Reaching the Unsaved Requires Involvement (Matt. 9:35)

"And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction" (Matt. 9:35).

Following requirements are important for anything. Requirements are set in place in just about all areas of life in order to prevent disaster and failure, and to make sure that things are done right and successfully. What if your doctor didn’t follow requirements and gave you hair growth pills instead of back pain medicine? What if a mechanic didn't follow requirements and fixed a cable in your car engine with duct tape? What if your banker didn’t follow requirements and gave a stranger permission to access your checking account?

Requirements are necessities and they are demanded in order to ensure success. And I don't know if you were aware of this or not, but requirements are also important and necessary in the area of evangelism. Our Lord has not left us without the specifics on how to carry out faithful evangelism. In Matthew 9:35-38, He has given us requirements and instructions to follow in order to have fruitful and successful evangelism. There are four of them that He has given us to ensure faithful evangelism: involvement (v. 35), compassion (v. 36), laboring/laborers (v. 37), and prayer (v. 38). The first of these we will look at is involvement. 

Matthew begins this passage by explaining that Jesus was very active in His ministry among the people. He tells us that Jesus' ministry was comprehensive—He has come for every person and ministers to everyone who He comes in contact with. If someone has a need, no matter what their background was, or what they had done—Jesus was there to meet that need.

That’s what Matthew had just documented in chapters 8-9. Jesus cleansed a leper (8:1-4); He healed a Centurion’s servant (8:5-13); He healed Peter’s mother-in-law, and others who were sick and oppressed by demons (8:14-17); He calmed a storm (8:23-27); He healed two men who were demon-possessed (8:28-34); He healed a paralytic and told him to “Rise, pick up your bed and go home” (9:1-7); He healed a woman who suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years, and also a girl who was dead He raised to life (9:18-26); He healed two blind men (9:27-31); And a man who was mute, He caused him to speak again (9:32-33).

Jesus was involved with the people. So Matthew summarizes all of this in Matthew 9:35 by noting that Jesus worked among the people and was involved with them - He went where they were. Jesus was preaching the gospel of the kingdom among the crowds, saying to them, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 4:17). If anyone was involved with the unsaved to exert a holy influence on them, it was Jesus (Mark 2:15-17)

So just like Jesus, evangelizing and reaching the unsaved requires involvement. We must go to where they are, and meet their needs where they are—not expecting them to come to us, but going to them. Of course, we know that we cannot become involved in their sinful behaviors and lifestyles -  Paul prohibits this in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15.

But following the example of Jesus, we must go to where they are and be among them. They need the gospel regardless of their past, skin color, background, or religion. Just use your biblical wisdom in the situations you are unsure about. Would it be beneficial to invite your friend over to watch the Super Bowl while you down a few beers? No. Would it be beneficial to go to a restaurant or important doctor’s appointment with them? Sure. It's important that we find ways to be a faithful witness without damaging our own witness. Our lives should be open doors for people to see and hear the gospel—not stumbling blocks preventing people from seeing and hearing the gospel. Be an open door, not a stumbling block.

Do you have someone in mind right now you could be going to? Who is God putting on your heart to reach with the gospel? Are you going to them with the gospel, or are you expecting them to come to you?

Seeking Christ,
Bro. Brandon G. B.

Listen to the full sermon below:

Bro. Brandon is the Associate Pastor of Youth and

Children at Ohio Valley Baptist Church. His sermons,

podcasts, book reviews, and other free ministry

resources can be found on Brandon's Desk

Pain in the Rear

Ever heard the expressions “pain in the rear” or “thorn in my side?” What do they really mean? We all have different things that pain us mentally, emotionally, & spiritually. Sometimes these pains or thorns can hurt and get us down to the point where we can’t move. A spiritual thorn can sometimes distance us from God if not handled properly. However, if handled correctly, it can strengthen our relationship with Him. Let’s look at how Paul handed his thorn.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I’ve had several people ask me what I thought his “pain or thorn” was. Honestly, I don’t have a clue. It was most likely a physical pain in his side, but no one really knows, and more so it doesn’t matter. All that really matters is how Paul chose to handle his pain. He mentions in verse 8 that he asked God to remove it from him, but that God gracefully denied his request. God’s reply meant that no, He wouldn’t take the pain away, but that He’d give Paul the strength to overcome it.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister

at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder

of Inflamed Church Ministries.

 

Measuring Up?

Almost two months ago, I read a tweet that I haven't forgotten. It was written by a well-known, highly-respected preacher and author. It said this:

If you don't want God more than you want anything else, you are not a Christian.

I cringed. OK, I did more than that. I became angry. Really, really angry.

When I first started preaching, this kind of spiritual kick to the gut would have caused me to shout "Amen!" because, you know, I felt that this verse described me.

Here's the problem that I've come to realize. This verse doesn't describe me. It has NEVER described me.

Now, before some of you get hot around the collar and prepare an email to try to lead me to Jesus, let me just drop a bomb: it doesn't describe you either.

