What Jesus Can Teach Us About Evangelizing Seekers

I hate watered down Coca-Cola.  I despise tea that is weak.  I loathe mashed potatoes with too much milk in it so that it is runny potatoes.

So, why do I feel like I have to make the cross and Jesus' love for people so much less than what it is? Why do I apologize for offending people when talking about their sin?  Why do I go soft when asking them if they are afraid of dying without God's forgiveness?  How do I fix this in my evangelism?  The answer:  go to Jesus, see what He can teach us about evangelizing seekers.

In Luke 18:18-30 Jesus has the model "Seeker" come up to him and ask him the "perfect" question. A young Jewish ruler comes running and kneels before Jesus (Mark's Gospel) and asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life?  Sounds like the perfect prospect for baptism, doesn't it?  He wants to know how to receive eternal life.

The young ruler even calls Jesus, "good."  Everyone knew that only God was "good."  So did this young ruler infer that Jesus just might be God?  If he does, will he follow Jesus?

When Jesus asks him about keeping the Law this young ruler doesn't miss a beat, he responds by saying he has kept all of the commandments.  Jesus isn't surprised by this comment, He sees it coming, and so without letting this young ruler off the hook He goes after what really is at the heart of this young man.  He knew the young man to be rich and tells him to go sell it all and come follow Him and be like the disciples -- men who gave up everything to wander around the Judean countryside following Jesus.

That was the proverbial line in the sand.  The young man turned and left.  He had never measured himself against the first commandment - Thou shall have no other gods before Me.  This young man was bowing down to the idol of wealth.

This young man looked, sounded, and acted like the perfect "Seeker" that every church wants.  But, Jesus showed him his heart and exposed him.  He had a superficial heart.  Jesus was never interested in superficial hearts who only worship on Sunday.

So, why does the church obsess over "seekers?"  Why do we continue to add to our numbers those who have never professed Jesus as Savior?  Why do we think that the more entertainment we can provide the more people will want to follow Jesus?  Why do we have to bask the cross in neon lights, loud drums, and amazing feats of daring?  Why do we apologize when sharing the gospel?  Are we embarrassed to make people feel uncomfortable under the penalty of their guilt?

We need to boldly profess the Gospel!

We must not be afraid to share the whole ugly truth about sin, death, and damnation.  Jesus has not asked us to water down his gospel.

"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the Holy angels."  Mark 8:38

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Four Preaching Mistakes You Don't Know You are Making, part 3 & 4

As I finish up this post I am going to combine the last two mistakes, simply to save your and mine sanity. 

Mistake #3:  Group Therapy preaching

This type of preaching hones in on some emotional or psychological need that the preacher thinks the people need salvation from. 

I have listened to a lot of bad sermons via Christian apologists and many pastors think that what their people are missing out on is lost dreams. Somewhere you and I got off track from Gods plan and we have forgotten that God has a really big dream for us to accomplish. You could probably switch the word "dream" for "vision" too. 

Bad theology will couch this in "little faith."  We just need more faith and know that God has good plans for us. 

Maybe your dream/vision was to be happy in your marriage, the owner of a successful lama farm, or be a visionary church planter. Whatever it was you have got to repent of your lack of dream/vision planning and get back into the game.  God does not want any losers in His kingdom. 

I say this all tongue-and-cheek, but many preachers are nothing more than Oprah and Dr Phil wanna-be's.  These are just band-aids. Preachers give all kind of successful stories of people they found on the Internet or relate stories from their own life that sound really magnanimous. Unfortunately, what people need is to see Jesus Christ crucified for their sins and risen again conquering death, sin, and Hell. 

Pastor, are you telling people the bad news of their sin and the good news of Jesus or are you simply propping up corpses?  

This leads to...

Mistake #4:  Preaching Law

Pastors do this when they either take Old Testament laws and impose them on the church or they take New Testament commands and place them on par with truly being able to please God. "You want to please God?  Than you need to do ABC and XYZ!"  

