16

Jump Start # 2675

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2675

2 Peter 3:1 “This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder”

Here in our verse today we see the second of two great precepts upon which our faith is built and our hope sustains and knowledge of God’s word is established. The first of these precepts is not here, it is the second one that we see. The first precept is to understand, learn and believe the principles of God’s word. This is the foundation upon our faith. This sets the course that we follow. The principles of our faith are what we preach, teach and share with one another. Core concepts such as the love of God, the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and the opportunity for all people to spend forever with God in Heaven. Righteousness springs from these principles. How we are to conduct ourselves and the spirit which we carry about life are shaped by these principles.

The second component or precept is in our verse today. It is reminding, remembering and returning to those fundamental principles that we know and understand. Life can move us away from those principles. We can put those things aside and forget about their value and importance. So, here, Peter was stirring up the minds of his readers. He was accomplishing that by reminding them. This was new ground that was being plowed, but going over the things that they already knew. It was dusting off the things that sat on the shelves of their minds.

And, all of this helps us to see and understand what must take place in our preaching and teaching. Reminding is important. Not every lesson, not every class will be new material. We need to be reminded. We need to hear that “old, old story” over and over again. And, this brings us to a thought and a question. Just why do we need to be reminded? If we know, isn’t it there?

First, we forget. This is why doctor’s and dentist’s offices will call with a reminder of your appointment. “Oh, yeah,” we say, “I forgot about that.” This is why there are little stickers placed in the corner of your car windshield, to remind you to get your oil changed. This is why we have calendars and apps on our phones to keep us from forgetting. Because we do just that, we forget.

I think one area that we tend to forget is to be thankful. Our wives make a nice meal, we eat it and we forget to say “thank you.” We pray hard for something or someone, and God answers that prayer to our liking. Yet, afterwards, we forgot to “thank the Lord.” Every Sunday we walk into the church building and the lights are on, the temperature is right, the place is clean, and everything is just the way it is supposed to be. Now, someone did all of that. There weren’t little angels from Heaven that came down Saturday night and took care of those things. It was folks like you and me that had a heart to do what needed to be done. They were just doing what they could, but do we stop and say, “Thank you”?

Second, we need to be reminded because our order tends to get out of order. The proper word for this is priorities. Somehow those priorities seem to get moved about and what ought to be first and number one in our lives drops in place and other, less important things take it’s spot. That shouldn’t be, but it happens. So, reminders do just that. They remind us of what we are after. They remind us of who we are. They remind us of what is valuable in the eyes of the Lord. And, with those reminders, we get our order back in order. Things shift and the spiritual rises back to the top where it ought to be.

Third, reminders bring back fond memories of God’s grace and truth. We just can’t get tired of hearing that story of the prodigal over and over. It’s our story. It tells us of the love, grace and kindness of the Lord. God’s truths are a wonderful place to find yourself in. Assurance, confidence, and hope are wrapped around our walk in faith with the Lord. Gathering around the Lord’s table, singing those joyous hymns, and hearing the truth of God’s word proclaimed ought to stir a wonderful emotion and joy within us. The world leans toward the negative side of things. People love to complain. Problems are everywhere. And with all this darkness, it can certainly make us feel dark. That is, until we are reminded of God’s wonderful principles. It’s like opening up the curtains and letting the sun to shine into our hearts. God continues to rein.

Fourth, the more we are reminded, the more likely things will stick with us. Some seem to be walking Bibles. How is it that they are that way? They have parked their lives and their hearts where God is. They have surrounded themselves with God. You ask them a question and their answer is laced with God’s word and God’s principles. They know. They believe. They live. How did they get that way? They put time into what was important to them. They stood upon the and continue to stand upon the principles of God. They are spiritual rocks in a congregation. They are leaders. They are the backbone of a church. They are busy, engaged and connected, both with the Lord and with His people. God’s word has stayed with them. Reminded and reminded, they got it and now they won’t ever leave it.

Reminders are important—especially spiritually.

Roger

15

Jump Start # 2674

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2674

Mark 4:34 “and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.”

I ran across an old sermon that someone gave to me recently. The preacher is no longer on this side of life. On the back side of the sermon was handwritten all the places that it had been preached. The first time he preached it was in 1942. But he continued to preach that sermon into the 1990’s. He must have preached that one sermon thirty times. It had been preached at least five times at the same place through the years. That made me think about the way I preach. I have probably less than five sermons that I have preached through the decades. I believe that I’ve only repeated a sermon at the same place only a couple of times. I may use the same text over and over, but they are generally different sermons and different approaches to a topic.