Sorry to burst your bubble. It doesn't. It doesn't describe the one who tweeted it either. I'd tell it to his face. I tried, on Twitter.

How I wish it were true. How I wish that sanctification and growth and discipleship were as clear-cut and as "neat" as tweets like this make it out to be. How I wish that I didn't struggle with sin continually. How I wish that I didn't struggle with focus, commitment, and effort in regards to my service to the Lord.

But I do. Every day. I thought that, after this long in the "ministry," preparation would be a breeze. When I was seventeen, I just knew that I would eventually reach a pinnacle where sermons just flow from my brain and heart like a mighty river.

They don't. I guess they're supposed to. I remember being told at one point, "You just need to stay in the Word, and you'll never run out of sermon material. You'll face the problem of having too many ideas!"

Oh, how I wish that advice were true. I'm starting to wonder if that preacher was just pulling my leg, knowing that I'd need to fall flat on my face a few times on Saturday Nights, begging the Lord for a message because I hadn't been able to come up with a single thing all week.

Enough about me. Let's talk about you. First, some of you are not nearly as spiritual or holy as you think you are. Like me, you pride yourself on all the things you do on the outside. You've turned your faith into a meritorious system. Maybe it's because some preacher has told you things like that tweet. Maybe you're the preacher telling people things like that tweet. Tweets like that sell books. Tweets like that fire us preachers up. We pride ourselves on firing spiritual bullets that knock everyone down. Either way, your faith has become all about "What Would Jesus Do?" rather than "What has Jesus Done." Law, law, law. "Do this, and live."

In contrast to the people who think they do measure up, some of you know you don't. You hear tweets like that and you despair. You're the ones that head to the altar every Sunday morning, fearful of whether you're really saved or not. You listen to preachers telling you what you should be doing, and you think, "My goodness, I am not like that. I must not be a Christian." So you spend most of your time doubting that you're a believer. Because, you know, real Christians want God more than anything else. Real Christians don't struggle with commitment. Real Christians are totally surrendered, on fire, and unconcerned with the enticements of "the world."

So you continue to struggle. Fearful and afraid, hoping that God will continue to give you second chances when you "rededicate your life" or whatever you promise Him through your tears.

Here's one I read just the other day. A nice tweet to encourage me to be a better spouse.

When we love God infinitely more than we love marriage, God is glorified and his worth is displayed to the world.

That's true. That's absolutely true. But you don't love God that way. EVER. Neither do I. I can't measure up.

Does that mean I don't try? Of course I try. Everyday of my life I try to love God above everything else. Like Paul describes in Romans 12:1, I try to be a living sacrifice, crawling back upon the altar every time I slither off.

But my concern is one that Paul himself dealt with at Galatia:

Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? - Galatians 3:3 (NKJV)

Based on the diet of preaching and teaching given to most Christians today, I would scream "YES!"

Based on the natural inclination of the human heart to make our faith about what we can do rather than what Jesus has already done, I would scream "YES!"

What's the remedy for this? You're not going to like it. It's two-fold. Sin and suffering. Yup, you have to sin and you have to suffer.

What I'm about to say may anger you. You may disagree with it. But it's true. Oh how it's true. You won't begin to get grace until you come to the end of yourself. This only happens through sin and suffering. You're going to have to screw up really bad or you're going to have to go through some pretty tough stuff. Sometimes both.

It's only at the end of yourself do you realize God's unmerited, unconditional love for you. It's only then do you realize that when Jesus said, "It is finished," He meant it. Only then do you realize that God is already pleased with you through His Son.

Grace doesn't become all you need until you realize it's all you have.

Ten years ago, my life verse would have been John 9:23 -

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

Now, in all honesty, my life verse is the very next one, John 9:24 -

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

He doesn't have much. He's fearful and not terribly trusting. But He's counting on Jesus to make up the rest.

He did.

He will for you too.

Adam is a husband, father, preacher, and teacher

living in Mayfield, KY. You can follow him 

on his personal blog here, Twitter here, 

or Facebook here.

On their latest album, "Welcome to the New," MercyMe chronicles their journey to a new understanding of grace and the believer's identity in Christ. I would like to encourage you to listen to this song. You can check out the lyrics here

When God Prayed

That annoying alarm wakes us up. We grab a shower and a cup of coffee, then we’re out the door on our way to work. We might listen to a sermon on the radio during our morning commute, or we might read the Bible at lunch time. And soon enough, it will be time to go home. We go home, do a few things around the house, cook supper, pay bills, and then we’re off to bed to restart the process. But here’s a pressing question: when did we stop and talk to God, and really spend some time praying to Him? If you’re answer is anything like mine, you might feel a bit of shame. Most of us would likely admit that we haven’t been praying as much as we should be. For me, reading the Bible isn’t a problem. I’ve got a Bible reading plan that keeps me in line. But prayer . . . that’s another story. It is difficult for me to find time in my busy day to really spend time with God. That’s an honest confession.

