Let It Flow

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3  Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 4  There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. 5  God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.” Psalm 46:1-5

John 7:37-39  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. ³⁸  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Verse four of Psalm 46 says, “There is a river.”  Tonight, I want to preach about the river.  The river goes back to the creative genius of God when He fashioned the world out of nothing.  Just like every artist signs his painting, or builds something into his work that reflects his nature, God signs his handiwork.  Whenever you see a river, you see a physical manifestation of the character of God. When you think of flow, you think of a river.  A river bears more resemblance to eternity than any other aspect of God’s geography.  The five oceans are deep and cover vast expanses of the earth’s surface, but eventually, a shoreline of sand or rocks imposes boundaries on every ocean.  Mountains rise to majestic heights from 390 ranges in the world, whether they be located in the Rockies, the Andes or the Himalayans, but though they tower above tree lines and challenge the hardiest climbers to conquer their snowy summits, they fall woefully short of forever.  The seven continents themselves stretch for thousands of miles through the arctic, temperate and tropical zones, but at some point they all stop at the water’s edge, and anywhere you travel, if you keep going you will always end up back where you started.

But the river is eternal.  The source may be a subterranean spring or melting snow from a higher elevation.  Although we can identify its source and know where it discharges its flow into another body of water, and although we can locate the banks through which it runs, we cannot stop it from coursing through the terrain.  We can dam it, divert it, restrict it and change its course.  We can even pollute it, pave over it or steal its power for electricity, but we cannot stop it.  The force of flow will overcome any obstacle, it will circumvent any barrier, and it will overwhelm anyone who tries to halt its progress.  There is a divine component to the river that you cannot find in the seas, mountains or earth.  That’s why the Psalmist wrote that God is in the midst of the river.

Anytime the scriptures mention that God is in the midst of something, we ought to sit up and take notice.  The Bible says that God is in the sanctuary; God is in the generation of the righteous; God inhabits the praises of Israel; and, God is in you, according to the Bible.  If God is in the midst of the river, don’t seek Him in the seas, the mountains or the earth.  Seek Him in the river.  There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High!

Every great city in history has been founded upon a river.  Alexandria, Egypt had its Nile; Rome had its Tiber; Babylon had its Euphrates; London had its Thames and Paris had its Seine.  (Toledo has its Maumee!) The river brought commerce; the river brought irrigation for the crops; the river brought transportation; the river brought a supply of water for a population to exist.  The river is the water of life. 

Let me tell you about a special river.  The Congo River stands out as one of the most critically important river to the people of Africa. It is the main transportation source in Central Africa. The river along with all the streams that lead into it provide over nine thousand miles (14,500 kilometers) of navigable shipping routes in Central Africa. A tremendous amount of goods are transported on the river every day.

The Congo River is the deepest river known to man, reaching depths of 750 feet.  It is an extremely powerful river; in fact it is the most powerful river in Africa. On average one million four hundred thousand cubic feet of water flows into the Atlantic Ocean every second from the river! There are approximately forty hydropower plants along the river that utilize this power to provide energy for the African continent.

There is a lot of turbulence on the surface of the river, but when you go deep, you get into the peace and tranquility that lies beneath the surface.  There is a lot of dumping and refuse on the surface of the river, but when you go deep you get to the purity and clarity of the water. 

The river is a living reminder that there has always been an eternal presence of God.  He has made Himself knowable, findable, accessible and responsive.  I know this because in the very beginning God moved upon the face of the waters.  And, He made sure that a river flowed to the four corners of the earth. 

Genesis 2:10-14  And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. ¹¹  The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; ¹²  And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. ¹³  And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. ¹⁴  And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

First mention of rivers in the bible an important first mention principle. The first principle is one that sets the pattern for understanding future references to a concept both spiritually and naturally.  These names are important because names in the Bible usually denote function, character and purpose. 

• ·       Pishon = changing or doubling;
• ·       Gihon = grace or fast sudden overcoming;
• ·       Hiddekel – (later called Tigris) = sharp voice;
• ·       Euphrates

Every name describes an attribute of God.

• Like the Pison, God is always better than you think He is. 
• Like the Gihon, His grace is sudden and overcoming. 
• Like the Tigris, He speaks with a sharp voice.  Indeed, “The word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword…” 
• Like the Euphrates, the Spirit of the Lord produces the spiritual fruit of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, temperance, gentleness, meekness, kindness and goodness.  It’s all in the river!

I don’t know what kind of image you conjure up in your mind when you think of God.  Some think of God as a long-bearded hermit that lives up in a mountain cave somewhere.  Some think of God as flitting up among the stars.  Some even think of God as still in a human body in an artist’s rendition of Jesus Christ. 

But the Bible gives us a totally different picture.  2 Corinthians 5:16-18  says, “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. ¹⁷ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  You need to think of God as a vast, overwhelming river that is flowing through the world even today.  

Dry and Barren Land of Today’s World

There is a river!  God never intended for us to live in a dry, barren and thirsty land.  He never intended for mankind to have a famine for the Word of God.  But, because people have moved away from the river of God, They have lost the richness that life was supposed to have.  Instead of a river, this culture has religion.  You say, “No.  This world is secular, not religious!”  But secularism is actually a religion.  Humanism is a religion.  Atheism is a religion. Liberalism is a religion.   

In his book The Varieties of Religious Experience, the psychologist William James defined religion as “the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine”. “Divine,” according to James, meant “any object that is godlike, whether it be a concrete deity or not” to which the individual feels impelled to respond with solemnity and gravity.’”  And so, liberals are caught in their own web.  One of their own says that their beliefs constitute just as much of a religion as any other faith-based belief.  But the beliefs of this secular world are not rivers of living water, but man-made cisterns.

Jeremiah 2:11-13 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. ¹²  Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.  ¹³  For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

• Abortion rights: The real result is total disrespect for human life.
• No prayer in school: No prayer, except when being shot at.
• Sex education: Sexual expertise, but moral ignorance.
• Rights of the LGBT crowd: Deviancy is now celebrated.
• Multiculturalism:  Everybody is right, thus, nobody is right.
• Historical revisionism: Everything done in the past was wrong.
• Moral relativism: No one has the right to judge anybody else.
• Progressive education: Let us play with the minds of children.
• Permissive parenting: Never say no.  If you say it, don’t enforce it.
• Freedom of expression: I can say or print anything I wish.
• Political correctness: You cannot say or print anything you wish.

Religions are nothing more than observances and ceremonies.  They serve to remind us that something happened in the past, but now is only good for the history books. You wonder why many people make such a big celebration out of Christmas and Easter?  Because their faith is only an annual reminder of an historical event that now holds little or no significance to their day-to-day existence.

