Focus on YOUR Church

My Dear Wormwood,

You mentioned casually in your last letter that the patient has continued to attend one church, and one only, since he was converted, and that he is not wholly pleased with it. May I ask what you are about? Why have I no report on the causes of his fidelity to the parish church? Do you realize that unless it is due to indifference it is a very bad thing? Surely you know that if a man can't be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighborhood looking for the church that 'suits' him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches. - C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Focus on the church God has placed you in, get to work in building His kingdom from there.

Bringing our effort into a collective focus brings heat; anything else is a division of sight, cold blindness, or at best lukewarm spew.

Does Jesus Cut to the Heart or is He Just Over Your Heart?

Acts 2:36-39 - "Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' And Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself."

Jesus is a powerful Name! In fact, it is the Name above all names.

Salvation comes through Christ alone (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).

Prior to these verses, Peter preached to a multitude of men that had gathered, telling them about how Jesus had been prophesied about and those things had been fulfilled before their very eyes. And when Peter said it is He that they themselves had crucified, they were "cut to the heart" In other words, they realized what they had done and were remorseful. And then they asked, "What shall we do?"

Great question! Because when you realize how much God loves you, even sending His Son to die for your sins and through Him offers you eternity with Him you too will be cut to the heart and wonder what to do to make things right.

Peter said, "Repent and be baptized..." Repent is simply a turning away from sin and turning to Jesus. Jesus will meet you in the very spot you decide to turn around. The LORD simply asks you to receive His Son.

Some people just wear a cross over their heart, but will you be cut to the heart, knowing that God has called you to His heart with an eternal love?

Restore a kingdom for temporal people or people for an Eternal Kingdom?

Acts 1:6-8 - "So when they had come together, they asked Him, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.'"

This took place after Jesus' resurrection and just before His ascension.

Do you ever find yourself consumed with your current personal life, hoping that God keeps restoring the current kingdom instead of looking to and seeking the benefit of God's Eternal Kingdom?

I'm not saying that you should abandon life and commit to being a monk. God requires us to be good stewards of those things He's entrusted you with. 

The key word is "consumed". A Good way to find out what you are consumed with is to ask yourself, "What occupies my thoughts and time?" 

Is it finances (lack or pursuit of)? Is your career what you "eat, sleep and drink"?  Is your hobby what relaxes you and puts you in a peaceful state of mind?  Are you consumed with exercise? Are you consumed with food? You can even be occupied with "R&R" - Rest and Relaxation (too much).

Jesus' disciples were asking if He was going to restore their present, earthly conditions by ruling, but He wasn't concerned about that...that time will come. For now, Jesus simply commanded them to focus on building and laying up treasures in heaven.

It's no different today. 

How do we focus on building and laying up treasures in heaven?

By leading people to Jesus Christ and teaching them the Bible. Your life for God will be a treasure you send out ahead of you that will be waiting for you in heaven.

Matthew 6:19-21 - "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Be a witness to people for Jesus for an Eternal Kingdom and lay up treasure in heaven.

Money is for Using

"True stewardship requires investing and spending, not just guarding and saving." - Sutton Turner in "Invest Your Gifts for His Mission"

D.L. Moody on Evangelism

Mr. Moody was adept at turning adverse circumstances into favorable witnessing opportunities because he was always on the alert to win souls. Dr. Clinton N. Howard relates the following interesting incident which occurred in Moody's Buffalo, New York, campaign in Howard's boyhood:

As Moody was returning after a night meeting on a crowded Madison streetcar as a strap-hanger, a rider asked who the big man was. Told he was Moody, the revivalist, the scoffer asked him a question, "Hey, Sky Pilot! How far is it from Chicago to heaven?"

Quick as lightning, Moody answered, "One step; will you take it?"

Pushing his way to the door, the man dropped from the rear platform into the street, followed by Moody, who reached the platform, funneled his hands, and shouted to the fleeing sinner, "One step from Chicago to heaven. One step! Will you take it?"