Now, all of this got me to thinking about Jesus. Did He ever repeat the same lesson? Did He ever tell the same parable more than once? Did He ever preach the sermon on the mount again? The preaching of Jesus covered a very short time, only three years. There was so much to reveal that He didn’t have much time to repeat things. The Holy Spirit would remind the apostles what the Lord had said. This was essential for accuracy.

It is interesting how we look at things. We listen to the same songs over and over. We sing the same hymns over and over. We watch the same movies over and over. And, we do all of this over and over and over. Your favorite movie, how many times have you seen it? Mine is Shane, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched it. I can quote the movie. I know exactly what is going to happen, before it happens. Yet, I love that movie. There are others, especially around the holiday season, that I watch every year. I never grow tired of watching them. But, it’s different when the preacher preaches a sermon that we’ve heard before. Someone has to say, with a smirk, “I’ve heard you preach that before.” And, layered behind that is often the thought, “You are a lazy preacher and didn’t do much this week. All you did was pull out one of your old sermons and give us a rerun.”

I actually witnessed that once. I went to hear a preacher. His sermon was great. Someone said to him, “I heard you preach that before.” The preacher said in reply, “Certainly. Maybe you’ll get it this time.” I think he was steamed and frustrated with what was said to him. One of my heroes is Dee Bowman. He has a sermon on Heaven that I’ve heard three or four times. If I could only hear one sermon over and over for the rest of my life, it would be that sermon.

So, what about Sunday reruns? Let’s give this some thought.

First, with an honest heart, every time you hear a lesson you pick up on new insights. Sometimes we need to hear a sermon more than once. I know some folks that will hear the sermon live on Sunday, but they’ll listen to it again during the week. They are picking out gems and jewels that they missed the first time.

Second, repeating things helps us to remember truths better. How many times do we do this with our children and teaching them the A-B-C’s. Repeat, repeat, repeat. This is one of the ways people learn to memorize Scriptures. They have read them, heard them, and, used them so many times that it is now burned within their hearts and memory.

Third, some topics can only be said so many ways. There are principles that we must hold on to. The prodigal son. Jesus calming the storm. The resurrection of Lazarus. Great truths in those passages. We must hold on to those and they need to be preached again and again and again. Now, the preacher will look for fresh ways of showing these truths to others, but some things that worked before are worth just repeating. I often take things from sermons to classes to Jump Starts to podcasts and the other way. I may read something I wrote in a sermon. I usually don’t cite the source, that seems a bit vain, but if was well written, use it and use it again.

Forth, understand there are times when the preacher has been swamped with other things and sometimes the well of ideas just runs dry. Most of us are doing this week after week, including classes, writings and other things. And, there are days that this preacher just stares at a blank screen and wishes words would magically appear. And, add private classes, funerals and some weeks, the preacher is running out of time. Sunday comes, whether he is ready or not. Pulling an old sermon that has a lot of fire and truth still in it, and is fitting for the moment, is nothing to be ashamed of. Sometime ago I went to hear Paul McCartney in a concert. Loved it. He had a new album out. I didn’t want to hear those songs. I wanted to hear the old songs. Everyone in the audience was singing along with him. We knew the songs. But what great memories it was to hear and see him singing the classics we love so well.

Finally, rather than giving the preacher a critical comment such as, “I’ve already heard that one before,” why not encourage him by saying, “That sermon is one that really helps me.” He knows more than you do that it is a rerun. He knows more than you do why he selected to preach that again. And, most times, it’s not because he’s lazy, but instead, he’s so busy in other areas of the kingdom. Now, if this becomes a weekly habit, always preaching the same sermons over and over, then the shepherds need to see what’s going on. Maybe he’s burned out and needs a break. Maybe there are things that no one knows about.

Rather than being a finger pointer, why not be one who pats on the back. Be an encourager rather than a critic. In many places, there are folks sitting in that audience who never heard that sermon before. Don’t forget about that. It’s not all about you. There are some simple truths that every new person and every generation needs to hear. And, when we think about Peter’s writings, he often used the expression, “reminder.” We all need to be reminded. We tend to forget.