I read something in the Scripture today that drove me to prayer this morning. It’s something I’ve read dozens, probably hundreds of times before. But a few details helped my understanding and application of it. What I read today was Luke 5, the verse that convicted me to prayer was v. 16 where Luke notes that Jesus prayed at His busiest moment at the beginning of His ministry. It reads in this way:

“But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (Luke 5:16).

In this passage, Luke records Jesus cleansing a leper saying that once He healed this leper, “even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities” (v. 15). Jesus cleansed this leper, and word got out about His healing power. Because of this, crowds came to hear Him preach and teach, and they came to be healed of their many diseases and infirmities. Jesus was getting popular at this point. More and more people began to know about Him as time went on. And Luke says that there was one thing He would always do, even when He was busy with His teaching and healing ministry: He would withdraw Himself from the crowds, to places where He could be alone, and He would pray. There are several passages of Scripture in the gospels that tell us that Jesus prayed alone, prayed for others, and prayed long prayers (Matt. 11:25-26; Matt. 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12; 22:41-44; 23:24; John 17:1-26). The fact that Jesus prayed is astounding for two main reasons. First of all, because He was God in the flesh, and still prayed. Because He was God, it would make you think that Jesus would not need to pray, but it is very apparent from the gospels that prayer is something that He needed and something that He did. Though Jesus was God, He prayed to His Father and He made use of prayer.

Second, it is astounding that Jesus prayed because He was occupied with more tasks than any of us ever will be, and He still found time to pray. We might say, “But Jesus didn’t have a full time job like I do. Jesus’ didn’t cook supper for children, or pick them up from school everyday like me. Jesus didn’t have emails to send and receive.” Historically, that’s absolutely true. Jesus wasn’t a factory worker, working from nine to five. Jesus didn’t go to see His children play football at the high school. Jesus didn’t have an iPhone and wasn’t able to Tweet or check emails. But let me tell you what Jesus was involved in doing: Jesus was teaching crowds of hundreds of people everyday, and they were increasing as He became more popular. When is the last time you taught growing crowds of people multiple times a week? He was healing all kinds of diseases, people were coming to Him to be healed of all their infirmities and sicknesses. When is the last time you cleansed a leper? He was calling and teaching His disciples. He was dealing with the persecution of the religious rulers. Everywhere He went, He had to walk. When is the last time we did any of those things? And here’s the biggie: no one else could duplicate Jesus’ ministry. No one else could do what He was doing. It would be different if Simon Peter could heal the same way Jesus was, and teach the same way He was. But there was only one Son of God, and there was only one ministry that could do all this: Jesus’ ministry. Jesus was one busy man.

So even though Jesus was God, and even though He was unbelievably busy, nothing seemed to deter Jesus from spending extensive time in prayer. So we need to reflect now on our own prayer life. In light of this passage of Scripture, what is keep us from spending time in prayer? Whatever it might be, we need to get it out of the way and spend time alone with God, taking our requests to Him, praising Him for His blessings upon us, and praying for His grace and enabling to be obedient. I’ve said it before, and it’s something I have to constantly remind myself of: if you are too busy to pray, you are too busy. Let us pray, and let us devote time to prayer. Jesus did, so should we.

Seeking Christ,
Bro. Brandon G. B.

Bro. Brandon is the Associate Pastor of Youth and

Children at Ohio Valley Baptist Church. His sermons,

podcasts, book reviews, and other free ministry

resources can be found on Brandon's Desk

Whatever It Takes

Mark 2:1-12 NKJV
1 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” 6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Recently my pastor spoke on this passage a few Sundays ago. Its not a new passage to me, but hearing it again was a great refresher. The faith of the paralytic’s friends was emense. They knew no one else could help their friend, but that if they could get him to Jesus that HE would do the healing. Little did they know that their faith wouldn’t just heal their friend physically, but that Jesus would perform some Spiritual healing as well. It’s important to understand that your actions can’t save someone else, only put them in the position to accept Salvation. If these men had had faith, but the paralytic refused the free gift of Salvation, he wouldn’t be saved.

Although like I said before, our faith and actions can’t save anyone else, it can point them in the right direction. We can pray for that person, encourage them to go to church, read the Bible, and ask questions. It’s not our job to save them, it’s God’s job. Our job is to bring people to Him so that He can do the work.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister
at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder
of Inflamed Church Ministries. View Austin's
personal online ministry blog iPursueWorship.

The Rich Man & The Beggar

To start this devotion I want to jump straight into the scripture and let God’s Word do the teaching.