On the following night, Moody related the incident at the close of his sermon, and repeated, "One step-one step-one step, from Chicago to heaven. Who will be the first to take it tonight?" Out from the rear of the house came a man pushing his way to the platform, saying, "I'll take that step tonight!" It was the man who had asked the question of the "Sky Pilot" the night before! 5

D. L. Moody recognized that no two persons were exactly alike and that it was impossible to lay down hard-and-fast rules for dealing with inquirers. But he did practice and teach some general principles for dealing with souls. A few of them are included in the following quotation from Mr. Moody:

Always use your Bible in personal dealing. Do not trust to memory, but make the person read the verse for himself. Do not use printed slips or books. Hence, if convenient, always carry a Bible or New Testament with you.

It is a good thing to get a man on his knees, but don't get him there before he is ready. You may have to talk to him two hours before you can get him that far along...

Sometimes a few minutes in prayer have done more for a man than two hours in talk. When the Spirit of God has led him so far that he is willing to have you pray with him; he is not very far from the Kingdom. Ask him to pray for himself. If he doesn't want to pray, let him use a Bible prayer; get him to repeat, for example, "Lord, help me!" Tell the man, "If the Lord helped that poor woman, He will help you if you make the same prayer. He will give you a new heart if you pray from the heart." Don't send a man home to pray. Of course, he should pray at home, but I would rather get his lips open at once. It is a good thing for a man to hear his own voice in prayer. It is a good thing for him to cry out, "God be merciful to me, a sinner!"

Urge an immediate decision, but never tell a man he is converted. Never tell him he is saved. Let the Holy Spirit reveal that to him...

Always be prepared to do personal work...

Do the work boldly. Don't take those in a position in life above your own, but as a rule, take those on the same footing. Don't deal with a person of the opposite sex if it can be otherwise arranged. Bend all your endeavors to answer for poor, struggling souls that question of such importance to them, "What must I do to be saved?"

Lead Others to Jesus by Word and Deed

Hebrews 12:1-2 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Is the subtlety of seemingly inconsequential compromises undermining your Christian witness?

In other words, is what you determine to be insignificant in your life making Jesus insignificant to others in their lives?

Keep in mind that most Christians never lead anyone else to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ after they themselves have come to be forgiven and know God's grace through His Son for their own sins.

Today, we use the word "liberty" as if it's a Christian right to exercise "slight" compromise and still maintain our salvation and the assurance of heaven, but the Bible is clear that we are to "be holy, because I am [God is] holy" (1 Peter 1:16)

As Christians we serve as examples of a Christ-follower for others to see and benefit from our lives to God's glory - to lead them to God, not to draw them away.

The Apostle Paul said, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything." (1 Corinthians 6:12)  He also said, "Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble." (1 Corinthians 8:13)

I pray that our focus today is not on ourselves, not on others, but rather our focus is on the "Founder and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" that we may lead others to the very place of God's grace that they also may come to know salvation in Jesus.

I pray that we don't deem inconsequential what God has determined to be sin and undermines our Christian witness that we may see more people led to Jesus Christ Who saw us as His joy and purpose for dying on the cross.

Run the race to win...to win souls to God's glory.

Will You Stand in the Gap?

Ezekiel 22:30 - "And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none."

God described Israel at this time as a nation of disgrace - abomination. Why? Guilty of shed blood (v.4); defiled by idols made (v.4); father and mother are treated with contempt (v.7); those who visit suffer extortion (v.7); they despised God's Word; commit slander (v.9); are lewd (v.9); sexual immorality, rape women etc.

But although God was about to execute judgment on the sin of Israel He would relent if a man would STAND on His behalf, STAND in the GAP torn down, and BUILD to His glory.

There are many movies today with fictional characters who will stand for various reasons and the world stands and applauds. There are few today who in REALITY stand in the gap because they fear no one will notice them...no one will pat them on the back and give them words of encouragement.

The Apostle Paul said, "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." - Galatians 1:10

The Church needs men! Men that will stand in front of their families and in front of their wives and at the front of their churches - Leading, Growing, Sacrificial, and God-fearing.

God desires for Men to Stand Up and Build to Hold what's been gained and Gain what's been destroyed and held by the enemy - to "Stand in the Breach" before God that the enemy will not enter through.

What does your family need? A man who prays, reads the Bible and leads in the home and at church.

What does your Wife need? A man who prays, reads the Bible and leads in the home and at church.

What does your Church need? A man who prays, reads the Bible and leads in the home and at church.

Would God find in you that man that is standing in the gap before Him to His glory? A man who is tearing down or building up?

Know God's grace - Men, let's stand together and build before the Lord!