But God, if He is God at all, will not be confined to museum shelves and historical societies!  He does not live just in that big family Bible on the coffee table. 

Revelation 1:5-8 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, ⁶  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ⁷  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. ⁸  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

“Saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”  Evangelist David Smith said, “Whatever God was, He still is!  If He was a healer, He still is a healer!  If He was a savior, He still is a savior!  If He was a miracle-worker, He still is a miracle-worker!  If you had an experience with God somewhere in your past, you need to cheer up because He can do for you today what He did for you in the past!

“Not only that, but whatever He is today, He is going to be tomorrow!  He not only IS my healer, He WILL BE my healer!  He has a source that will never run dry, he is a force that will never be stopped, He is headed to a destiny that will never be subverted. 

The Spirit of God flows like a river!  I say, let it flow!

Buckeye Lake

Some of you may not be aware of the current crisis of Buckeye Lake.  178 years ago, engineers built a dam of earthworks 4.1 miles long to create this lake.  Over the years, 347 homes have built on top of these earthworks, plus boat docks and slips, and even swimming pools.  This spring, the Army Corps of Engineers issued a report that these structures seriously compromised the dam and that it was in imminent danger of breaking.  If it broke, over 3000 people could be flooded out and there would be loss of life.  Not willing to take that chance, they lowered the water level to reduce the pressure on the dam until they could fix it.  The repairs could last as long as 3-5 years.  In the meantime, the lake is virtually useless for recreational activities, and the people of Millersport, especially the businesses are suffering.

Now, let me now put a spiritual spin on this situation.  I want Buckeye Lake to be fixed, but I think the earthworks, or the “things of the earth” have stopped the flow of revival waters long enough.  I want the spiritual dam to break!  I want the restrictions to fall apart!  I want the river of  the Spirit of God to burst through the man-made barriers and inundate Ohio with the flow of revival! 

There is a river!  Rivers were meant to flow!  We cannot, we must not turn the Holy Ghost flow into the backwaters of selfishness and personal kingdom building! Paul said, “Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you…”  2 Corinthians 10:15-16

Let me do a little superintending here.  Bro. Ken Dillingham, our Ohio North American Missions director, told me that Ohio is 65-70% urbanized.  That means that our vision to evangelize Ohio needs to be upgraded.  Instead of thinking geographically, we need to think demographically.  We may have churches within 2 or 3 miles of each other.  We can’t do this unless we have strong ethics.  We are not competing with each other, we are complementing each other!  Bro. Chavis’ message of “The Problem with Brothers” needs to resonate!  We need to teach our people to win the unchurched, not reach into the church down the road!

Ezekiel saw the river.

    Ezekiel 47:1-12 (KJV)
1  Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. 2  Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3  And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. 4  Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. 5  Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.

Ezekiel’s vision of the river is teaching us something of critical importance.  There are two things going on.  First, the river is flowing and rising.  Second, you will not feel the effects of the river until you get in the water!  Some people say, “I don’t feel a thing!  It’s not happening to me!  I don’t understand why everyone is getting so excited.

Well, my friend, as long as you want to stay high and dry, it’s never going to happen to you!  If you don’t want to get wet, if you value your dignity more than you value results, if you choose to remain a spectator, rather than a participator, that’s your choice.  But, your choice has become a reason why you don’t believe anything is happening!  You can just as easily choose to believe. 

Let me say that I still believe in the essentiality of the Holy Ghost, speaking with tongues!  I believe the very premise of New Testament teaching was to have Spirit-filled people living the life, walking the talk and talking the walk!  A de-emphasis on the Holy Spirit can only lead to an emphasis on fleshly ability!  Whenever someone says, “Calm down.  We don’t need this running, shouting and dancing.”  I say, “You can’t control the flow!  There is a force, a power, a propulsion connected to the river.  If you want the flow, you’re gonna have to get in the river!

We are Apostolic Pentecostal!  We were born this way!  If you stop our freedom of worship, you cause the very source of our joy to dry up! 

Healing and Restoration

Ezekiel not only saw the river, he also said that there was healing and restoration in the river!  The river was not just for recreational purposes!  Something substantial happens when we access the river!

 6  And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. 7  Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8  Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. 9  And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and everything shall live whither the river cometh. 10  And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-ge-di even unto E-neg-la-im; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. 11  But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. 12  And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

Miracles

Do you need a miracle?  There are miracles in the river!  You cannot surgically remove miracles from the river, thinking that you can have all the good stuff without getting wet, without ruining your programs and plans and prideful purposes! 

There is a river!

The distance from you to the river is as far as this altar.  It is as far as your faith will take you. 

John 7:37-39  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. ³⁸  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. ³⁹  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

There is a river, and it flows from deep within; There is a fountain, that frees the soul from sin; Come to this water; there is a vast supply; There is a river, that never shall run dry.

John 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: ¹⁴  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

There was a thirsty woman,

Who was drawing from a well
You see her life was ruined and wasted

And her soul was bound for hell
Oh but then she met the Master

And He told about her sin
And he said if you drink this water,

You’ll never thirst again

There is a river, and it flows from deep within; There is a fountain, that frees the soul from sin; Come to this water; there is a vast supply; There is a river, that never shall run dry.

What happens when you step into a river?

• Transformation:  You will leave the place you once occupied. (God will transform you.)
• Empowerment:  You will be moved by a power outside of yourself.  (God will supply the change power.)
• Surrender:  You can either get in or get out, but you cannot control where the river goes.  (God controls.)
Do you remember that scripture in Genesis about the rivers that flowed out of Eden?  And then, do you recall the river that Ezekiel saw flowing out of the temple of God?  If you step into the water, and if you wade out a little bit deeper, the current is going to carry you all the way to the throne of God!

Revelation 22:1-2 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 

Prelude to Victory

The whole of conservative America, it would seem, has weighed in on the United States Supreme Court ruling that made same-sex marriage legal in all fifty states.  People from every walk of life, starting with the dissenting judges and extending out to the majority of Bible-believers, responded en masse in tweets, Facebook posts, letters to the editor, calls to radio talk shows, and, no doubt, in pulpits from coast to coast on the following Sunday morning.  We were all stunned by a 5-4 decision that legitimized a fundamental redefinition of the most basic building block of society, the nuclear family.  As shocking as it may have been, this ruling did not signal the end of the controversy.  One only needs to consider that the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion triggered a war of words, political turmoil and even physical violence for forty-two years and counting.  In fact, acceptance of abortion became the shibboleth for many politicians if they had any hopes of being elected.  