Luke 16:19-31 NKJV
19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ 27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”
What a powerful message. (Before I continue, I need to add this disclaimer: by no means am I condemning anyone who has money or is considered rich. Having money doesn’t make you a bad person, just like being poor or a beggar doesn’t guarantee you eternal life. Money doesn’t count in this spiritual game, it’s all about who you trust with your life and who you allow to be the Lord of your life). It’s amazing to see how the tables turn with Lazarus the beggar is called up to Heaven and our rich man is cast out into the lake of fire called Hell. We must understand that it was Lazarus’ choice and faith in God that granted him a place in Heaven, same is true for the rich man in Hell. I particularly like this passage because it shows the reality of what goes on in Hell. It’s not a party, it’s not just a prison, it’s a fire pit that burns forever, a place you can never escape from, and where torment is forever. We don’t understand such a place on earth, because no such place exists on earth.

Personal Story
The best I ever came to understanding a small piece of what Hell was like was back in high school. A friend and I were known in our community for being pyrotechnics (we liked playing with fire, explosives, anything dangerous really…) We were always looking to build a bigger, better bonfire, one time we exceeded our expectations. We had several trees cut down on my friends property, large trees, along with several other papers, etc that we used for kindling. I’d say the fire was easily 15ft across, and most definitely the hottest blaze I ever saw and felt (in fact I wore sunglasses to look at it, and it was 10pm). Well at one point I noticed a stray piece of paper, some important document of mine or my friend’s that hadn’t burned. I tried to reach into the blaze to move the paper and lost my footing. I started to fall into the flame and in that instant I recalled this story from the Bible, of just how much torment Hell would be. Luckily my friend was there to help me and kept me from the flames.

The hottest fire you can imagine is still nothing compared to the flames of Hell. Why even chance it? You have nothing to lose by choosing Christ. But you have everything to lose by rejecting Him.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister
at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder
of Inflamed Church Ministries. View Austin's
personal online ministry blog iPursueWorship.

Perfect Love, part 2: The Power to Grow

In my last post, I shared two things from 1 John 4:

Knowing you're loved is the remedy to fear.

Knowing you're loved is the ingredient to boldness.

When you know you're loved by God unconditionally, what is there to fear? John states that it leads to a boldness, a confidence on the day of judgment... a confidence that we belong to Jesus.

If we're honest, there's a lot of Christians in this world that don't know they're loved in this way. They really don't. Oftentimes, it's because they haven't been told. Christianity is presented to them as a "new law," a new list of rules and regulations to keep. 

Although Jesus is presented as Savior to "wipe the slate clean," it's now up to them to live obediently and please God with this obedience. I was listening to one of the most well-known Christian speakers and authors in America one time. You know what he said? "You don't want to give people too much grace, because you don't want them to start thinking they can do whatever they want."

So we skimp on grace. And we skimp on love. We don't dare let people think that they can live however they want, so we essentially present to them a "conditional Christianity" to follow. 

I know, because I've lived it. Taught it. Preached it. 

John, however, realizes where true motivation is found. Where true power is found. Where true sanctification is found.

Knowing you're loved is the power to grow.

We Christians like that word. "Sanctification." It means to become more holy, more set apart. What we fail to realize, however, is where sanctification comes from.

Make no mistake, John gives lots of imperatives. 

Here's some of the things he says that make me sweat:

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. - 1 John 4:8

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can[c] he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. - 1 John 4:20-21

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. - 1 John 3:10

 Those are challenging. Those are difficult. I guarantee you I could preach those verses in a way that scare you to death. I guarantee you I could cause you to doubt your salvation.

You know I could. You've heard sermons like that. The problem is that people don't have a clue what's going on here.

The reason John can make these statements is that he believes in the power of God's transforming love. He says these things because he is confident in the overwhelming, transformative power of a God who loves unconditionally. He makes these bold, crazy statements because he knows that when perfect love casts out fear, the sky is the limit.

I said last week that you can't have the cart before the horse. You have to know you're loved FIRST. And when you do, things begin to change...

You see, God's love is the key to change. The key to growth. The key to sanctification.

We teach and preach, "Obey God, and He will be pleased with you." That's the Law. If you have placed your faith in Christ, He fulfilled the Law for you. God is pleased with you through His Son. The perfect, unconditional love of God rests on you forever.

Here's the Gospel. Notice the difference. "God is pleased with you, so obey God."

The strange, miraculous thing about God's grace is that, when it probably should cause us to sin more, it actually motivates us to sin less. God's grace and love actually lead to MORE obedience, not less.

If you don't understand that, your life will never stop being an endless cycle of conditionality. These verses will never, ever stop scaring the spit out of you. Because you can't live up to them.

But when you begin to get it... when perfect love casts out your fear... when you know you're loved...

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. - 1 John 4:16

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. - John 15:5

Adam is a husband, father, preacher, and teacher

living in Mayfield, KY. You can follow him 

on his personal blog here, Twitter here, 

or Facebook here.

Temptations: How Can They Be Overcome?

For centuries, those fighting in conflicts and wars have understand how imperative it is to make plans and preparations before you enter into battle. Commanders and generals must know what weapons to use, where and how to attack and defend, what things to avoid, and what to do if all fails. Preparing for battle is essential for obtaining victory.

