The Reformed Pastor

Television and Cinema

2009-07-01T14:46:00.004-05:00

I am really struggling lately over the issue of television. I am concerned with how much damage it is doing to the church, the family, and to us as individuals. I wrote a blog about my feelings about television and movies several weeks ago. I ran across an article by Pastor John Piper today as well that I want to encourage you to read. He said,

I think relevance in preaching hangs very little on watching movies, and I think that much exposure to sensuality, banality, and God-absent entertainment does more to deaden our capacities for joy in Jesus than it does to make us spiritually powerful in the lives of the living dead. Sources of spiritual power—which are what we desperately need—are not in the cinema. You will not want your biographer to write: Prick him and he bleeds movies.

If you want to be relevant, say, for prostitutes, don’t watch a movie with a lot of tumbles in a brothel. Immerse yourself in the gospel, which is tailor-made for prostitutes; then watch Jesus deal with them in the Bible; then go find a prostitute and talk to her. Listen to her, not the movie. Being entertained by sin does not increase compassion for sinners. There are, perhaps, a few extraordinary men who can watch action-packed, suspenseful, sexually explicit films and come away more godly. But there are not many. And I am certainly not one of them.

I have a high tolerance for violence, high tolerance for bad language, and zero tolerance for nudity. There is a reason for these differences. The violence is make-believe. They don’t really mean those bad words. But that lady is really naked, and I am really watching. And somewhere she has a brokenhearted father.

I’ll put it bluntly. The only nude female body a guy should ever lay his eyes on is his wife’s. The few exceptions include doctors, morticians, and fathers changing diapers. “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?” (Job 31:1). What the eyes see really matters. “Everyone who looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Better to gouge your eye than go to hell (verse 29).

Brothers, that is serious. Really serious. Jesus is violent about this. What we do with our eyes can damn us. One reason is that it is virtually impossible to transition from being entertained by nudity to an act of “beholding the glory of the Lord.” But this means the entire Christian life is threatened by the deadening effects of sexual titillation.

All Christ-exalting transformation comes from “beholding the glory of Christ.” “Beholding the glory of the Lord, [we] are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Whatever dulls the eyes of our mind from seeing Christ powerfully and purely is destroying us. There is not one man in a thousand whose spiritual eyes are more readily moved by the beauty of Christ because he has just seen a bare breast with his buddies.

But leave sex aside (as if that were possible for fifteen minutes on TV). It’s the unremitting triviality that makes television so deadly. What we desperately need is help to enlarge our capacities to be moved by the immeasurable glories of Christ. Television takes us almost constantly in the opposite direction, lowering, shrinking, and deadening our capacities for worshiping Christ.

One more smaller concern with TV (besides its addictive tendencies, trivialization of life, and deadening effects): It takes time. I have so many things I want to accomplish in this one short life. Don’t waste your life is not a catchphrase for me; it’s a cliff I walk beside every day with trembling.

TV consumes more and more time for those who get used to watching it. You start to feel like it belongs. You wonder how you could get along without it. I am jealous for my evenings. There are so many things in life I want to accomplish. I simply could not do what I do if I watched television. So we have never had a TV in 40 years of marriage (except in Germany, to help learn the language). I don’t regret it.

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

Since this is such an issue to me, I wanted to add below a copy of what I wrote several weeks ago as well, so here it is.

I want to write about something that is killing, and yes I mean KILLING our country, our churches, our families, and we as individuals. I want to reveal the identity of a real killer. This is really a recent revelation, but one that is true. It is one of those things that make you want to kick yourself because you can't understand how you could never have seen it before. The thing that I believe is killing us may surprise you. It is none other than discontentment. But it is not that simple. The discontentment that is killing us is a discontentment that is planted and driven by television and cinema.

The examples I could give are absolutely endless, but I will share with you a few that may hit home.Television and cinema drive discontentment in husbands. On the television, he sees Victoria's Secret models, Hollywood actresses, and women who have had multiple surgeries (and sometimes drugs) in order to achieve what "our society" defines as the "perfect body." (By the way, there are seasons in history where our models today would be repulsive) He then becomes discontent with his wife, his eyes begin to wander, and then his heart begins to wander, and his marriage falls apart, if not in court, in reality.

Television and cinema drive discontentment in wives. On the movie screen she sees handsome men who are hopelessly romantic and say everything right all the time. He is always right on time with the right things and the right words. He seems to be a hero in the home, at work, and yes, even in bed. She then looks at her husband who is kicked back in the recliner, pot belly, balding head, and a hint of body odor and wonders…what did I do? What she doesn't realize is the guy in the movie she just watched is as big of a slob as her husband, if not bigger, and on top of that he is not nearly as loyal, faithful, or wonderful as he appears on the movie screen. It is hard to remember that this is why they are called actors.

Television and cinema drive discontentment in youth. They go watch a movie together and then they simply must have what they see in the movie. After all, if the people on the big screen had little sporty cars with big loud pipes, shouldn't we? If the kids on TV got drunk, smoked pot, spent the night in promiscuity and got away with it, couldn't we? Teens see a movie and the movie dictates for them how they should dress, what they should drive, how they should brush their hair, and how they should live...and that usually costs money...imagine that.

Television and cinema drive discontentment in children. They watch a program where children are portrayed as having a room 30 feet by 60 feet filled with an indoor playground and $10,000 worth of computer equipment and they wonder why they only have bunk beds and a basketball. After all if ______ on TV has it, why can't I? The kids in the commercial seemed to be having a good time. Do you get my drift? Many of us live in homes where husbands, wives, and children are all discontent and the only reason they are all still under one roof is due to necessity. They don't even like each other anymore. It even applies to churches.

People turn on the television and there, portrayed on the screen before them, is a mega church with the best lights, the best band, the best worship, the best pastor, the best children's ministry, the best student ministry, and the biggest budget. After all they even have a single's ministry, a private school, and a McDonald's right next to the bookstore in the foyer. All we have is….well…..church. Then we get discontent, move down the road, and spend our lives looking for First Baptist Six Flags Over Jesus Church rather than plugging in and serving where God has placed us. Do you get my drift? Discontentment is killing us! It is killing our joy! It is killing our marriages! It is killing our families! It is killing our churches! And to be honest, most of the discontentment comes from the television set and the movie screen….sometimes radio as well. We need to learn to guard against discontentment.

Hear the Word of God. 2 Cor 12:10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.Phil 4:11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content1 Tim 6:8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be contentHeb 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you haveHow desperately we need to guard against discontentment. That may mean no more movies. That may mean no more television. That may simply mean a good old fashion reality check and a push out of fantasy land into the real world. I believe if we worked as hard at our marriages and our families as we do at keeping up with American Idol or the latest movie or sport we would see a difference that would rejuvenate and revive our spouses, our children, our churches, and ourselves.

Fight discontentment. Flee it. Live your life and live it the fullest…and you can't do that trying to live someone else's life, even if they are a Hollyweird actor. Let us be content and "give thanks with a grateful heart" for all the people and possessions God HAS blessed us with instead of wasting our lives pursuing what He never intended for us to have.

Am i saying, "throw out your TV?" No, but we would all probably be better off if we did.

The Prodigal Father: Part 2

2009-06-24T09:53:00.001-05:00

The parable that we are looking at this week is the parable of the prodigal father. I want to remind you that the main character is not the lost son, but the father. Also, I want to remind you of the definition of prodigal. The word prodigal is a very old English word that actually means extravagant. It does not speak of youthful rebellion or sinful living. The main idea behind the word prodigal is that of wastefulness and excess. A prodigal person is a big spender who spreads his resources around, someone who is recklessly openhanded with large gifts.

I want to submit to you that the father was more of a prodigal than his son ever was. We are seeing the prodigal nature of the father in 4 things this week. Already, we have seen the prodigal nature of the father in the Rebellion of the Son, the ruin of the son, and the repentance of the son. If you need to catch up, check out the archives at kevinivy.com and catch up on part one. Today we will see the prodigal nature of the father in the restoration of the Son. Look at what happens in verses 22-24. But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate.

Not only did the father forgive him, but he restored him and he restored him in a prodigal (lavish, extravagant) way. He gave him a Robe. Every nobleman had a choice robe—an expensive, ornate, embroidered, one of a kind, floor length outer garment of the highest quality fabric and craftsmanship. Giving him the robe signified a greater honor than one would normally even think to confer on a son. This was the kind of courtesy reserved for an extremely prestigious dignitary. The father was publicly honoring his returning son not only as guest of honor at the banquet but also as a person of the utmost distinction.

He also gave him a Ring. This was the signet ring that had the family seal, so when the ring was pressed into melted wax on a formal document, the resulting seal served as legal authentication. The ring therefore was a symbol of authority.

He went on to give him Sandals. The sandals may sound like the least of the gifts, but they were highly significant. Hired servants and household slaves customarily went barefoot. Only masters and their sons wore footwear. This is not a servant. This is my son.

Finally, we see him kill the Fatted Calf. Such a calf would be grain fed only for an extraordinary occasion, such as the wedding of a firstborn son or a once in a lifetime banquet held to celebrate the arrival of an important dignitary. The animal would be carefully selected well in advance of the occasion, generously fed, diligently cared for, and kept penned up, apart from the herd. It would be enough to feed hundreds of people. Preparation would take the rest of the day, and the festivities would continue deep into the night. It would not be unusual for a party such as this to last three days or more.

The rebellious son had entrusted his life to the father, and the father had absolutely amazed and overwhelmed him by entrusting his resources to him. His father turned out to be the prodigal of the story. The prodigal nature of the Father was not met with open arms by everyone. The story goes on in verses 25-32.

"Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.' 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!' 31 And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'"

Haven’t you always wondered, What happened then? Did he go in and celebrate? Did he walk away angry? Who knows? The ending simply isn't there. It leaves us hanging. There was an ending to the story however. Think about it. The father figure in the parable clearly represents Christ. The younger son in the parable represents the heathen, publicans, and tax collectors: the lost. The elder brother clearly represents the Pharisees, Scribes, and religious leaders. With all of that in mind, we can today fill in the remainder of the story, because we know how the elder brother responded to the father (Christ). The true ending of the story should read something like this: "The elder son was outraged at his father so he turned some of the servants against him and murdered him right in the very midst of the celebratory feast!" Ouch! The prodigal nature of the father (the lavish mercy, the excessive grace, and the extravagant forgiveness) is met with rage by the religious elite.

Christ is murdered. He is beaten, he is crucified, he is buried, and thankfully he is resurrected from the grave. The ironic thing is, even in his death he is pouring out grace, mercy, and forgiveness. The ending was not officially penned in the parable itself and I think that this is good. This allows for everyone who hears the story today to write his or her own ending by how they respond. How will you respond?

Will you crucify him all over again OR will you join the celebration by repenting of your sin, embracing the Gospel, and following Christ? The responsibility to rightly respond is yours.

The Prodigal Father: Part 1

2009-06-22T09:58:00.002-05:00

The parable that we come to today is probably the most popular parable in all of the Word of God. It is definitely the most popular parable in Luke’s Gospel. Though this parable is so well known, I do not believe that it is rightly known.

First, the main character is not the lost son, but the father. There are 3 parables in this chapter: the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost silver, and the parable of the lost son. All three have Christ as the star! In the parable of the lost sheep he is pictured as the good shepherd. In the parable of the lost silver he is pictured as the one who came to seek and to save the lost. And now in the parable of the lost son, he is pictured as a gracious and merciful and compassionate Father. So, the main character is not the son, but the father.

Secondly, the title that we have come to recognize this parable by is backwards. We call it the parable of the prodigal son. I want to submit to you this morning that the title should be the parable of the prodigal father. I have a very good reason for this title. After all the word prodigal is a very old English word that actually means extravagant. It does not speak of youthful rebellion or sinful living. The main idea behind the word prodigal is that of wastefulness and excess. A prodigal person is a big spender who spreads his resources around, someone who is recklessly openhanded with large gifts.

I want to submit to you that the father was more of a prodigal than his son ever was. We will see the prodigal nature of the father in 4 things this week. First, we see the prodigal nature of the father in the Rebellion of the Son. Look at what happens in verses 11-13. And he said, "There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living."

This younger son was a rebellious son. He said to his father, give me my inheritance. Pull your will out of the safe, call a lawyer, and give me what is coming to me. For a son in that culture to request his inheritance early was equivalent to saying, I wish you were dead. And any father with a proper concern about the honor of his own name and the reputation of the family would now see to it that a boy like this received the full and just punishment for his disrespect. A son guilty of dishonoring his father to this degree could well expect to lose everything he had or was hoping to receive. He could expect to be permanently dismissed from the family. Actually, he would be viewed as dead. It was not uncommon in that time and place to hold an actual funeral for a child who disrespected and abandoned his home and family in this way.

The scribes and Pharisees are sitting on the edge of their seats in utter shock and amazement. They fully expected the prodigal son's father to drop the hammer on the wayward youth. After all, the father's honor had been turned to shame by his son's rebellion. Here is where we see the first sign of the father’s prodigal (lavish, extravagant, excessive ways). Rather than publicly strike the boy across the face for his disrespect, this father granted his rebel son exactly what he asked for. He dug out the will, called in the lawyer, and gave him his entire inheritance. That was a little excessive in the eyes of the religious leaders. Instead of punishment, he gave him what he did not even deserve. We see the prodigal nature of the father in his response to the rebellion of the son.

We also see the prodigal nature of the father in the Ruin of the Son. Look at what happens in verses 14-16. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

We see the prodigal nature of the father in the ruin of the rebellious son. The party has ended for the son. His funds have run out, his friends have run off, and a famine has set in. The son has lost his inheritance and he has lost his hope. He finds himself a job feeding pigs. He is at the lowest of the low. Rabbis actually are quoted as saying, “Cursed is the man who breeds swine.” Here is this young Jew working for a Gentile, feeding the swine, and even considering eating with them. Obviously, he is at his lowest point. He is ruined.

What is the father doing during the ruin of his son. It is dangerous to assume much of anything, but I think it is safe to assume that he is waiting and watching for him. It is evident that the father was looking diligently for the prodigal's return. Look in verse 20, “While he was still a great way off, his father saw him.” How else could he have seen him while he was still a long way off if he were not watching and waiting for him? We see lavish mercy, excessive love, and extravagant patience from the father. We see the prodigal nature of the father as he waits for his son to return from his ruin.

We also see the prodigal nature of the father in the Repentance of the Son. The son is awakened to his sin in verses 17-20a, “But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."' 20 And he arose and came to his father.” He sees his sin. He sees the solution. He formulates his plan. He arises and begins to carry out his plan.

Look at the prodigal response of the father. 20b But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. He ran to him. In that culture of honor, especially in a situation like this, it would be nothing extraordinary if the father simply refused to meet the boy face to face. Yet, here was the father not shunning his son, but running to him. In the context of that culture, the father's action of running to the boy and embracing him before he came all the way home was seen as shameful. Nobelmen in that culture did not run. Running was for little boys and servants. No, noblemen walked in a dignified, authoritative manner with deliberate steps. The text uses a word that speaks of sprinting, as if he were in an athletic competition. The father gathered up the hem of his robe and took off in a most undignified manner.

Not only did he run to him, but he embraced him! Now that the boy was coming home, the Pharisees expected him to get what he deserved. It would be fairly typical to punish him first by publicly shaming him. A father in those circumstances might have his son sit outside the gate in public view for several days. The boy would be completely exposed to the elements—and worse, to the utter scorn of the whole community. In a typical village where everyone knew everyone else, the entire village would mock and verbally abuse him and possibly even spit on him. He would just have to sit there and take it while he waited. After a few days wait, the son would be expected to bow low and kiss the father's feet. But his father kissed him, and the verb tense means he repeatedly kissed him (the rag wearing, pig smelling, disrespectful son). He does not receive what he deserves (shaming). He receives what he does not deserve in abundance, in excess. He was embraced and kissed. Such an embrace with repeated kisses was a gesture that signified his full acceptance, forgiveness, restoration, and total reconciliation.

In verses 21-22 we read, And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22 But the father said to his servants. The father quickly cut him off. The prodigal never even got to the part of his rehearsed speech in which he would ask to become one of the hired servants. The father had already reinstated him as a beloved son, and the great celebration was to get underway.
The excessive, lavish, extravagant love, forgiveness, and mercy the father showed reveals his prodigal nature.

If you are not yet convinced that it is the father who is the prodigal in the story just wait until next time…

Salvation, the Heart and Joy of God

2009-06-18T08:59:00.001-05:00

Last time we were reminded that salvation is the work of God (if you did not read it, search the archives at kevinivy.com and read it). Salvation is not our work. It is His. We are saved by grace, through faith. Not only is salvation the work of God, but it is also the very heart of God. Listen to the message of the parable in verses 8 and 9 of Luke 15. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.”

Salvation is the Heart of God. This woman so desired the lost silver that she thoroughly, consistently, and with great perseverance sought it until she found it. This woman searches carefully until she finds it. This woman lights a lamp. She sweeps the whole house. She leaves nothing unturned. When she comes to the end of her search, she can say, I have searched everywhere. She seeks it until she finds it.

Salvation is God’s Heart. We read in 1 Tim 2:3-4, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” God so desires that people be saved, that he has given us every opportunity and reason to respond. God has thoroughly revealed Himself to us!

He has given us the witness of the heavens. Just look up at the moon. The moon’s orbit creates the necessary tides upon the oceans. The moon orbits the earth from about 240,000 miles out. If the moon were to move in just one-fifth of this distance, the continents would be plunged under water twice a day. Just look up at the stars. There are only 4000 stars that can be seen without a telescope. Modern telescopes have verified that there are 10 million, billion, billion stars. Just look up at the uniqueness of the planets and at the power of the sun. 90% of all astronomers believe in God because they have looked up. The Psalmist in Ps 19:1 said, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. “

He has given us the witness of our conscious. There is a moral law in each of us that tells us that regardless of our beliefs it is wrong to rape, steal, and kill. If there were no such moral law or conscious within us, the world would be in chaos. Who set these universal rules in the heart of mankind? According to Romans, it was God. Rom 2:14-15 says, “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.”

He has given us the witness of creation. Just look around at the grass and trees and the animal kingdom. Look out at the ocean and the diversity of ocean life. The archerfish can shoot water into the air 15 feet and strike a small insect that it has chosen for a meal. Just look around period! That eye that you are looking around with comes with automatic aiming, automatic focusing, and automatic maintenance during one’s sleep. When stuck in the dark the eye can increase its ability to see 100,000 times. No one has to think about that, or give their eye instructions, or teach their eye to perform. It just happens. Did it just happen by accident or chance?

He has given us the witness of His Word. The Word of God was written over a period of 1500 years on 3 separate continents by more than 40 different authors in 3 different languages. Yet, despite its diversity, it comes together to present one story of God's plan to redeem mankind from sin, iniquity, and transgression.

Ultimately, He has given us the witness of Himself. God came to earth in the flesh. Every religion on earth tries to give its followers direction on how to climb the mountain to God. Most would claim that all the roads up the mountain are leading to God. Most would claim, that it doesn’t matter how you climb, or which side of the mountain you scale, because we are all striving to reach the same God. Christianity is not about climbing a mountain to find God. It is about God coming down off of the mountain to find us, pick us up, and carry us home. He came to seek and to save the lost.

