Have you ever seen the power of God transform a life? Now I am not speaking of His miraculous power healing a sickness, (though I do believe He still heals today!). But I am speaking of seeing Him transform someone from a meek, mild individual to a bold and effective witness for His glory. It does happen and it still excites and blesses those who know and love HIM and confounds those who don't.
Our treasure today is found in Acts (big surprise there) where Peter and John have just recently come from the upper room and their new found power is pulsating through their veins. They are experiencing and enjoying this wondrous boldness that the Spirit has brought them. In fact, this boldness and power had gotten them in trouble with the religious crowd. They were headed into the temple for prayer and encountered a crippled man about 40 years of age. He usually spent his time near the gate where worshippers came through heading to and from the temple as that is where he found a productive place to beg, receive funds and help because of his situation.
One fateful day, Peter and John passed by and he saw them and called out to them. Now, normally if he could get someone to stop and notice him, listen to him and hopefully talk with him, he might receive a little cash to help him along the way. But this day was going to be different. Today, he was going to get far more than he could ever imagine. When he called out, he could not fathom how these two rather normal looking worshippers would be used to change his life forever. I will give you Peter's response....
And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
Acts 3:4-8
Wouldn't you like to have been there? To have seen this incredible miracle take place? Watch the cripple rise up, walk and go leaping and shouting into the temple praises to our God??? Man, what a sight that must have been. Now there have been a few times where I myself have felt this way as well. Just overwhelmed by His incredible grace, it does make us want to jump and praise HIM....now doesn't it?
While this is a rather notable miracle, I challenge you to look a little deeper into this whole passage and series of events it triggered. I believe there is an even greater miracle that has taken place. One that is still taking place today.... can you see it???? We have to go a little further into the text to see it but here we go....
IN Acts 4:13-14.... Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.
As a result of the miracle the religious "authorities" and I use that term loosely....came to them to confront them regarding their teaching the people....What right did they have to teach the people, to cause such a stir in the temple complex? Just who did these "nobodies" think they were. Well, Peter and John, both now filled with the promised Spirit (John 14, Acts 1) spoke rather boldly and powerfully the words of the living God. So much so that the response of these leaders is astonishment.
Now remember Peters former testimony.....denial and sleeking away into the darkness.....John, what little we read of him is him just living in obscurity after the death and burial of his Lord....BUT NOW....since the coming of the Holy Spirit.....Acts 4 says their testimony was one of boldness....This created quite a stir in the minds and hearts of the religious crowd. There was no "human" explanation for their boldness. Look at the passage above...."they perceived that they were uneducated, common men....." Education can give you courage or boldness, but they were NOT educated men. Your position or prominence can give you courage......but here again they were just "NORMAL."
The religious leaders were astonished at this disparity. There was no real justifiable, human reason for their boldness and shall we say power that had been and was being demonstrated. A truly notable miracle had taken place. The weak, fearful, uncertain, confused, struggling disciples had been transformed. Bold and powerful was now their testimony. How could this be? What is their secret?
It too is hidden in plain sight for all of us to see and consider..... "And they recognized that they had been with Jesus." WOW, there it is, the secret of their boldness and power. The secret of their miraculous power. They had simply, been with Jesus!
Yes, my beloved, that is the secret, hidden in plain sight. Spending time with Jesus is our source of hope, strength and courage. He takes the weak, fearful, struggling and confused and infuses them with HIMSELF to make life transforming instruments of HIS power. John 15 clarifies this by saying HE is the vine and we are the branches, without Him we can do nothing! SO TRUE... 1 Cor. 1 teaches that HE chooses the weak to shame the strong. GOD uses us in all our weakness to accomplish HIS wonderful purposes. HE is our source of strength & wisdom. All we need to do....is spend time with Jesus. Time in prayer, time in His word, time in HIS work, time in HIS worship.....spend time, lots of time with HIM...
So now here is the million dollar question, can the lost around you tell that you have been with Jesus? Is there evidence of His presence filling your life as it was Peter and John? Whatever is hindering good, quality time with Him, remove it, change it, quit it, do what ever it necessary to prioritize HIM! May the world around us be able to tell.......we have been with Jesus!
You'll be glad you did!
Blessings
Bruce
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
HEARTLESS....