This is where the present issue is headed.  The ruling only opened the starting gates for the supporters of SSM.  Next, they will insist that same sex couples be afforded the same legitimacy in society that has been enjoyed by heterosexual couples for millenniums.  Billboards, magazine covers, television commercials, sitcoms, primetime shows, movie themes and popular songs, along with every other possible media outlet, will flaunt, promote and celebrate this newly-contrived right.  The flip side of this campaign will be a correspondingly vicious attack on anyone who disparages SSM.  Those who oppose it will be charged with hate speech, and boycotts, aggressive protest movements, and mandatory seminars aimed at reeducating the nation on sexual orientation will rock the Christian world.  With the assured support of the mainstream media, they will succeed.  Once that hurdle is cleared, same-sex marriage will be advocated as not only the normal, but even the superior form of marriage.   

But the statistics reveal a radically different reality than the SSM proponents would have us believe.  Dr. Timothy J. Dailey, Senior Fellow at the Center for Marriage and Family Studies has done extensive research on the subject and has come up with very different conclusions.   He says, “On the contrary, the evidence indicates that “committed” homosexual relationships are radically different from married couples in several key respects: relationship duration, monogamy vs. promiscuity, relationship commitment, number of children being raised, health risks, rates of intimate partner violence, and, with evidence from gay activists themselves, an indication that behind the push for gay marriage lies a political agenda to radically change the institution of marriage itself.”  (www.frc.org)  So, before anyone buys into the popular philosophy on SSM, he or she needs to see what’s behind it all. 

Let us now shift our focus from the problem itself to the impact all of this will have on the church.  The truth is that down through the ages, the cosmos has declared war on God’s chosen people time after time.  In fact, American culture has been an anomaly for religious freedom.  From its inception to the last half of the twentieth century, the church has enjoyed a favorable political climate, relatively free from interference or persecution, in which to exercise its religious beliefs. The historical perspective, however, is very different.  In their history, monotheistic Jews endured heavy persecution for their faith, much of it coming from the monarchies under which they labored.  The Pharaohs of Egypt enslaved the Hebrew nation for four hundred years.  It was the king’s decree that landed Daniel in the lions’ den, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.  The writer to the Hebrews recounts the list of tortures to which believers were subjected:  “Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”  (Hebrews 11:35-38).  Foxes Book of Martyrs recounts the stories of hundreds persecuted believers and the grisly ways they were tortured.  This was the norm.  The primitive church fled their tormentors and scattered throughout Asia Minor.  The generations of American Christians have never been subjected to anything resembling this kind of treatment on an official and widespread basis.  

Is this our time?  Are we about to see an unprecedented trashing of Christianity?  In the name of civil rights and humanitarianism, ostensively out of respect for all values or agendas, will Bible-believing people begin to suffer physical harm, fines and/or imprisonment for our adherence to the Word of God?  The prospect of such oppression now hovers on the horizon.  If it does, we’re not talking petty harassment or embarrassment.  It will be officially sanctioned tyranny over any citizen who openly propagates or exercises Bible-based convictions.  Moreover, it may go beyond actions against the church.  Government will likely intervene into families, especially targeting parents who try to raise their children with Bible values.  

Jesus Christ issued warnings about this kind of persecution. “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”  (Matthew 24:7-13).  

Persecution is already the norm in totalitarian states like China, N. Korea and other countries.  America has been spared.  We cannot predict the future with any accuracy in terms of time and location.  Let us simply preach the Word, reach the lost, worship God and have revival!  Victory has a price, and if we intend to triumph, we will have to pay that price.  If we have a year, five years, ten years or more, the church must capitalize on the freedoms we now possess in order to be about our Father’s business.  For those of us who don’t like what is happening, let us also be reminded that “this world is not our home; we’re just a passin’ through!”  As one veteran preacher said, “We are not citizens of this world trying to make our way to heaven; we are citizens of heaven trying to make our way through this world!” 

Looking Beyond Face Value: Why WYSIWYG Doesn’t Work in the Church

“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.” James 2:1.

Ever hear of “WYSIWYG?”   It is the acronym for “what you see is what you get.”  The full explanation may be boring, so let’s just say it’s a computer term for graphics and presentations.  But, it also applies to a host of people and social venues.  WYSIWYG provides great insight to the way we look at people.  I’ll show you how.

One of the most critical mistakes pastors make is to evaluate individuals in the church on the basis of what they see.  The minister may see the person sitting on the pew as merely that—a person sitting on a pew.  Or, he or she may see the person on the drums, the keyboard person, the greeter at the door or the usher passing the offering plate as simply those doing some particular and necessary job.  That’s called “face value assessment.” 

Face value assessment as a practice comes to us from the world of numismatists and philatelists—that is coin and stamp collectors.  A sixteenth century doubloon, for example, may bear a value on its face equal to two escudos, or two U. S. pennies.  That same coin is now worth anywhere from $100 to $5000 depending on its age and condition.  A one-cent stamp issued in 1840 by Her Majesty’s government may now sell for $300-$400.  In other words, only the extremely short-sighted person would mistake face value for real value of a coin or stamp. 

Pastor, that person you see as simply occupying a space on the pew may, in fact, be contributing far more to the health of the church than you realize.  He or she may be counseling people who have huge spiritual problems, helping them to wade through the mess to get to victory.  That person playing the keyboard may be doing much more than providing music for the worship service.  He or she may be encouraging, inspiring, motivating, training and coaching people in ways that you never see.  You may never know about some gigantic problem that has been averted, not by your preaching and teaching, but by the influence of someone you may have severely underestimated.  This is not to minimize your ministry, but it is an appeal to look beyond the face value of key people in your congregation.

The dynamics of any group of people will never be the sole function of formal leadership.  That may come as a shock to some leaders!  But the truth is that people feed off of each other.  When they see others working alongside them, they get affirmation and comfort.  These intangibles resist cold, intellectual measurement, but they often provide the real impetus to move forward.  And, don’t forget that there will always be people who have difficulty relating to the pastor, even if the pastor goes out of his way to accommodate them.  They remain in the church because they see a role model, an example, and a friend in the congregation who keeps them connected. 

What strategy does this reality suggest?  First, value each person in your church for attributes beyond their practical usefulness.  The teacher is more than a teacher.  The janitor is more than a janitor.  The groundskeeper is more than the guy who mows the lawn.  Each of these persons have associations, friends and family who care about them.  They want to be known for something more than just what they do in the church. 

Second, don’t callously ignore people, move them around or think of them as interchangeable cogs in a machine.  The larger the congregation, the greater the tendency to see people as pawns on a chess board, and not as significant contributors to the success of the assembly.  The pastor may not even know everyone in the congregation, but he or she can rely on assistants or “under-shepherds” who can help make sure each member is valued as important. 

