09

Jump Start # 344

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump  Start # 344 

1 Corinthians 15:12 “Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

  The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the core of the New Testament. Those facts fulfilled prophecy, God’s promises and assure both our salvation and our future. The apostles preached a resurrected Jesus.

  Our passage tells us one of the reasons for this chapter of Corinthians. Chapter 15 is the proof of Christ’s resurrection. Paul shows that it was according to Scriptures. Paul identifies the various witnesses who saw a resurrected Christ. Paul shows how this fits in with death that came about by Adam. Paul then describes what our resurrection will be like. What will we look like, is a common question. He ends this magnificent chapter by telling us that the resurrection takes away the fear of death. This is a powerful chapter. It is a chapter of proof and evidence.

  Our verse today reveals that some did not believe in resurrection, specifically, they did not believe that Jesus was raised.

  Two thoughts first: the passage states, “Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead…” This just isn’t any ole’ preaching nor is this anyone preaching, implied is what the apostles had been doing. They were the first to preach this. This wasn’t their idea—it was God’s. They were directed by the Holy Spirit to say these things, which means it did happen.

  The other thought, “how do some among you say that there is no resurrection,” this was being done by non-apostles and by those who had no proof. Their proof would have been that Jesus was still in the grave. Their proof would have crushed Christianity. They didn’t have any. They were just saying stuff. Anyone can do that, and they usually do.

  So here is the grand picture, the great challenge, the Bible on one hand and what someone else says on the other. This is the same thing facing us today. We have the inspired word of God, the Bible and we have people who are denying what it says. Some do it in the pulpit. Time Magazine ran a cover feature recently about Rob Bell and his denial of Hell. Like our passage today, “How do some among you say there is no…” The Bible clearly teaches there is a Hell. Jesus spoke more about Hell than He did Heaven. In Mt 25 Jesus links Heaven and Hell in the same verse. If there is no Hell, then there is no Heaven. If there is a Heaven, then there is a Hell. We don’t like the thought of Hell and more so, we can’t figure out how a loving God and Hell fit together. Does that mean it doesn’t exist?

  Some among you can be in the form of a college lecture where the professor denies creation. Doesn’t the Bible teach God made? Not just in Genesis but all through the Bible, especially in the New Testament.

  Some among you can be in the form of a book where the author denies plain facts about the Bible.

  The great challenge before us is this: Do I, can I, believe the Bible as God gave it to us or do I believe the teachings of man? God provides evidence. Man doesn’t. God’s word is backed by the character and nature of God. It is a trust factor. Man’s ideas are often changing.

  This has everything to do with your faith and devotion to God. Do you accept and follow what you read in the Bible, or only the good stuff and you have mingled in the ideas and theories of man? For instance, a person may say, “I believe in God, yet I accept evolution.” By that statement, that person does not trust what God has said about origins. He doesn’t believe the Bible on that. If he can’t accept the Bible on that, how can he on salvation, or Heaven or anything else. Someone else says, “I love God, but I want to worship the way I feel.” That person doesn’t trust what God says about worship. Worship is a gift toward God and He tells us how to worship Him. He never says, “surprise me.”

  What about divorce? Do you know God has spoken on that? Do you accept what God said there? How about how a church is organized? Or, how a church can raise money?

  The very fiber of our religious life surrounds this question. The Corinthians had been given the inspired message, “Jesus was raised.” But now, they were listening to what someone else had to say and they were thinking, there is no resurrection.

  The question really isn’t about the resurrection, or organization, or divorce, or creation, but what does the Bible say and what am I following? Do I follow all the Bible or just some of it? If not all, why not? And who decides what is important and what isn’t? Who decides which parts are necessary and which ones are not? Do I? Do you? Does any man?

  This simple resurrection question opens a much larger door—one that maybe you’ve never thought of before. Just because a man stands in the pulpit and says stuff, does that mean it’s so? Those brave Bereans in the book of Acts faced similar things. They were hearing things and weren’t sure. They checked the Scriptures daily to see whether they were so (Acts 17:11).  What the Bible said was the final answer. They knew what God said. They stood with God.

  How about you?

Roger

06

Jump Start # 343

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 343

2 Corinthians 5:9 “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”

  This is a great passage! It’s packed full of great expressions, “ambition,” “home or absent,” “pleasing to Him.” If we could but live by this passage, life would be easier for us. This passage sets before us what is important and what God desires.