Salvation is God’s Heart. He has turned on the light, He has swept the room, and He is seeking you out. God’s heart is salvation and we know it because of how clearly He has revealed Himself to us.

Finally, we need to be reminded that salvation is the Joy of God. Notice the reason he told the 2 parables in verses 1 and 2, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." The Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling. They were grumbling because tax collectors and sinners (less important folks) were coming to Christ. And not only that, Jesus is enjoying and rejoicing in the fact that they are coming to him. This upset the religious crowd, so he told these parables.

Listen to verse 7 and verse 10. Verse seven states, “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." Verse 10 says, “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” This is a description of the pleasure of God Himself. Notice that Jesus doesn't speak of the joy of the angels, but the joy in the presence of the angels and joy in heaven. It is the joy of God Himself. Salvation is God’s Joy.

The only feature of those 2 stories that seems exaggerated is the celebration. Most people who find a lost coin or a lost animal wouldn't actually go to the trouble of calling friends and neighbors together and having a public party to rejoice. This is a picture of heaven's joy over sinners repenting. Heaven's joy over the redemption of sinners is an ecstatic joy, almost exaggerated. That the Sovereign, Holy, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Immutable, Eternal, All Powerful, Creator God would rejoice at the repentance of a totally depraved, ungodly, iniquity filled, sin filled, rebellious wicked sinners is OUTRAGEOUS. And we so often seem to take it for granted. Let us praise God that salvation is His joy.

These two parables are all about God seeking us, taking the initiative, and doing the work of salvation. These parables are not about the sinner’s response to God, but about God’s response to the sinner. So what kind of response is required of us? Simply put, we must repent and believe the Gospel. We must turn away from our sin and believe and embrace the Gospel of Christ (1 Cor 15). We must Seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near. In the words of Jeremiah the prophet, “You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart.” Are you seeking God? If so, that is a reliable indication that He is seeking you. Don’t give up. Continue pursuing Him. Repent, believe and embrace the Gospel. Throw yourself upon the mercy and grace of Christ and he will carry you and rejoice in your redemption. Keep seeking Him until He finds you.

Salvation, the Work of God

2009-06-16T09:21:00.001-05:00

We come today to a chapter of parables. There is the parable of the lost sheep, the lost silver, and the lost son, all of which point to the salvation of the sinner. We must understand that these parables are not referring to a backslidden believer. They are referring to lost sinners and to how God responds to them! Furthermore, these parables are not about the sinner’s response to God, but about God’s response to the sinner. This week we will look at the first 2 parables in Luke 15 and we will conclude next week with the parable of the prodigal.

In Luke 15:1-10 we read, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them. 3 So he told them this parable: 4 What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. 8 Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost. 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

As we think about God’s response to the sinner, we see three things about salvation in these parables that we will be reminded of this week.

First, we see that Salvation is the Work of God. We read in verses 4-6, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. In this parable we see very clearly that salvation is ultimately God’s work. After all, what does the sheep do? All that the sheep has done is get lost. He has gotten himself into mortal danger. He is as good as dead. A sheep separated from the flock and left to wander by itself in the wilderness will die, even with an abundance of food and water all around. It is only a matter of time before the lost sheep would succumb to the stress of being separated from the flock. Sheep are not generally independent thinkers. Their natural inclination is to stay together in flocks. If one got lost, it faced serious stress. Its stupidity and clumsiness were maximized. It is only a matter of time before the lost sheep will be devoured by predators, or die due to exposure to the elements. The sheep was as good as dead!

Just like that lost sheep, a lost person is as good as dead. The Bible tells us in Eph 2:4-5, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved.” We are dead and left to ourselves we have no hope. We will always run from God, not to God. We will stray from the shepherd not run to him. Isa 53:6 reminds us that “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” The sheep was hopeless and helpless on its own, so if there is to be any hope, the shepherd has to find the sheep. We are hopeless and helpless left to ourselves, so if there is to be any hope for us, God has to do the work.

Think for a moment about Lazarus? He had been dead and buried for 4 days. Jesus comes on the scene, has the stone removed, and says, “Lazarus come forth.” Lazarus walks out of the tomb alive to everyone’s joy and amazement. He did not find Jesus and then receive life. Why? He couldn’t! He was dead! He was given life by the Sovereign Lord and then he came out to Jesus. He didn’t hear the voice of the Savior calling his name and then come to life. He came to life and then heard the voice of Christ and was able to respond to it. It was God who did the work!

We see in this parable that the shepherd leaves the 99 and goes in search of the lost sheep. The shepherd's duty would be to leave his flock in a safe place together and go in search of the lost sheep. That is exactly what the Lord did. He said in Luke 19:10 that “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” The good shepherd seeks out the lost sheep. In Ezek 34:11-12 we read, “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” God, the Good Shepherd does the work of our salvation. He seeks us.

Not only does the shepherd go in search of the sheep, he picks it up and carries it to safety. The shepherd lays the sheep on his shoulders and carries it back to the flock, back to the fold. He doesn't even leave it to the sheep to travel home in his own power. He lifts it up and carries it. Isa 40:11 says, “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” In Isa 46:4 we read, “I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”

The sheep does absolutely nothing in this parable. The entire saving work is attributed to the shepherd. Clearly, salvation is God’s work. May we never forget that our redemption is all of grace and none of works. It is all of God. Next time, we will see that salvation is also God’s heart and great joy. Until then…

The Nature of the Gospel Call: Part 2

2009-06-11T11:29:00.002-05:00

Last time we saw that the call of Christ is comprehensive and conditional. Today, let us see that it is also costly and continual. First, let us see the Costly Nature of the Call. The conditions are so great for one to follow Christ and answer the call that one must consider carefully the cost of this call. You put much more thought into buying a house, than you do into buying a pack of gum. The ramifications are much greater concerning the house than they are for the gum. Well, the gulf is that wide between the ramifications of buying a house and the ramifications of what you do with the call of Christ. Jesus does not solicit a hasty, emotional decision. Instead, he urges those who would follow him to think seriously about their decision and to count the cost. Do not promise to follow Jesus unless you understand the cost and are willing to pay it. Jesus never encouraged an unthinking, impulsive leap of faith into discipleship in hopes that later on they would be willing to pay the price. The ramifications are great.

Jesus used 2 illustrations to drive home the importance of serious deliberation over this call. First of all, he used Buildings. Jesus said in verses 28-30, "For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish." It might have been a watchtower because in ancient days enemies attacked by burning fields, sowing tares in the fields and so towers were often built in these great estates from which the people could protect their land. Jesus says, Don't start building unless you can finish. It is better for you and the KOG not to even start if you aren't going to finish.
John Stott writes in Basic Christianity, "The Christian landscape is strewn with the wreckage of derelict, half-built towers, the ruins of those who began to build and were unable to finish. For thousands of people, still ignore Christ's warning and undertake to follow Him without first pausing to reflect on the cost of doing so. Large numbers of people have covered themselves with a thin veneer of Christianity."

He also used the illustration of battles. In verses 31-32 he said, "Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace." This king realizes his enemy is coming with 20,000. What man, what king, what leader is going to put his 10,000 in danger before he sits down and assesses his chances of winning the battle. And if he comes up with the conclusion that he can't win, verse 32 says, he's going to send a delegation and ask terms of peace. There's no sense in spilling all this blood to get to the same end that we could get to by negotiating.

Concerning the building, the man decided to build. Concerning the battle, the enemy is on the way to attack him. This is a dilemma over which he has really no control. The builder of the tower is free to build or not as he chooses, but the king is being invaded. The other comes against him. He doesn't have a lot of choice. In the first parable Jesus says, "Sit down and decide whether you can afford to follow me." In the second parable he says, "Sit down and decide whether you can afford not to follow me." Talk about being between a rock and a hard place! You can't really afford to come to Christ, but you surely cannot afford to NOT come to Jesus.

Jesus does not want disciples who do not realize what they have let themselves in for. Counting the cost is important. You do all the important things in life by calculating carefully. This is the most important thing you'll ever do. This is more important than any tower you'll ever build and more important than any enemy you'll ever meet. When you come to Me, Jesus says, you're not just adding Me to your life. I become your life. I'm not offering you a makeover. I am calling for a takeover. The call is costly.

We not only see the comprehensive, conditional, costly nature of the call, but we see the Continual Nature of the Call in verses 34-35. Jesus said, "Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." This is not a call that you answer on June 11, 2009, never to be concerned about again. This is a call that demands persistence. This is a call that demands a present tense faith. This is a call that is continual in nature. If the salt ever loses its saltiness, what good is it. Most salt came from the dead sea and contained impurities. If it was not processed properly, it would lose its taste and become not only useless, but it would create a disposal problem. If the conditions of discipleship are not kept, the disciple likewise will become less than worthless. Not only will he do no good for the kingdom, he will damage the kingdom. Half hearted disciples do more damage than good. If the salt loses its saltiness, it will be thrown out. If we lose our temperature, we will be spewed out. Jesus himself says in Rev 3:15-16, "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." The apostle John wrote in 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. Jesus said in Luke 9:62, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

This is not a past tense decision that you make and take care of never to be concerned with again. This is a present tense, daily walk with Christ. True saints persevere. It is an ongoing faith walk. The Gospel call is continual in nature.

The question is, have you truly considered and answered the Gospel call. It is a comprehensive call. There is no way that you can get around it. It is extended to you and it applies to you. It is not only a comprehensive call, but it is a conditional call. You must put Christ before your relationships, your life, and your possessions. The call is not only comprehensive and conditional, but it also costly. Salvation is all of grace and free of charge, but it will cost you everything. And it is not a one time decision you make that you never have to be concerned with again. It is a continual, ongoing walk with Christ. So, have you truly considered and answered the Gospel call. Have you met His conditions?