Last, it is imperative to treat each person in the congregation with utmost respect.  Every group is more than a collection of individuals.  A group consists of people with potential, both positive and negative, who interact with each other.  They constantly monitor the moods, mindsets, attitudes, successes and failures of others within the group.  You cannot disrespect one person in the group without collateral damage to the group as a whole.  Loving one another is not just a piece of Bible trivia or a nice tip for interacting with people; it is a major spiritual concept that governs the health of the church. 

In the church, what you see is only a fraction of what you get!  Each person in the congregation may hide behind his or her face value, but it is the pastor’s job to see through the façade and assess the true value of every person.  We often say that all of our effort to reach the lost is worth it if we can see one soul saved from hell.  If we truly believe that, then it is also worth investing time, effort and vision into that one soul.  After souls are saved and sit in our pews, they do not lose their value.  Never love the church body more than you love the individual souls who make up the church body. 

“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?”  Matthew 18:12 (NKJV)

Feed My Sheep

John 21:15-17 “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”  

This passage has suffered analysis, exegesis, eisegesis and parsing.  It has been translated and re-translated countless times by preachers.  We have asked why Jesus put the question to Peter three times.  We have been informed of the difference between agape love and phileo love; we have speculated why Jesus first spoke of lambs and then of sheep; we have read into the text alternative views whether or not Jesus was chastising or commissioning Peter.  There is probably a goldmine of truths in any of these viewpoints, and they are all worth pursuing, but today, I want to back up and simply look at the truth on the face of the Scripture.  Sometimes, we leave precious, obvious truths alone that lie in plain sight because we think the deeper truths hide out in some obscure corner of the Bible and only the greatest scholars and theologians can ferret them out. 

Let’s let the theologians fuss over the Greek and the hermeneutics, and the interpretations.  I just want to look at this little phrase that Jesus used, “Feed My Sheep.”  Feeding.  Food.  Eating.  Dinner.  Bread.  Fish.  Potatoes.  Vegetables.  Now, that’s something we don’t need a lot of Greek to understand!  Whatever else Jesus was talking about, He tied it all back to this concept of eating.  (I probably just complicated it by calling it a concept!)  Jesus was just telling Peter, “I want you to pay attention to food.  I want you to make sure my flock gets food!  In fact, I’m telling you that if you don’t feed my sheep, you don’t love me!  Feeding and loving go together!” 

Ask any mother with a newborn baby.  Her ears are attuned to the particular cry of her infant.  One cry means he’s tired.  Another cry means his tummy hurts.  Another cry says, “Change me!”  But the cry that means the most is the one that says, “I’m hungry!  Feed me!”  You can rock him, bounce him and twirl him around, but he’s not going to stop wailing until he gets fed.  A pacifier won’t satisfy a hungry baby.  “I want real food and I want it now!”  And so it begins.  We all like to eat and we can all blame our mothers for making us this way!  Some moms do an especially good job with feeding their children. 

When I was growing up, supper time was nearly as sacred as church time.  You could eat breakfast alone.  You could eat lunch alone.  But you never ate supper alone.  We all ate together as a family.  Everyone had a particular place at the table.  There was mom and dad, Carol, Jenny, Vicky and me.  Five of us.  If all of us were home, we sat and waited until everyone was at the table.  If someone wasn’t there, my Dad would holler, “We’re waiting!”  You didn’t play ball, read a book or talk on the phone at supper time.  You ate with the family.  It didn’t matter what we were eating.  That wasn’t the important thing.  It was a family thing.  If you didn’t like the food, that didn’t matter either.  You sat there and picked at what you wanted, but you didn’t leave the table until everyone was done.  Besides that, if you left before everyone was done, you weren’t getting a piece of Mother’s fudge icing cake or banana pudding!  An old song put it into these words: 

When I was but a boy in days of childhood; I used to play till evening shadows come.
Then winding down an old familiar pathway; I heard my mother call at set of sun
Come home, come home; its supper time; the shadows lengthen fast.
Come home, come home; it’s supper time; we’re going home at last. 

Jesus has already told us in the parable of the marriage feast how much importance he attaches to supper time. Matthew 22:4-10 “Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.” 

That parable is a pretty broad hint not to take the King’s feast lightly!  So, what was behind the command of Jesus to “Feed My sheep?”  More to the point, what relevance does it have to an anniversary celebration for a church? 

1.  First, we need to understand that God likes sequence and rhythm.  We can go all the way back to the beginning and talk about the rhythm of life.  Evening and morning.  Revolving of the earth around the sun.  Spring, summer, fall and winter.  Sowing and reaping.  Waking and sleeping.  Male and female.  God did not intend for His creation to be a vector that started with “Let there be…” and continued without interruption or deviation on out into infinity.  Rather, He created us to live in cycles and seasons.  He causes nature to double back on itself in endless iterations.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-21 “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.”

2.  If we live in a paradigm of cycles and seasons, there are other implications that follow.  It means that you and I will run out of stuff.  We don’t have inexhaustible resources.  We need to restock, we have to be replenished.  One meal isn’t enough.  One battery charge isn’t enough.  One harvest isn’t enough.  One boost isn’t enough.  The supply of energy runs out and has to be built up again.  When it comes to eating, it’s a daily business.  Jesus said in Matthew 6:9-11,”After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread.”

We have to be renewed.  Romans 12:1-2. 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Let me tell you why this church has survived for 85 years.  It has been open for dinner 52 weeks of every one of those 85 years.  That’s 4,420 Sunday Mornings, 4,420 Sunday nights, 4,420 Bible Study nights.  That’s 13,260 times you have convened for a service.  Add in special services and revivals, and it’s easily over 14,000 or 15,000 times people have returned for services.  Of the 15,000 sermons and Bible studies that have gone over this pulpit, chances are great that the same text was used many times over.  You may say that is boring.  Well, if it is, then fried chicken is boring because you’ve had it before.  Don’t tell me you are going to order another ribeye or pecan encrusted tilapia at Longhorn—that’s what you got last time!  It’s about time someone put grasshoppers and fish heads on the menu then, because we wouldn’t want you to be bored!  No, it doesn’t work that way.  We eat the same food meal after meal because we know it’s good! And, that’s why we eat the same spiritual food so often.  That’s why we keep coming back to the same spiritual kitchen. 

3.  If we have depleted resources that need to be replenished, then we have to return to the source of our strength.  The way we are created, the way we are designed, the undeniable facts of our existence forces us back to the source of our supply.  This is why God created us with a sense of hunger.  If we never got hungry, we may forget to eat.  Hunger, however, may be satisfied with anything.  So, feeding is not just a matter of filling our stomachs, it is necessary to eat the right foods. 

