When Jesus Seeks Faith

In my message yesterday we looked at a question Jesus was asked, “will there be few saved?” And Jesus gives this answer, He says, “Strive to enter though the narrow door.” And then He goes on to talk about people who think they are saved but must not be after all. So on the way home I always ask Gloria how I did and she said what she almost always says, “it was good.” (OK, I need to put this answer in some kind of context because reading it doesn’t give you the true flavor of her answer, she didn’t say, “It was GOOD.” It was more like, it was good, like it was just above being boring.) But Aaron said, “Dad, I like it when you talk to us about the rapture.” Wow, my 12 year old likes hear about the rapture. So I want to share just a couple things that I didn’t get a chance to say.

There is a verse in the Bible that says this -"I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8) So here we have Jesus Himself, the One who will return essentially asking when He comes back will He find anyone to rapture. Of course He will because what He is telling us in the passage is to be vigilant about the things of God…especially prayer. Is the church really praying for Him to return? Imagine wanting to go somewhere to do something totally amazing – like take people to heaven to live eternally, but finding, that as much as Jesus wants to return, the church isn’t all that sure. I will say this, the older I get the more ready I am to go. I’d like to stay here for a long time, but if Jesus takes me I am fine with that because I have been able to live a pretty good life. But the older I get the more ready I am to let go. But truthfully, I can’t remember the last time I prayed for Jesus to return.

One more thing, you don’t have to wait to until death to find the assurance of salvation. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) The good news is that Jesus not only wants to return, but he really does want to find people waiting for Him and He has set everything up for us to succeed if we really want to. I want to leave you with one more scripture. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9). He is giving us enough time to get right with Him before He returns. Oh, He is definitely going to find faith, the question is will it be YOU?

Forgive Us As We Forgive Others

So what should we do when God requires us to do something beyond or ability to do? Yesterday we talked about forgiveness and we discovered a couple of things about being a Christian and forgiveness.

First, for the Christian forgiveness is mandatory. Second, for the Christian forgiveness is restoration. According to the example that God gave us, restoration is the completion of the process of forgiveness. God created forgiveness before the world was created. We know this because the Bible says that our righteousness was planned before the foundation of the world. And the whole point of God’s forgiveness is to restore the broken relationship that existed between God and ourselves. As Christians, the forgiveness we receive from God is connected to our forgiving others. And through God’s act of forgiveness we are restored to fellowship with Him. So what God wants from us is to forgive and then to restore broken relationships.

Now as I was putting last week’s message together I realized that I do not want to be restored to some of the people who have offended or hurt me in my past. I think this happens with a lot of us. Because we in the church have tried to redefine forgiveness as something that we can do to feel better about being hurt or offended. We even say things like if we forgive, then the person who benefits is ourselves. (I cannot find that backed up anywhere in scripture) So we forgive but don’t do anything to restore or repair the broken relationship, because even though we forgive them, we still don’t want to deal with them. Why? Because what we don’t want to accept, and what we don’t want to experience is the part of forgiveness that no one and I mean no one ever talks about – pain.

Yes, the forgiveness that God extends to you and to me caused Him pain. There is no way around it. If God were to forgive the way we do, He would feel better but not offer us restoration. God doesn’t forgive so that He feels better or to benefit Himself, but to restore us to Him and that caused Him great pain.

So here is where I struggle – restoration is going to mean pain, embarrassment, humiliation, and vulnerability. Exactly the things Jesus endured when He forgave me!

I’m looking forward to hearing your stories of forgiveness over the next few weeks!

Don’t Be Drunk: Be Filled

Yesterday, we concluded a series of messages on the Holy Spirit. The last message was all about living in the Spirit. There are three areas that I want to address from that message.

