment of being in the center of His Will, because when He moves, it'l get bumpy for a while. He's just moving so you don't get complacent, and so He can fulfill His plan in you.

I tell you all of this in order for you to see a journey. The disciples had been on a journey with Jesus, and while His walk with them on earth was drawing to a close, He was doing His best to prepare them to be His hands and feet after He was gone.

I was reading this morning in Acts Chapter 1. If you aren't familiar with this chapter, the first 11 verses tell the story of Jesus being taken into Heaven after His resurrection. Here's a snippet from what I read today:

Acts 1:4-8 - On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The verses that really caught my attention were where Jesus says "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

See, just like the disciples were asking for a date of deliverance, I often find myself asking the same question and getting the same answer from God. It's as if He says "why are you questioning my plan? It's on a 'need to know' basis, and you don't 'need to know'." Some things never change, eh?

What's interesting to me is that the disciples were looking for a restoration of Israel to a prominent power in the region. I'm often looking for the next big thing, the next goal, the next plateau, etc... However, Jesus was already thinking on a higher level. He was speaking of the kingdom of His Father, and not an earthly one. He desired for the disciples to think on a spiritual level, and He desires the same for us.

A life of Worship thinks on that spiritual level. It is less concerned with earthly issues and more concerned with kingdom building. It is a life that has already experienced the Holy Spirit coming upon it, and responds by following the giver of the Holy Spirit with everything it has.

Let's work on remembering that God gifts us with life from moment to moment, and even though we may not know where life is headed, He does and is directing us in His timing. Worship Him in all aspects of your life, and let Him sweat the details!