I Am Jonah: Part 3 - The Message

This is a continuation of previous devotions. If you haven't already, please take a few minutes to read the previous devotions.


I Am Jonah: Part 1 - The Runner
I Am Jonah: Part 2 - The Prayer

Again I have also provided a study guide and answer key for this week's devotion.

I Am Jonah: Part 3 - Study Guide
I Am Jonah: Part 3 - Answer Key

As we discussed in the last devotions, Jonah was a Prophet of the lord, he travelled and preached God’s message to different communities. This time Jonah was called to go to Nineveh, an evil and wicked city that hated God and God’s people. Jonah’s response was to run in the opposite direction which put him in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights. In order to be released from the fish Jonah prayed and repented. Will he make the same mistake and run? Or will he turn to God and follow His guidance? Let’s find out.

Let’s get to the scripture:
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. 4 And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6 Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? 10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. (Jonah 3:1-10 NKJV)

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. He didn't deserve to be used by God yet God used him. Our serving God is not a right but rather a privilege. A fact we should never forget.

Jonah entered the city of Nineveh proclaiming its destruction. Notice his message does not include any call for them to repent (verse 4). Whether this was purposely omitted or never included by God is not clear. Would you trust Jonah to include it?

The responses of the people to the message definitely shocked and disappointed Jonah (3:10, 4:1). The people of Nineveh believed God and repented. The King decreed a fast throughout Nineveh. Even the animals were included.

We should never conclude that people would not respond to the preaching of the gospel. Indeed one of the several reasons why we Christians often find it hard to share our faith with others is fear that they will not be interested. How wrong can we be? It is our job to preach the gospel and God's to save souls. Let's keep to our side of the deal and God will keep His. Outward appearances of evil sometimes hide inward desires for a turn around.

God wanted to touch the people of Nineveh. Jonah's message was simply His means of doing it. God knew their hearts. He knew they would repent if given the chance. It's evident from the passage that they repented almost immediately after they heard God's word. What willing hearts were there hidden behind those actions.

How will Jonah respond to Nineveh's repentance now that he has been obedient to God's Plan? Will he be joyful or angry with the outcome? We'll find out next week!

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister

at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder

of Inflamed Church Ministries.

Reaching the Unsaved Requires Prayer (Matt. 9:38)

"Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:38).

Jesus stated a problem in the previous verse. He says, "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few" (9:37). We know that this statement from Jesus is a metaphor which describes the work of evangelism. It is likened to a harvest that is ready to be reaped. And according to Jesus, souls are being prepared by God to be brought into the barn of God's kingdom, but the problem is that there are not enough laborers to work and reap the harvest. 

So is there anything that can be done about this problem? It would seem that the solution to the problem is to either get the the laborers to do their work, or get more laborers. But that’s not what Jesus says to do. He doesn’t despair or say that there needs to be more laborers. He doesn't even say, "Therefore go out and labor!"

His answer? "Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Jesus’ answer is pray earnestly! To pray with great intention, with purpose and effort. That’s what it means to pray earnestly. He even goes as far as to tell the disciples what they should pray earnestly for: "[that] the Lord of the harvest [would] send out laborers into his harvest."

Jesus commands His disciples, and us today, to pray earnestly that the Lord would sent out workers into His harvest. Notice that Jesus does not say we should pray things such as, “Lord please save the lost,” or “Lord, please save my neighbor,” or “Lord, please save my coworker.” He says to pray for laborers.

So you start praying, “Lord, please send a laborer to share the gospel with my neighbor,” or “Lord, please send a laborer to share Christ with my coworker,” and you know what happens when you start praying that way? Pretty soon you’re going to say to yourself, “Maybe it’s me that ought to share the gospel with them.” You'll come to this realization: Why am I praying for someone else to share the gospel with this person that I have daily contact with? For the disciples, they would be the answer to their own prayer because in Matthew 10, Jesus sends them out to work in the harvest by their preaching and healing.

So when you pray for someone to share Christ with the person you know needs to be saved, then you take the obvious answer that it is you that should be going to them—and the strength, motivation, and drive to go to them starts in the place of prayer.

What’s God saying to you about that person you know is lost? Is He saying “Go to them and by My laborer?” And which do you pray most often: "God please save them," or "God please use me as Your laborer in their life?" Pray to the Lord of the harvest, that He would send you into His harvest that is ready to be reaped.

Seeking Christ,
Bro. Brandon G. B.