I don’t know about you, but I like to know what I’m eating, and I like to know who fixed the food I’m eating.  Have you ever been to a potluck dinner?  We have a lot of good cooks in our church, so I don’t have to worry too much, but sometimes I’m not real sure.  That’s when I ask, “Who made that?”  If I don’t know, I usually stick to anything my wife made, because I know what I’m getting!  I don’t want to get food poisoning. 

There are a lot of off-brand chefs out there today, serving up garbage and calling it spiritual food.  Someone told me the other day that she turned on the radio just in time to hear the preacher say, “There’s someone out there right now who needs a healing.  If you’ll just send in $300 of seed money to this program, you’ll get your healing, plus God will bless you with $30,000!”  I think he made a little mistake.  I think he meant to say that God was going to bless him with $30,000! Fortunately, this saint of God knew junk food when she heard it!  

Jesus said “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6 

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

I never get tired of hearing about the message of the oneness of God!  It’s food for my soul.  Preacher, preach Christ and Him crucified!  Fix up a good meal of baptism in Jesus’ Name, the infilling of the Holy Ghost, living a holy life and getting ready for the rapture!  I know I heard it last week or last month, but each time I hear it I can sink my teeth into it because it is the Word of God!  Oh yes, we can try some different entrée’s along the way, we can sample a variety of side dishes, but give me the staples of my diet.  They make me strong and they satisfy my spiritual hunger! 

4.  If we are forced to go back to our source, that means we have to live close to the source.  That’s the way it works.  One of the tactics in warfare is to cut off the supply line of the enemy.  If the opposing army can’t get munitions and weaponry, let alone food and water, he can be defeated.  In fact, you can just wait him out.  Sooner or later, he will die without a source of supply. 

You need to stay close to your source.  I worry about people who move away from the church.  I’ve had people come up to me and say, “Pastor, I’m taking a job in such and such a state.”  I ask, “Is there a church nearby?”  They reply, “Well, I haven’t really checked that out yet, but I’m sure we’ll find something.”  

John 15:4-5.  “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” 

5.  We need to understand that feeding the sheep is more than just feeding the sheep!  God could have created us to run forever on a single charge.  He could have installed solar panels in our heads to convert the energy of the sun into food or a source of energy so we would never have to stop.  But He didn’t create us that way.  In His infinite wisdom, God said, “No, I want you to have to eat every day.  If you didn’t have to eat every day, you would never have to come back to the source.  You would forget all about Me.  You would think you could go it alone without my help.”  So, God devised regular feeding times.  Why?  So we would stay in fellowship with Him!  So we would develop a relationship with our shepherd and our fellow sheep. 

Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”   

6.  Feeding is a joint venture between the shepherd and the flock.  This may seem like an observation that has little significance, but stop and think about the dynamics at work here.  The shepherd supplies the food and the sheep feeds on the food.  Revelation 3:20 says “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” There is an interaction between the two that requires trust, cooperation, productivity and a right outcome.  Without the sheep, the shepherd has no purpose; without the shepherd, the sheep have no source of food.  

Every wife here loves it when, after she has slaved over her special meal, her husband sits down, takes a bite and says, “Oh, my!  Sweetheart, you are the best cook in the whole world!  This is absolutely scrumptious!” That means delicious, delectable, mouthwatering, tasty, appetizing, rich, savory, flavorful!  It means more coming from her husband than anyone else.  Why?  Because it is an expression of love and care.  

Acts 20:28 “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” 

7.  Finally, you need to know how much meaning was in the phrase that Jesus spoke to Peter, “Feed My sheep!” The first part of the scenario where this took place was Jesus on the shore. 

John 21:9-13 “As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. 10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. 11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. 12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.”   

Jesus was introducing what feeding the flock was all about.  And then we find out that it was meant to be more than an event that happens in this life.  There is a great moment ahead for the church.  A trumpet will sound and the Bible says that we will be caught up to meet him in the air.  It’s going to be a glorious day when we are ushered into the presence of the King of kings.  There’s going to be an immense banquet hall.  

Revelation 19:6-10 “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” 

The church that was fed on earth, the flock that gathered into the house of God on a regular basis, the same group that sat down to sup with Jesus as often as they could—guess what?  Our Father is going to announce “It’s time to eat!”  And we’re all going to sit down together, as one great happy family, at the marriage supper of the Lamb!  There will be a place for me at the table.  There will be a place for you at the table.  I believe that God, who sees the end from the beginning, saw this great feast.  And like every other great truth in the Bible, He foreshadowed it in every church service.  Every time the preacher get up to preach, he breaks the Bread of Life and feeds it to the flock!  

Keep having anniversaries.  Every anniversary means that the church is still open for feeding!  Preacher, keep serving up good food.  If all you have is chicken, you can fix it a hundred different ways—just make sure it’s still chicken!  I’m a preacher.  All I have to work with is the Word of God!  I might see what Adam Clark, or Matthew Henry, or the Expositor’s Bible has to say, but I going to come back to the Bible—the original text.  In the end, that’s what matters!  

At every ordination service, I give a charge to the ordination candidates.  It’s a solemn, sobering moment.  I usually read from 2 Timothy, chapter 4.  I want to close with this passage, but I want to paraphrase it from the saint’s perspective. 

2 Timothy 4:1-8 (Jordan paraphrase)  1  I charge you therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge everyone, both dead and alive, at his appearing and his kingdom; 2  Listen to the preached word; whether you like it or not, whether it’s convenient or not.  Endure reproving, rebuking and exhortation with even when it is hard to take because you need strong doctrine. 3 For the time is coming when churchgoers will not endure sound doctrine; but will go after televangelists, charmers, and positive mental attitude speakers because they like their smooth, sweet messages better; 4  And they shall resent being told the truth, and would rather hear fairy tales and lies. 5 But, let your shepherd watch over you, appreciate that he goes through tough times for you, encourage him to evangelize the community, and make sure he deals straightforward and honestly with you. 6 For your pastor will not always be with you.  7 Help him to fight a good fight, to finish his race, and to keep the faith: 8 If you do, there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give him at that day: and not to him only, but you also if you love his appearing!” 

The Other Gifts of the Spirit

The nine gifts of the Spirit as listed in 1 Corinthians 12 are directly grouped together under the same heading.  These gifts involve the mind, the acts and the voice of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church.  Yet, nowhere do we read that these are the only gifts.  A closer reading of the Scriptures reveals other gifts of the Spirit as well.  We bring attention to this point because some may be gifted in areas other than the nine gifts, but do not recognize that their gift comes to them from the Spirit of God. 