If not, I want to invite you to repent of your sin and believe the Gospel. Turn from your sin and place your faith and trust in Christ alone. Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Christ from this day forward. Today is the day of salvation.

The Nature of the Gospel Call: Part 1

2009-06-09T10:23:00.003-05:00

Luke 14:25-35

We find ourselves at a time in the life of our Lord when He is moving from town to town and village to village and He is preaching to the people, doing miracles, and healing. Always, He is calling people to follow Him, to become His disciples, and to come after Him. At the same time that he is calling them to come to him, they are walking away because of his radical requirements.

We read in John 6:66 that, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. It seems, when you study the words of Jesus, especially in Luke, that instead of pointing out the promises associated with following Him, He always seemed to point out the costs…exactly the opposite of what we are told to do today by most church growth gurus.

We are told to point out the promises and the positives in hopes that people will respond and maybe later on they will be willing to pay the price of discipleship. We are told to devise a gospel or a message that is easy to receive and easy to accept and easy to believe. Well, Jesus' words are not usually so palatable. Here the Word of God in Luke 14:25-35.

Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. 34 "Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

The basic message that Christ delivers here is found in many other places in the four gospels, so we know this to be a normal part of His teaching. And these teachings are extreme. The nature of His call is extreme. What does this message teach us about the call to follow him? First, we see the Comprehensive Nature of the Call in verses 25-26a .

There are those who would preach, teach, and say that the invitation Jesus extends here is not for all. It is not a comprehensive call. It was only for those closest to him. There are those who see their need of a Savior, they pray asking Christ to forgive them, and redeem them, and they go on with their life never growing and never really changing. Then there are others who really feel led to go deeper. They are really interested in spiritual things. These people are the ones that this applies to. This is not for all Christians. It is for the deeply committed. This gospel call however is a comprehensive call. It is for everyone. This is not a call to a deeper walk. It is a call to a walk. This is not a call for the special forces. This is a call that he extends to the crowd (now great crowds accompanied him v25). This is a call that begins with "If anyone." This is a comprehensive call.

We not only see the comprehensive nature of the call, but also the Conditional Nature of the Call. This is not an open ended call to come as you choose to come. You cannot come as you choose to come. You must meet His conditions. There are 3 conditions that he lays down for us in this passage. Three times he says, if you do not meet these conditions you cannot be my disciple. First, there is the Condition of Your Relationships in verse 26. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. What he is really communicating is not a literal hatred for your parents and family, but a love for him that surpasses your love for your family. He says it this way in Matt 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. In other words, your relationships are all subordinated. What honors Me, what pleases Me, what I desire, what I will, what I command as the Lord of your life takes precedent over all other demands and relationships. What's interesting (here is what we so often miss) is what pleases God is for us to obey our parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord (Col 3:20). What pleases God is for us to honor our fathers and our mothers (Ex 20:12). What pleases Christ, honors Him, and brings Him glory is for wives to submit to their own husbands as to the Lord, and for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her...for husbands to hold fast to, cling to, their wives (Eph 5). If we put Jesus 1st, he will subordinate our relationships, but in doing so he will demand that our family relationships deepen, not diminish. If your marriage is suffering, your relationship with God is suffering. You cannot even pray effectively. If you lose your marriage and family, you lose your ministry and your witness! Do not sacrifice your marriage and family on the altar of the church, because the church is not your God. Jesus Christ must come before any other relationship that we have, however when he comes first it will result in our family relationships deepening, not diminishing.

There is not only the condition of our relationships, but there is also the Condition of Your Life. Jesus said in verse 27, Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Jesus' call demands that we bear our cross. While there are many different interpretations concerning what Jesus means by this, Christ's original audience knew exactly what he was calling for. Perhaps some 30,000 were crucified during the lifetime of Christ alone. The disciples knew exactly what to expect and it was not good. They immediately pictured a poor, condemned soul walking along the road carrying the instrument of his execution on his own back. And one thing about that man, if he was seen leaving town carrying a cross, he was not coming back. He was as good as dead!

Jesus is saying, this is what you have to be willing to embrace and endure if you will follow me. Jesus said, you must willingly and intentionally take up your life. He put it this way in Luke 9:23. And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Every day, we must die to ourselves. Paul said, I die daily. Everyday, we must crucify the flesh. Paul tells us in Gal 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

There is not only the condition of our relationships and our lives, but there is also the Condition of Your Riches described for us by Christ in verse 33. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Along with willingness to place him above family and life, Jesus also calls his followers, to surrender their possessions to his Lordship. The original language in verse 33 for "give up" is to say good-bye to. We must be willing to give up our finances to follow Christ. Peter, Andrew, James, and John gave up their nets, boats, and jobs to follow him. Matthew gave up his high paying position as a tax collector to follow Him. Zachaeus paid back all that he had stolen and gave half of his goods to the poor. Christ will subordinate your riches, and if he hasn't, you need to examine yourself.

This is clearly a conditional call. You cannot be my disciple, you cannot be my disciple, you cannot be my disciple! Here is what he is asking. If your family was going to become your enemies and hate you because you came to Christ would you come? OR If I were to ask you to lay down your life, pride, and your desires for your family, would you? Not because they deserve it, but because I said so. And if you had plans and ambitions in certain things and I asked you to do other than that and My Spirit directed you to give your life in some service over here, would you be willing to do that? And if I asked you to take everything you have, sell it all and give it to the poor, would you be willing to do that? And even if I asked you to die in the cause, would you do that? You become a steward of everything and an owner of nothing. Is Christ worth everything to you? He was to Paul. Paul wrote in Phil 3:8, "Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ."

Have you come to Christ on his conditions? Is he more precious to you than your family, than your riches, and than your very life? He will not be your co-pilot. He must be the pilot. He will not play second fiddle to anyone or anything. He must be your Savior and your Lord. Are you counting all things as rubbish, that you may gain Christ?

Next time we will see that this call is not only comprehensive and conditional, but it is costly. Until then…

The Invitation: Part 3

2009-06-04T10:50:00.001-05:00

We are looking at the parable that Jesus shared in In Luke 14:16-24 this week. Jesus said, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' 19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.' 20 And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' 22 And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' 23 And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'"

We have already been reminded that our words are not adequate to save us. We also have been reminded that our excuses are not acceptable to the thrice holy God of all creation. Today, we will see some good news: our Sin is not taken into account. Listen to the rest of the parable in verses 21-23, So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' 22 And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' 23 And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.

We have a problem now. We have a massive banquet prepared and nobody to come. The celebration will go on, however. Every seat will be filled, but it's going to be fulfilled by the most unlikely people: the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. We're talking about the beggars and the outcasts who live in the slums. We're talking about the outcasts, the untouchables. They were all invited and yet the servant tells the master that there is still room! The master then tells the servant to go over to the highways and along the hedges to fill up his house. This is referring to the Gentiles, the heathen, the really depraved and irreligious. He was to compel them to come in. In other words, the slave was not to take 'no' for an answer. The idea of the word compel here is a very strong word. This type of individual would take a lot of convincing that they were really wanted at a banquet in the city. You're going to have to compel these people because of their sense of unworthiness, but their unworthiness was no match for the grace of the master.

There may be those of you who think that God could never save you. He could never include you in the Kingdom of God. You have been too wicked and sinful and ungodly. Your sin is not so great that it cannot be forgiven. Why? Because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christ died to pay the price for your sin and mine and his blood is sufficient to cover a multitude of sins. Our inadequacies are insufficient because God's blood and grace is sufficient.

Mic 7:19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. It is as though, we lay our sin, iniquities, and transgressions at his feet and he just grinds them into the ground. He could then be pictured as picking up those crushed sins and throwing them over his shoulder behind his back. According to Isa 38:17 In love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. Those sins, iniquities, and transgressions then roll downhill into the very depths of the sea, where they are taken out with the tide as far as the east is from the west. Mic 7:19 says, You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea and Ps 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Needless to say, if we repent and turn to Christ, our sins will be remembered no more. According to Heb 10:17 I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.

He is inviting you. He is calling you. Before you attempt to respond though, remember, your words are not adequate. You must respond with your life and with your will. Your excuses are not accepted. It doesn't matter if they are valid or invalid. No excuse is acceptable with God. You sin is not taken into account. If you will respond to his call in repentance and faith, your sin will be remembered no more. I want to encourage you to repent, turn away from you sin, iniquity, and transgression. Turn away from your old affections, attitudes, and actions. Deny yourself. Repent. I want to encourage you to turn away from your sin and self and turn to Christ alone. Do not trust in a sinner's prayer. Do not trust in a baptism or a church membership. Do not trust in your good works. Trust in the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Christ alone to make you right with God. Take up your cross daily and follow him. Respond to the invitation. It is the most important move you will ever make.

Listen to how he concludes his parable in verse 24. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet. How dangerous it is to refuse the invitation of God. If God has spoken clearly to you and you have rejected his call, you are treading on dangerous ground. Today is the day of salvation. While the Spirit calls, you respond. Repent and place your faith in Christ alone.