There is a story about a wife who always wanted her husband to take her out to eat. Every evening it was out to a restaurant. One day she declared, “I want you to take me some place I’ve never been before.” He took her to the kitchen. Maybe we ought to take a look at ourselves and take a step back and give some thought to how people learn and what’s the best method. Repeating is ok when we understand the purpose and reason behind it.

Sunday is coming and I must stop this so I can get to working on a sermon, a new one.

Roger

14

Jump Start # 2673

Posted on September 14, 2020 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2673

Proverbs 5:6 “She does not ponder the path of life; her ways are unstable, she does not know it.”

Our verse today is found among advice and warnings. It’s a dad talking to his son. There are dangers that the young, naïve and inexperienced son does not know about. Dad does. He’s seen it. He’s seen the carnage it has caused. And, dad’s words are about certain people. Some people you just need to stay away from. Not everyone is nice, as they are on Sesame Street and not every gets along as they do in Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. There are some people that have the intention of hurting others. There are some people that conversations will not be heard, the golden rule does not mean anything, and doing what is right has no place in their hearts. Some are just wicked. And, the best thing to do is stay away from them.

Here in this chapter, it’s not a street gang, it’s not drug pushers but rather, the adulteress woman that dad warns his son about. There are three chapters devoted to this topic. It’s real. It was a problem then and it’s a problem today. Throughout this chapter, you can just hear the earnestness of this father pleading with his son:

  • My sons, listen to me (7)
  • Keep your way far from her (8)
  • Do not go near the door of her house (8)

The dad reveals that she is deceitful and deceptive. Her words drip like honey, but they are not honey. Her steps lead to death and she’ll take you with her. She will ruin you and destroy you. And, those words are so true. How many marriages have crashed on the rocks of adultery. How many have walked away from the Lord to embrace sin. How many children have grown up in a broken home.

Our verse today is about this woman. Not only is she ruining the lives of others, but she has ruined her own life. She doesn’t even realize it. “She does not ponder the path of life.” “Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.” She doesn’t have a clue where she is headed. Her thoughts are only about today and pleasure. Her choices have put her on a path and it’s not a good path. She is not following the steps of the Lord. She is not allowing the Lord to lead her. Her path, as easy, and fun, and enjoyable as it may seem, goes over a hill and into the face of death itself. There is no escaping. She is clueless. She doesn’t even realize where she is headed. She is unstable and doesn’t know it. She doesn’t ponder the path of life.

That expression, “ponder the path of life” certainly brings thoughts to our minds:

First, this reminds us that a person needs to observe, contemplate and take careful thought of his actions. We are all on a path. The foolish man at the end of the Lord’s sermon, chose to build upon the sand. Likely, close to the sea, which gave him a great view. Cheaper, faster and easier to build on sand than through heavy rock. All was going to be great. That was the path he chose. He never figured into his calculations the costs that comes with storms. Likewise, the young prodigal, had his eyes set on fun without rules. It was going to be great. He never considered what would happen if the money ran out. He never counted on a famine. His eyes were just a few paces in front of his feet. He never looked down the road.

Decisions and choices always take us somewhere. The direction of our lives is based upon the choices that we make. When one never gives that any thought, they will end up deep in the forest of misery, sin, and trouble and have no way of knowing how to get out.

Second, to ponder is to hit the pause button. We need that. We need to ponder what we are about to say before we say it. Some thoughts should never be expressed. Some words need to be toned down and polished up a bit. Some things will tarnish our reputation and will be hard to overcome. In recent times, how many newscasters, sport analysts have lost their jobs because they said things that they should not have. Certainly they apologize, but many have seen their careers end. It ended much sooner than they were planning. They spoke without pondering what to say. So, to ponder, is to think things through. Maybe I need to find a better word to express how I feel. Maybe I ought to calm down before I speak. Maybe I’m letting my emotions get the best of me. Ponder. Think it through. It’s much easier to stop the words before you say them than it is to clean up the mess you caused by speaking without thinking.

Third, to ponder the path of life may lead to some real changes in life. If a person was honest, with an open Bible in their hand, they may just see that their choices in life are taking them away from the Lord. Sure, they may be surrounded by friends and having a time of their lives, but where does this end up. This is the context of our passage today. This is why a dad was warning his son. Some sweet talking woman is going to get you dizzy with lust and before you know it you’ve crossed the out of bounds line and have gotten yourself into all kinds of sin and trouble. And, how many times does this happen and someone says, “I just wasn’t thinking.” And, that IS the point of this passage. Think. Ponder. This woman isn’t. And, are you going to follow her? She doesn’t know where she is going. Do you?

