Category: first-love

Preaching, Without Preaching

One-filled-with-joy-preaches-without-preaching.―-Mother-Teresa-Quotes

“And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:10

“Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
    Praise befits the upright.”

Psalm 33:1

There is a power emitted from a life of joy.

We can see it and hear it in the lives of joy transformed people; many others, not so much. The deep joy we see is the most significant evidence we can know of the real presence of Jesus Christ. As we journey with joy, we become a living ‘billboard’ of God’s reality.

This is an awesome thing, when you think about it. But it also ‘takes the pressure off’ a believer’s witness to a watching world. The light is God’s, and when it shines out of us it is the ‘clincher’ for many people. (So, you should relax some.)

My first contact with Christians was at a ‘hippie’ commune in the early 70s. These were ‘Jesus People’ and when I saw peace and joy in their faces, I just knew it was real. It wasn’t anything that was said, rather it was the way they said it. Their countenance was filled with a joy that couldn’t be faked. (I would’ve known it if it was.)

Evangelism has more in common with joy than with a formulaic presentation. It is good to know ‘the Romans Road’ method of preaching; it is far better to know the God behind it. The witness of joy will significantly touch hearts when nothing else will. There is no better witness to an unbeliever than ‘Jesus inside’ a believer!’

I led teams of evangelists in the streets from 1986-1989 with S.O.S. Ministries in San Francisco and Berkeley. We distributed tens of thousands of tracts and Bibles. I learned to preach at ‘the cable car turn-around’ on the streets at Powell and Market, and many other places. We would always prepare out hearts beforehand by a time of praise and worship. We would seek the ‘infilling of the Holy Spirit’ before we stepped out into the city.

The infilling part was critical, and we knew it. The methodology could be learned– but we weren’t salesmen. We had to be ‘in tune’ with the Holy Spirit first and foremost. Today, 2014 we still must radiate Jesus to those who don’t know Him yet. Mother Teresa once said, “Joy is the net we use to catch souls.”

Come away with Jesus, and spend real time with him. Joy and peace will follow you when you truly meet with him. He makes his servants shine. “The joy of the Lord is your strength.’

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Further Reading from Brokenbelievers.com:

https://brokenbelievers.com/2014/03/14/catching-hearts-like-fish/

https://brokenbelievers.com/2011/10/20/is-evangelism-our-greatest-fear/

 

 

Jealous?

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“For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”

Deut. 4:25, NKJV

There is a distinct difference between sinful jealousy and godly jealousy.

Sinful jealousy is comprised of the desire to possess something that doesn’t belong to you. It is the inclination of ownership to a thing (or person) that you don’t actually have– someone else does. “I want this so much.” is often heard or thought. It has a lot to do with personal desire. We can be jealous of another person, or what the other possesses. A girl, a guy, a boat, a car, a house. The list goes on. Jealousy works well with other sins, like pride, lust, covetousness, or stealing (theft). The sins overlap. Lust for someone is often a jealous attitude that reveals discontent with one’s own. It isn’t happy, and in effect tells God that He has withheld something good. (It really shows itself when someone is promoted or recognized instead of me.)

However the jealousy of God has is completely different.

“But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God.”

Joshua 24:19

“God exhibits holy jealousy because our love and adoration rightfully belong to Him; He is jealous with a holy jealousy when we love and worship false gods in idolatry. His kind of jealousy is not sinful because we belong to Him and He created our hearts to belong to Him as well.”

GotQuestions.org

God is jealous about you. He passionately in love with you. There is such attraction that He sent Jesus Christ to die as your substitute on the cross. We were ransomed, and then given new lives through this blood of Jesus. Is it any wonder that God gets ‘miffed’ when we choose the dark and the false over Him?

“Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

James 4:5

The prophets would often speak about the marriage covenant between a husband and a wife. Clearly they intended for Israel to see themselves as ‘connected’ to the Lord in a deep and intimate relationship. He wanted them to be faithful to this covenant. He became jealous when Israel repeatedly broke that agreement. He is jealous of all rivals and idols that replace Him.