They skim over the fact that our true need is cleansing from sin and restoration with a holy and angry God. Preachers love to make tithing an absolute command for pleasing God or witnessing or not drinking alcohol. They use a multitude of Bible passages to back up their claim, and make us feel absolutely guilty if we do or do not do certain activities. We should tithe - because we love Jesus. We should witness - because we love Jesus. We should refrain from drunkenness - because we love Jesus. These do not guarantee Jesus will love us more. It guarantees the proof of our salvation. Jesus has saved from more than we can imagine in our sinfulness and no amount of good works will cause Him to love us more. 

The law is a guide that drives us to Jesus because we can not keep His laws. Only Jesus could and that is why He is our substitute. He kept the law perfectly and not only that He took on Himself the punishment we deserve for not keeping the law. The law then becomes a guide to teach us Gods will and by the power of the Holy Spirit and a lot of grace and mercy we live it out. 

As a preacher do you put more guilt on your people than is necessary?

Are you making mountains out of mole-hills?  

Four Preaching Mistakes You Don't Know You are Making, part 2

In part 2 of "Four Preaching Mistakes You Don't Know You Are Making," I want to share a huge danger in preaching and that is making the Bible passage all about "you."

Preachers are notorius for doing this with narratives such as David and Goliath. The preacher always associates David with who?  YOU!  

Guess what?  You are not King David!  Goliath is not your (fill in the blank).  Goliath is my "bad marriage," "dead-end job," "lack of vision and purpose for my life," or whatever else obstructs your dream fulfillment. 

They preach saying all it takes to conquer your Goliath is faith. Faith in a God bigger than the giants you are facing. Faith to believe God wants you victorious over these giants who slow you down. 

This kind of teaching fosters the false doctrine of, "God wants me to be happy." So I will divorce my wife, leave a job, or make a wreck of my life by putting "me" at the center. 

If faith in Jesus is anything, it is this:  "less of me and more of Jesus." Yet, to often preaching puts man at the center, instead Jesus should be at the center. 

David was Gods chosen vessel for leading His people, the Philistines stood in the way of Gods people.  So,  God used one man, a shadow of the future Messiah, to bring deliverance in a bold and spectacular way. The story is about God rescuing His people, which foreshadows our Savior rescuing His people in another bold and spectacular way.  You are in the story but the story is not about you!  

Preacher, handle the Word of God carefully!  If you start every sermon with "you" you are doing a dis-service to Gods people and you are spoiling Gods Word of its Gospel power. 

Four Preaching Mistakes You Don't Know Your Making

I want to bring to your attention four mistakes in preaching you don't even know your making. As a seasoned preacher I have learned through listening to bad and good sermons what real preaching must be. These four mistakes have been made by all of us and if I can help you not to make these same mistakes than I have accomplished my work. So lets dive into the first mistake:

Preaching is not teaching! 

How dare I make this conjecture. 

I will acknowledge your protestations and show you what I mean. 

"Preaching must be about teaching." I will partially grant you this, there will be things taught and explained in a sermon. But a sermon is not about simply imparting knowledge.  

"When we preach we are opening the scriptures in order to tell people about the Lord."  But, this is not the sole purpose, to simply explain who God is.  If I were to simply explain what a smart phone is, this would be of no concern to someone who sees no need for such a device. 

"The Old Testament is explained in the New and the New Testament is hidden in the Old, so a preacher must teach all the scriptures." This also is true and a sensible preacher would have to interpret the context of his passage for those who may not know Old from New. 

If preaching is not teaching than what is it?  

Preaching is always and solely a call for sinners to come stand under the cleansing shower of Jesus' blood!  A summons to come to the Kings house.  A persuading plea for people, who have offended God, to find restitution through the sacrifice of Jesus. 

Can you imagine a preacher giving a thirty minute lecture on the facts of Hell and not giving a summon to repent and turn to Jesus?  It has happened before and I am sure it will happen again. 

