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Past Articles – Messages of encouragement and information |
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5/7/2000 - Evangelism: Overcoming Ignorance There are some things I don’t do well. Twice I have tried to work on carburetors. Once, it cost me about a hundred dollars to have it corrected in a shop. The second time, everything looked good until I remounted it on the engine. There’s a word, oh yes – torque. A very important word, especially when tightening bolts. Too tight and, well, that carburetor had two air intakes: one designed by the engineers; one created by a huge crack in its base. My problems with carburetors resulted from having a desire to fix them but having too little knowledge. That can be a dangerous combination. I know others who have too little knowledge but also have a fear venturing into the unknown. They are reluctant to try something new. That can be a problem in teaching the gospel to our friends and neighbors. I may think that I don’t know enough to teach the gospel. It may be that I really don’t know enough to teach someone else about Jesus, but I doubt it. It could be that I don’t have canned answers to all the questions that might come up when teaching. Here’s a secret: I don’t need to know all the answers. I don’t even know all the questions yet. Over the years I have observed that this is really more of an excuse than a real fear. The problem actually lies somewhere else. If I really wanted to fix carburetors, you know what I need to do: get some books and learn about them and then find someone who will help me practice. The same is true for teaching the gospel. We have the book – the Bible. You already know a quite a bit about Jesus. You already know how to become a Christian. We get bogged down with questions like: "Where do I begin?" "How do I chart out a course that will teach what they need to learn?" These questions boil down to having some kind of a teaching system that we can be comfortable with and confident using. This brings us back is the second part of carburetor repair – practice. It can be as simple as pairing up with someone who will be your "student" and let you practice on them using some of the many teaching systems that are available today. Don’t let a feeling of knowing too little prevent you from teaching the good news to those who are yet in the grip of sin. You can overcome that fear, and then help other to see the truth of God’s word. Until next time… The second Sunday of May has been "Mother’s Day" since before most of us can remember. President Woodrow Wilson made it official in 1914, but a time to honor mothers can be traced all the way back to ancient Greece. We have long given our Mother’s a special place in our hearts. Motherhood originated in the mind of God. God chose to create a woman to complete His man creation. When God presented this woman to the man, Adam called her name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. (Gen 3:20) Through her children, the earth was populated. And even though God has given the leadership role to the man, God is quick to point out that man is not independent of woman: For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God. (1 Cor 10:12) When we are born into this world, we learn about it on the laps of our mothers. She spends a great deal of her life caring for and nurturing her children – that’s you and me. She often is the one who first teaches us about God as she sings softly to us. Oftentimes it is the faith of our mother that ignites the flame of faith within us. As we graduate from her lap to her side, we watch her show the same kind of compassion we experienced on her lap to others. Over time, we learn the source of that love – her faith in the God who loved her first. Mother is frequently the one who ensures that her children are taught about God even from their earliest age. She will sit and read Bible stories to her children. She will take them to the worship of the church and to their Bible classes. She many times is the one who teaches her children to pray. A mother who has a great faith in God will rear children who develop great faith in God. Take time today – and every day – to let your mother know how special she is to you. There will come a time, sooner or later, that you will not be able to tell her how much you appreciate her to her face. At those times, you can reflect upon the good times you have known together over the years you were privileged to have her as mother and friend. Until next time… The Psalmist wrote: The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. (Psalm 19:1) We teach our children from their earliest years that God is, and that God created this world. In Bible classes, lessons are taught on the Divine origin of this wonderful universe in which we live. Why is it, then, that it is not uncommon for a five-year old child, who has been in Bible class since cradle roll, to argue with her mother that the earth is billions of years old and that we are descended from the apes? Somewhere along the line the "ball has been dropped" in really teaching our children that God is. As tragic as that is, the real problem is that those children grow up still believing that the earth is billions of years old and man is the product of an evolutionary process! It gets worse, though. Those adults are the ones who profess faith in the God of the Bible, but don’t really believe in the God of the Bible! They may have harmonized the Bible and evolution by accepting theistic evolution (God used evolution over the eons to bring man into existence). Or they may have concluded that the Bible’s account of creation is not much different from Aesop’s fables – they don’t believe it is real. The consequences of this path are significant. Commitment to God is not important. The people of God are not important. The assemblies of the church are not important. Accountability to God is negligible. (After all, if the creation is just a "story" then how do we know that "judgment" and "hell" and "eternal punishment" are not also just stories used by various people to scare others into submission to "their" way? Is there a real "God-consciousness" among the people of God today? Do we view God as the Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, to whom we will actually give account of how we live our lives? If we believe in God, as we say we do, how is that belief really affecting my life? Is it possible that many of the problems the church is experiencing