Have you ever heard the term that someone is heartless? Perhaps you've heard someone say it this way.... "man that was heartless" or some other similar usage. What they are saying is that whatever action prompted the statement was one that was so bad it was as if that individual had no heart. This simply meant that the action was one that demonstrated a serious lack of caring, or insensitivity toward another.
Now, in reality, heartless..... could that ever be true? Of course not. Physically, we could not function without our fist sized God given muscle pumping in each of us. Heart issues are really very serious issues. Heart disease is a major killer in our world today. Many die premature deaths because they do not deal with their own personal hearts. All because they do not make sure their own hearts are in "good" working order and take care to make sure they do all humanly possible to care for their own heart.
Now what is true for us physically is also true for us spiritually as well. Listen to what God's word has to say to us....
Proverbs 4:23.... Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Now from this simple little gift from Proverbs we learn some powerful life principles. First God gives us what we SHOULD be careful to do......Keep your heart......In some versions this says GUARD your heart. Both are accurate and give us a good understanding of what HE meant. When we read KEEP we think of tending, cultivating, protecting, etc....and when we think of GUARD we think of protecting, sheltering, covering and the like. Both help us to get the fulness of the passage. We should be careful with our hearts. Careful to tend it, cultivate around it, protect it, shelter it and cover it. Just as we should care for our physical hearts we should also care for our spiritual hearts as well.
In fact, scripture says to keep our hearts with all vigilance. This gives us the intensity level that we should apply to keeping and guarding our hearts. Intensely, vigilantly, diligently are words that describe the priority and effort we should put towards this. God is saying to us that this should be a PRIORITY to all of us! Guarding our hearts vigilantly should be the norm rather than the exception.
Why is this soooo important? Because of the rest of the verse..... for out of it springs/flow the issues of life. Our heart affects every area of our life. Not just physically, but even more importantly, spiritually. The heart in God's word often refers to the mind as the center of thinking and reasoning, but also includes our emotions and our will. It represents our whole inner being. From the human heart (scripturally) everything of life flows!!!
Do you remember Matthew 15? Verse 18-20a... But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person......
What we do, say and the attitudes we reveal actually are reflections of our true hearts. In fact I have often said anyone can look like a believer when things are going well. But let things go wrong, or badly and our true hearts or self will be revealed. Sadly, far too many times what I see of myself reveals a heart problem. How about you? Now be honest! What do we do when we see a problem with our heart? Well, if it is a physical problem we would go to the Doctor and do as he says. But spiritually, we must go to the Master.
Heart issues are sin issues now aren't they? The heart doctor of the human soul teaches us to deal with our sin, quickly and honestly. So what do you actions reveal about your heart? Heartless, not at all. In reality, our hearts are far more involved than we can even realize. God's word is clear.....our hearts are critical in life.
Sin in our heart is revealed by actions that are not in line with God's word. The ONLY remedy to our heart issues is for us to acknowledge our sin, and then confess our sin to ourselves and to God as well. First to ourselves as we must be honest regarding our own actions/words and what they reveal. Secondly to God as only HE can cleanse us and set us free from our sin. This is the only way for us to be free from a HEART ISSUE!
My brother or sister, let our Lord search your heart. Let Him cleanse your heart. And then Guard your heart! With all your energy, search each and every area of your life and make sure you are sensitive to your heart. As you do and God corrects the areas that are not pleasing to Him, you will see the glory of God revealed through you......
And shall I say, You'll be glad you did....
Blessings
Pastor B
Now, in reality, heartless..... could that ever be true? Of course not. Physically, we could not function without our fist sized God given muscle pumping in each of us. Heart issues are really very serious issues. Heart disease is a major killer in our world today. Many die premature deaths because they do not deal with their own personal hearts. All because they do not make sure their own hearts are in "good" working order and take care to make sure they do all humanly possible to care for their own heart.
Now what is true for us physically is also true for us spiritually as well. Listen to what God's word has to say to us....
Proverbs 4:23.... Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Now from this simple little gift from Proverbs we learn some powerful life principles. First God gives us what we SHOULD be careful to do......Keep your heart......In some versions this says GUARD your heart. Both are accurate and give us a good understanding of what HE meant. When we read KEEP we think of tending, cultivating, protecting, etc....and when we think of GUARD we think of protecting, sheltering, covering and the like. Both help us to get the fulness of the passage. We should be careful with our hearts. Careful to tend it, cultivate around it, protect it, shelter it and cover it. Just as we should care for our physical hearts we should also care for our spiritual hearts as well.