Listen to this sermon below:

Bro. Brandon is the Associate Pastor

of Ohio Valley Baptist Church. His 

sermons, podcasts, book reviews, 

and other free ministry resources

can be found on Brandon's Desk.

I Am Jonah: Part 2 - The Prayer

This is a continuation of last week’s devotion. If you haven’t read it, please take a couple minutes to read through it first.

I Am Jonah: Part 1 - The Runner

Again I have also provided a study guide and answer key for this week's devotion.

I Am Jonah: Part 2 Study Guide
I Am Jonah: Part 2 Answer Key

As we discussed last week, Jonah was a Prophet of the lord, he travelled and preached God’s message to different communities. This time Jonah was called to go to Nineveh, an evil and wicked city that hated God and God’s people. Jonah’s response was to run in the opposite direction which led him to where we are in today’s devotion, in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights.

Let’s look at the scripture:
1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. 2 And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. 3 For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ 5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head. 6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God. 7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple. 8 “Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy. 9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.” 10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. (Jonah 2:1-10 NKJV)

Jonah was now as far away from God as possible. He prayed. Praying always brings us back into the presence of God. Distance is never a barrier. God is always waiting for us. His mercy never ceases. Jonah's prayer begins with a recall of the past events. This is always a good place to start. Are you finding prayer difficult? Why not make it easy for yourself. Simply turn your prayer time into sessions of talking to God. Tell Him how you feel and what you have been through in the past few hours or days. Pour out your heart to Him and he will pour His back to you.

No doubt Jonah's prayer was also a confession of his faults. He was repenting. He accepted responsibility for his actions, and knew only he was to blame. True repentance involves our confessing known sins to God and turning away from them. Jonah's heart was now right with God. In verse nine we see him entering into a time of thanksgiving. This was a sacrifice of praise. It was not a result of his present circumstances or blessing from God but rather the product of a grateful and obedient heart happy to serve the Lord. Real thanksgiving is never fueled by our circumstances but rather by a grateful heart. We worship God for who He is, not what He does. This is what the scriptures call the sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:151-16).

Paul and Silas are good examples of people who offered the sacrifice of praise to God (Acts 16:23-34). Their predicament was a result of obedience. Despite their hardship praise was offered to God. Note that this eventually led to the salvation of a whole household. In all the above cases note that it was the conditions of the people's hearts that resulted in the mercy of God. Singing praises in itself does not accomplish much, its praise from a right heart that moves heaven. Hence Jonah was delivered from the fish.

Jonah’s time spent in the fish also served as a metaphor for Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Since Christ hadn’t come yet, this was a sign foreshowing what would happen with Christ. Jonah’s being swallowed by the fish resembles Christ’s death, being in the fish for three days resembles Christ being dead for three days, and Jonah being vomited by the fish resembles Christ’s resurrection. Jonah has been given a second chance. What will he do with it? Will he waste it making the same mistake, or will he put aside his own wants and wishes and blindly go wherever God leads? We’ll find out next week!

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister

at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder

of Inflamed Church Ministries.

Reaching the Unsaved Requires Laborers (Matt. 9:37)

“Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matt. 9:37).

The harvest is ready to be reaped, but there are not enough workers to reap the harvest.

That's the way Jesus describes evangelism. In Matthew 9, He uses a farming metaphor to describe what it’s like to evangelize. Matthew has already stated that Jesus interacted with the people and met their needs, and that He was moved with compassion for them because of their spiritual peril (9:35-36). And now Jesus speaks to His disciples concerning the crowds and their spiritual peril, saying “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”

He is picturing a harvest that is ready to be reaped—but a harvest that cannot be reaped for lack of workers, laborers, or farmhands to bring in the harvest. Generally, a harvest takes place when you bring in crops. When they are ready to be "reaped," or brought in to the barn, workers will use their equipment to do just that. And that’s what Jesus is saying here—that souls are ready to be brought in to the kingdom of God, but that the laborers who are crucial in bringing that about are lacking and few. He states that the problem here for evangelizing is that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

Jesus does not mean that the unsaved are eager and ready to be saved, just waiting for someone to tell them how to be saved. Scripture teaches that the unregenerate sinner is not seeking God or desiring Him (Romans 3:11). Even when the unsaved person is aware of his spiritual peril, that is not enough to lead him to saving faith. Salvation is completely a work of God's redemptive grace (Eph. 2:8-9). But what Jesus is saying is that there are a multitude of people that God is preparing for salvation, but not enough Christians who are evangelizing them. There is a lack of people who are going out and sharing the gospel with people, so that they can be brought into the barn of God’s kingdom!