  Paul begins by talking about ambition. Ambition is the fuel in our tank. It is what drives us. It’s what keeps a college student going. It’s what gets many of us out of bed on Monday morning. Behind ambition is the idea of wanting to be better. A better education…a better job…a better career. Ambition can be selfish. It can also be worldly. And more than that, it can get us in trouble. Ambition is the “aim” in life. It’s not the target. Ambition is what you point to. Now if my aim is to be rich and to spend, spend, spend, then I have the wrong target. That’s not what life is all about.  In this passage, Paul was aiming at God. His ambition was to please God. That is what kept him going after being persecuted and beaten. He had a goal, he had a drive and that was to please God. Without ambition, we tend to just drift with the current. We tend to get lazy.

  Home or absent. Paul is not talking about being on vacation. The “home or absent” concept began in the chapter before. Paul is talking about in our bodies or after death being home with God. What he is saying is, whether here (which is now) or in Heaven (which is then or later) we want to please God. We want to please God all the time, everywhere. It’s not the thought that I want to live like a sinner and die like a saint—that doesn’t happen. It’s not that for now I want to do what I want to do, but when I die I’ll do what God wants. That doesn’t fly, either. Paul wanted to please God—now, while he was alive. Paul wants to please God after he is home in Heaven. He wants to please God.

  Finally, “pleasing God.” A person does that by doing what God wants. We often think that God likes what we like. Wrong. Husbands and wives understand that doesn’t work. God is so much bigger and his thoughts so much higher than our thoughts that without God telling us what He wants, we’d come up with the wrong idea every time. God reveals what pleases Him. He wants us to obey Him and follow His will. Doing things contrary to God’s will is not going to please Him. In worship, we must worship the way God has defined. In everyday living, we must see what God wants for His people. This is what pleases God. It’s not thinking up some new and novel way of things. Parents understand this. When you ask you child to do something and they go out of the way to do it, you are pleased. Now if they were to do something else instead, even though it may be nice, but they didn’t do what you asked, it doesn’t make you happy. They  should have done what you asked. That’s why you said it in the first place. Is it any different with God?

  Our ambition, whether at home or absent, is to please God. Pleasing God, that’s our life’s statement and mission. When we please God, everything else will be ok. You may not have the million dollars, but if you please God, you have God and Heaven will be your home. The opposite is you’ll have a million dollars and God won’t be happy with you and you won’t have God nor Heaven.

  Ambition brings the idea of thought, planning and targeting. Some of us live by the “to do list.” Each day we make a list of what we need to get done. That keeps us organized, focused and helps us accomplish what needs to be done. Pleasing God should be on the list. It should be at the top of that list. Start the day with the idea that I want to please God. Please Him in my attitude…please Him in my behavior…please Him by telling others about Him…please Him by the choices I make today…please Him by talking with Him…Please Him.

  We ask younger children, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” Paul reminds us adults, “Our ambition is to please God.” Sometimes we forget. We need to be reminded.

  Roger

05

Jump Start # 342

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 342

Colossians 4:22 “Say to Archippus, ‘Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”

  Our verse today contains an interesting expression. One that we don’t hear very often. It is the idea of fulfilling the ministry. This is not the only time that Paul says this. In his final words to Timothy, Paul said, “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” There it is again— fulfilling a ministry. I’ve never told another preacher those things. Maybe I should.

  What does it mean to fulfill thy ministry? We use the expression, “fulfilling prophecy,” which means, prophecy is completed. To fulfill thy ministry is to finish or complete it. That still seems odd to me. We say, finish school, or, finish the race, or, finish that project. But to say, “finish your ministry,” is a rather unusual expression.

  God has a plan for all of us. We were made on purpose for His purpose. Finishing or fulfilling one’s ministry means a person has not only stayed with it, but they have done what they were supposed to do. They have fulfilled it. They completed it. When a person has completed their degree requirements, there isn’t more that is expected. They have fulfilled what they were to do. Is this any different? The role of preaching is to teach and preach. Fulfilling that means that was done.

  Take this to a different level. In many ways, isn’t the role of parents a ministry? They are teaching, leading and influencing their children  for the good of God. Fulfill thy ministry. Finish the project.

  On a larger scale, god has something planned for all of us. Fulfilling that, or completing that is what our task should be. Our agenda needs to be fulfilling His agenda for us. The journey we make as Christians is not a short sprint, but a long marathon. Most can run a short distance. Few can stay with it for the long haul. Fulfill. Complete. Finish. Those are the ideas that Paul gives us about his life in 2 Tim 4. I have completed. I have fought. I have finished. He did it. He fulfilled.