First of all, every evil attribute originates within man’s own self, and every good attribute we possess or manifest comes from God. 

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: ¹⁴ But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. ¹⁵ Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. ¹⁶ Do not err, my beloved brethren. ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. ¹⁸ Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”  James 1:13-18.

For this reason, no man should boast of any talent or ability he possesses as though he endowed himself with the gift.  We must strive to keep this tendency of the flesh in check, because our pride is always poised to claim credit for all the good we do, and to reject blame for any of our mistakes. 

^“4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, ⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) ⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: ⁷ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:4-10.

As we study these other gifts of the Spirit, we need to understand that all of them are given to us for the same purpose as the nine gifts.  That purpose will always be to edify, exhort and comfort the body of Christ.  No gift is to be used to exalt the flesh or to take any glory away from God. 

Romans 12:3-8.  ^“3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. ⁴ For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: ⁵ So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. ⁶ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; ⁷ Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; ⁸ Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Ministry:  The simple definition of ministry is to serve.  The Greek word used here is diakonia, or deacon.   This implies that there is a more official title given to certain servants.  All of us are servants of Christ (Romans 6:22), but some are especially gifted to serve the church body and attend to practical as well as spiritual needs.  If you have ever wondered why some people have been chosen for offices in the church, it is usually because they were already doing the job before they were officially given the title.   The phrase “let us wait on our ministering” means to give attendance to it, or to develop the gift of serving.  When you go out to eat in a restaurant, you probably notice the difference between servers.  Some do enough to get by; others truly take pleasure in serving their customers.  It should be a pleasure to serve the body of Christ.  Acts 6:1-7 illustrates the pressing need for service in the church.

Teaching:  Teaching is the ability to communicate concepts and to instruct students on how to understand or master ideas, procedures, processes, or technologies.  The dictionary definition includes “to impart knowledge or skill; to give instruction.”  Not everyone can teach.  There are those who have knowledge, but do not have the skill or patience to impart that knowledge to others.  The Apostles recognized that some people were especially gifted in the ability to teach because it is noted that bishops and deacons should be “apt to teach.”  (Luke 11:1; Acts 5:42; 2 Timothy 2:2).

Exhorting:  Exhorting is to beseech, persuade or entreat.  It is not preaching or teaching.  The purpose for exhortation is to convince someone to act, to prevail on a person to persevere or encourage someone to do the right thing.  While preachers and teachers may exhort, successful preaching and teaching requires the audience to be receptive.  Exhortation begins with the expectation that the audience is unmotivated or even hostile.  (Acts 27:22; Jude 3).  (Article: Exhortation: A Dying Art?).

Giving: God has placed some people in the church who have the resources to give finances or other valuable assets to the work of God.  Sometimes, big givers get the idea that they are being used, or that the church is taking advantage of them.  That is a mistake.  If God has blessed you with means in life, He has done so in order for you to be a blessing to others.  Never resent that you are asked to give.  Do you think that God simply wants to serve your selfish desires?  No!  The real truth is that you should embrace giving as a gift of the Spirit.  You are blessed when you bless the church. 

2 Corinthians 9:12-15 (MSG) “Carrying out this social relief work involves far more than helping meet the bare needs of poor Christians. It also produces abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God. ¹³ This relief offering is a prod to live at your very best, showing your gratitude to God by being openly obedient to the plain meaning of the Message of Christ. You show your gratitude through your generous offerings to your needy brothers and sisters, and really toward everyone. ¹⁴ Meanwhile, moved by the extravagance of God in your lives, they’ll respond by praying for you in passionate intercession for whatever you need. ¹⁵ Thank God for this gift, his gift. No language can praise it enough!”

Ruling:  To rule means to lead, or to preside.  There are a number of special attributes that make a good ruler.  Patience, fairness, no respect of persons, insight, wisdom, integrity and honor are all a part of the ruler’s character.  To be a ruler does not come as an entitlement, the process of attrition, or favoritism.  The credible ruler has already demonstrated his or her giftedness to be a leader.  Yet, a ruler must still understand that it is a gift of the Spirit, and that it must be pursued with diligence or care.  (Hebrews 3:7; 13:17).  Consider the difference between a good boss and a bad boss. 

Showing Mercy:  Showing mercy may seem out of place among the gifts of the Spirit, but it is a specialized gift that is desperately needed.  The mercy-shower is the person in the church to whom many people gravitate.  This person shows kindness, acceptance, non-judgmentalism, affirmation and love, even when the subject of this mercy deserves harshness and rebuke.  They do not compromise or undermine the pastor or leader, but they pour in the oil of encouragement and strength to help the person understand and feel like he or she can make it.  The one gifted in showing mercy must show it cheerfully, not with resentment.  (2 Timothy 1:16-17).

Two more gifts are found in 1 Corinthians 12:27-28.  ²⁷ Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. ²⁸ And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

Helps:  The word helps is from the root word in Greek meaning relief.  The person who has this gift is a servant to the servants.  We know him or her by other names, like gofer, errand guy, general laborer or delivery girl (or guy).  It doesn’t take a lot of knowledge to be a gofer—and all of us are just gofers in most arenas of life!  But the person who specializes in being a helper needs to know that it is an important job and it takes a special kind of person who is fulfilled in this.  (Romans 16:9). 

Governments:  This is from the Greek word kubernasis, meaning to steer.  The modern term is cybernetics.  The medical definition is “the science of communication and control theory that is concerned especially with the comparative study of automatic control systems (as the nervous system and brain and mechanical-electrical communication systems).”  In the church, the person gifted in governments is usually behind the scenes, organizing, planning, directing, controlling and administrating the work of God.  Those with these invaluable gifts make it possible for the church to accomplish complicated tasks in an easier, more organized way.  Sometimes we do not even know the names of the people who actually make things happen.  The steering people do not need much recognition; they do what they do because they love the work.  The biggest challenge for those with this gift is burnout.  When it is viewed as a ministry and not a job, then it is much easier to continue doing it.  It is difficult to pinpoint the people involved in this work in the ministry of the Apostles, but Colossians 4:7-18 serves as a good illustration. 

Operating in the gifts of the Spirit is the real source of our empowerment.  No one should feel like he or she has been left out of the fold.  At the same time, any sense of fulfillment or accomplishment that we get from our work must always be received with the greatest of humility.  None of what we do is for selfish or self-serving purposes.  Whether we receive gratitude or thanksgiving from man, or whether or not we ever see the end result of our labors, we should be satisfied that it is all for our Lord Jesus Christ.

“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. ¹¹ And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: ¹² That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”  Hebrews 6:10-12.

Murphy’s Laws for Smart Cell Phones

Your phone will ring when you reach the farthest point away from it in your house

Your battery will die just before you make or receive an urgent phone call.