Invitation Response: Part 2

2009-06-03T16:33:00.001-05:00

We are looking at the parable that Jesus shared in in Luke 14:16-24 this week. Jesus said, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' 19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.' 20 And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' 22 And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' 23 And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'"

Last time we were reminded that our words are not adequate to give us eternal life. Our verbal response is insufficient if it is not accompanied by a volitional response. Today, we will see that our Excuses for not responding properly are Not Acceptable either. Hear again what Jesus said in verses 18-20. But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' 19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.' 20 And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'

When the banquet was ready a slave was sent to announce the start of the feast. All of those who had verbally responded in the affirmative should have now been ready to respond with action. They had all affirmed the invitation with their words. Now it was time to affirm the invitation with their actions. But they all began to make excuses. These were clearly excuses, not reasons. First they were deceptive. After all, who is going to go buy a field without first inspecting it? Who is going to buy one yoke of oxen without testing them, much less 5 yoke of
oxen? The guy who was just married appealed to scripture, but he twisted it and took it out of context to fit his situation. Their excuses were all deceptive and that is what an excuse is any way….deceit. An excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie. Not only were they deceptive, but they were also weak. If this guy did buy a field without looking at it, it was too late now to turn back. The field was bought. He could see it later. It is done. It was the same with the oxen. And the guy with the wife…he would have attended if he were still single, but now he
is married and he can't come. That sounds like someone really desperate for an excuse. I am so henpecked that I can't come. It is plain that they did not want to come and there is the root of most excuses. They are not reasons, they are polite ways of saying I do not want to. Not only were these excuses deceptive and weak, but they were dishonoring as well. A tremendous amount of effort, work, and expense has been invested in this banquet. A tremendous act of generosity and kindness has been offered. They had responded to the RSVP and then decided at the time of the banquet to skip out. Is this not dishonoring? This is considered outrageous and unacceptable conduct. Some ancient near eastern traditions equate this with a declaration of war.

The problem wasn't found in the deceptiveness, the weakness, or the rudeness of their excuses. The fact that they made excuses at all was what mattered, because no excuse was valid. They reserved the place. They agreed to come. They then declined with deceptive, weak, and dishonoring excuses. Their excuses were not acceptable.

Our excuses are not acceptable either, because we have no excuse. We have heard the Gospel in church. We have the Gospel available to us in our homes (the average household in America has 4 Bibles) and if you dusted off all of the dusty Bibles in America, a dust storm of such proportions would erupt that President Obama and the whole Go Green Movement would have to reach for an anti-anxiety pill. We have the Gospel. We have no excuse. God's kingdom must take precedence over everything else: over the cares of this world, over the deceitfulness of riches, and over the pleasures of this world. What excuses are you making for not whole heartedly surrendering your everything to Christ? No excuse is valid. Our words are not adequate. Our excuses are not acceptable. Next time we will hear some good news. Until then….

Invitation Response: Part 1

2009-06-02T11:14:00.001-05:00

Who goes to hell? Everyone you ever hear of dying is in a "better" place. They are at rest now. Everyone you talk to believes that they are okay with God. There seems to be no concern over spiritual matters. There seems to be no such thing as a lost person anymore, especially in the buckle of the Bible belt. Virtually everyone you run into has responded to an invitation somewhere, repeated the coveted "sinner's prayer," and are now convinced that they are okay with God because of it.

It was no different in the New Testament. In verse 15 of the 14th chapter of Luke's Gospel someone yells out, "Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God." It's almost as if he picked up his cup of wine and said blessed is everyone who will be eating bread in the kingdom of God and they all said, "yes." In other words…"I am so glad I'm going to be there and I am glad that you all will be there too!"

Well, Jesus is going to shatter their false hope with a story, a parable. In Luke 14:16-24 Jesus said, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' 19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.' 20 And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' 22 And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' 23 And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'"

In this parable, we see some different truths about our response to the Gospel invitation. First, we see that Our Words are Not Adequate. In verses 16-17 Jesus said, A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' A man is giving a great banquet. This is a huge event put on by an obviously very wealthy man. Every one of these kind of events had two invitations. The one that let you know you would be invited and then the second when everything was ready. The first was to make reservations and the second to announce that the banquet was beginning. He sends out the first invitation to many.

This invitation would come in a very personal, formal way. It seems that they all accepted the invitation. After all, nobody would have refused. Everybody would have said yes, absolutely. This was the pinnacle of Jewish social life. After all, there was nothing else to do. To have a great feast prepared for you and to be invited by a very prominent person could be the highlight of your life. They all verbally and clearly responded to the invitation. They all made their reservations. And as we will see, that type of response was insufficient, for none of those who were invited would be allowed to taste of the supper. There word was not adequate. They had to actually show up!

Likewise, our verbal response to the Gospel invitation is not adequate, yet this is the extent of what most people make. Most invitations in churches today go something like this…If you have any doubt about where you would go when you die, come forward and repeat this simple prayer and you are guaranteed to go to heaven when you die. First of all, the goal is not heaven. Of course, you would never know that if you listened to most Southern Gospel songs or Gospel invitations. You see, it's not about heaven, it's about God. God is not a means to an end. He is not someone that you use to get to heaven. He is the end. Eternal life is not about heaven, it is about finding and embracing and worshipping God. Our invitations promise people, if they will just come forward and repeat a simple prayer that they wiill have eternal life. This sounds good, so many people respond to it. Of course they are thinking, all I have to do is ask Jesus to come into my heart and then, I can get on with my life. I can pray this prayer, get baptized, have my name added to the church rolls and then continue to live my life like I want to live it, for the goals that I want to live for, and then go to heaven for all eternity. I have actually heard Gospel invitations offered in which the speaker said that coming to Christ doesn't cost you anything. What happened to the following scriptures?

Luke 14:26
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 9:23
If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Our invitation is for people to walk down an aisle and pray a prayer to accept Jesus. Has anyone ever thought about this? Accept Jesus? Jesus is very acceptable. It is you and I that are unacceptable. We don't have to accept Jesus. Jesus has to accept us.

We are quick to verbally accept the invitation, but our verbal response is insufficient. Our reservation is null and void if we do not show up for the banquet! Another parable that Jesus told shows the worthlessness of a verbal response to the invitation without an actual volitional response. In Matthew 21:28-31, Jesus said, "What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' 29 And he answered, 'I will not,' but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first."

Many, many church people have said yes to God only to ignore his commands and fail to follow his call. Their words are not adequate. Next time, we will see that our excuses will not be acceptable on the day of the Lord.

Until then…

The Urgency of Repentance: Part 2

2009-05-20T18:14:00.002-05:00

Our relationship with God is not something that we should put off. It is urgent that we repent and that is exactly what the passage of Scripture before us is about. It is urgent for 2 primary reasons that we see in Luke 13:1-9.

Hear the Word of God.
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." 6 And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' 8 And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"
Luke 13:1-9

There are two main reasons that we should urgently repent.

Last time we looked at the first reason: our lives will end, and we really don't know how or when. The second reason that we should urgently repent is that God's Longsuffering Will End. Listen again to the parable Jesus told in verses 6-9 to illustrate his point that repentance is urgent. 6 And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' 8 And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

This parable is not only a picture of God's great mercy, but it also serves as a great warning to those he told it to. Vineyards were obviously very common. This man had a fig tree and it had been there a while. He came looking for fruit on it and didn't find any. He said to the gardener, "Behold." That word behold is a word that indicates surprise. This is not expected. Fig trees did really well and they particularly would do very well in vineyard soil, because vineyard soil was cared for, watered, and fertilized and cultivated. This particular fig tree had been given unique opportunities. Everything was done to make it fruitful. He came expecting to find fruit, but there was none. Then it dawned on him, this is the third year in a row that this tree has failed ot bear fruit. Three is the number of completion, so this tree was completely barren. He sais, "Three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down. Why is it even using up the ground?" This is just an expression of disgust. I mean, why does it even use up the ground. Not only was it not bearing fruit, it was taking up ground that might otherwise be productive. Cut it down.

The fate of these people (the Galileans and those in Siloam) and the message of this parable were not only meant to show the mercy of God towards sinners, but also as a warning that his hearers needed to repent now. The fig tree was a symbol of the nation of Israel. The fig tree had been planted in the most fertile place spiritually. God had sent the patriarchs, the prophets, and had given them priests. Now, he had sent them the vinedresser himself…Jesus. For three years (Jesus' ministry was 3 years in duration), He had crossed and recrossed the vineyard looking for fruit and found none. The Lord had been gracious. He had been merciful. He had been patient. Now it was time for judgment. Jesus warned them in Luke 3:9, "Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." He cursed the fig tree at the end of his 3 year ministry. Israel was cursed and the Gospel was taken to the Gentiles. Rom 11:7-11 describes what happened with Israel. Paul wrote, "What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day." And David says, "Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever." So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles." The Gospel was taken to the Gentiles because Israel's eyes had been blinded to its truth. Then in A.D. 70 the temple was demolished and 1000's of Jews were massacred by the Romans. Patience had been extended, but now the axe was being swung.

The fact of the matter is, God's Longsuffering will end. One thing you can be sure of….if God's judgment came upon his chosen people…the descendents of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…the people he had invested so much in and had made covenant with…you can be sure that his judgment will not be withheld from you or me as Gentiles. We should not assume that God will give us another year, another month, another week, another day, or even another moment to repent. Romans 2:4 says, "Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" The need for repentance is urgent. Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Why is it so urgent to repent? Because it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. Your life will end and God's judgment will come.

I want to plead with you to repent today! Rentance is turning from sin. Twice in this passage Jesus says, except you repent, you will all likewise perish. However, he is not saying exactly the same thing in Greek. In verse three he uses a present imperative with continuous force. This means that the word repent carries with it the idea of a continual, daily action. Then in verse 5 he uses an aorist which denotes a single decisive action. Repentance is both a once-for-all event that shapes the whole subsequent course of the life and a day-by-day affair that keeps putting sin away. It is not something that you take care of at the altar one Sunday and then get on with your life. It is a lifestyle: Repent and keep repenting. And it is something that needs to be done now, before it is too late.

Repentance is not just confessing your sin or realizing that you are a sinner. Repentance is turning away from your sin. It is a change of life. It is a change of mind. It is turning away from your worldly affections, attitudes, and actions. The question is, when you turn away, what will you turn to? A better life? The church? Good works? NO! You must turn to Christ alone. You must embrace and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You must take up your cross and follow Him. It is urgent that you do so now. Psalm 32:6 says, "Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him." Repent while He may be found. Turn away from your sin, your flesh, and the world and turn to Christ. Pursue Him. Follow Him. Live for Him. Except you repent, you will all likewise perish.