Satan loves to blind us to the consequences of life. But when a person ponders, they will likely make some real course adjustments. Walk a little closer to the Lord. Check that attitude more. Get back into the Bible more. Those things will cause one to switch paths and follow the Savior. God leads. The Shepherd leads by green pastures and quiet waters. Sticking close to Him will get us where we need to be.

Do you know where you are going? She didn’t. It’s time we did.

Roger

11

Jump Start # 2672

Posted on September 11, 2020 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2672

Luke 5:4 “When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

Our wonderful verse today shows the wisdom, care and power of the Lord. Jesus was a carpenter. Peter a fisherman. Peter knew how to fish. He had been at it all night. Caught nothing, which means no money. Peter wasn’t fishing on the weekend for relaxation. He was a commercial fisherman. It was how he made a living. To be good at it, one has to know what they are doing. They have to understand the best time to fish. They have to know where to fish. They have to know how to throw nets and how to pull them in. Those that didn’t do well, didn’t make it.

It’s daylight. Peter had been fishing all night. Wet, smelly and tired but more so, frustrated because he was going home empty. He worked all night and had nothing to show for it. But now, on this occasion, the Lord and a multitude have gathered along the shore. Jesus was teaching. He tells Peter to go out into the deep and lower the nets. The Lord claims that there will be a catch. Peter protests at first. We’ve worked all night, he said, and we caught nothing. Now, this carpenter turned rabbi has become an expert in the fishing industry? Really? Yet, Peter listened. Back out into the sea. Nets cast out once more. And, amazingly they had the catch of a life time. The nets were breaking. When they put the fish in the boats, they started to sink. How did Jesus know? This had never happened before. This was enough for Peter to realize that Jesus was more than a common carpenter or even a young rabbi. Jesus was the Lord.

The expression, “lower your nets” has become a special and important principle to me. We need to be able to peel the layers off of a passage and dig deeply in to God’s word. Bible classes ought to move beyond the simple fundamental thoughts that everyone already knows. We need to lower our nets.

If you noticed, several of our recent Jump Starts have been an attempt at doing that. We’ve looked at:

  • Evangelism and what made the early church explode
  • Changes in our lives
  • The difference between trusting the Lord and trying the Lord
  • Attempts Satan uses to ensnare us
  • What to do when we have made a wrong choice
  • Solomon said there is a time to love and a time to hate. When is it the right time to hate

All of these makes one stop and put some thought into these topics. These are not your typical easy to figure out ideas. Many have commented to me how they have thought about these things, yet never really came to a conclusion. There are many others like these, such as: If God truly forgets when He forgives, how does the Holy Spirit remind of events that are supposed to be “forgotten?” If suicide is wrong because the last act was “self-murder,” does that mean our last act has to be right before we die?

Thinking deeply…thinking things through. Thinking with the rest of the Bible in mind. These are the challenging things that will help us bring the Bible alive in our lives and to understand how practical, useful and relevant the Word is to us. Saying the same simplistic things over and over for years and years doesn’t develop us, challenge us and move us closer to the Lord. Lower the nets!

Here are a few things to consider:

First, put yourself into the text. Look at why people said what they did and reacted the way they did. Peal the layers back. Look at what all they had to face and consider. Then build a bridge to our times. Put some thought into what you read in the text.

Second, move beyond the same way of always studying the Scriptures. One needs to understand what the text says. That’s always a first. But, don’t stay there. Move on. Look at words and what they mean. Look at questions and how they were answered. Remember, when most first heard the Word of God, it was simply that. Someone else read it to them. Try that. There are many apps that will read Scripture. Without a Bible in your lap, listen to the sermon on the mount. Have Ephesians read to you. What do you notice? What stands out?

Third, understanding the purpose of a particular book of the Bible, run through it and see how that purpose is built and supported. There are several prayers and sermons in the Bible. Look at them from the standpoint of saying them yourself. Notice where the emphasis is and what the person is trying to get across.

Finally, never be satisfied with simple and easy answers. Dig deeper. Look beyond the surface. Lower your nets. Just how is it that God forgives and forgets, yet through inspiration, He still remembers? Think that out. Finding that answer, helps us to understand the way we forgive. Think about the environment of having a Jewish zealot and a tax collector among the twelve apostles. How would Jesus get these opposites to gel and become unified? Over and over you can go through the Scriptures and find amazing depth, wonderful insights and great lessons that often are missed simply because we failed to lower our nets.

