Persecution

What would happen if you and I were scattered because many  us were being dragged out of  our homes and put in prison for being Christians? In our "scattering" would we continue to preach the Word? In Acts 8 , those being scattered for sharing their faith, continued to do that which got them in so much trouble. I want to live with that sort of dedication in the spreading  of the gospel.


Don't You?

Quote

" Outside of Christ, God is not impressed with you " Tommy Nelson

Hebrews 4:16

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive and find grace to help in time of need" Hebrews 4:16 

As this is one of my favorite verses, it has come up in many of my sermons. I usually discuss the confidence with which we are told to approach His throne. The reason for our confidence is due to the work of Jesus on our behalf. We would not have access, much less confident access without having Christ's finished work applied to us.

The one thing I have not mentioned is that this verse mentions "grace" twice. It explains not only the reason we can approach said throne, but also what we can expect to find when we have come to His throne; grace. Also the verse mentions, " Time of need " Well our greatest "time of need" , is when we realize that there is a throne that we will all one day approach. We also realize that we do not want to approach this throne without Jesus.  Many of us, in addition have "times of need". We are overwhelmed, depressed,  or consumed with grief. We may be simply emotionally, physically and spiritually down. When this is true in your life, this verse claims a great promise for you . You may approach Him , His throne and you will find grace. You will not find condemnation , for you are a child of God. Remember what Paul told us in Romans 8 , " There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ  Jesus."  Is today a time of need for you ? Here is a text that promises some very special help. So just how do you "approach"? I believe the most simple way is to grab a Bible and go into  a quiet room, and simply talk to God. Tell Him of your " time of need" . You will find grace, the writer of Hebrews promises it. 

" And great fear came upon the church ..." Acts 5:11

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to have the atmosphere discussed in Acts 5:1-11? Ananias and Sapphira lied and then they died. There must have been some  heart searching going on inside the church and at least some respect outside the church. In verse 17 , we see the continued attack on the church. It was an unsuccessful attack,  as the prisoners that are put in prison are not to be found in their cells . When this kind of attack happens, our testimony must be Peters', " We ought to obey God rather than man." In the last portion of this text it  seems like things are turning for  the positive, and they do for the apostles. Gamaliel gives advice that ends of helping the disciples, the problem with the advice is that it implies that one can be neutral when it comes to commitment to Christ. There is no neutrality with Christ. Christ says, "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."(Matthew 12:30)  So how is it that we as believers can profess Christ with our lips or with our casual Sunday attendance , and at the same time be fearful in speaking boldly for Him? Is it possible that without knowing it, we have taken Gamaliel's bad advice and applied it to our Christian lives? We live our lives in a state of neutrality, we do not actually have to  live for Christ, we just have to say some prayer at an emotional church service and we think we are good. My prayer today is that I would be like these first century apostles and I would see myself living in a way that recognizes the "oughtness" of living for Christ. 

The Cure

“Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness.” “Behold, we come to you, for you are the LORD our God. "
Jeremiah 3:22 

Just how does God heal our faithlessness? In this passage, Jeremiah is comparing physical healing to forgiveness. All he asks us to do is repent (return) and He  in His mercy is waiting to cure our unfaithfulness. How often have we strayed? How often have we been faithless? At times, our unfaithfulness might cause us to run from Him, maybe we assume His mercy could run out. The message of the Old Testament is always , "Repent" , followed by a healing of Israel's unfaithfulness. The same is true for us today. We need daily appointments with the "Great Physician" (Mark 2:17 )

Acts 6 - Thrilled for being beaten

This morning I was reading the end of the 5th chapter of Acts. The apostles are called in yet again and are warned not to continue to speak of Jesus. They respond as they have in the previous cases with, " We must obey God rather than man." Of course Peter has to mention, " you killed Jesus" again. This time in verses 33-42, they are brought in front of the council , beaten and then charged not to speak in the name of Jesus. Their response is what got me to thinking, " They left the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name." It reminds me of Luke 6:22-23 , " Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and scorn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, leap for joy, for behold your reward is great in Heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets." These apostles respond with joy and with a resolve to not , " cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ." 

So here is my question for myself and for you. What kind of persecution will it take  to get the modern Christian to respond this way? Can it be said that our daily interactions with people are characterized by a determined resolve to teach and preach Jesus daily and " from House to house"? If not, perhaps God ought to allow more persecution in your our lives. Maybe he already is. 

Are we willing to pray that? 

Qualified

There is a slight difference between being "unqualified" and being "disqualified". In the former case, I may simply lack a talent or attribute or sufficient education to fulfill a task. There's really no shame or fault in being unqualified. We can always work harder or go to school to cultivate the necessary characteristics for whatever it is we desire to achieve.

But to be "disqualified" means you are unfit for the task, you are excluded because of specific failures or vices or behaviors that prove you to be morally unworthy of some high office or responsibility.

Now, maybe I'm pressing too far the distinction between these two words, but I want to make a point. You and I, in our natural, sinful state, apart from divine grace are not merely unqualified for the kingdom of God, we are profoundly disqualified. It's not as if God says to us, "If only you could perform this task or solve that problem or answer some question, then I would grant you entrance into my kingdom." Rather, he says to us, "By nature and choice you are the kind of person who is prohibited from entering my kingdom. You think thoughts and commit deeds that warrant exclusion from my presence. It's not simply that you would be admitted if you could do this or that, but you are excluded because you are the moral and spiritual antithesis of what is required of any who would share my fellowship."

Ouch!

But thanks (joyful thanks!) be to God who has "qualified us" or "fitted us" or "made us sufficient" to inherit the blessings. How did he do it? By redeeming us (v. 14a) and forgiving us our sins (v. 14b) and clothing us in the righteousness of his Son (1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21). Whatever qualifications we formerly lacked, we now have. Whatever deeds may have disqualified us, they are forever forgiven.


Copied from Samstorms.org