"In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, 'Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!" (Luke 24:5,6 NIV)
With those words, all mankind was forever changed. Jesus was alive, not dead. He has risen! What a glorious announcement, at a dark time.
What's so important about Jesus' resurrection? It is the way to eternal life. "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9 NIV) The emphatic will, not should, or might, but WILL be saved.
Confess that Jesus is Lord. What is a lord? A lord is one who holds dominion over someone or something. A lord is one who is ,in essence, the boss. If you say that Jesus is your Lord, you will do what He commands. If you do not do what He commands, is he truly your Lord? He is to have all authority over you. That is a tough order in today's democratic society, where we can do what we want to do, and not worry about the consequences. But I tell you this, if Jesus is your Lord, you will do what He commands. If you do not do what He commands, is he truly your Lord? "If you love me, you will obey what I command. . . If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey by teaching. These words you hear not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me." (John 14:15,23-24 NIV)
Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. With this belief comes knowledge. You will absolutely know without question that God raised Jesus from the dead. There will be know doubts running amok in your heart. By knowing that God has the power over death, you know that He will raise you also from death, to spend eternity with Him. "For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Rom 10:10 NIV)
Your heart is important when dealing with sin. Most sins start out in the thoughts of the person. Hatred, lust, coveting, etc. these sins start out in the heart. Therefore, it is also your heart that is made pure in thought. It is your heart that justifies your beliefs. Talk to any person and you will find their hearts passions, for it is the driving force behind their motives and their actions. Therefore, do you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, or are you just going through the motions. Going to church, singing the hymns, shaking hands, giving your tithes and offerings, only to live sinfully in the world, forgetting (or not even acknowledging) Sunday.
Salvation can be summed up in a three step ABC process. Admit. Believe. Confess.
Admit that you are a sinner and in need of a Savior. Believe that Jesus died on the cross, and was raised back to life by God. Confess that Jesus is Lord. You will be saved. Now the hard part. LIVE IT!! Obey the commands of Jesus.
What I like best about the this account is the question that was posed to the women. 'Why do you look for the living among the dead?' Jesus is not dead. It is not a Christians responsibility to prove the Jesus lived 2000 years ago. It is a Christians responsibility to show the Jesus is alive today.
Have a blessed Easter
Daniel G Vandenburg
ps Listen to Newsong's "Arise My Love"
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Restoring the Church From Within Pt III: Ignore Negativity
But many of the older priests, Levites, and other leaders who had seen the first Temple wept aloud when they saw the new Temple's foundation. The others, however, were shouting for joy (Ezra 3:12 NLT)
I don’t like the way that is done. It won’t work. We don’t need to change anything, they way we are doing it works. What do these sentences have in common? These sentences are opposed to change. When we attempt to restore the church from within, there is going to be changes made, whether it be physical or spiritual. There will be opposition, even from the believers. The most important thing to do when restoring the church from within: Ignore the negativity.
When a church family is on a downward growth trend, the focus tends to be in the past. In order to restore the church to it’s once former glory, changes need to be made. Whether the change comes from a physical standpoint (replacing pews with chairs, repainting the sanctuary, changing the style of music, or an assortment of other things) to spiritual (the methods used to deliver the message), an honest assessment must be made. Therefore, there will also be attacks from those within the church that find these changes as unnecessary and Anti-Christian.
There are seven words that when uttered, signify a dying or dead church. Those seven words are: We’ve never done it that way before. When those words are uttered, growth will cease and a decline will happen. Why? Times change, attention spans change, what people notice change, attitudes change. Because society changes, the church needs to change the methods to suit the society. If you want to attract teens to the church, have things that will excite them. If you want to attract young families to church, again have something that will pertain to them. What worked in the fifties, will not work now. What worked in the seventies will not work now. What worked in the nineties, will not work now. You need to know who you’re wanting to attract, and what they want. You need to assess why the person isn’t attending church, and if that is something you can fill. The methods will need to change, but the message must remain the same.
In order to ignore the negativity, you must refuse to be intimidated. Peter and John were standing before the Sanhedrin, they were intimidated with death and were commanded not to invoke the name of Jesus. "Then they (Sanhedrin) called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.’" (Acts 4:18,19 NIV) They stood up to the ruling council, knowing they were risking their lives, and said "No, we will not listen to man, but we will listen to God." They were willing to risk their lives, for the sake of the Gospel. Are you?
Aside from risking your life, what about your job? Is your job more important than God? Do you not think that God will provide for you if you stood up to your boss and said, "I will listen to God over you." I’m not saying march into your bosses office and give them the one fingered salute and demand that you preach every morning to the workers. I am saying, don’t let fear of losing your job hinder the spread of the Gospel to those that are hurting. Think about this: If people are willing to die for the Gospel, are you willing to lose your job? One can be replaced, the other can not. (Before I get put on the spot with questions. . . yes I have stood up to my bosses and quoted that bit of scripture. I don’t challenge someone to do something, if I’m not willing to do it myself.)