The disciples lowered their nets and up came an abundance of fish. When we lower our nets, we will be amazed at the abundance of knowledge, applications and insights into God’s holy word.

It’s a matter of “lowering the nets!”

Roger

10

Jump Start # 2671

Posted on September 10, 2020 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2671

Mark 16:15 “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.”

I’ve been reading a book about the rapid and massive growth of Christianity in the first few centuries. The numbers are staggering. The Roman Empire is thought to have been about 60 million in population. Within three hundred years, 10% of the Empire were Christians. If, true, that number would have been six million disciples of Jesus. They were everywhere—in the courts, among the Roman Senate, within the Roman army, and even within Caesar’s household. This has led to the understanding why Constantine made Christianity the state religion, overturning the ban against Christians and their worship.

What is even more impressive is that there was no central headquarters overseeing the expansion and growth of the Lord’s kingdom. There were no mass mailings. There was no email campaign. There was no phone soliciting. No printing presses publishing flyers, documents by the thousands. No PR team orchestrating a positive image. No live streaming. No videos. No podcasts. How did they do it?

Here are my thoughts:

First, they had a message that was real and they believed it with all their hearts. Salvation through the blood of Jesus, the conquering of death and Satan, the hope of Heaven was enough for those early believers to change their lives. This message was talked about. This message was shared. This message was on their minds and their hearts. This message was looked at, dissected, considered, debated, argued and taught. It was taught to family members. It was taught among fellow workers. It was of first importance to them.

Second, they had lives that contrasted the world they lived in. These believers had changed. They were not the way they once were. They stood upon forgiveness. They were kind. They worked hard. They were honest. They feared nothing. Their lives were consistent with the way that they believed. Through this, they were noticed. They were different. They had something within them that others wanted. They had a calm, peace, and joy within them that others didn’t. There was a welcome attraction among them. They were not stand-offish. They were not acting as if they were better than others.

Third, they had a faith that would not stop. Even when facing death, they would not surrender what they believed. This faith was genuine, true and impressive. They worshipped with all that they were. They prayed with diligence. They lived lives that continually honored the Lord. Their faith was not shallow, fake nor pretentious. To the very core of what they were, they believed.

And, what is so remarkable about these three points is that they still work today. Congregations are always looking for the magical tool that will convert the community. What are you doing in evangelism, is commonly asked. What material do you have for visitors, others want to know. Just tell us your secrets and somehow they will work for us. But there is no magic here. There is no wonder tool that a few have that no one else does. It comes down to these same three principles.

We must be preaching powerful lessons about Jesus. Our lessons tend to focus upon us too often. How we feel. How we are doing. What can make a better and happier us. Look at those sermons in Acts. They were about Jesus. Jesus, the Lord. Jesus, the Sacrifice. Jesus, the Savior. Jesus, the King. We must never tire of preaching Jesus. Preach His words. Look in His book.

We must live lives that show we follow the Savior. One sure way to wreck evangelism and kill all efforts is when the members are only playing church. Sure, they’ll show up on Sunday, but their hearts are miles away. Throughout the week, there’s little difference between the lost world and those who claim to be disciples. Bending the rules. Flirting with Satan. Not living righteously. Not being pure. And, what do we see today? Too many disciples are trying to justify social drinking. Too many are divorcing. Too many are obsessed with the things of the world. We are looking more and more like the world and less and less like Jesus. When that happens, nothing will happen in evangelism. We are not of this world. We are not going the same direction as the world. We do not use the same definitions as the world does. This world is not our home—have we forgotten that?

We must have a faith that will not stop. A faith that is strong. It ought to come out in our speech. Are we glorying God with the things that we say? Are we showing that God is more important than anything else to us? It is more than just adding church to our schedule. It’s building lives upon Jesus Christ. It’s being obedient to Christ. It’s following the Lord wherever He leads us.

Jesus wasn’t popular in the first century. It got to a point where Christianity was outlawed and even persecuted. Yet, the kingdom grew. And, now, in a pandemic, and social unrest, it’s time to get our thoughts off of ourselves and how bad it’s been worshipping at home and social distancing and get back to living and even dying for Jesus. The world needs Jesus and we are the means to get them connected to the world.

Seek first…it worked then and it still works today!

Roger