First, the gifts of the Spirit are essential for believers in today’s world. 2,000 years ago the gift of tongues was controversial and misunderstood and it still is today! I am asked quite often if speaking in tongues is necessary for salvation and the answer is no, but with this caveat. When I answer that question I feel like I am really telling that person that tongues is not necessary at all. And that is not the case. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is necessary! Let me write that again – The baptism of the Holy Spirit is necessary! And the evidence of the baptism is speaking in other tongues (I’ll tackle this subject in another message). Being a Christian in today’s world is hard and you and I need all the help we can get to be successful. God has provided us with the help we need; it is through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Secondly, the gifts of the Spirit are specific abilities for specific circumstances, while the fruit of the Spirit are God’s expectation for us. One of the things I find very interesting is that one of the most famous chapters in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13 (The “Love Chapter”). But notice its location. 1 Corinthians 12 is where we find the gifts of the Spirit; chapter 14 is the instruction manual for using the gifts, and right in between is a chapter totally devoted to the definition of love. Think of it a chapter of love right in the middle of the most Pentecostal section of the Bible! Pentecost and love are connected.

Lastly, I bet a lot of you were surprised when the conclusion of my message about living in the Spirit addressed the issue of alcohol! Be here is why I did it. In order to live in the Spirit we must be yielded to Him. We say the things the Spirit enables us to say, we think according to the Spirit, (the mind of Christ), and we act according to the conviction of the Spirit. The scripture draws the comparison between being drunk and being filled, why because both involved yielding and influence. When you are drunk you are under the influence of alcohol, when you are filled you are under the influence of the Spirit. What or who’s influence are you under? To what or who are you yielded?

Life Pivots

Last night I spoke about how God will bring changes to our lives and I gave the example of my own journey coming from my previous church to Eastside. I shared about my personal struggle in the transformation of my ministry, because the two churches I have served has pastor are completely different. So why does God bring these changes in our lives? Speaking for myself, it was to allow me to stretch my ministry skills. The way I minister now is on a much more spiritual level than before. Now I am more in tune with the Holy Spirit than at any time in life. I am more aware and more sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in my personal life and in my ministry. I feel more Pentecostal in my ministry!

One thing I didn’t say last night was the difference in the level of stress. Do I still get stressed? Absolutely, but now I don’t stay there very long, because I am surrounded by people who pick me up, dust me off, and get me on my way again. So if God is bringing change to your life, just go wherever He leads and expect great things, at the end of the day you will become better at what you are called to do.

One More Thing About the Gifts

When it comes to the gifts of the Spirit, I think most people want to be used but they are afraid. What they are afraid of is that the Holy Spirit may cause them to do something weird. Let’s be real here – sometimes the way we do things in the Pentecostal Church seems strange to people who haven’t been exposed to the Pentecostal ways of doing Church. Hey, I was raised in a Pentecostal Church and some of what I have seen has been pretty strange. But think about it – isn’t it a strange experience to have God visit us?

Let me show you what I mean. I am not around famous people very often. I don’t even know any famous people. So on the few occasions when I have been around or met someone famous the whole event was surreal. (I think this might be a fancy word for strange…I just looked it up and yes I can use it that way.) So how normal should things be if the very presence of God is with us? How normal should things be when we go into the “house of the Lord”? This last summer I went to Graceland, the home of Elvis. We were in the basement and there is a room where Elvis spent a lot of time with his friends and this lady standing next to me has her arm extended taking in the “spirit” of the room. See what I mean, even going to a famous person’s house you will see people doing strange things! By the way, I did it too cause Elvis is cool and I was hoping some of him would rub off on me – Gloria assured me it didn’t work.

So yes sometimes being Pentecostal will seem strange. But the thing about God is that we still get to decide how strange we will be. When we are used by the Spirit we are still in control. (1 Corinthians 14:32) As a matter of fact, I find that most of the time the gift that I am given to use often reflects my personality or a skill I have naturally. This isn’t always the case because sometimes the gift given is the gift needed for the circumstance. But quite often God who, by the way, knows me very well will use me in a gift that closely fits who I am.

Here is the bottom line, don’t let fear hold you back from being used by God. He doesn’t want to embarrass you, He wants to use you, and He wants you to be used successfully.