According to Christ, there are disciples ready to be made because of God’s sovereign work, but there are not enough disciple-makers. According to Christ, the problem is that there are plenty of people God is preparing for salvation to hear the gospel, but there are not enough heralds who will proclaim that message. There are plenty of people to be witnessed to, but not enough witnesses. There are plenty of people who need to know how to be saved, but not enough Christians telling them how. There are plenty of people whom God is preparing for salvation, but not enough Christians who are proclaiming the “excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Jesus states in John 4:35, “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest?’ Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.”

There are plenty of souls out there whom God is preparing to bring into His kingdom, but there are not enough laborers who are sharing the gospel with them so that they can be brought into the kingdom of God. Are you being a laborer in God's field? How often are you working the field that is ready for harvest? Do you try to labor in the harvest with or without the right tools?

Seeking Christ,
Bro. Brandon G. B.

Listen to this sermon below:

Bro. Brandon is the Associate Pastor

of Ohio Valley Baptist Church. His 

sermons, podcasts, book reviews, 

and other free ministry resources

can be found on Brandon's Desk.

I Am Jonah: Part 1 - The Runner

Jonah is no doubt by favorite book of the Bible. I get asked often why that’s the case. My answer…because I am Jonah. I relate to Jonah in a way that I can’t to any other Bible Character. I think if we’re all honest with ourselves, we can all relate to Jonah. So in one way or another we all can say, I Am Jonah.

I have prepared study sheets and answer keys for each devotion if you decide to follow along in your personal study.
I Am Jonah: Part 1 Study Guide
I Am Jonah: Part 1 Answer Key

Let’s begin with a little bit of scripture:
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. (Jonah 1:1-3 NKJV)

Jonah was a Prophet of the lord, meaning he travelled and preached/shared God’s message to different communities. The book of Jonah is different from any other in that it focuses on Jonah, not the message or people it was delivered to. In the first three verses we see that the word of the Lord (God’s commandment) came to Jonah, he was to (1) go to Nineveh, (2) and preach against it because of their wickedness. Also we see Jonah’s response…no. His determination to avoid doing God’s will led him to extremes. To the point that we actually paid to get away from God’s presence (verse 3). Instead of going to Nineveh, he paid to go roughly 2,500 miles away from God in the opposite direction to a city called Tarshish (that distance is nearly the width of the United States, from East to West Coast). What a fruitless effort. Yet somehow Jonah really believed that he could get away from God.



(His journey should have been the red arrow from Joppa to Nineveh. However he paid to travel from Gath-hepher, to Joppa, to Tarshish almost 2,500miles away in the other direction. The black line shows roughly the course he finally took with God’s help).

Paying to get away from the Lord might sound funny but it’s not that uncommon. We always pay the price for disobedience. How often have we put our time and effort into other things simply to avoid obeying the Lord's prompting in our heart? It's worth remembering, the next time you are tempted to disobey the Lord, that disobedience costs. Jonah never really had a chance of getting away from God. The reality is that no matter where we go, or what we do, we cannot escape the ever-present eye of the Lord (Psalm 139:7-12). We may try to deny His presence or even His existence, completely ignore Him and shut him out from our day to day activities, but our deeds, activities and prayers are always open to Him.

Let’s continue reading:
4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” (Jonah 1:4-6 NKJV)

Due to Jonah’s disobedience and attempt to run away, God sent a storm. Jonah slept through the storm while the others called on their “gods.” Jonah’s ability to sleep should come as no surprise. He had obviously hardened his heart against doing the will of God. His choice of the lowest part of the ship as the place for his slumber highlights his determination to get as far away from the Lord as possible.

How often have we hardened our hearts to the will of God? We live in the mist of people heading to hell, and yet never find time to give them a decent chance of hearing the gospel. Simply giving out a gospel tract or sharing something as simple as “God loves you” could change their destiny.

It took the captain of the ship to finally wake Jonah. How often has it been the world that prompts us to take action? Sometimes it's while we are compromising our stand as Christians that someone challenges our Christian belief.

Jonah's seemingly remarkable calmness (or should we say slumber) in the mist of a storm should not be mistaken as faith, but rather as the condition of a backslider. He had successfully cut himself off from the activities of God around him. The consequences of his actions are obvious. Several souls could have perished. His disobedience was having a far-reaching effect. Disobedience and backsliding always do.