  We understand this in theory, it’s the doing that we struggle with. We get busy. We get sidetracked. We get tired. We get discouraged. Things happen. Before long we’ve stopped. We’ve stopped before reaching the finish line. Guilt bothers us at first. But after a while even that doesn’t bother us any longer. We know what we ought to do, it’s the doing part again.

  Does any of this sound familiar to you? Has this become your life story. It’s not a pretty story nor is it the way you intended, but here you are. The word “fulfill” reminds us. It compels us to try one more time. Get back at it, to not let Satan win.

  There are few things more encouraging than the funeral of a person who has fulfilled the journey God wanted. They stayed with it. They were faithful to God all the time. It reminds us that we ought to, we need to, and that we can do the same.

  The church at Colossae was given our verse today. The brethren there were to tell this young preacher to fulfill his ministry. Stay with it. Finish what was started. Sometimes that’s what we need—someone else to remind us and tell us. We know, but having someone else say it has an profound impact upon us. Others are counting upon us. It’s hard to see the good we do for others, but it’s there. They need you to fulfill. They need you to complete.

  I hope this helps. I hope it reminds you. We’ve not reached the finish line, not yet. God needs you to fulfill. He needs you to finish.

Roger

04

Jump Start # 341

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 341

Hebrews 5:11 “Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.”

  The writer of Hebrews was explaining the similarities between Melchizedek and Jesus Christ. Melchizedek lived during the days of Abraham. He was both a king and priest. He was the king of Salem which later became known as Jerusalem. There was much to say about this.

  The writer could tell that this wouldn’t go over well. It wasn’t that he was not explaining himself—he was inspired by God. It wasn’t that the material was too complicated and difficult to grasp. The problem was the audience, the readers. They had become dull of hearing.

  Two thoughts for us to understand. First, it is important for teachers to know their audience. Understand where your audience is and start where they are at. Jesus always did. I’ve sat through sermons before wondering why the preacher chose that topic for that audience—it just didn’t seem to fit together. Some have the right topic but it is delivered in a much too complicated manner for the audience. When those moments happen, it’s a bomb. If the preacher is sharp, he can tell that the audience isn’t with him. If he is capable, he’ll make adjustments and try to connect  with the audience. If not, he’ll just plow ahead with what was planned. Know your audience. Know where they are spiritually. Know when they are tired. Know when things are on their minds. This is not a fact just for preachers, it is a fact of communication. Moms and Dads do well to understand  this when talking with the kids. Husbands and wives need to get this when talking with each other. It’s communicating. It’s talking and listening. It’s giving and receiving. Both are necessary.

  The other thought there, the most obvious, is that these Hebrew Christians had grown dull of hearing. Dull. That word brings the image of a dull knife that can’t cut. A dull college lecture that you have to sit through. Boring. Long. Tedious. Death. Have you been there? I have. Sometimes it’s the speakers fault. Here in Hebrews, it was the listeners fault. They became dull. It wasn’t a dull message. It was dull  listening. They were bored. They were tired. They didn’t want to hear.

  We must wonder if the Bible has gotten that way to us. Read a murder novel and we can’t put it down. We can stay with the crossword puzzle or sudoko. But a few minutes in the Bible and here comes the yawns. Could it be the way we approach the Bible? Have we started with the idea that it’s hard to understand, it contains long names and far away places and it doesn’t make a lot of sense. That may have a lot to do with it.

  Consider this. Could you tell the story of the Bible in your own words? I don’t mean simply, “Jesus died for our sins.” More than that. Could you sum up each book of the Bible and tell how it all fits together like a giant puzzle? That would help you. How can a person not like the Bible. It has wars, romance, fighting, giants, floods, dead coming to life, fiery chariots and fiery furnaces. It has God. It’s not a novel, nor is it a love letter. It’s the will  of God.

  I actually think dull of hearing is only a symptom of a greater problem, dull with God. It is easy for folks who go to worship services all the time to get to a point where they have heard just about everything about everything. They can explain, detail and remember all kinds of facts. But in all of this, have we lost the “awe” of God. Do we no longer get impressed and amazed at what Jesus has done? Do we fail to see the fascination of the Lord stopping and of all people, talking to little Zaccheus and calling him by name and inviting himself to his house? Do we see little things like Jesus talking to the dead before He raises them?