The Truth About Being Pentecostal

Ok, I admit it, we Pentecostals are sometimes emotional in our worship, our praying, and sometimes even in our preaching (my favorite is the guy who preaches so fast he can’t breathe and ends every sentence with “hut”.) but I can tell you that there is a really good reason for this --- Being Pentecostal is all about being in relationship with God. The thing that separates Pentecostals from mainstream believers is that we understand the reason Jesus sent the Holy Spirit was so that we could have a meaningful relationship with God – and that is why we have the power to witness and be used in the gifts of the Spirit. Let me say this again, the power comes from the relationship!

Funny isn’t it that we Pentecostals tend to be more legalistic when we have done everything possible to break away from the liturgy of the church service. We like our church services to have the anointing which we think is the opposite of having an outline for our services. As a matter of fact, we believe it is a real move of God when our service order is interrupted! Think of it, I work all week to plan a service that I hope God will interrupt! All that to point out that when it comes to Christianity, we tend to think of true Christianity as following rules…when what God really wants is relationship! And I have to ask myself; shouldn’t we Pentecostals have a better understanding of the relationship aspect of God since we put a high premium on the presence of God?

It is important to note that relationships have an effect on how we live and they even shape our view of life and the world. For instance, being married has changed my view of women. Becoming a parent has changed my opinions about parenting. (I was more of an expert until I actually became a parent). Every relationship causes me to change how I live and think. My opinions are shaped by my relationships. So it should come as no surprise that my life after coming into a saving knowledge of Jesus is different, not because of the rules, but because of the relationship I enjoy with God! As a Pentecostal, who is filled with the Spirit, with Christ dwelling within me I have an intimate relationship with God. That’s why I am Pentecostal. Part of me believes that I would struggle with being a Christian without being Pentecostal! Because I need a constant sense of the presence of God, through the Holy Spirit!

Now I have a service to plan and hopefully, God will interrupt it!

The Idiot’s Guide to Criticism (Sorry about the “Idiot” part)

In Sunday’s message I addressed the subject of criticism, so not being smart enough to leave it alone, I have some things I would like to add.

There is nothing wrong with criticizing – it is an American tradition! And yes even the church and the pastor need to be criticized from time to time. If there is something that needs to be changed then criticism may be the only tool to fix it. So since we are going to allow criticism can we at least have some rules? Ok, I admit I looked through the Bible and I didn’t find anything that condones being critical (maybe even the opposite) so there is no way I found any scriptural basis for these rules. I also prayed and as of now I still haven’t heard back from anyone, Father, Son, nor the Holy Spirit.

Rule #1 - Whatever is criticized needs to be about something really important. Here is a standard we could use: Will Jesus be glad this was criticized? I know that raises the bar pretty high but since the Bible doesn’t really condone being critical maybe it would be best to minimize its use – so save it for the important stuff.

Rule #2 – Address your criticism to someone who actually can affect change. I have to tell you and I think this is true for any leader; I really don’t like hearing criticism second hand. And truthfully, the subject of the criticism then becomes secondary to the issue of who is being critical. Because when a criticism comes second hand it is really hard to judge its validity. So your criticism may be important, yet it gets lost because you didn’t take it to the right person. Also when you make a critical statement to someone, who is not a leader and not used to hearing these kinds of things, you put at risk the salvation of that person. I know this sounds like an overstatement, but from my experience I can tell you it is not. Here’s what happens, there is someone perfectly satisfied with the leadership they are under in the church and they hear a critical statement and they will begin down a path that make them question the validity of that leader – not based on something that really affects them but based on something said and it changes their perception. Also if you are being critical of a leader to someone other than that leader then all you are doing is venting. Venting is the cousin of the lost temper. (My apologies to any of my cousins who may read this) NO VENTING!

Rule #3 – If you are going to criticize than at the very least offer your help in making the change if it is needed. It will also go a long way towards getting your criticism addressed. Maybe your leader doesn’t know how to make the change or have the skill or tools to make it happen. Offer your assistance it takes the pressure off of the leader and it shows you are committed to the success of that ministry!

Rule #4 – Let the leader decide how to act on the criticism. That includes making a change, making a change now, making a change later, or maybe even making no change at all. Once you have expressed your opinion, and then let that be the end. Please let your leaders have a free hand to lead. For all you know there is someone else against the change you are advocating and they might have view that you can’t see.