Jonah's sleep can only be a picture of the "spiritual sleep" many believers are engaged in today (Romans 13: 11-14). Spiritual sleep is being so unconscious of the leading of the Holy Spirit that we allow works of darkness, sin and the lure of our flesh to take us away from God's will without even realizing it. We become oblivious to the desire of God. We enter into spiritual sleep when we become so wrapped up and concerned with the affairs of this world, that spiritual things (and by that we mean the things of God) have no priority in our lives any more.

7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous. 12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.” 13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows. 17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:7-17 NKJV)

Casting of lots was a common means of discovering "the cause of a matter". Jonah knew he was the cause of their dilemma but kept quiet until discovered. He must have thought he really could escape from God. But all wrong doings are eventually exposed.

Jonah was asked several penetrating questions (verse 7). His desires of keeping his identity and wrong doing secret were completely gone now. Sometimes God will expose us publicly if we refuse to get right with Him in private.

Jonah eventually came to terms with the significance of his disobedience and made plans to fix what he had done. He offered to be thrown into the sea to save the men's life (verse 12). It's amazing what depths of sin disobedience can lead us into.

The men ignored Jonah and attempted rowing harder to overcome the obstacle of the storm. What sacrifice! But fruitless. Obedience is better than sacrifice. They had good intentions and tender hearts. They were doing all they could to avoid throwing a fellow man overboard. But they had no idea what they were up against. Finally the fear of losing their own lives made them ask for forgiveness before reluctantly throwing Jonah overboard. This resulted in the raging storm ceasing. Notice that there obedience eventually lead to their offering a sacrifice to God.

Obedience is always better than sacrifice. Sometimes obedience might look foolish, but if it's God's desire it will work out well.

Jonah was then swallowed by a large fish which ultimately saved his life and gave him time to think. He stayed in the belly of the fish for 3 days and 3 nights. Jonah now is given 3 days and 3 nights to reconsider his response to God’s original commandment. Will he make the same mistake twice or will he follow God’s Will and preach to Nineveh?

We will look into Jonah 2 next week.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister

at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder

of Inflamed Church Ministries.

 

The Death of Superman

I couldn't believe my eyes. It really happened.

Superman was dead. My ten-year-old self was in shock. I even knew it would happen ahead of time. The title of the whole arc was The Death of Superman, after all. But seeing it happen didn't make it any less impactful.

The story, the art, the emotion... don't tell me comic books can't be a viable art form. I still remember it to this day... the shot of Lois Lane holding his broken body, his iconic uniform in shreds.

Sure, he'd come back, but the Return of Superman wasn't nearly as good a story. This was unforgettable. It was powerful.

"Come read how Superman dies." The marketing worked. It sold like hot cakes. I didn't purchase each issue in the arc separately; I bought the trade paperback with all of the issues in the storyline collected together. There he was, displayed on the cover, dying. Front and center.

If only we could do the same thing for another type of "Superman."

Oh he's dead, alright. In fact, he never really existed. But we hide that fact. We present him to the masses as "alive and well."

The problem, however, is that this Superman is a fraud.

What Superman am I talking about? Why SuperChristian, of course!

You hear about it him every Sunday. He's faithfully obedient and "sold out." He desires God above everything else. He's selfless and sacrificial. When bad things happen to him, he smiles and gives glory to God, knowing it's for his good. 

He never deals with depression. He doesn't have anxiety issues and certainly doesn't worry about paying the mortgage next month, because he learned long ago that worry is a sign that he doesn't trust God enough. Besides, he's radical. He'd be sinning if he wanted his house anyway. 

He's strong and moral. You can inspect his fruit and tell that he's the real deal. Just look at his behavior and actions. SuperChristian charges hell with a toothpick.

He's also non-existent. He does not exist. He is an ideal. He is presented as a level to which we must aspire. A rung that we must climb to reach. 

He's popular to talk about. He's typically the subject of most modern sermons. "Be SuperChristian!" "Follow these steps to be SuperChristian!" "Don't do these things, or you definitely won't be SuperChristian!"

Here's what's so fascinating: those who talk about SuperChristian are not SuperChristian. You read that right. The people preaching this aren't living up to this themselves. If, for some reason, you are one of the people I'm talking about (if you haven't quit reading my posts by now because I talk about grace and mercy so much), let me just tell you plainly: you aren't as good as you think you are.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you aren't SuperChristian. You don't even live up to the standard you ask other people to live up to. 