Someone will call you while you are on an important call and the noise will cancel out a critical message.

You will press the send button just before you notice that your autocorrect feature printed an embarrassing message.

The embarrassing message will always be sent to someone who has no sense of humor.

Your cell phone will ring loudly in the middle of a funeral or church service, or in the library.

If you tell people to turn off their cell phones in a meeting, yours will be the one that rings.

Your cell phone will always ring while you are taking a shower.

When your cell phone rings while taking a shower and you scramble out of the tub soaking wet and slip on the floor, it will be a wrong number.

The phone call you miss will always be the most important one.

You will abort one out of two important phone calls by inadvertently touching the hang-up button with your chin.

Your cell phone will change its own settings without your knowledge, causing you to miss alerts, emails and phone calls.

When you are in a crowd of people, someone else’s ringer will sound like yours along with half of the other phones in the room, making each person will break his or her arm trying to quickly answer the call so as not to disturb everyone else.

Your smart phone will decide by itself to delete, move to trash or permanently hide an important message or email.

Time-Saving Tips

Develop a habit of putting your everyday items (keys, billfold, checkbook, etc.) in the same place when you turn in for the night.  Okay, even your shoes!

Write down important information, or even potentially important information.  Do it immediately, because you WILL forget!  Distractions will cause your brain to derail, and you will do one of two things.  Either you will never get your thought back, or you will waste valuable time doing it.

Dispose of papers as soon as you are through with them.  Lay them out for urgent action, file them until you need them, or throw them away.

Multi-task.  While you are waiting for your computer to go through a series of maddening updates, do something other than stare at the screen!  The computer won’t mind.  File papers, read the Bible, make a phone call—whatever.  To piggyback on a phrase, time is a terrible thing to waste.

Make lists.  Don’t rush out to the store for the item you need right now until you have written down everything else you need to buy at the store.

Make every trip count.  Not only will you save time by accomplishing several things on the same trip, you will save gas, miles on the odometer, and the agony of frustration.

Make sure you have your hands full.  How many times have you gotten a block or two away only to remember that your phone or checkbook is still lying on the kitchen counter?  Before you walk out the door, remember to remember.

There are lots more of these tips, I’m sure.  You can get tons of them online.  I composed this list as an exercise in wishful thinking!  I have violated every one of them, and I’m positive that I will continue to do so.  Don’t laugh at me.  You’re in the same boat as I am. 

The Relationship Broken

Jonathan Edwards’ classic sermon in 1741, “Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God,” sounded a tragic note in American culture.  It sowed an insidious seed in the nation’s conscience that God was an insulted, revengeful ogre who was about to lose patience with us.  This is not to say that righteousness and holiness are unimportant in the plan of God, nor is it an invitation to lose a healthy reverence for Him.  But the portrayal of an angry God who loathes sinners deeply compromises the essential reason why Jesus came to the planet in the first place.  He came “to seek and to save that which was lost.”  Contrary to Professor Edwards’s message, God is not looking for an excuse to condemn, but for a way to save.  The premise of salvation will always be love, grace, mercy and forgiveness.  Anything short of that message misses the entire point of redemption of the lost.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16-17.

Vesta Layne Mangun, matriarch of the dynamic church in Alexandria, Louisiana, The Pentecostals of Alexandria, deeply impacted me with her message one year at the annual ministers’ conference sponsored by the church.  She said that God did not walk through the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve’s disobedience with an attitude of disgust and anger.  He didn’t spit out his question, “Where are you?” in rancor.  Rather, he asked His question with a sob.  In human terms, God had a broken heart.  Her characterization of God’s response to Adam’s sin forever transformed my view of the sinner and the wayward saint.  A broken relationship summons the love of God, not revenge; it activates forgiveness, not retribution; it puts God’s grace in motion, not a divine curse. 

The foregoing paragraphs set the stage for the drama of redemption, but the drama did not reach its culmination instantaneously.  It unfolded in a proper ordering of acts and scenes, opening with the prohibition to eat of the fruit of a certain tree.  “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” Genesis 2:16-17.  Theologians call this the Edenic Covenant.  “A covenant is a binding arrangement between two or more parties that governs their relationship”.  (Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament).  Man is rewarded if he keeps certain provisions, and penalized if he violates these conditions.  The only condition of the Edenic Covenant was obedience.  If the man refrained from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would be rewarded by endless life, and that life would be sustained by eating of all the other trees and plants of the Garden.  If he disobeyed, death would follow.  The punishment, then, was based on rebellion and disobedience, not just eating the fruit. 

But, let’s explore the nuance posed here.  Why didn’t God want Adam and Eve to have the knowledge of good and evil?  Conventional wisdom tells us that all knowledge is good, but God forbade this knowledge to mankind.  Let’s look at this command from several perspectives.  First, this was a relationship scenario.  Adam and Eve already knew good because they knew God.  They did not need to eat of the tree to gain that knowledge.  God was trying to protect them from knowing about evil.  It would seem, then, that opening the door of knowledge activates the force of evil to begin its sinister work in an individual’s heart.  This is why we label the state of Adam and Eve before they ate of the tree as innocence.  They did not know about evil.  Even today, we place a high value on innocence and try to protect it as long as we can. 

The second perspective derives from the modern Jewish viewpoint.  Their theologians translate “the knowledge of good and evil” as the knowledge of the “union” of good and evil, or the confusion of good and evil.  In other words, God knew that if Adam and Eve ate from the tree, they would be confused about good and evil, and would internalize this confusion.  That is exactly what happened.  Since that day, unregenerated man has labored under this confusion.  It has been the source of the countless number of religions, creeds, philosophies and mythologies.  It has turned God’s moral law from an objective set of decrees into a subjective array of shades of gray.  Instead of this knowledge liberating mankind, it has become his bondage because it has obfuscated truth.  Jesus’ words, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” make a world of sense from this perspective. 

Last, let’s consider the perspective of abstract and concrete.  Perhaps the first humans had an abstract view of evil.  During Adam’s long association with God, the subject of evil undoubtedly came up.  This intellectual knowledge of evil, however, had no real impact on the lives of Adam and Eve.  It was only when they actually ate of the tree that the abstract became concrete.  The idea of evil changed into the practice or experience of evil.  The insidious thing about the taste of evil is that it is deceptive.  The fruit of the tree appeared to be harmless, and, in fact, desirable.  “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” Genesis 3:6.  Immediately, they lost their innocence and hid themselves from God.  They did not, however, die on the spot.  They lived for hundreds of years afterwards.  Such is the nature of sin.  When its ultimate consequence is delayed, man gets the impression that God was wrong about it.  The front door of sin is often pleasurable and exhilarating.  “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.”  Hebrews 11:24-25. The back door, however, is hell itself.  These are all reasons why God did not want Adam and Eve to eat of this tree.  Partaking of the tree was part one of man’s fall; disobedience was part two.  We will now turn our attention to the story in progress.