In fact, scripture says to keep our hearts with all vigilance. This gives us the intensity level that we should apply to keeping and guarding our hearts. Intensely, vigilantly, diligently are words that describe the priority and effort we should put towards this. God is saying to us that this should be a PRIORITY to all of us! Guarding our hearts vigilantly should be the norm rather than the exception.
Why is this soooo important? Because of the rest of the verse..... for out of it springs/flow the issues of life. Our heart affects every area of our life. Not just physically, but even more importantly, spiritually. The heart in God's word often refers to the mind as the center of thinking and reasoning, but also includes our emotions and our will. It represents our whole inner being. From the human heart (scripturally) everything of life flows!!!
Do you remember Matthew 15? Verse 18-20a... But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person......
What we do, say and the attitudes we reveal actually are reflections of our true hearts. In fact I have often said anyone can look like a believer when things are going well. But let things go wrong, or badly and our true hearts or self will be revealed. Sadly, far too many times what I see of myself reveals a heart problem. How about you? Now be honest! What do we do when we see a problem with our heart? Well, if it is a physical problem we would go to the Doctor and do as he says. But spiritually, we must go to the Master.
Heart issues are sin issues now aren't they? The heart doctor of the human soul teaches us to deal with our sin, quickly and honestly. So what do you actions reveal about your heart? Heartless, not at all. In reality, our hearts are far more involved than we can even realize. God's word is clear.....our hearts are critical in life.
Sin in our heart is revealed by actions that are not in line with God's word. The ONLY remedy to our heart issues is for us to acknowledge our sin, and then confess our sin to ourselves and to God as well. First to ourselves as we must be honest regarding our own actions/words and what they reveal. Secondly to God as only HE can cleanse us and set us free from our sin. This is the only way for us to be free from a HEART ISSUE!
My brother or sister, let our Lord search your heart. Let Him cleanse your heart. And then Guard your heart! With all your energy, search each and every area of your life and make sure you are sensitive to your heart. As you do and God corrects the areas that are not pleasing to Him, you will see the glory of God revealed through you......
And shall I say, You'll be glad you did....
Blessings
Pastor B
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
There is something about that name!
I just love this "new" generation and all their new names for everything. Here are just a few that have come to mind....... Relevant, Innovative, Revolutionary, Community, Connection, Intentional and the list could go on and on.... They get so "into" their new words. Like a newborn who has just discovered their hand or their foot they are so intrigued by their discovery. Now do not get me wrong, I am not against "new" names but what I am concerned about is that we can actually begin to believe that those names are the reason or source of what God chooses to do....
One of those names is Missional. It's like we have just discovered this phrase and now it must have some sort of power that is unleashed when we use it or title something with it. Well, as I always like to do, lets look at the Scriptures and let them direct us in our thinking. Today's study will be thinking through this word MISSIONAL and one particular verse I was reading in Acts.....
Acts 1:8.... "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
What is so exciting here is that we actually see here the real source of becoming MISSIONAL, both personally and corporately as a church. Missional is not something derived by a new name but it is that which is a product of GOD Himself.
FIRST, the disciples needed power to do the work of God. They had failed miserably during the crucifixion of Christ and following His death. But once the Holy Spirit filled their hearts and minds, they burst out into Jerusalem with Heavens power. The change was more than dramatic it was SUPERNATURAL.... Now may I say, we too need HIS power to do HIS work. No name, title, methodology, phase or fad can produce the genuine work of God. We, the christian, we the church need HIS POWER. We need HIS SPIRIT empowering us for HIS work. Far too much today is being done in the energy of man's flesh. So, let me remind you that you receive the Holy Spirit the moment you believe. It is not a secondary work of God in our lives. When you believe, you receive.....
Ephesians 1:13.... "in him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit."
But we must realize that even after receiving the power from God we can hinder HIS working in and through us..... Two passages reveal this .....