If you have read this article I pray you will not fall victim to giving lectures from the pulpit on a Sunday without a plea for sinners to repent and come by faith to Jesus. Otherwise you have simple given a "talk."  

Questioning God: What We Can Learn From Habakkuk

The Minor Prophets are not as useless as we think. They contain the very mind of God. They are also very human. What I mean are the prophets, although people endowed with special revelation, they are still simply people. 

I could connect with Habakkuk more than the other minor prophets. He was a God-fearing man surrounded by people who should have been more God-fearing and he struggled with that knowledge. When he opens his little prophecy we read his heart felt prayer of asking God, "What is going on?  These people are full of sin and violence.  Do You even notice, God?"  

Gods answer, unfortunately, was not what Habakkuk wanted to hear. Habakkuk was given a rare insight. He was allowed to see specifically what God was about to do - and it was not pretty. So, like any good human, Habakkuk asks the second obvious question, "Are You sure that is a good idea, God?"  

So God reveals one of the most important aspects that His people must display - faith. God tells him, "The righteous shall live by faith."  Those words that the apostle Paul would later pen in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11, those words that would stir Martin Luther out of his works-based faith and shake the world with the reformation. 

 

God told Habakkuk and He is still telling people today, the righteous will walk by faith, even in the midst of pain and conflict. God's prophecy was certain and Habakkuk could only wait for the inevitable to come. Habakkuk does what only God's people do - he maintained his faith in Yahweh. The picture I inserted above captured the last two verses of this little prophecy. "The Lord God is my strength."  These powerful words, full of faith's object and full of hope and inspiration are for people trapped in a painful world. 

When we ask what is going on in this chaotic world, we only have one answer - faith in our God, and more specifically - faith in our Lord Jesus!  Faith says God is sovereign and He has all the authority and all the power to do as He see's best

So when your questions are not being answered read Habakkuk and see the faith that is necessary to maintain a proper perspective. It is reliance upon God to sustain while in a precarious situation. 

Young Man, Determine Now Whom You Will Become!

"Youth is the planting time of full age." We can determine the tree by the shoot springing up and the fruit by the early bud. You can determine the type of day it will be by the early morning clouds, unless you live in Texas where the weather can change by the moment! In the same way the type of person you will be as an adult can be determined by your character now as a young man. 

Do not assume you can put off Jesus until you are an old man. Do not give the world, the devil, and your selfish lusts the most productive years of your life. You should not put off deciding to follow Jesus now rather than later, when the Bible warns that we are not guaranteed tomorrow and that every man should decide to follow Jesus today.  As long as you have breath in your lungs there is an opportunity to repent and turn to Jesus, whether you be young or old. But why wait?  the longer you wait the more stronger the roots of sin will have wrapped around your heart.

It is a true saying of good Archbishop Leighton: “The way of sin is down hill; a man cannot stop when he would.”  the older you get the stronger become the habits. Habits become chains that increase in strength the oldernyou get. Sins that are allowed in your heart while you are young will not be easily removed when you are older. A young boy can bend a sampling quite easily , but 100 men cannot uproot an aged tree.  Jeremiah, the old testament prophet rightly said, "Can the Cushite (a black-man) change his skin, or a leopard his spots?  If so, you might be able to do what is good, you who are instructed in evil."  It is hard to give up habits started when you are young, not impossible, but hard. So it is with habits: the older the stronger—the longer they have held possession, the harder they will be to cast out. They grow with our growth, and strengthen with our strength. Every fresh act of sin lessens fear and remorse, hardens our hearts, blunts the edge of our conscience, and increases our evil desire.

Habits, good and bad are strengthening in your heart every year you get older. Those sinful habits will pull you further and further away from Jesus with each year. Every year you remain away from Jesus the gorge will become deeper and broader, the gateway will become higher and heavier to open. Submit to Jesus now and do not put it off another moment.