How do I know? Because I know me. I know what keeps me up at night. I know the masks I wear. I know the insecurity I harbor as I try to present my SuperChristian front. Some of you know you don't measure up to SuperChristian. You just don't want anyone to find out, and you think that telling other people to be SuperChristian will make up the slack. Some of you, however, think you actually are. You think this whole thing's about you now, don't you?

I ask you the same question Paul asked in Galatians 3:

This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? - Galatians 3:2-3 (NKJV)

Where does it end? You say, "If you don't do ____, you're probably not a Christian." How do I know I've measured up? How do I know when I've obeyed enough? How is this not salvation by works?

You are not Superman. I'm not either.

In fact, I'm the opposite. I'm a weak man, and I don't say that out of false humility. I really am. I lose my temper way too easily. I can't bring myself to focus on the Bible like I should. I can talk all day from behind a pulpit, but I shrink back at sharing my faith in daily life. I get nervous.

And the only reason I can be that honest with you is because you're just as screwed up. People don't fool me anymore. You certainly don't.

There's only one SuperChristian. He lived a perfect life of righteousness for me. He died on the cross for me. 

Yep, it's Christ Himself. Jesus was faithfully obedient to His Father. Jesus was sold out. Jesus was selfless and sacrificial. He kept the Law perfectly in every point. He secured a right standing with God for me. I received forgiveness for my sins AND His righteousness. Jesus is pleased with me through His Son.

SuperChristian? Me. Nope. I'm a weak vessel. But here's the cool part.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. - Galatians 2:20

Christ lives IN ME. It's not my life anymore. It's His. I live by faith in His work.

I keep saying it over and over again to anyone who will listen. It's ONLY in Him that we grow.

It's ONLY in Him that we begin to be obedient.

It's ONLY in Him that we begin to serve our neighbor. Because we live out of His grace. Out of the freedom of knowing we're loved unconditionally.

Any other kind of preaching, any other kind of teaching, any other kind of "motivating" factor is powerless. POWERLESS. If you're trying to bring about change in people through any method other than reminding them what they already have in Christ, it's powerless.

It is only through faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me, that I live. You want me to grow? Want me to be more obedient? Nurture my faith in the fact that Jesus has completely and utterly forgiven me and loved me.

So forget SuperChristian. Put this notion to "death." Superman already died for you.

What Is Love?

Don’t worry I’m not about to bust out in the now decades old pop hit. What I do what to discuss is our definition of love versus God’s.

1 John 4:7-11 NKJV
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

In the passage above we read that (v7) God is love, and that everyone who loves is born of God and truly knows God. Now you may be thinking to yourself, I loved other before I accepted God as my Savior. That’s where our definition vs. God’s comes into play. I’ve used this illustration before, I love ketchup, I love my brother, and I love my wife and son. I use the same word to describe how I feel towards food as I do for my feelings for my son. How messed up is that?? Obviously to everyone who speaks English, I don’t have the same feelings towards food as I do my son. But for someone who doesn’t know our language how would you explain the difference? Even trying to use “like” vs. “love” can get cloudy. The facts are that its hard to explain. However, God’s love and what John means in this text are clear. Before we knew God relationally we had a shallow understanding of what love was. At best we understood the different loves between human relationships. But once we become God’s we gain a brand new understanding of a stronger, infinite love that only comes from God. We can understand how to love someone without necessarily liking the person or what they do.

Take a look at verse 9 again. “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” Everyone over does the whole John 3:16 thing, and we lose the meaning behind it. That’s why I love 1 John 4:9. It gives the same message in a slightly different wording that causes us to stop and think of what is being said. This immeasurable, infinite, all powerful love that God has for you was proven when He sent His only Son into the world to die for our mistakes so that we wouldn’t have to. If I were to try to sit down and write a list of every mistake (big and small) that I’ve made in my 20+ years I’d never finish. I couldn’t list all of them I’ve had in the past month, they are too numerous to count.

Many people if asked who say they’d sacrifice their life for someone they care about. But I don’t know many who would willing sacrifice their only child for someone else. That’s a strong love. That’s why in verse 11 John says “…if God loved us that much, we also ought to love one another.” Meaning, if God would go to that great of lengths to prove His love to all of us, that we all have worth in His eyes. We should have a loving respect for each other in that we were all made in His image. The least we can do is acting lovingly towards one another. In doing that, the most loving thing you can ever do for someone is tell them about God. Even the smallest, most simplistic conversation about God and His love and plant and seed in someone’s heart, eventually leading them to turn their life over to Christ.