“I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy;”

Hosea 2:19

God’s jealousy is nothing like man’s. The Bible teaches us of the inherent goodness of God. This means that He cannot do anything contrary to His nature. Human jealousy is found everywhere, and at its best is morally neutral; and at its worst is evil and sin. God’s own jealousy is always an element of His love.

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Wardrobe Necessities

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“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Romans 13:14, ESV

Some verses are like this. When the Holy Spirit touches it, it will expand and broaden out into a theological treatise. It is remarkably potent as verses go. We certainly do well examining it closer. Just maybe it will leak good things on us.

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” entails becoming someone else. More precisely, it has to do with becoming Jesus to the watching world. We are to so absorb him that our identity changes. Paul tells us that this is a deliberate act of our will; a decisive decision to clothe ourselves with Jesus.

This goes beyond what we consider to be the Christian faith. In some of our churches we seldom hear this message being taught. It seems radical and we don’t understand the ‘mechanism’ by which we do it. It reminds me of Nicodemus struggling with becoming “born again” (John 3:1-14). Sometimes spiritual truths defy human reasoning.

“And make no provision for the flesh,” is the second part of this principle. Both have to be working to complete the idea. If we ‘put on,’ but continue to provide for our flesh, the verse simply will not work. It’s a ‘binary’ action that requires activation of both at the same time.

The Greek word Paul uses for “provision’‘ is real nifty. It means “to consider in advance; to plan for or supply ahead of time; to think beforehand.” This zeroes in on our exceptional ‘talent’ in giving in to sin. We somehow gravitate to our particular favorite sins. There is a ‘magnetic pull’ toward dark things.

This binary only works if these two truths come together. We must ‘put on’ Christ, and then ‘put off’ our evil deeds. I believe that these two things constitute the intentions of the Holy Spirit for our growth. Dear saint, what are you wearing?

“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

Colossians 3:9-10

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A Singular Coal

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA A young man had come to a decision. “I will not be attending Church. I need to stand on my feet, and be a Christian my own way.” He was quite adamant about this, and his young wife hadn’t the slightest about what to do. It seems he had grown somewhat hard and coarse over the last few months. He had quit attending services for the last few Sundays.

She had made a discreet call to their pastor; she also prayed for her husband. “What else can I do?” she thought. “We really need to go to church.” She went about her busy morning, washing clothes, and tending the fire. “Somethings are best left in God’s hands” she said to no one in particular.

That evening was chilly and a fire was banked up quite nicely. The little house was cozy and ready to be “buttoned-up” for the night, when there was a knock on the door. It was the pastor, smiling and holding his hat. “Good evening. dear ones– someone told me you had a nice fire to sit by.”

“Come in, Reverend; please, come and sit,” the young husband said. He was not really enthused by the pastor’s sudden and unannounced visit, but he was polite. Removing his coat, the pastor sat in big wing-backed chair by the fire. He was quiet. No one said a thing. They just watched the flames.

The silence continued for some time; no one saying a word. Suddenly, the pastor popped up and grabbed the black iron poker from its spot by the fireplace. Poking at the sizable bed of coals, he managed to drag a single coal from the fire bed to the hearth. He separated it from the rest of so it burned on its own.

Still, not a word was spoken. Everyone just sat and watched this isolated coal burning on its own. In just a short time this glowing coal had become a dying ember. No one spoke. The pastor guided the once bright coal back into the hottest part of the firebox where it blazed up immediately. “Well, it’s late and I best be going,” said the quiet guest.

“Thank you, Pastor, for everything. We’ll see you Sunday morning.” said the young man.

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25 “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”

Hebrews 10:25, NLT

“The Greek work for church, ecclesia, is made up of a prefix and a root. The prefix is ek – out of. The root is the verb coleo, to call. The church in the New Testament is made up of those who are called out from the world, from darkness, from damnation, from paganism, to become members of the body of Christ.”

   ~R.C. Sproul

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