The Urgency of Repentance: Part 1

2009-05-19T14:35:00.001-05:00

There is the story told of a meeting that took place in hell. Satan asked his demons what they were doing to advance his cause and to harm the Kingdom of God. The first demon stood up and said, "I am telling people everywhere that there is no God." Satan replied, "That is good, but everyone knows deep down that there has to be a God of some kind." The second demon in hell said, "I am telling them that there is no afterlife." Satan replied, "I am sure that is affecting some people, but most individuals know that physical death is not the end." Finally, a third demon stood up and said, "My strategy is a little different Satan. I am telling people that there is a God and that there is an afterlife, but I am also telling them that there is always tomorrow." At this, all the demons in hell erupted in joy!

This is the lie that many of us have bought into still today. There is always tomorrow. I will get my life right tomorrow. Whenever I graduate High School I will get my life right. Then we say, whenever I get out of college I will get my spiritual life in order. Then we decide, whenever I finally get married, I will then get my life in order. Our next excuse it to wait until we have kids to get right with God, then it is to wait until the kids are out of the house. Then when the kids are out of the house, we decide to wait until we retire to get right with God. And then, out of nowhere and unexpectedly, we die without getting right with God.

Our relationship with God is not something that we should put off. It is urgent that we repent and that is exactly what the passage of Scripture before us is about. It is urgent for 2 primary reasons that we see in Luke 13:1-9.

Hear the Word of God.
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."
6 And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' 8 And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'" Luke 13:1-9

There are two main reasons that we should urgently repent.
First, our life will end. There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Pilate's rule was marked by briberies and robberies and frequent executions without trials. Apparently Pilate sends his soldiers to slaughter some Galileans for some reason. These soldiers slaughtered a number of Galilean Jews who had come down to offer sacrifices. There is only one place in Israel where you could offer sacrifice and that is the temple. This very likely this is the Passover. These Galileans are worshipping! They are doing what the OT says and Pilate had them killed in the middle of their act of worship.

Jesus asks those who brought him this report, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." Just by the way that Jesus addresses these issues at hand, you can tell that the Jewish people had a distorted view of tragedy, pain, and tribulation. Their view was that, if one suffered tragedy or trial then they were obviously worse sinners than those around them. These guys whom Pilate killed in the act of worship must have sinned against God. This was undoubtedly the judgment of God. Their theology was, if calamity falls, it is a good indication that God is judging you. We see this illustrated in the account of John 9:1-2. The Bible records, "As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" They assumed if you were born disabled, then it was due to something you did. If you were born healthy, it was due to how holy you were.

Jesus continues his discourse: Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?
Just because the tower fell and you had just left with your water doesn't mean you're more righteous than the ones who were crushed and it doesn’t mean that they were any less righteous than those who escaped. Just because your plane landed and somebody's crashed doesn't mean you're any better than them. Just because things are going well with you does not mean that God is pleased with you. Just because things are falling apart with you does not mean that God is displeased with you.

The fact of the matter is, we are all sinners and we will all die. We all deserve to die. We are so sinful that disasters should not shock us as though something unwarranted were coming upon innocent human beings. There are no innocent human beings. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). There is none righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10). What should amaze us is not that some are taken in calamity, but that anyone, including us is spared and given another day to repent. The real question is not, what kind of God would allow such tragedy, but what kind of God would let us live. We're all living on borrowed time and it's time we don't deserve. We should all be dead and in hell and if you haven't recognized that about yourself yet, you need to repent.

Jesus goes on to say, "No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." Jesus looks at the very people who had, in their heart, judged the Galileans killed by Pilate and the people the tower fell on and tells them, unless you repent you will all likewise perish. What does he mean? It is obvious that we cant' all die just like the Galileans who were murdered. We aren't all going to die just like those on whom the tower of Siloam fell. Likewise must mean something else. It can't just mean die, since that is going to happen to those who repent too. So what does he mean? Your end will be unexpected. You will be unprepared. Unless you repent you will all in an unexpected manner and with unprepared hearts perish. Dying without repentance is the true calamity. The real calamity is not that you were killed in the temple or that the tower fell on you or that you died by any other means. The real calamity is that if you don't repent, when death comes you will perish. And since none of us know when death will come, it is urgent that we repent now. The first reason that repentance is urgent is because, our life will end. The second reason we should repent now is that God's longsuffering will end, but we will save that for next time.

The Urgency of Repentance: Part 1

2009-05-19T14:35:00.000-05:00

The Identity of a Killer

2009-05-13T18:39:00.002-05:00

I want to write about something that is killing, and yes I mean KILLING our country, our churches, our families, and we as individuals. I want to reveal the identity of a real killer. This is really a recent revelation, but one that is true. It is one of those things that make you want to kick yourself because you can't understand how you could never have seen it before. The thing that I believe is killing us may surprise you. It is none other than discontentment. But it is not that simple. The discontentment that is killing us is a discontentment that is planted and driven by television and cinema.

The examples I could give are absolutely endless, but I will share with you a few that may hit home.

Television and cinema drive discontentment in husbands. On the television, he sees Victoria's Secret models, Hollywood actresses, and women who have had multiple surgeries (and sometimes drugs) in order to achieve what "our society" defines as the "perfect body." (By the way, there are seasons in history where our models today would be repulsive) He then becomes discontent with his wife, his eyes begin to wander, and then his heart begins to wander, and his marriage falls apart, if not in court, in reality.

Television and cinema drive discontentment in wives. On the movie screen she sees handsome men who are hopelessly romantic and say everything right all the time. He is always right on time with the right things and the right words. He seems to be a hero in the home, at work, and yes, even in bed. She then looks at her husband who is kicked back in the recliner, pot belly, balding head, and a hint of body odor and wonders…what did I do? What she doesn't realize is the guy in the movie she just watched is as big of a slob as her husband, if not bigger, and on top of that he is not nearly as loyal, faithful, or wonderful as he appears on the movie screen. It is hard to remember that this is why they are called actors.

Television and cinema drive discontentment in youth. They go watch a movie together and then they simply must have what they see in the movie. After all, if the people on the big screen had little sporty cars with big loud pipes, shouldn't we? If the kids on TV got drunk, smoked pot, spent the night in promiscuity and got away with it, couldn't we? Teens see a movie and the movie dictates for them how they should dress, what they should drive, how they should brush their hair, and how they should live...and that usually costs money...imagine that.

Television and cinema drive discontentment in children. They watch a program where children are portrayed as having a room 30 feet by 60 feet filled with an indoor playground and $10,000 worth of computer equipment and they wonder why they only have bunk beds and a basketball. After all if ______ on TV has it, why can't I? The kids in the commercial seemed to be having a good time. Do you get my drift? Many of us live in homes where husbands, wives, and children are all discontent and the only reason they are all still under one roof is due to necessity. They don't even like each other anymore.

It even applies to churches. People turn on the television and there, portrayed on the screen before them, is a mega church with the best lights, the best band, the best worship, the best pastor, the best children's ministry, the best student ministry, and the biggest budget. After all they even have a single's ministry, a private school, and a McDonald's right next to the bookstore in the foyer. All we have is….well…..church. Then we get discontent, move down the road, and spend our lives looking for First Baptist Six Flags Over Jesus Church rather than plugging in and serving where God has placed us.

Do you get my drift? Discontentment is killing us! It is killing our joy! It is killing our marriages! It is killing our families! It is killing our churches! And to be honest, most of the discontentment comes from the television set and the movie screen….sometimes radio as well. We need to learn to guard against discontentment. Hear the Word of God.

2 Cor 12:10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Phil 4:11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content

1 Tim 6:8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content

Heb 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have

How desperately we need to guard against discontentment. That may mean no more movies. That may mean no more television. That may simply mean a good old fashion reality check and a push out of fantasy land into the real world.

I believe if we worked as hard at our marriages and our families as we do at keeping up with American Idol or the latest movie or sport we would see a difference that would rejuvenate and revive our spouses, our children, our churches, and ourselves. Fight discontentment. Flee it. Live your life and live it the fullest…and you can't do that trying to live someone else's life, even if they are a Hollyweird actor. Let us be content and "give thanks with a grateful heart" for all the people and possessions God HAS blessed us with instead of wasting our lives pursuing what He never intended for us to have.

Finally Home!!!

2009-05-01T16:06:00.002-05:00

Well, I finally made it home this morning (Friday) about 9:30 a.m. Jan had an issue with her plane ticket yesterday in New York's JFK airport and they would not allow her to board the plane to DC. It was evident that they would not get the issue resolved before our plane left so I remained behind with her in New York while the rest of the group traveled on ahead. They arrived home last night around 10 p.m. or so.

Delta re-routed Jan and I through Atlanta where they put us up in the Marriot (two free rooms...soft beds....warm showers). We probably felt better last night than the rest of the team. We got up this morning about 4:30 a.m. CST and headed to the Atlanta airport where we FINALLY caught our last plane home!

It was a great trip. It was a difficult trip. It was a costly trip. It was worth it.

Pray for the Mapilla people. Pray for the people we shared the Gospel with that the seed would take root and grow and bear fruit. Pray for God to raise up the next team from our church to go to this people group. And pray for God to call out the person who should lead the area of India missions in our church.

Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement. Until next time...

Tuesday in Calicut, India

2009-04-28T13:49:00.005-05:00

Well, tonight we wrapped up our "mission trip" though the mission is never over until Jesus returns. Tomorrow morning we meet for a debriefing and then we make the long journey to Cochin to the airport where we will sit all night until about 4 a.m. when we will board our Qatar Airways Flight to Doha. Then we will travel from Doha to JFK and from JFK to Reagan National in Washington DC where our trip was delayed, we had to buy a hotel room, and 6 new plane tickets to get to India. Finally, we will fly into Jackson, MS at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday night.