Temptation is a battle for Christians - and we must make the right preparations in order to be victorious in our temptations. We already know that our desires are what cause temptations. Looking at this last time, we saw that the source of our temptations are our own desires. If desires are the problem, then what can we do to change them? What preparations can we make to be victorious in temptation? I offer a few biblical suggestions:

1) Study and know yourself. It’s good to take a long look in the mirror sometimes isn’t it? We need to know what desires we have a problem with and what situations or people cause us to enter into temptation. What desires do you have a problem with? Find out what situations, places, or people, cause you to have desires for sin. Study and know yourself well. Ask God to reveal that to you as well. Pray with David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24).

2) Avoid tempting situations. Keep yourself away from the situations that cause you to sin against God and fall into temptations. You know it does no good to pray, “Lord deliver me from evil,” if we thrust ourselves into it. I heard an old preacher say, “You can’t pray “Deliver me, Lord, from temptation,” if you thrust yourself thither!” Avoid the situations that cause temptations. Don’t park a freshly washed car under a tree full of birds. In other words, don’t try to be clean when you willingly go into areas that will make you dirty! The writer of Proverbs presents a picturesque warning for us concerning flirting around with sin, “Can a man carry fire next to his chest and not be burned?” (Proverbs 6:27). Indeed not.

3) Submit to Christ. When we get saved, we make Jesus our Savior and Lord. He is our Savior because He saved us from death, hell, and the grave. He is our Lord because He takes control. But that’s the part that gets us sometimes. There may be areas of our heart that we haven’t submitted to Christ and made Him Lord over. But we must submit to His leadership and will and allow Him to take control of all the areas of our heart—including our desires. It is taking “every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).

4) Get satisfaction from God. Desires seek to be satisfied. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be desires. So since desire is the problem, then our desires need to change. How can that be done? By getting our satisfaction from God. If you don’t believe that God can satisfy you, David invites you to “Taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8). Similarly David says to “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). It’s like eating your favorite food—you keep eating it because of the satisfaction it brings your belly! When you get hungry, don’t you desire your favorite food? Of course you do, because you have a mental remembrance of the satisfaction it brings. It works in a similar way with God. If we will get our satisfaction from Him, we will inevitably begin to desire Him.

Seeking Christ,
Bro. Brandon G. B.

Bro. Brandon is the Associate Pastor of Youth and

Children at Ohio Valley Baptist Church. His sermons,

podcasts, book reviews, and other free ministry

resources can be found on Brandon's Desk

Pointing Fingers

Matthew 7:1-5 NKJV
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

While yes we are called to reprove and rebuke which often means calling others out, this needs to be done in a loving manner (exhortation). Also you’ve heard the expression “make sure your own house is in order first…” That’s specifically what this text in Matthew is saying. Make sure you are cleansed of the thing you are about to point fingers about. This is why I don’t like the term judge. God should be the only judge of our lives. However, I think God has called us to be His “fruit inspectors,” to reprove, rebuke, AND exhort. This process isn’t designed to shame others, but to lift them up with encouragement. You can probably think of a time where someone has pointed out an error and made you feel horrible and a time where someone instead took time to teach you and encourage you to do better. Which did you respond to better? Probably the encouragement. Next time you see a brother or sister in error, put yourself in their shoes, how would you want someone to approach you, with harsh pointing fingers, or with love and encouragement?


Have you ever heard the expression, when you point a finger at someone else, you’ve got four pointing back to yourself? Although a childish quote, it carries truth and can be eye opening when thought about in a Biblical context. Some argue that we are called to reprove & rebuke (call out mistakes), which I understand and partly agree with. That calling is part of a bigger text that we can’t take out of context. 2 Timothy 4:2 NKJV says “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.” From that text we have more to do than just call out mistakes. We are first commanded to be ready every day to share the Word. But not just be ready, but go do it. Only after we are successful in that are we commanded to reprove and rebuke. But even then we aren’t just instructed to reprove and rebuke, but to couple that with exhortation or love and encouragement. Take a look at the follow text from Matthew.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister
at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder
of Inflamed Church Ministries.

Heart Burn

Have you ever experienced a bad case of heart burn that just wouldn’t go away? Perhaps you tried different medicines, but no relief? Heart burn isn’t something that can easily be ignored. For some it consumes them and breaks them to the core. Here’s another question, have you ever experienced Spiritual Heart Burn? A burning in your spirit that was so strong you couldn’t control it or ignore it? God’s Word says we should continue to fan that flame to a blaze, constantly being on fire for God with excitement. This is the kind of heart burn these men felt during their travel to Emmaus when Jesus revealed Himself to them in a special way. Now understand, it was just a few days ago that Jesus was hanging on the cross, and buried in the tomb. So no one was expecting to see Him, despite His promises.

