- Looked like even more people this week! Time change didn’t keep’m from coming! Praise God—Impact continues to grow!
- What’s one of the ways to know that you’re a believer? FRUIT. Gotta have it. There’s no such thing as a fruitless Christ follower. The final group in the ‘Parable of the Sower’ was the “Good Soil” group. These were the true believers who produced a crop—some 100 fold, some 60, and some 30. But no true believer produces nothing. If there’s no fruit in a person’s life one of 2 things went wrong. Either the soil wasn’t prepared to receive the Word (seed) or some ‘bad seed’ got in the mix (from a preacher teaching bad theology). And no culture has a higher percentage of bad seed being cast about than what so often gets preached in American evangelicalism. From ‘prosperity theology’ to it’s polar opposite, ‘poverty theology,’ (and everything in between) there is a “way that seems right to man, but the end therein is death.” Let’s face it, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that 80 percent of Americans claiming to be ‘Christian’ can’t possibly be accurate. Again, where’s the fruit? Where’s the evidence? So we did a little hard self evaluation this morning at Impact. It ruffled some feathers too, but, if that’s you, think of it this way—If you were headed over a cliff, would you be mad at the one who knocked you down in order to stop you? Maybe for a moment or two, but once you understood what was really going on—I’m guessing you’d thank him.
You’re welcome.
- This passage was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I was hoping to get through it without anyone thinking I was discounting God’s blessings, alas, that’s nearly impossible to do. So let me take another run at it.
God loves people—period. And He is a good, good God! But mankind chose to go it alone when Adam bought the serpent’s lie in the garden. Since then, sin and death and disease are a part of this life. That’s the bad news. But the good news is so good it’s actually called just that—“good news.” Jesus loved us too much to leave us in the downward spiral. He sent His son, Jesus on a rescue mission and life with Jesus is infinitely better than life without Him. The blessings are too numerous to count. However (don’t you hate how there always seems to be a “however?”), the prince of the power of the air (Satan) is still active and wants to keep as many from Jesus as possible. So trials and tribulation will be a part of our lot until we go to be with Jesus and He wipes away all tears and does away with sin and death.
And it’s precisely HERE that many Christ followers go off the rails. You see, they hear about how much Jesus loves them and wants to bless them and they equate that with the total absence of pain and suffering, or hardship of any kind. Even though God’s Word warns us not to think that way. James tells us to “count it all joy when we encounter various trials.” John 16:33 says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” And here are a few others…Romans 5:3, “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance.” 1 Peter 4:12, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” Psalm 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” So, trials and suffering are woven in among blessing and joy in this life. And it’s far better to know Jesus than not—only to the believer can trials have any real meaning—any real purpose. For the unbeliever they’re just the pain before even greater pain.
- Christ followers are left on this earth as ambassadors for Jesus. Our primary mission is to bring glory to God by telling others the good news of the gospel—and seeing the lost find Jesus. And every believer has the same primary objective. No one gets to ‘opt out.’
- We gave everyone “1” ‘invite card’ today—not 10, not 5—just 1. We want everyone to go after the lost this week. Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 This week we are going to bring some to Impact to hear the good news and witness the greatest of all miracles—the new birth of a brand new Christian—many, many new Christians! Check back here each day and I will share another idea for inviting people to Impact.