today is a result of a more feigned belief in God than a real, awe-inspiring belief in God? Until next time… The sidewalks of Anywhere, USA, were not crowded, but there are a number of people going from here to there. Shoppers were busy going from store to store, others busy going out for coffee or lunch. The streets were filled with the noise and confusion of traffic. Then it happened – a young woman was tending to her small child. A figure rushed out of the crowd and snatched her purse. She yelled out, but other than a hurried glance, nobody was concerned. They didn’t want to get involved. "Doesn’t anybody care any more?" We may not have walked in that young lady’s shoes, but we have all cried out in our despair, "Doesn’t anybody care any more?" We have the church to lean on, but they failed us in our time of need. (Did we let them know our need?) We have family to support us, but they are busy with their own things. (Do they know our hurt?) "Doesn’t anybody care anymore?" The answer is a resounding "YES!" God cares! Hear the words of the Psalmist: Look to the right and see; For there is no one who regards me; There is no escape for me; No one cares for my soul. I cried out to Thee, O LORD; I said, "Thou art my refuge, My portion in the land of the living." (Ps 142:4,5) Listen to the comfort of Peter: Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you. (1 Pet 5:6,7) Or hear the words of the aged saint, Paul: At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me, in order that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the lion's mouth. The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (2 Tim 4:16-18) If you ever doubt that God cares for you, cast your eyes on that cross that graced Golgotha’s hill. Let your eyes fall on the figure hanging between heaven and earth because of your sins. God knows the struggles we are going through, but the greatest struggle we have is with sin. In this life we will have tribulation, but by faith in God, we can have peace with God in the midst of those troubles. Until next time… The Psalmist has captured one of the most in inexplicable aspects of the nature of God. Listen to his words: O LORD, Thou hast searched me and known me. Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, And art intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, Thou dost know it all. (Ps 139:1-4) Did you hear that last phrase? Thou dost know it all. The God of this universe, the God we have chosen to serve, is a God who knows it all. There is nothing hidden from His sight. The Psalmist continued: If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night," Even the darkness is not dark to Thee, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to Thee. (Ps 139:11,2) There is absolutely no place on this globe, or in this universe, where we can hide what we are doing from God Almighty! There have always been those who flaunt their sin and rebellion against God. Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. (1 Sam 16:22) Most prefer the presumed cover of anonymity or nightfall. Paul mentioned those who get drunk get drunk at night. (1 Thes 5:7) It is almost as if they believe that no one will notice, not even God. Those who have paramours seek out locations where they think they won’t be found out, where no one will no. Where can I go from Thy Spirit? the Psalmist asked. (Ps 139:7) The God we serve knows the secrets of our hearts. Those things we keep even from our most intimate friends God knows in exquisite detail. God even knows the real motives behind the things we do. It is before this God that you and I will stand in judgment one day when God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. (Rom 2:16) Have you come to grips with the knowledge of God? Have you realized that there is no sin hidden from His sight even though we thing we have fooled just about everyone else including our closest friends? And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. (Heb 4:13) The next time temptation approaches you and you think no one will see you succumb to its allure, remember: God knows everything you and I both do. Until next time… God was conversing with Abraham about the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. As audacious as it may seem to us, Abraham questioned God’s integrity in destroying these cities. In essence, he said, "There might be innocent people in those cities!" Will not the Judge of all the earth deal justly? (Gen 18:25) Abraham acknowledged in this conversation that God is the Judge of all the earth. We will all stand before God Almighty and give account of the deeds we have done in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Cor 5:10) His court has never known corruption, and it never will. There is no one who can bribe God Almighty and pervert justice. God said, The person who sins will die. (Ezek 18:20) And, The wages of sin is death. (Rom 6:23) We will not be able to talk God out of the punishment we are due for our sin. We had the "law book" – the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. (Jn 12:48) We knew what God required. Because of our sin, we will be lost eternally – receiving what we earned in this life. For we have all sinned. (Rom 5:12; 3:10-23) But give thanks to God – we have the best lawyer eternity has ever known – Jesus! And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 Jn 2:1) This is not a "crooked lawyer." He knows the "law book" perfectly – it is His law book. He also knows the only plea we can make: "We’re guilty of sin. We plead the death of Jesus Christ on our behalf." (2 Cor 5:21; Acts 8:37) If we have submitted to the gospel of Jesus Christ by faith, we have had our sin debt erased. We were washed in the blood of the Lamb. However, every lawyer has clients who try to fool their own lawyer. Some will plead faith in the crucified Lord, but by their deeds, they had denied Him. (Titus 1:16) You see, Jesus knows the power of temptation. He’s been tempted just like we have, but He did not succumb to the temptation. (Heb 4:15) He knows what it takes to resist the devil and flee from Him. He’s been there and done that! He resisted because His desire was to please His Father! We can’t say, "It was too much! You don’t understand!" We don’t fool God or our lawyer, Jesus. So let’s just walk by faith seeking to please Him in all respects that when we stand before Him, He’ll say, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Until next time…
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