Luke 24:27-35 NKJV
27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. 28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them. 30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.
What was the source of their heart burn? It was their closeness to Christ. When’s the last time you can say you’ve had such a close encounter with Christ that your heart burned within you? Now this doesn’t mean you’re a bad person or that you have a poor relationship with God. But that your relationship just isn’t as strong as it could be. Regardless your relationship status with God, we all have room to grow.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister
at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder
of Inflamed Church Ministries. View Austin's
personal online ministry blog iPursueWorship.

Perfect Love, part 1: The Remedy for Fear

"What would I do if I were Superman?" This question ran through my mind a couple of days ago after I watched the new film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. While I think the Flash's power of super-speed ranks higher on the coolness scale, I think it would be pretty sweet to be virtually indestructible.

Can I tell you the answer to my question? You might think it strange. What would I do if I were Superman? I'd probably go to places I normally couldn't.

I'd like to walk the bottom of the ocean, searching for sunken treasure... maybe explore the Titanic. I'd like to explore Antarctica. I'd head to Area 51 and find out what's so top-secret. I'd head to the Bermuda Triangle and get to the bottom of all those missing planes and ships.

Can you guess what all those "missions" have in common? Well, they're all things that I would, normally, probably die attempting. You see, fear is a pretty big deterrent.

Nobody wants to die. You can't explore Antarctica because you'll freeze to death. You can't walk the ocean floor because you would drown. You can't take a stroll in Area 51 because of a plethora of armed guards. I rather enjoy living.

But... if that threat, and therefore, that fear, were taken away... well there's no telling what I could do.

With that in mind, listen to these words penned by the apostle John:

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. - 1 John 4:17-18

Boldness in the day of judgment... fear cast out... how in the world does this happen?

John tells us. Perfect love. For us.

The love of Jesus for us, His bride.

According to John, we can confidently face the day of our death, whenever that is, because Jesus loves us. We don't have to fear judgment. Christ has forgiven our sins and imputed us with His righteousness.

"As He is, so are we in this world." We're His. He's with us. We're with Him.

Knowing you're loved is the remedy to fear. Knowing you're loved is the ingredient to boldness.

When you know you're loved, you can face anything. Because Jesus is with you.

The flip side is true also... when you aren't entirely sure you're loved, how can you NOT be a little fearful? John asserts in this text that a fearful person is one who hasn't become entirely convinced that they're deeply, completely, and overwhelmingly loved by God.

If churches are filled with fearful people (and they are), you now know why. They don't know they're loved.

And honestly? They don't hear it enough. We're afraid it'll make them complacent. We're afraid they'll respond with "I guess I can live however I want!"

We tell them the Good News to get them "in," and then we tell them not to let it go to their head.

We're good at imperatives. We're good at giving to-do lists and we're even better at telling people what NOT to do. We do these things because we want them to grow. But we're putting the cart before the horse.

Because guess what? God wants them to grow too. He really does. That's why He lets us know He loves us so much.

"We love Him because He first loved us." - 1 John 4:19

Notice the order. His love comes first. We can't begin to love Him until we recognize His love for us.

My hope and prayer for you, today, is that you know how dearly and utterly loved by God you really are. In my post next week, we're going to look at how, once we get this, God's unconditional love begins to transform us.

But for now... I'm going to be honest, it's going to drive some of you crazy that I'm not giving you a checklist or to-do list. Deal with it.

Okay, I'll give you one thing.

Get alone with God and let Him love you. Let Him cast out your fear. And don't you leave until you're sure.

Tomorrow, you'll forget. So do it again.

Adam is a husband, father, preacher, and teacher

living in Mayfield, KY. You can follow him 

on his personal blog here, Twitter here, 

or Facebook here.

 

Temptations: Where Do They Come From?

“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (v. 14).

We must recognize what a problem is before we can do anything to solve it. About two years ago, my office began to give off an awful odor. I looked everywhere for the source of smell. I cleaned the floors, took out the trash, and searched every corner—still nothing. Around this time we had recently been given a new puppy, and obviously he hadn’t been house trained, for I soon discovered the source of the smell. Behind a small guitar stand in my office lay a pile of old and hardened dog droppings, which had formed into bricks by then! That’s what the smell was! I cleaned it up, and soon my office was finally bearable.

But you know, I couldn’t take care of the problem (the stench) without identifying it. And the same principle applies to the temptations we face in the Christian life—we can do nothing about our temptations until we discover what the source is. Why are we always slipping up on the same old sins? Why are we being tempted to sin all the time as believers? And why are temptations so frequent? James answers: “[But] each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (v. 14). The source of our temptation is our own desire.

It’s desire. Desire is the culprit. Desire is problem. Desire is the root and the source of our temptations. The problem is within us—it’s not on the outside, but buried within our innermost beings.

James uses a fishing metaphor here to describe what happens in our temptations. He pictures a man who is lured away as with bait, and enticed by it because it portrays itself as something he needs. When you fish, you bait a hook. Before you drop the line in, you cover the hook with a jig and bait—it is so that the fish sees it as something he needs (food) and he goes after it, seeking satisfaction for his hunger. When he bites the bait, we jerk the pole and snag him—lift him out of the water where he dies and then he fries in fish grease so that we can eat him (if you like fried fish, that is).

