09/20/21 Praying With JESUS: 40 Days Toward Church Revitalization — Day 02

Luke 10:38-42 (ESV)
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.
40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

PRECONCEIVED IDEAS

HOW ABOUT YOU? It seems each generation has their own ideas about what the church should do, how it should behave, what songs to sing, and what church buildings should look like, to name just a few areas of strong opinion. Are you willing to surrender your own ideas in order to see your church flourish once again in gospel growth, community impact, and Kingdom advance? Or are you worried and bothered about the potential that things as you have always known them might change if you embrace REVITALIZATION?

Martha loved Jesus and eagerly welcomed Him into their home, but she wasn’t too happy with her sister Mary. Mary was sitting at the Lord’s feet while Martha was distracted with all the household responsibilities. She demanded that Jesus do something about it, but Jesus’ response tells us a lot about the things that cause us to be worried and bothered. Unfortunately, those things are usually the wrong priority. JESUS IS THE PRIORITY; MAKING MUCH OF HIM IS THE OBJECTIVE OF VIBRANT CHURCHES.

PRAY… Lord Jesus, I confess that I am often worried and bothered about nonessential things instead of keeping my attention fixed on You. Build a new perspective in my heart and mind that longs for spiritual life in our church regardless of what songs we sing, the type of chairs we sit in, or the kind of building we have. Please do whatever it takes to breathe life into us again for the glory of Your Name alone. I ask it in Your strong Name, Amen.

 September 11, 2021

Praying With JESUS: 40 Days Toward Church Revitalization — Day 11

“Every church needing revitalization can assume at some point in the ups and downs of their existence that they lost sight of the Biblical model and structure of authority and must begin to recover it if any other patters of dysfunction can be addressed to ensure a healthy direction for the future. Authority matters. Who is in charge in your church? Jesus is the bridegroom of His bride. He is in charge. He is the one to whom the church must submit if it is to have life and experience the unity that only He can bring, for it came at the cost of His own life (Eph. 2:11-15).” —Brian Croft, “Biblical Church Revitalization”

WHO’S IN CHARGE? When Peter correctly answered Jesus’ probing question about His identity, Jesus not only affirmed Peter’s answer, but went further to explain what it meant for Him to be “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus went on to say that “…I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matthew 16:18) As Brian Croft wrote in his book quoted above, Jesus is in charge. “He is the one to whom the church must submit if it is to have life and experience the unity that only He can bring…” As a friend of mine often says when pressing someone for an honest answer, “If someone held a gun to your head demanding to know who was in charge of your church, what would you answer?” If it is anyone other Jesus Christ then some serious repentance, prayer, and reorientation needs to happen.

Matthew 16:15-19 (ESV)
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

PRAY: Jesus, I acknowledge and submit to Your authority, and Your authority alone, over Your church. I am not the authority in our church, nor is any other person the authority. Please forgive me for any time that I have attempted to exercise my own authority in Your church, as though it belonged to me and not to You. Please restore a deep sense of humility among all the leaders in our church, and a glad desire to submit to Your authority alone. I agree with Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” and thereby You have full authority to reign in Your church. I surrender and submit myself to You, King of all kings, and Lord of all lords! Amen!

08/23/21 Parables of Jesus #11 — The Lost Sheep (Mat.18:12-14; Luke 15:3-7)

Matthew 18:12-14 (ESV) 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

v.14 perish. The word here can (and does in this context) refer to spiritual devastation rather than utter eternal destruction. This does not suggest that God's children ever could perish in the ultimate sense (cf. Jn 10:28). [The MacArthur Study Bible]

Far too many believers and churches seem to content to relax and enjoy each other. We MUST stay BUSY looking for “lost sheep”! God expects that believers will spread the Good News constantly, by walk and talk—by our lifestyles and our words.

 08/19/21 Parables of Jesus #10 — The Dragnet (Mat.13:47-50)

Matthew 13:47-50 (ESV) 47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

v.47 net. Some fishing was done with a large weighted net dragged along the bottom of the lake. When pulled in, it contained an assortment that had to be separated. In a similar way the visible kingdom, the sphere of those who claim to be believers, is full of both good and bad and will be sorted in the judgment.

v.49 angels. They serve God in judgment (cf. v. 41; 2Th 1:7-10). [The MacArthur Study Bible]

         From my limited viewport it seems that there are basically two strategies for amateur American fishermen to use today: 1) Drag-and-Bag: using a net, as in this parable; and 2) Bait-and-Wait: Using a lure or live bait on the end of a line. In either case, unless one is very well-informed, you have little control over what you catch.

         Matthew 4:19-20 (ESV) 19  And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20  Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

            Our job is to “fish”—throw out the lifeline (as the old hymn puts it). We must be exposing the “bait” of the gospel to our lost friends and acquaintances. Jesus and His angels will sort out the truly good from the bad someday!