Don’t let fear stop you. Don’t let what other non-believers think hinder you. In our society, we are so concerned that we might offend someone, that we would rather remain PC and not spread the Gospel message to anyone. Greg Laurie, once said, (misquoted by me) "Who would you rather offend, man or God." If you’re afraid that you will offend someone by not spreading the Gospel to them, and they die never knowing the hope of salvation that is offered through Jesus Christ, and then you stand before the Father in heaven, are you going to say, "I didn’t want to offend him." What do you think God’s response will be? We should not be here to please man. "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Gal 1:10 NIV)
Don’t let the fear of what other believers might think stop you also.. If it is from God, stand up for it, even if you are the only one standing. When the Sanhedrin were discussing the fate of Paul and John, there were given a warning by a highly esteemed teacher, Gamaliel. "Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." (Acts 5:38,39 NIV)
The other way to restore the church from within, is for you, yourself to avoid criticism. Be a leader by example. Avoid using words like, "I don’t like that. It won’t work. That’s stupid. We’ve never done . . ." Be a positive person. Use words that will only build up, not tear down. "Do not let unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." (Eph 4:29) Support those who have ideas, that may not mesh with yours, but will benefit the church. Most of the times, the best ideas come from other people.
When restoring the church from within, it is important to have these three qualities. You must include God, invite others, and ignore the negativity.
Have a blessed week
Daniel G Vandenburg
I don’t like the way that is done. It won’t work. We don’t need to change anything, they way we are doing it works. What do these sentences have in common? These sentences are opposed to change. When we attempt to restore the church from within, there is going to be changes made, whether it be physical or spiritual. There will be opposition, even from the believers. The most important thing to do when restoring the church from within: Ignore the negativity.
When a church family is on a downward growth trend, the focus tends to be in the past. In order to restore the church to it’s once former glory, changes need to be made. Whether the change comes from a physical standpoint (replacing pews with chairs, repainting the sanctuary, changing the style of music, or an assortment of other things) to spiritual (the methods used to deliver the message), an honest assessment must be made. Therefore, there will also be attacks from those within the church that find these changes as unnecessary and Anti-Christian.
There are seven words that when uttered, signify a dying or dead church. Those seven words are: We’ve never done it that way before. When those words are uttered, growth will cease and a decline will happen. Why? Times change, attention spans change, what people notice change, attitudes change. Because society changes, the church needs to change the methods to suit the society. If you want to attract teens to the church, have things that will excite them. If you want to attract young families to church, again have something that will pertain to them. What worked in the fifties, will not work now. What worked in the seventies will not work now. What worked in the nineties, will not work now. You need to know who you’re wanting to attract, and what they want. You need to assess why the person isn’t attending church, and if that is something you can fill. The methods will need to change, but the message must remain the same.
In order to ignore the negativity, you must refuse to be intimidated. Peter and John were standing before the Sanhedrin, they were intimidated with death and were commanded not to invoke the name of Jesus. "Then they (Sanhedrin) called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.’" (Acts 4:18,19 NIV) They stood up to the ruling council, knowing they were risking their lives, and said "No, we will not listen to man, but we will listen to God." They were willing to risk their lives, for the sake of the Gospel. Are you?
Aside from risking your life, what about your job? Is your job more important than God? Do you not think that God will provide for you if you stood up to your boss and said, "I will listen to God over you." I’m not saying march into your bosses office and give them the one fingered salute and demand that you preach every morning to the workers. I am saying, don’t let fear of losing your job hinder the spread of the Gospel to those that are hurting. Think about this: If people are willing to die for the Gospel, are you willing to lose your job? One can be replaced, the other can not. (Before I get put on the spot with questions. . . yes I have stood up to my bosses and quoted that bit of scripture. I don’t challenge someone to do something, if I’m not willing to do it myself.)
Don’t let fear stop you. Don’t let what other non-believers think hinder you. In our society, we are so concerned that we might offend someone, that we would rather remain PC and not spread the Gospel message to anyone. Greg Laurie, once said, (misquoted by me) "Who would you rather offend, man or God." If you’re afraid that you will offend someone by not spreading the Gospel to them, and they die never knowing the hope of salvation that is offered through Jesus Christ, and then you stand before the Father in heaven, are you going to say, "I didn’t want to offend him." What do you think God’s response will be? We should not be here to please man. "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Gal 1:10 NIV)
Don’t let the fear of what other believers might think stop you also.. If it is from God, stand up for it, even if you are the only one standing. When the Sanhedrin were discussing the fate of Paul and John, there were given a warning by a highly esteemed teacher, Gamaliel. "Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." (Acts 5:38,39 NIV)
The other way to restore the church from within, is for you, yourself to avoid criticism. Be a leader by example. Avoid using words like, "I don’t like that. It won’t work. That’s stupid. We’ve never done . . ." Be a positive person. Use words that will only build up, not tear down. "Do not let unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." (Eph 4:29) Support those who have ideas, that may not mesh with yours, but will benefit the church. Most of the times, the best ideas come from other people.
When restoring the church from within, it is important to have these three qualities. You must include God, invite others, and ignore the negativity.
Have a blessed week
Daniel G Vandenburg
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