It’s the same way with sin in our lives. It looks like something we need—it looks like something we need to satisfy us. Sin never appears to be dangerous, did you know that? Temptation never says, “Don’t do this. This will disgrace the name of God and hurt your witness. This will damage your relationship with God.” No, it sounds more like, “This will be fun! This won’t hurt! No one will ever know. Just do it.”

Our desires are deceptive, and it’s important to realize that our desires are the thing that pulls us in. It’s imperative to realize that the real problem is our own desires. Even when we are tempted by Satan, it is only our desires that he can use against us. He cannot make you do something against your desires. We’ve been born into this world as sinners—naturally inclined to sinning against God. But if we’re born again, we have new natures and no excuse for continuing in the same sins.

Examine your desires today. What consumes you the most? Do you passionately long for communion with God, or do you desire sin? Pray that God would replace your desires for sin with a consuming passion for His glory and for fellowship with Him.

Seeking Christ,
Bro. Brandon G. B.

Bro. Brandon is the Associate Pastor of Youth and

Children at Ohio Valley Baptist Church. His sermons,

podcasts, book reviews, and other free ministry

resources can be found on Brandon's Desk

Identity

There is an ancient Indian story that tells of six blind men who attempted to describe an elephant based on what part of the elephant they were examining with their hands. Because of their blindness, they drew some pretty comical conclusions. One felt the leg and decided the elephant was a pillar. Another touched the tusk and determined it was a solid pipe. Still another grabbed the tail and proclaimed it to be nothing more than rope. The story goes on and in the end a man blessed with sight enters and sees the whole picture, that it was, in fact, an elephant.

This story is often used by world religions to describe what they incorrectly believe to be the different paths to God, but I want to use it to illustrate how incomplete our view and understanding is of ourselves. Often, we make the mistake of finding our identity without realizing that in our blindness we have seen only a tiny part of the big picture. For example, a guy may play a sport really well so he finds his identity in the fact that he is an athlete. A girl might be really pretty and therefore she’s finds her identity in her external appearance. The problem is, this is such an incomplete picture. Jesus sees so much more when He looks at us.

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:9-10

“…for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” (New Living Translation)

What is wrong with finding your identity in the things that you can do, the way you look, the friends you hang out with, or so on? For starters, everything I just mentioned in that sentence can be taken away from you. Your actual identity, the part of you that truly and accurately describes who you are at the core of your being, cannot change. Someday you may no longer be the athlete you once were. What you see as “good looks” may change. Your true identity, is an amazing gift from God. Let’s look at a few of the things that are mentioned in those verses.

Chosen People

■God, in all His amazing power and wisdom, has looked at you and said, “This is a person that I love. I want to know this person better. I chose you.”

Royal Priest

■You are “royalty”, which means that you are an adopted child of the Creator of the Universe. He loves you, not as a friend or a follower, but as a son or a daughter.

You are a priest. That carries so many meanings. You have the ability to help lead others to that same incredible love that God has for you.

God’s People

■You are a part of the Chosen People, those whom God has set aside as special to Him. You have the ability to change the world with His love and grace.

These are just a few of the things that the Bible says are your true identity. The best part is that no one can take that away from you. Nothing you do, no matter what life throws at you, your identity in Jesus Christ cannot be shaken or destroyed. Jesus sees the full picture of who you are. Allow Him to remove your blindness so that you can step into His wonderful light.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister
 at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder
of Inflamed Church Ministries. View Austin's
personal online ministry blog iPursueWorship.

Grace is Scary

*Note from Adam: While preaching at a church last week, I shared the events detailed in this blog. My personal experience hit home with several people in the service, and I remembered that I had written this post about it back in September 2014. I felt it was worth re-posting. Praise the Lord for His marvelous grace. The original post is shared below*



A couple of days ago as I was getting ready for work, and I was suddenly overwhelmed with a sensation of fear.

My legs began quivering, my hands began shaking, and I started getting short of breath. I was scared. Of what, you ask? Of hell.

I've been a believer for eighteen years this month. I'm also a preacher. You'd think those two things would keep this from happening. But on this day it didn't.

The fear that I might spend eternity in hell, suffering forever, overwhelmed me like it hadn't in years. I panicked. I almost had to sit down. I started praying, asking God to confirm to me that I was His child.

Then, like a student flipping out because he's got a final coming up that he hasn't studied for, I decided to do a little flipping out myself.

Why, do you ask? Because I haven't been nearly good enough.

Sure, I placed my faith in Christ. Sure, I've trusted Him for salvation. Sure, I asked Him to forgive me of my sins and be my Savior back in '96. But... grace is scary.

It's scary because I haven't been nearly good enough. Tell me all you want about how it's not about my own works or my own efforts. Let me tell you, buddy, when the reality of eternity hits you square in the face, you start looking at yourself.