  It helps to read slowly. Look at the words carefully. Put yourself there. As Jesus reveals a parable, be a Jewish person in the audience and see how you would have reacted. The Bible is like treasure in a field. It’s there. You have to look for it. Do some digging. Spend some time. You’ll find it. Amazing lessons. Great depth. Wonderful things to add to your faith.

  From a preacher’s point of view, nothing is worse than a dull audience. I’d rather preach to four people who were eager and excited than four hundred who sit there and stare off in space. Dull listeners aren’t challenged. Dull listeners rarely change. Dull listeners fill a spot but there is no life in their eyes or heart. Dull listeners are death to preachers.

  Do you find yourself there? What do you plan to do about it? It’s kinda like a marriage. When you are first married, you just love to be married. You do things together. You help each other. You are always thinking of the other. Then time passes. You tend to take each other for granted. The marriage can become stale and boring. Something happens. You snap at each other. One threatens to leave because they are getting nothing out of the relationship. You are rattled to the core. To do nothing is the end of the marriage. You know you can change. You’ve done it before. So you do. You don’t watch TV every night. You go for walks. You talk. You find a way to get the fire back in the marriage. It’s the same with God. It’s the same with God’s word. Get rattled to the core. You can change. You’ve done it before.

  Roger

03

Jump Start # 340

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 340

Titus 1:10-11 “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”

  Our passage today shows Paul’s concern for the young church. As the gospel spread, so did opposition and conflict. The term “circumcision” refers to Jewish influences. These threats were real and the carnage was destructive. Whole families were being upset. These teachers, especially the Jewish ones, were rebellious, deceptive and they were teaching what they should not.

  Now this present to us several lessons to consider. First, the make up of the N.T. church is not like the United States. With our Bill of Rights, we have free speech. A person can say what he wants. Not so within the church. What is said influences people. Paul told the Ephesians that there is “one faith.” Jude wrote, “contend earnest for the faith…” God has delivered His will. The recorded word of God is the platform that we must stand upon, be united on, and teach. There are still rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers today. They still upset whole families. We should expect, and even demand that a person teaches the Bible and not his own agenda. A person should teach the Bible as God intended, not taking verses out of context or twisting things to make it fit what he wants. These empty talkers had a platform because they found an audience that would listen to them.

  Another lesson here is that Paul expected these empty talkers to be silenced. That’s serious. That sound like trouble. How and who is to do this is important. Our verses are found following what is commonly called the qualifications of elders, “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you.” Elders—always a plurality in every church. Elders, they are the overseers, the shepherds, the leaders within a local congregation. It was God’s design that every congregation have elders. These spiritual men, experienced in the word of God and able to teach, would care and protect the church. The call of silencing the empty talkers would fall upon these elders. This is their job. Wolves among the sheep cannot be ignored. They will not go away. They must be silenced.

  Now, just how do elders silence empty talkers? We know violence isn’t the answer. That doesn’t fit in the total picture God has for His followers. When Paul went to the Jewish synagogues he “reasoned with them according to the Scriptures” (Acts 17). The word “reasoned” means to debate. Elders, using the word of God, will confront, defend and silence the empty talkers. The empty talkers would be identified as false. Brethren would be taught why these talkers were not correct. They would be told to ignore and avoid these talkers. Fellowship with them would be cut off. This is the language Paul used in Romans 16:17 toward similar false teachers.

  Empty talkers can do their damage face to face, through writings, through blogs, Facebook, emails. They can appear innocent. Even Satan can appear as an angel of the light. They can be long time friends. They can be within our family. Usually, they have been influenced by someone else. A rebellious spirit caught their attention. They are captivated. They spend more time listening to what is wrong with the N.T. system than learning God’s will. Their minds become corrupted with rebellion. In many ways they become spiritual terrorists. They go on a mission to win others. Others listen. Others become influenced. The church becomes a mess. Soon division takes over.

  The answer to all of this? Stay with God’s word. Learn it. Know it. Recognize what isn’t right. Defend God’s way. Support godly elders.

  You won’t find many churches today talking about these things. You find fewer churches doing anything about empty talkers. In fact, some churches will invite empty talkers to come and spend a weekend with them and even give them a platform to spread their poison. And the result will be a mess. Everyone confused and believing different things and basically doing whatever each person feels like. That’s not the unity you read about in the N.T. One mind. One heart. One voice. One faith.

  God wants you to grow and be strong. You need to protect your soul, your family and help your church. You do this by standing upon the word of God.

Roger