There were many struggles and hindrances along the way to get to India. We left Florence, MS on Monday morning at 6:00 headed to India, and we made it to India. We finally arrived at 4 a.m. on Thursday morning. We have worked hard at discovering and building relationships. We have been able to share the Gospel in depth with several Muslims. We were able to sit down tonight with the Muslim Imam and answer his questions and misconceptions about Christianity. We were able to present the Gospel to him from several different angles. As we were presenting the Gospel to him, about 20 Muslim young men had us completed surrounded listening intently and very silently to every word. They were hungry!

After the Imam walked away from our hour long debate, we were able to give out six Bibles in Malayalam to the young men who have walked with us all week. We gave away 2 MP3 players with the New Testament on them. We also distributed to each one a couple of tracts written to enlighten Muslims about the Truth of Christianity. J. Shorter and S. Roberson went to another nursing school tonight to share. They also were able to give a lady they befriended at a local dress shop one of the MP3 players.

The Word of God has been proclaimed. The Word of God has been distributed. The seeds have been planted. Pray that God will bring someone along to water them. Pray that the seeds will take root, sprout, and grow to bear much fruit. We prayed that God would bring out the man of peace. We believe that it is highly likely that the man of peace is among those guys that we spent the majority of the week with....guys that we did not know Thursday, but guys that we got to know since Thursday. Pray that God would speak very clearly to their hearts, that they will find the truth, that they will meet Christ, and that they will be the ones who reach the Mapilla people for Christ.

God is Sovereign. His Word will not return void. It has been a challenging, difficult, and sometimes uncomfortable journey, but it is our prayer that it will prove to be the beginning of a harvest among the unreached, unengaged Mapilla people of Calicut, India.

To the left you see the weapons of our warfare tonight: 6 Malayalam Bibles, 2 New Testaments on MP3 players, and about 50 tracts that discuss the validity of the Gospels and the fact that the Word did become flesh and His Name was Jesus.

To the right you see us with the Muslim Imam

we got to share with for over an hour. Pray that God will stir in his heart a desire to know the truth about God.

Monday in Calicut India

2009-04-27T14:19:00.006-05:00

Well it is past midnight in Calicut, India...so I guess it is really Tuesday in Calicut, but I haven't been to bed yet so in my mind it is still Monday.

Today we went over an hour away to meet a Muslim who converted to Christianity years ago. He has a literature distribution ministry and he gave me about 50 tracts that we could look at and hand out to Muslims in Calicut. I really liked him. His name was K.K. We hope to be able to order some of his tracts and literature before returning to India.

A camel on the Arabian Sea's Coast

This evening me, K. Vance, J. Shorter, and S. Roberson went to a nursing school where J. shared her testimony and K. spoke. There were about 60 something girls who attended and they both did an excellent job of speaking.

K. Wade ran into his cricket friends on the beach and, after spending the week building a friendship with them, was able to declare the Gospel to them. He also asked them some questions about Islam which they did not have answers to. They decided to call their Muslim Imam and ask him, but K. Wade couldn't understand his english over the phone so he said he would come to meet him on the beach tomorrow night. I would be surprised if he showed up, but pray that if he does, God's will be done. These guys are in the photo below so that you can put a face to them as you pray.

Tomorrow morning we are going to the market place to give away a Bible and an MP3 player New Testament to some ladies J. and S. met. The middle of the day is up for grabs and tomorrow night is our last night out on walkway in front of the beach witnessing. This will be the time for us to leave Bibles, tracts, and MP3 New Testaments with our new friends. Pray that God will do a work in their lives and that they will respond rightly.

Thank you for your prayers. We have all remained healthy which is hard to believe when you consider what and where we have been eating. Check out this fish.

Yes...that is the whole thing. We didn't eat him. Our Indian brothers did though. Tasty huh. Anyway, we have remained healthy and we have planted many seeds. Pray that they will take root, grow, and bring forth great fruit in the months and years to come.

Sunday in Calicut

2009-04-26T03:42:00.004-05:00

It is Sunday at 2:15 p.m. in Calicut, India. I just returned from a church service at a local church.

In a couple of hours we will be hitting the streets again in Calicut to share the Gospel with more of the Mapilla people. Things have really picked up overall. This morning K. Vance and K. Wade went and played cricket with some Muslim guys that we met last night. They said that they had a really great time.

This picture is of Fahat. He seemed to really connect with us and I think things got even better after he spent the morning with K. Wade and K. Vance. These guys actually said, after the cricket game, "you are the nice people." He got my email address last night and I am sure he got contact information for the other guys as well. Pray that God would begin to speak very clearly to Fahat and the other Muslim men we are meeting.

We also were blessed to be able to share the Gospel from 3 or 4 different angles with some middle aged Muslims last night. We knew they believed in creation and the fall of Adam, so we talked about the blood that was shed in the garden in order to provide a covering for the nakedness of Adam and Eve and tied that into how he shed his blood to provide a sin covering for us. We also talked about how God provided a lamb for Abraham to sacrifice in place of Isaac and tied that into how our sin causes us to be under the knife like Isaac, but God provided a lamb...Jesus Christ. We were able to share with them the Gospel and that is what we were called here to do. God will use the Gospel to do what He wants to do.

Muslims do not generally convert to Christ on the spot. They have to hear, consider, think and then hear some more. Usually it takes more than 6 months. Pray that God would work in the lives of these people and that they would be impacted by the power of Christ. Pray that they would continue to correspond and ask questions over the next months. Pray that God would call more individuals from our church and from other churches to come into this city to share the Word of God with the Mapilla people of Calicut.

Thank everyone for their prayers. They are really being felt by us. Pray that they will be felt by the Muslims here.

Saturday in Calicut

2009-04-25T05:20:00.003-05:00

This is Joy. He looks tougher than he is. He is taking care of us here, to make sure we don't get mugged or ripped off or food poisoning....nah...he isn't really concerned about the food poisoning part.

Anyway, there is some good news and some bad news today.

The good news is that finally last night in a very mysterious and sudden way, as we walked onto the beach, we were swarmed by the natives. That was extremely strange since the day before and even early yesterday evening we were all being looked at like we had leprosy.

Me and K. Vance went out on the beach at about 5 o'clock or so yesterday evening and had only one young boy speak to us. We were stared at with glaring eyes or just simply ignored by those we passed. We went back to the room about 6:30 scratching our heads and wandering, "How are we going to start up a conversation with these people?" We gathered everyone up, went to eat supper, and walked out of the hole in the wall restaurant we ate at and crossed the road. As we stepped out of the road and onto the walkway above the beach we were surrounded.

Me and K. Wade talked with a man from Saudi Arabia who just walked right up and engaged us. We also talked with some young Muslim men for a long time who we will hopefully see again tonight. We were caught off guard when they asked, "What do you do?" Ugggghhhh....we are teachers! That is what we do....we are teachers. We just did not tell them that we teach the Bible. T. Malley and K. Vance had a very long discussion with some more Muslim guys that they are supposed to meet again tonight at 8:30 or 10 a.m. Saturday morning CST. J. Shorter and S. Roberson are having many ladies, mostly Hindu, approach them with big smiles. Things definitely turned around abruptly. Thank you to everyone who is praying.

We also found out that there are some Mapilla believers. Here comes the bad news. We haven't found any in Calicut. What we learned this morning is that if a Mapilla converts to Christianity they soon move out of Calicut. The hostility to the Gospel that is here among the Mapilla was not expected, but we believe that God has a plan and a people among the Mapilla. We really need to find that person of peace that God will raise up to reach their families, their friends, and their neighbors in the face of persecution. Pray that God will bring them out and that we will be able to discern their presence when they show up.

Anyway, things are definitely going better now. We are going out to the beachfront again in about an hour. We will have supper and try to spark up more conversations. It is our hope that we will be able to share the Gospel in its entirety or at the very least be able to start up an email conversation after we are gone. Muslims do not have a habit of converting on the spot. They generally have to read, and think, and count the cost for at least several months before they respond. The likelihood of us coming back with 10 converts is slim. Our goal is to build some long term relationships that will lead to conversion and church planting among the Mapilla. Pray that God would work.

Tomorrow morning we are going to preach and share our testimonies in local churches (made up of converts from Hinduism). Tomorrow evening will be back on the beach. Until next time...

Friday in Calicut

2009-04-24T06:23:00.006-05:00

Today (Friday) has been long and hot thus far. It is now 5 pm and we just returned from a local church in Calicut. We were there doing what the IMB calls T4T training. It is training local believers to share their testimony with their friends and families as a bridge to the Gospel. It is something that is reproducible and it feeds a rapidly growing house church planting and multiplying strategy. In the picture, you can see me teaching my portion of the T4T training.

In a few moments we are going out for an hour or so in hopes of encountering a Mapilla to meet and converse with. Why aren't the local churches reaching out to the Mapilla? Why are the Mapilla unengaged if there are churches in this city? Those are all questions that I asked myself until I met a couple of the local pastors. The reason the Mapilla people are not being reached by the local churches is fear. The Mapilla people are afraid of being confronted by believers. If a Mapilla Muslim converts to Christianity they are immediately disowned by their families and friends. Their lives are also in jeopardy if they leave the Muslim faith. Another reason is the pastors and churches are afraid. If they begin reaching into the Mapilla people group the Muslim leaders and the devout Muslim believers will retaliate. They will threaten and possibly even inflict physical harm on the pastors, their families, and the church as a whole. To reach out to the Mapilla people could prove to be dangerous. There is no doubt if God does a work among the Mapilla people so that they begin converting and planting house churches in Calicut then persecution is inevitable. This will put the Christians in between a gigantic rock and a hard place. They will face persecution from the Hindus and the RSS and they will face persecution from the Muslims as well. So....no one is going to the Mapilla.