It is no mystery that the story of the fall began with the Serpent, Satan personified.  The Bible gives him a number of names, i.e., the Devil, the Wicked One, Beelzebub and the Father of Liars.  He is strongly associated with darkness. “To open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” Acts 26:18.  In Isaiah, however, he is ironically called Lucifer, or helel, which, in the Hebrew, means “brightness.”  Often, the word is translated as “praise” or “glory,” with the connotation of “light.”  The confusion mentioned earlier was found in its raw form in the personage of the Serpent, both darkness and light, both truth and lie, both good and evil.  Satan could assume the posture of goodness, not because he was good, but because it was a staged strategy of deceit.  Since he was the origin of rebellion, Eve was easily lured into disobedience under his influence. 

The next question is how did the serpent enter the Garden of Eden, God’s paradise on earth?  If it was the epitome of perfection, should he have been given entrance?  We will have to ask God for a clarification in that great eternal day, but for now, we need to understand that God always allows his creation to be tested.  Even Jesus Himself was subjected to severe temptation in the flesh.  We also have to remember that Satan appeared before God in the book of Job to request permission to test Job. “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ So Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.’ Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?’  So Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing?  Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!’  And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.’ So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.”   Job 1:6-12. 

In the Garden of Eden, as opposed to Job, we cannot say that God approved a request of the serpent to test Adam and Eve; we certainly cannot say that God endorsed the encounter.  Yet, it seems that God purposely left an access door open to Satan to enter the Garden of Eden.  We must see this for what it is:  God’s relationship methodology.  The presence of the serpent in the garden serves as a prequel to the way God engages man in a relationship.  He makes His will known, but then allows all components of the decision to have a seat at the table.  God’s default position is always choice.  As Joshua said, “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15.  There is an entire theology involving choice, and we will not launch into those deep waters in this setting, but we can, at least, conclude that God does allow man to choose the path he travels.  The more salient point here is that even though Satan had access into paradise, he was still there illegally.  As an intruder, he not only trespassed, he committed a crime against God because he alienated the affection, first of Eve, then of Adam.  “Alienation of affection is a legal action based on the willful and malicious interference with marriage relations by a third party. It typically occurs when two individuals are married and a third party does something to interfere with that marriage.”  (www.legalmatch.com). While Adam and Eve were innocent, the serpent was not.  He knew precisely what he was doing.  It was a premeditated attempt to destroy God’s crowning creation, sever the relationship between God and man (an act that was motivated, it would seem, by both revenge and jealousy), and usurp the authority of God by preempting the divine command with his own.  With Adam and Eve now under Satan’s spell, the entire saga began to rescue man from his kidnapper, reconcile him to God and restore him to the place that God originally intended for him. 

Several details of Eve’s encounter with the serpent are especially relevant.  First, Eve was alone.  This was not a coincidence.  Without Adam, she was the weaker vessel (1 Peter 3:7) and Satan took advantage of her situation.  Second, God’s command to avoid the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to was given to Adam before Eve was created.  She only learned of the prohibition through her husband.  This points up the need for each person to have his or her own relationship with God.  A second-hand, or indirect connection will not suffice.  Third, Eve should have been incredulous that a serpent (snake) could talk.  The fact that she was not put off by this phenomenon indicates that she lacked knowledge, wisdom and experience.  Was Adam derelict in his duty as a husband?  Did he know that Eve, as the weaker vessel, was vulnerable to the wiles of Satan?  The Apostle Paul thought so. “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”  2 Corinthians 11:3.  Last, it is unclear where Eve was in proximity to the tree.  It is possible that the serpent lured her to the area of the garden where the tree was located, and then, when her mind was filled with illegitimate desire, he nudged her in the direction to which she was already leaning.  It is a sharp reminder that we must avoid even the “neighborhood” of things forbidden.  (Many years later, a man named Achan lost his life because he went “window-shopping” in forbidden territory.  Joshua 7:20-21.) 

The serpent’s line of conversation took direct aim at trust, the very heart of the relationship between Adam, Eve and God.  No relationship lasts long without the glue of trust.  Satan knew if he could damage this factor between man and God, the subversion of humankind was well on its way.  “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” Genesis 3:1-5.  Notice that the serpent said “surely.”  He did not blatantly contradict the word of God, but he suggested that it may not be true.  He walked the middle ground between true and false.  But, to almost believe yields the same results as not believing, period.  Half a bridge is no bridge at all.  Today, some people profess absolute atheism. Others, however, claim to be agnostic, as though allowing for the existence of God is somehow less offensive.  Yet, both positions represent a lack of faith.  There is no middle ground.  “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6. 

Whether Adam and Eve were deceived, tempted, lured, influenced, lied to, misled or tricked, God still held them responsible for their choice.  God’s responsibility was fulfilled in commanding them to not eat of the tree.  Adam and Eve were free to make their own decisions, but they could not escape the consequences of whatever decision they made.  Choices are always made with consequences attached.  “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”  Galatians 6:7-8.

What were these consequences?  The visible and tangible results of the fall were spelled out by God.  “Then to Adam He said, ‘Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: ‘Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.  Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.  In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.’”  Genesis 3:17-19. 

But there was a consequence far more critical than these that impacted mankind.  The sacred relationship Adam and Eve enjoyed with God was broken.  “Therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.  So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”  Genesis 3:23-24.   Gone were the long, leisurely days of companionship with God.  Gone was the intimate fellowship with his Parent, his Mentor, his Counselor, his Teacher and his Friend.  Humankind now had the corruption of something in their lives called sin.  Sin always destroys the union between God and man.  Much later, Isaiah wrote, “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” Isaiah 59:1-2. 

This earth-shaking tragedy, however, elicited the sweetest response of all from God.  He did not cut mankind off forever and banish them from His sight as He did the fallen angels.  Instead, He found a way to restore the broken relationship.  The price He paid for our redemption incorporated all the shame, the suffering, the ignominy, the impoverishment and the humiliation that ever existed in the history of the world.  The immediate price involved the sacrifice of animals in making coats of skin to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness, but that was only a shadow of the sacrifice of Himself to atone for their sin, and indeed, the sin of the whole world.  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.  For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” Romans 5:8-1.  Let us never forget that the privilege of restored relationship with God came at a price no one but God could or would pay.  He broke Himself so that He might bring us back from brokenness to be reconciled to Him.