(A modern re-telling of Ryle's "Thoughts for Young Men)

Young Men - Death Pursues like a Hungry Wolf

Young men, you must face the inevitable truth that you will die one day. Death pursues all men like a hungry wolf after its lame prey. Death is one of the few guarantees of life. You most certainly will face it. Whether young or old it does not matter. I have stood beside the graves of old men and young men. Death is no respecter of age.

Do you think you will worry about death tomorrow? Tomorrow is guaranteed to no man! The Bible tells you today is the day of salvation, you must never assume you will awake to a new day.

Am I being morbid and frightening to you? Good, these are things you must ponder and not only ponder but decide today what your conviction will be regarding death. "Today is Gods day, tomorrow is the devils." It is your duty, young man, to seek after the Lord Jesus. For it is only in Him that you will find life eternal. Just as sure as death is, so is the potential of salvation thru Jesus. You must not neglect this great salvation available to you.

Death is only a step away, only one final breath away, only one fatal car crash away. Of all the amazing things in life none is as amazing as a heart of unbelief. One of the most powerful prophecies begins with, "Who has believed our message?" Young man, you must consider what I have told you. You must not be complacent, death is quite active; neither lazy, for death is a diligent workman; neither indifferent, for death has already marked you out for its prey. You cannot stop death, but you can be prepared to face it. You can face death confidently if you have confidence in the Lord Jesus and His salvation of your life.

(A modern re-telling of Ryle's "Thoughts for Young Men)

Young Man, Are You Bored?

Young man, aged 12-29, is something missing in your heart? Is there a boredom that lives in you? Do you find your only excitement in movies and video games? Do you wonder if this world truly has a place for you?

Young man, there is a strength hiding inside you that needs to be experienced. There are people in this world who need you. God has placed you on this earth for just this moment in history! Out there in the world will be people who need your help, protection, wisdom, comfort, leadership, and most importantly your love.

Look at our jails and court rooms: Full of men with misguided strength, full of men who misapplied their strength and brought pain to others instead bringing protection, healing, and love.

Look at our schools. Full of young men who instead of looking for and using truth have simply swallowed every philosophy and idea without considering its true consequences. There are truths that guide and lies that are too good to be true. Which are you listening too? Are you doing the hard work of learning?

Look at our homes. Full of hurt, remorse and emptiness. Do-overs at marriages. Men raising other men's children. Sons and daughters struggling to become future husbands and wives and all the while being led by dads and moms not their own.

Our young men need to be challenged and encouraged. There is so much they have to offer to humanity, not only in the future, but now. May we adults take up the mantle placed upon us and lead these young men to the glories that can be theirs'. They can have a meaningful life full of joy, satisfaction, and love. May we be inclined to guide and may the young men be so bold as to listen and heed the advice to come.

(A modern day re-telling inspired by J.C. Ryle's "Thoughts for Young Men").

Salvation is Not For Me - 1 Peter 1:3-9

As I read this passage, and you must too, I am entranced by the wonder of Gods salvation He has granted to His elect. I am reminded again that salvation is not for my ultimate benefit, but for Jesus'. Yes, we do receive a benefit-we are eternally saved! But it's not really about us, but about Him!!

Read the entire passage several times if you haven't already, 1 Peter 1:3-9:

 ³ Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ⁴ and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. ⁵ You are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials ⁷ so that the genuineness of your faith—more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

First, notice the three benefits we receive listed in verses 3-5.
1) we are born again to a living hope, v.3
2) we obtain an inheritance,v.4
3) and we are protected by the power of God, v.5

This should cause us, as Peter aptly puts it in verse six, "you rejoice in this...." If those three descriptors don't light your fire, your wood is wet! Although we live under trials we can and have no reason not to rejoice in His salvation over us.

Now, notice verse seven. Read it thoroughly. Do you see it? Do you see how our salvation ultimately benefits Jesus? The last portion of that verse says, "(your faith) may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ...." In the grand scheme of it all there will come that day when we will stand before Jesus as His trophies and He will receive great praise, glory, and honor. The cross He bore will be a fruitful endeavor for him.