Well, we are here and we are trying to figure out some way to connect with these people. It is very difficult when we are the only white people in the city and that is not an exaggeration. We have not seen one single solitary white person in this city. The people here act as though they haven't seen a white person before in this city either. We are stared at without ceasing. To be honest, we do not feel welcome at all. We are all as out of place as we have ever been. It is our prayer that God will choose to connect us somehow, someway with the Mapilla person of peace...a person who will hear and receive the Gospel message with an open heart...a person who will eventually believe the Gospel and follow Christ forsaking all others...a person who will then be willing to go back to his or her friends and family to spread the Gospel and begin a house church movement among the Mapilla people.

Please continue to pray for us without ceasing. We need God's protection from the dangers here. We need God to open doors into the Mapilla people group. We need that man or woman of peace to rise up so that we can begin building relationships with him or her. We need to be bold and to be given the words that we should say as well as the wisdom to know when to shut up. Please pray for us. The situation is much more "tricky" than we could have ever imagined. Pray for the team not to get discouraged. Please continue to forward this blog to everyone that you will. We really need all of the prayers that we can get.

I am about to head out and try to find a Mapilla to talk with. Supper will be at 7 and then we will come back to the hotel to pray, share, and rest. Until next time...

We are here right on time

2009-04-23T00:32:00.003-05:00

Well, we definitely are not home anymore. We have FINALLY arrived in Calicut India after almost 30 hours in Washington DC. What an intense few days they have been. We arrived in DC Monday at about 11 a.m. We were supposed to fly to JFK in New York City at 1 p.m. Our flight was delayed until 2....then 2:30. Finally, at about 3 p.m. on Monday we boarded our plane, taxied out on the runway, sat there 2 and a half hours and then returned to the gate due to bad weather at JFK. We were rescheduled to leave at 6:30 p.m or so, but then that flight was canceled. We were rescheduled to leave at 8:45 p.m. There would still be time to catch our 11:35 flight to Qatar if we could leave this time. We boarded the plane, taxied out on the runway, sat there until 10 p.m. and then returned to the gate AGAIN.

Well, we took a cab into Maryland to stay in a hotel for the night. Our driver's name was Fahat from DiJibuti in Africa. We were able to give him a Gospel tract and a New Testament. We awoke Tuesday morning only to find out that in order to reschedule with Qatar Airways, we would have to buy new tickets! Ouch. We met, we prayed, we decided that God wanted us to go to India so we were going to get there one way or the other. We bought the Qatar tickets. We rescheduled our flight out of DC to JFK with Delta and headed to the airport. We were able to leave a Gospel tract with the lady at the front desk at our hotel.

We rode the train to Reagan National, entered the airport, got in line for our tickets and discovered that there were 4 hour delays into JFK. We had a quick meeting, decided we could drive to JFK in 4 hours, so we decided to rent a car. We went to rent a car, but there were no cars available. Ouch. Let's go to the bus station then. We walked back by the ticket counter and talked with the lady one more time. She suggested we try to fly into Laguardia. I called Delta, got our tickets changed, and we ran like crazy through security and down the corridor to gate number 18 and with only 2 minutes to spare made it to the flight to Laguardia. I prayed on that plane...God let our luggage make it, let us get it smoothly, and let us get from Laguardia to JFK smoothly. We were able to leave a tract with the guy sitting next to me on the plane.

We got off of the plane, walked straight to baggage. The turntable had not even begun turning when we arrived. No one else was there. And, to my amazement all six of our bags were sitting there in a line just waiting for us among the silence. If you have ever flown, you know that is a miracle. How they made it on the plane in so little time and how they were stacked up by the walkway waiting on us is known only to God. We went to catch a shuttle to JFK, but the guy who could call it couldn't do so because his radio was broken. What else could happen to slow us down? At that moment a man walked in and the bus man pointed him out and informed us that he could carry us to JFK. He did. We made it in plenty of time. We were able to leave him a tract and a New Testament.

We went into JFK, checked in, wet through security and had a few hours to spare. We sat down to eat in the food court of terminal four at JFK and out of the blue this guy, from India, sits down with us like he knows us. He doesn't say anything, but we begin talking with him. He had very very little knowledge of the Gospel or the Bible. We were able to share with Him the Gospel, answer many questions, give him a New Testament and a tract. We were able to spend over half an hour talking with Ritish. Well we made our flight to Qatar and caught our flight to Cochin. We drove four hours to Calicut, arrived a day late, and are about to head down to the lobby to have orientation. It has been a long journey. Why were we delayed?

Who said we were delayed? We were right on time. We were right on time for Fahat, our taxi driver. We were on time for the lady at the hotel. We were on time for the guy on the plane to Laguardia. We were on time for our driver from Laguardia to JFK and we were definitely on time for Ritish at JFK. We were on time for others along the way who received tracts, Bibles, and seeds of the Gospel.

Now we are in Calicut, India. We are trying to engage the unengaged Mapilla people, a group of 10 million Muslims. We need your prayers. We need God to raise up a man of peace from this people group. We need to be able to sense God's Spirit and discern His will. Please pray for us and continue to spread the prayer needs broadly. I will update as often and as soon as possible.

Thank you for your prayers.

Finally!

2009-04-21T18:04:00.002-05:00

We are finally in New York City.

I am sorry that it has been some time since I last updated my blog, but we have experienced technical difficulties like we never imagined for the past 32 hours. We were delayed, canceled, changed planes, delayed again, and left in Washington DC all night last night. We missed our flight out of JFK to Qatar because of the delays yesterday and had to buy new tickets this morning. We got another flight out of DC only to find out that it was delayed too. We tried to rent a car to drive to New York....no cars available. We finally changed our flight to fly into Laguardia in New York. We finally arrived at New York City by way of Laguardia airport. We then got a taxi and drove to JFK.

Finally, here we are!!! We are waiting on our second flight from JFK to Doha Qatar to leave at 11:35 EST. We then fly from Qatar to India. We are supposed to arrive in India at about 5 p.m. Wednesday Mississippi time.

Pray that things go smoother from here on out. We are whipped and we haven't even made it out of the states yet. It has been a challenge. I will update you further whenever we finally get to where we are going. God must really have a plan and Satan must really be threatened. Pray for us and we will stay in touch.

1 Day and Counting

2009-04-19T10:21:00.000-05:00

One day and counting until we leave for India!

I am getting ready to walk out of my office and into the worship center to attempt to preach God's Word one more time before leaving to preach His Word along the journey. I have been encouraged this weekend to hear from so many people who are forwarding my blogs around to hear from so many who are praying for us and organizing prayer for us. Thank you for your willingness to pray, and as William Carey would say, hold the ropes for us as we go. Our trip will literally be powerless unless the power of God falls, so please continue to pray.

Today will be spent trying to enjoy some more family time and getting packed up to head out. My next blog post will likely come from an airport lobby. Please, if you do not automatically receive my blog updates, check in at kevinivy.com periodically each day for updates. I will try to keep you guys posted all along the way, as much as I can. We will be on airplanes all day tomorrow, tomorrow night, and Tuesday. We should arrive at Kochi at about 4 p.m. Tuesday evening CST (4 a.m. Wednesday in India). We will then drive four hours to Calicut and go straight to work, so be patient if you do not hear from us real regularly for a few days.

Anyway, please continue to pass the word along and continue to pray, pray, pray. Pray for us as we journey. Pray for the Mapilla people. Pray for God to be glorified. Until next time…pray.

2 Days and Counting

2009-04-18T10:55:00.001-05:00

Two days and counting until we leave for Calicut, India bright and early Monday morning.

I am trying to post a blog every morning along the way to keep everyone interested and willing to pray updated as we lead up to our departure. I plan to continue updating (hopefully daily) once we arrive their late Tuesday night CST as well as follow up after we return on April 30.

I want to continue to encourage you to forward this blog to as many people as you will and ask them to do the same so that we can have as many people praying as we possibly can. We really, really need your prayers. As we go to these Mapilla people (a group of 10 million Muslims on the Southwest coast of India in the Kerala state) we desperately need you to pray that God would open their eyes to their need of His Gospel.

Over and over again, I am reading accounts of Muslim people groups have visions and dreams. These visions are very consistent. Usually they consist of a man in white, with a white beard, and white hair approaching them and informing them that a foreigner will be coming to them soon to give them His Word, the way of salvation, and or knowledge of God. If you read Revelation, Jesus is described as having a white beard and white hair. This opens the door for missionaries to show Muslims this description of Jesus (Isa) in the New Testament.

These visions and dreams seem to be getting more and more prevalent. There is a video that the International Mission Board put out recently about an unreached people group who had been told or impressed that a foreigner would be bringing them some precious news soon. Though the video does not explicitly say this information came about through a dream, it gets the point across that we desperately need the Mapilla people to be bathed in prayer now, after we arrive there, and long after we are gone. We need them to know that something precious is coming their way…the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

If you are interested in watching that IMB video, you can paste the following link into your web browser and watch away.

http://www.imb.org/main/downloads/flashvideos.asp?filename=/files/67/6716/6716-37913.flv

Tomorrow is Sunday and it is hard to be focused on preaching when you know you are leaving on Monday to go into uncharted territory. Today I am trying to get some grass cut, wrap up some last minute things, and spend some time with my parents, my wife, and my three boys. Later this evening our good friends, my mentor, and missionaries to the Dominican Republic, Gene and Julie Pickern, will be coming in to spend the evening and the night with us. They are home for Easter and for some doctors appointments. They are going to spend the night with us and attend church at Cleary in the morning. It will be good to see them again.

Pray for us and keep passing the word along. We are at 2 days and counting! Until tomorrow…

2 Days and Counting

2009-04-18T10:55:00.000-05:00