Instead of saying “what is love?” we should be saying “who is love?” And when someone asks you “what is love?” you can proudly proclaim that God is Love.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister

at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder

of Inflamed Church Ministries.

 

Reaching the Unsaved Requires Compassion (Matt. 9:36)

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matt. 9:36)

When someone is hurting, it is natural for us to hurt for them. Typically when we see a person in pain or suffering, we have deep sympathy for them. When someone suffers from something like cancer, we feel compassion for them. We know how serious it is, we can imagine that they are in intense pain—our heart drops when we see the effects of the cancer upon their bodies. We truly feel compassion for people in pain, suffering, or difficult situations and circumstances.

That’s the way Jesus felt about the crowds. They were in the deadliest position possible for a human - they were in need of a Savior, a Shepherd, a Master, Leader, and Protector. Indeed, they were "like sheep without a shepherd."And because of this, Jesus He had compassion on them. Jesus had compassion for the unsaved because of their spiritual peril. Compassion is best described as a deep sympathy for someone, and Jesus was moved with compassion because of the spiritual state of the crowds—He was moved with love and deep sympathy for them because of their spiritual peril.

This is another requirement for reaching the unsaved that we see in this passage - compassion for the unsaved. We must have compassion for them and a heartfelt sympathy for their spiritual peril. They are wandering to and fro without the Lord; they don’t have the privilege of prayer; they don’t have a relationship with Christ; they don’t have the promises of the word of God; they don’t have the comfort and direction of the Holy Spirit; they have nothing but themselves, their sin, and the wrath of God which hangs over them until the Day of Judgment. Are you moved with compassion, like Christ, to reach the unsaved because of their spiritual condition?

But what if you don’t have compassion for the unsaved? What should you do? What if you don’t have a heartfelt compassion for the unsaved? If you don’t have a compassion for the unsaved, then the one thing you’re lacking is a true understanding of an unsaved person’s spiritual peril. So I invite you to learn quickly about it.

Read Matthew 13:41-42, do you have compassion yet?
Read Romans 1:18 and 2:6-9, do you have compassion yet?
Read 2 Corinthians 4:4, do you have compassion yet?
Read Ephesians 2:1-3, do you have compassion yet?
Read Ephesians 4:18-19, do you have compassion yet?
Read Revelation 20:13-15, do you have compassion yet?

Your neighbor, your coworker, your friend, your family member, your boss—this is their spiritual peril, and if you do not yet have compassion for their soul? Pray that God would create within you a heart of compassion for the unsaved.

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

Coloring Outside the Lines

Recently, I bought something I haven't had in years... a coloring book. You read that right. I probably need to turn in my Man Card.

But it's not just any coloring book. It's an "adult coloring book." Maybe you've heard of this phenomenon. My wife told me about it. Described as "art therapy," the book is a series of intricate drawings and patterns that serve as a form of relaxation and stress relief. No guidelines, no set pattern, just free coloring.

Still not convinced? I wasn't either at first. Then I read the back of the book.

By concentrating on a straightforward task and allowing you complete creative freedom, you will soon find your body and mind relaxing. Our intricate line drawings offer complexity to engage the adult brain, but also simplicity, in that there are no rules or even guidelines; you are completely free.

Then I got it. This simple little book offers something that we all long for but can never get. Did you catch it?

"Complete creative freedom."

"No rules or even guidelines."

"You are completely free."

I get now why this activity is so relaxing. I understand why it is so calming. Where else can you find total freedom?

Let's be honest. The world is long on rules and short on freedom. There's always more errands to run, more bills to pay, more hoops to jump through. We face a constant set of deadlines to meet and people to please.

Indeed, that last one may be the worst. If we're honest with ourselves, we spend a great majority of our lives trying to live up to the expectations of others... parents, spouses, family, friends, neighbors, rivals. We make decisions based on what someone else will think. We strive for success in order to receive validation, respect, and worth from others. Sin itself can be defined as something we do in order to achieve for ourselves something that only God can give us.

Life is a tireless wheel on which we, the pitiful, stressed-out mice, run incessantly, longing for a break.