You must read Isaiah 53, in particular, pay attention to verses 11, 12. Jesus is prophecied as being in great anguish, and was He not in great anguish on the cross?! Yes! He was and is satisfied by this knowledge - that many believers would make up His portion. This tells us that people will be saved and it also tells us Jesus will most definitely make sure His elect are truly saved!

Praise Him for His satisfactory work on the cross!

Continue to plead for the salvation of your beloved unbeliever.

Thank Him that your faith will result in His honor on that Day.

"The Strength of My Heart" Ps 73:26

Our despicable heart that would spit in Gods face!!!

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Ps 73:26

The number of times I sin daily is astronomical! How about you? Do you war with that old sinful man/woman who fights against the rule of Jesus Christ in you?

Take courage friend!

The Lord Himself is our strength! This is why our salvation is something we cannot lose because it isn't about our ability to hang on, but about His!

It is Jesus, our Savior, Who supports our despicable heart that would rather spit in Gods face! He satisfies the Fathers wrath that was against us having taken all that wrath on to Himself. Only He could have done that, we were never able to satisfy the Fathers holy will.

He is our portion forever! It is Jesus Who has made us holy before God so that no matter how many times our hearts fail we can turn to Him and receive His pardon and grace. It is He Who holds our sinful hearts in His hands appeasing the Fathers anger by interceding for us daily in heaven.

Who do we have in heaven? We have a powerful, loving Savior Who guides us and will bring us to Himself after our fight on earth is over. He is the strength of our hearts.

"Why People Come to Jesus"

Why don't more people come to Jesus? Are people who follow Jesus more privileged? Did we get lucky when we choose to follow Him? Why is the cross so intellectually offensive? A Christian can see how wonderful Jesus is, why can't people who are very clearly lost? Are Christians actually smarter than non-Christians?

First Corinthians 2:1-5 shows us that the Apostle Paul understood his preaching would not win anyone because of his brilliant rhetoric. He knew only one thing: the gospel as unfolded in Jesus. He knew that worldly wisdom was unsuccessful at converting anyone. He still used all persuasive methods available in that culture to move people to Jesus, but in the end Paul knew that the cross was foolishness to those outside of Jesus.

So what made the difference? What was it that converted the lost? It is the unfolding revelation of salvation provided by God through the work of Jesus.

But what makes the gospel message uniquely different? It is a work of God, not of any man, lest we boast of our salvation. God chooses the foolish things of the world to transform people so that we can see it truly is unique and only a work that God can do.

The best arguments in the world can be powerful, but it is the Spirit of God working through the preaching messenger that changes a persons soul, that removes the blinding veil from their eyes, that quickens their spirit to desire a relationship with Jesus.

People come to Jesus because God has ordained that the message spoken be the means of awakening.

"Theres A Lion Outside?" Proverbs 22:13

"The sluggard says,'There is a lion outside; I will be killed in the streets!'" Proverbs 22:13

We laugh when our small children are to tired to clean their room, but mention ice cream and they coming running!

We humans can make up some pretty good excuses to get out of doing something we do not want to do. This verse in proverbs was always a mystery to me until faithful teachers of Gods word taught me its meaning.

Lazy people will make up amazing excuses to get out of work, even saying there is a lion outside. That's like saying, "a jet plane could fall on me today so I better not go out."

One of the great lessons from Proverbs is: work hard and don't be a sluggard! Sluggards make ridiculous excuses.

"How close is the Lord?" Ps 73:21-28

Do you have confidence in Jesus?

How do you view your position with Jesus? Is He close or stand-offish?

Read Psalm 73:21-28. Make a list about God: how is God described? What does he do for the writer?

Now look at the psalmist: where is he positionally with God - near or far? What was his life like before God took his hand? How is God in relationship with the psalmist?

Now, make this passage a prayer. Speak it to God as worship and thanksgiving.

"So as to Believe" Matthew 21:23-32

Read Matthew 21:23-32

To believe Jesus is to obey Him.