Ephesians 4:30... "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
1 Thessalonians 5:19.. "And do not quench the Holy Spirit."
Both of these we are capable of causing in out lives. Grieving would be as a result of sin in our lives that we are continually allowing and not confessing. Quenching would be to limit HIM by our sin or selfishness as we live our lives. Our goal and concern should be that we learn to co-operate with the Holy Spirit as HE works in us and through us. Be sensitive to Obey the word of God and obedient to HIS promptings as we live life!!!
SECONDLY, in our passage, we see that the FRUIT of the HOLY SPIRIT'S power is that the disciples were made HIS witnesses. This was not the fruit of some program, plan of man or methodology but was the SUPERNATURAL result of HIS presence and power at work in each of HIS disciples. They became witnesses because of HIS POWER at work in and through them. Those who were once intimidated, fearful and meek became bold, powerful and forceful. They exploded out into their community and 1,000's came to Christ. The life changing power of God had been unleashed. Today more than ever we need this kind of power working among us. Heaven's power, Holy Spirit power, HIS power......working in us and through us......
So, let's wrap this up....MISSIONAL while it may be a new word for our culture, it has always been in God's vocab. It cannot be mandated, measured or meted out by the work of man's flesh. It is the result of Holy Spirit controlled believers, in fellowship with God, going out into their world and sharing what God has done. So I agree, let's be missional. Let's join with God in HIS great work. It is not a new work, in fact its been going on for centuries even millenniums, but He is still at work.....and HE wants to work through us, His church. There is something about that name.... Let's Join God in His work.....
You'll be glad you did...
Pastor Bruce
One of those names is Missional. It's like we have just discovered this phrase and now it must have some sort of power that is unleashed when we use it or title something with it. Well, as I always like to do, lets look at the Scriptures and let them direct us in our thinking. Today's study will be thinking through this word MISSIONAL and one particular verse I was reading in Acts.....
Acts 1:8.... "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
What is so exciting here is that we actually see here the real source of becoming MISSIONAL, both personally and corporately as a church. Missional is not something derived by a new name but it is that which is a product of GOD Himself.
FIRST, the disciples needed power to do the work of God. They had failed miserably during the crucifixion of Christ and following His death. But once the Holy Spirit filled their hearts and minds, they burst out into Jerusalem with Heavens power. The change was more than dramatic it was SUPERNATURAL.... Now may I say, we too need HIS power to do HIS work. No name, title, methodology, phase or fad can produce the genuine work of God. We, the christian, we the church need HIS POWER. We need HIS SPIRIT empowering us for HIS work. Far too much today is being done in the energy of man's flesh. So, let me remind you that you receive the Holy Spirit the moment you believe. It is not a secondary work of God in our lives. When you believe, you receive.....
Ephesians 1:13.... "in him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit."
But we must realize that even after receiving the power from God we can hinder HIS working in and through us..... Two passages reveal this .....
Ephesians 4:30... "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
1 Thessalonians 5:19.. "And do not quench the Holy Spirit."
Both of these we are capable of causing in out lives. Grieving would be as a result of sin in our lives that we are continually allowing and not confessing. Quenching would be to limit HIM by our sin or selfishness as we live our lives. Our goal and concern should be that we learn to co-operate with the Holy Spirit as HE works in us and through us. Be sensitive to Obey the word of God and obedient to HIS promptings as we live life!!!
SECONDLY, in our passage, we see that the FRUIT of the HOLY SPIRIT'S power is that the disciples were made HIS witnesses. This was not the fruit of some program, plan of man or methodology but was the SUPERNATURAL result of HIS presence and power at work in each of HIS disciples. They became witnesses because of HIS POWER at work in and through them. Those who were once intimidated, fearful and meek became bold, powerful and forceful. They exploded out into their community and 1,000's came to Christ. The life changing power of God had been unleashed. Today more than ever we need this kind of power working among us. Heaven's power, Holy Spirit power, HIS power......working in us and through us......
So, let's wrap this up....MISSIONAL while it may be a new word for our culture, it has always been in God's vocab. It cannot be mandated, measured or meted out by the work of man's flesh. It is the result of Holy Spirit controlled believers, in fellowship with God, going out into their world and sharing what God has done. So I agree, let's be missional. Let's join with God in HIS great work. It is not a new work, in fact its been going on for centuries even millenniums, but He is still at work.....and HE wants to work through us, His church. There is something about that name.... Let's Join God in His work.....
You'll be glad you did...
Pastor Bruce
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