I'll say it again. I haven't been nearly good enough. Not before I became a Christian, and not since. I still wrestle with some of the same sins I did ten years ago. I think things and say things when no one's looking that surprise people. I haven't been nearly good enough.

So there I was, panicking. Trembling. Almost in tears. I told God again how sorry I was for my failures. I apologized for not being a better Christian, reminded Him of all the dark secrets and thoughts that haunt me.

Here's what I told Him: "I hope, I really hope this grace this is true. Because if it isn't, I don't have a prayer."

Guess what? You don't either. Grace better be as good as I've been talking about for months on this blog. It better be as powerful as I preach about in the pulpit. It better be as revolutionary and radical as the New Testament says it is.

It is. It's scary, but it's true. It's risky, because you're not in control, but it's true. It's unconditional, uncompromising, unabashedly radical. Far more radical than you think it is, because you try to balance it with works. Sorry, it won't be balanced. It won't be earned.

It'll be given... by a loving Father who lavishes it upon you simply because He delights in redemption. By a loving Father who meets His wayward child at the top of the hill, throwing His best robes onto the prodigal before the son can even open his mouth to lay out his best plan for "doing better."

So grace is scary. But it's good. Kinda... like God sometimes, eh?

To finish my story, God overwhelmed me with this scary grace. I dared to trust Him. I got up, dusted myself off, and smiled. Why could I smile? Because God was smiling. At me. Because in His eyes, I'm righteous and redeemed. I'm covered by the blood of His Son.

Grace is scary... but it's true.

Adam is a husband, father, preacher, and teacher

living in Mayfield, KY. You can follow him 

on his personal blog here, Twitter here, 

or Facebook here.

How Can We Walk by the Spirit?

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16).

A hammer doesn't do much good unless you know how to use it. You might have possession of it, you might think about it often, or you might even try to use it. But if you don't know how to use it, it cannot benefit you much. This principles applies to our relationship with the Holy Spirit. As we've seen in my (Brandon's) previous posts, we have looked at Paul's command in Galatians to "walk by the Spirit" (Gal. 5:16). We've seen what this means, and we've even seen why we should walk by the Spirit. But it won't benefit us at all if we don't understand how to walk by the Spirit. We might have possession of the Spirit in our bodies, we might even think about the Spirit often - but the Holy Spirit cannot help us live the Christian life if we don't understand how we can live by His power. So how can we walk by the Spirit? I have a few suggestions:

1.) Acknowledge Your Helplessness. You need to recognize and acknowledge that you need Him and His power to overcome sin and do God’s commands. I’ve heard it said before, “God won’t put on you more than you can handle.” That’s not in the Bible, you know that? If you could handle it, why would there be a need for the power of God? The first step in walking each step of each day by the Spirit’s power is to recognize that you need Him to guide your steps. We cannot overcome sin and be obedient to God without Him. Remember Jesus in John 15 where He says, “For apart from me you can do nothing” (v. 5)? You know what you can do apart from Christ? You can sin. But you can’t be obedient to Him and overcome sin.  Realize that you need Him, and acknowledge it before Him. God saved us by the Holy Spirit and He will sustain us by the Holy Spirit. Acknowledge your helplessness.

2.) Trust His Power. This goes hand in hand with #1. If we realize we are helpless, then we must also realize that He is our Helper—and we must trust Him. We may despair and think that God is done with us when we are stuck in habitual sins or feel like we’re not progressing in our faith—but that’s where trusting His power comes in. God is not done with you! “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). We must acknowledge that we need His help and power, and then believe that He will grant it to us.

3.) Allow Him to Control Your Thought Life. There is a close correlation between our thought life and mind with walking by the Spirit. If there is a conflict of desires, and desires are in our heart, and the only way to get to the heart is through the mind, then we need to think on the things that would be pleasing to God. That’s how spiritual growth works and that’s one way walking by the Spirit works. What is going on in your mind funnels down into your heart—influencing your decisions and desires. We need to be thinking His thoughts, and allowing Him to control what goes on in our thought life. And what we’re thinking is revealed by how we live. “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:7-8). You need to get the word of God into your heart, but the only way to do so is by getting it first into your mind—this happens by reading and studying it.

4.) Thank Him for the Victories. When you do overcome sin, praise God in prayer. When you are obedient to the Lord by His power, lift up those hands and sing Him a song. “Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting” (Psalm 147:1).

5.) Do It Step-By-Step. All of these things must be done step-by-step. That’s what walking is. It’s not running or jogging. And sometimes walking gets hard—it can be tiresome. But constantly and daily we must acknowledge our helplessness, trust His power, submit our minds to Him, and thank Him for those victories.

Listen to this Sermon:

Bro. Brandon is the Associate Pastor of Youth and
Children at Ohio Valley Baptist Church. His sermons,
podcasts, book reviews, and other free ministry
resources can be found on Brandon's Desk