Which son did right? The obedient one.

Which sinner did right--prostitutes or religious leaders? Prostitutes.

Jesus didn't care about promoting his authority, He cares about those who just believe.

Christians love to talk about belief but were we fail is in our obedience.

There were two Christians, one who talked the talk about belief and one who walked the talk with obedience. Tell me which one is of the faith? Faith without works is dead.

If you truly obeyed Jesus what would your life look like?

"Joy in Justice" Proverbs 21:15

"The exercise of justice is joy for the righteous, but is terror to the worker of iniquity." Proverbs 21:15

Justice usually come after one in authority hands down a sentence for a perpetrator to be punished.

Justice may not come as we would want it to, but it will come. When all men stand before Jesus, He will be the Just and the Justifier of all.

Those who are righteous have joy in justice because their complaint has been heard and their case stands open before a wise and all knowing and just God. Those martyred saints in Revelation 6 cry out for the blood of those who killed them because of their hatred for Christ.

God Almighty, will enact justice.

Those workers of iniquity may have gotten away their whole lives with their acts of cruelty and viciousness, but the day will come when a holy fire will burn off the dross and reveal all.

Which person will you be?

Read Proverbs 21:1-17 and weigh yourself on the scales of justice. Better to do it now while there is mercy available in Jesus.

"We May Not See Our Sin" Psalm 19:13

The book of Numbers calls this sin, "a high hand," a flagrant sin that has become such a normal part of one's life that it reeks of arrogance and pride.

Should we not be praying the previous verse, Ps 19:12, "Who can discern his ways? Acquit me of hidden faults."

Many times we cannot even see our sins, it may take an objective person to point it out. And never discount Gods use of such means of grace - another person! They may be just whom God has sent.

Cry out to Jesus even now to show you your "high handed" sins. He who raised His two hands and received the nails is able to prevent your sins from ruling over you.

Psalm 19:7 "Restoring the Soul"

The law of the lord is perfect restoring the soul. Ps 19:7

It's easy to trust the new testament with just such a statement. But the old testament?

Yes! Absolutely!

Yes the "new" reveals the "old" but the "old" holds the keys that unlock so much of the "new."

Don't neglect the "old", it is all inspired by God and profitable.

Read Psalm 19 before heading out today.

James 2:17-26 "Are you really alive? Prove it!"

So many people talk of hypocrisy in the church. People talking like this are usually those on their way out the door or those who won't return to church.

Those of you without hypocrisy, go ahead and cast the first stone.

If your faith is really alive prove it by your works. Show me you can forgive your child's rapist, show me you can admit to being wrong, show me by loving me even when I tell you I've committed a grievous sin.

Show me by not leaving the church when things don't go your way and instead seek to confront lovingly, humbly, and mercifully.

Your faith without works is DEAD. Do we get that? Dead. Christ has not taken up residence in your life if your works aren't consistent with Christ's works! Not the healing, feeding 5000 type of works. The dying on the cross asking the father to forgive kind.

You are alive in Jesus? Prove it!

Read James 2:17-26.

Prov 19:24-29 "Am I truly listening?"

"Reprove one who has understanding and he will gain knowledge." Prv 19:25

These verses teach us that failing in listening causes a person to be a shameful and disgraceful person.

Only but injustice, lies, and punishment await those who fail to listen.

Remember that Proverbs teaches over and over that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (19:23).

Are you truly listening? To Gods word, to Gods authorities over your life, to Gods gift to you in the people around you?

Read Proverbs 19:24-29

Pro 15:1-17 Hows your tongue?

              Proverbs 15:1-17

15 A gentle answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.
² The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable,
But the mouth of fools spouts folly.

 ⁴ A soothing tongue is a tree of life,
But perversion in it crushes the spirit.

 ⁷ The lips of the wise spread knowledge,
But the hearts of fools are not so.

How's your tongue?

What is it spewing?

Do your words bring healing or hurt?