Conditionality is everywhere. Work hard and you'll be rewarded. Pay your bills or you'll be on the street. Straighten up or you'll end up just like your father. Desire God more than anything else, or you're not a Christian. (Yep, I'm still fired up about that tweet I talked about last week).

Conditionality... you find it in church too.

For many Christians, church has become a place to receive even more rules and guidelines. God has become just someone else to please and placate. Weary, broken-down congregants drag themselves to  a church service, looking for any kind of hope. They cling to the pew in front of them, praying that the preacher will give them some shred of good news... and they don't get it.

Instead, they get a checklist. More hoops to jump through. More conditionality. What's interesting is that it's a conditionality of behavior masked in the guise of unconditionality. It's presented in the terms of "Jesus loves you unconditionally. Now don't let it go to your head. Straighten up!" People are told what to do, what not to do, how to think, who to vote for, what to boycott, and how to live in such a way as to "bring down God's blessing." You know it's true. I have literally left church with a checklist in my hand of ten principles to apply that week.

Oh, and if that's not enough, I can go to Twitter and get told by some really famous preachers some more things to feel guilty about.

The rat race never stops.

Well, it does for some people. People are leaving the church in droves. They're tired. They're not running from God's love. They're not running from God's desire for people to change. They're running from man's presentation of a works-centered Christianity.

What's even more interesting is that there's often a disconnect between the music and the sermon. It's not at all uncommon for the music portion of a service to proclaim the love and grace of Jesus, the freedom from sin that He offers. The preacher then undoes all of this in one fell swoop.

My friends, it ought not be so! The human heart longs for freedom. Jesus offers it. It looks for unconditional acceptance. Jesus offers it. The human heart longs for one, just one, opportunity to be at peace. Without any expectations, any strings attached. Jesus offers it through grace.

Here's the truth: Jesus sets you free. Period. Free from your sin. Free from the need to pursue acceptance through things smaller than God. Free from conditionality.

He offers it, no strings attached. None.

That makes you uncomfortable. You want to put the brakes on grace. You're afraid of people "sining so that grace may abound." You're afraid I'm peddling some sort of "cheap grace." I've heard all that before. As Steve Brown says, "Grace isn't cheap. It's free. If it wasn't, you could afford it."

What about morality? What about serving God? What about sanctification? Before you can deal with ANY of those things, you have to be free, and you have to know you're free.

So let me give you a verse.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. - Romans 5:1-2 (NKJV)

If you've been justified by faith in Jesus, you are at peace with God. Period. Through Jesus, you already have what you're looking for in millions of other things smaller than God: unconditional, total, perfect acceptance and worth.

So go ahead. Relax, color outside the lines. You are loved. You are free.

Me>You

Pride. What an amazing downfall for so many of us. It’s a constant struggle that we battle with daily. Pride and self-confidence tend to mixed up by many people. It’s important to have confidence in yourself, but pride is overly bragging and being boastful about yourself, who you are, what you do/don’t do, etc. You can have confidence and be humble about it. Jesus speaks in this text about pride and humility and how He views both.

Luke 18:9-14 NKJV
9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Obviously today we can easily tell who’s the “good guy” and who’s the “bad guy.” But in the day this story was told, the audience Jesus was speaking to didn’t expect what was about to happen. To them the tax collector was viewed as a man who worked against his own people by collecting for the hated Romans. The Pharisee, was the beloved teacher of the law, a person who received great respect from the community. I’m sure as Jesus began the story, many were confused that a tax collector would be in a temple and probably dismissed the seriousness of his prayer and intentions.

Imagine how the crowd reacted to the Pharisee’s prayer. I’m sure none of us actually pray exactly like that, naming people and occupations that we feel better than, but his prayer shines light on how many of us feel in our hearts. To the people listening I’m sure they agreed with the Pharisee’s prayer. What I’d really like to know is how the felt when Jesus continued with the tax collectors prayer and the final outcome in vs 13-14. The fact that the “bad guy” to them humbled himself before God and cried out for forgiveness was a shock to them. And that God would be more pleased with him and his confession than the Pharisee’s good deeds.

This parable was used to teach the people that it doesn’t matter who you are, good works and being “good” won’t get you to Heaven, won’t gain you access to God. What really gets God excited is when we humble ourselves before God and let Him do the good works through us. Young, old, rich, poor, God wants to and can use you. We just have to humble ourselves before God and admin that HE > ME.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister

at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder

of Inflamed Church Ministries.