Thinking about Evangelism- The Book of Acts

    Of all the books in the Bible the Acts of the Apostles stands out as a predominant resource for missional and evangelistic thinking. I know "missional" is not a word, yet it is often a term used to express a purpose driven movement that is akin to the kind of things, actions, events, and so forth we read about in Acts. The key verse in Acts, in my opinion, is 1:8, where we read the words of Jesus: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and the farthest parts of the earth." Moreover, Acts is the sequal to the book of Luke, or if you prefer, the Gospel of Luke. While being the other half of the story regarding the life and mission of Jesus, it comes as no surprise to look at another verse which mirrors in some ways our verse above. Lets think on Jesus' words mentioned by Luke, "Then He (Jesus) opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures, and said to them, 'thus it stands written that the Christ would suffer and would rise again from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.'" (24:46-47)

    Okay, now that an initial look into the missional and evangelistic content of Acts has been briefly summarized, I would also point out the ten major sermons found scattered like a shotgun blast throughout the Acts (Peter's sermons: 2:14-41, 3:11-26, 10:27-48; Stephen's: 7:1-60; and Paul's sermons and defenses: 13, 17, 20, 22:1-21, 24:10-21, and 26). These sermons reveal the key message of the Apostles, namely the crucified and risen Christ is  Lord and commands all men everywhere to repent and be saved. The power of the Holy Spirit is evidently displayed showing God's faithfulness to keep his promises and empower his people for the task appointed. The writer to the Hebrews points out how "God confirmed their witness with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will." (Heb 2:4) 

    So, here are a few observations about the Missional and Evangelistic drive in the Acts:

I. How? Preaching Christ crucified for sinners. Preaching Christ's resurrection, truly, He is risen indeed! Touching on guilt and hope. Preaching the Covenant of God and His fulfilled promise to His people. Use the word, arguments, history, social and political issues, whatever the occasion affords. Because the Lordship of Christ covers all areas, there is not one thing going on in the world where his message is not relevant. Speak clearly and pointedly learn from Peter, Stephen, and Paul.

II. Who? Who goes for Jesus now? His messengers who proclaim the gospel. Men who are Spirit filled and empowered to preach Christ. Who do the messengers go to? The nations.

III. Where? In the midst of the world. Not just in the church with the world shut out, but God's messengers must take the message of Christ crucified and risen to the nations. Start in the neighborhood. I guarantee you not all the people in your local area are saved!

IV. When? As the opportunity affords itself. As God leads. Pray for doors to be opened. 

V. Why? To make know to unbelievers the unfathomable riches of Christ, who is the power and wisdom of God. 

    Let me close by suggestion we call to mind the Lord's Great Commission: "Therefore Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you and remember I am with you, even to the end of the age." May God bless us as we ponder the power of Christ Crucified and Risen. Let us be faithful to the Great Commission. May it not be said of us or our churches that we have practiced the Great Omission. 

Riches are Fleeting

"Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven" (Proverbs 23:4–5)

 Riches are fleeting, plain and simple. Moreover, wealth is not limited to riches. In fact, true biblical wealth has little to do with earthly riches and more to do with the wisdom of God. Jesus, for example, used a poor widow as the prime example of one who gave more than all, even the rich. So what? She was willing to offer out of her need, while the rich only gave out of their surplus. (Luke 12:42-43) The widow's offering amounted to "two small copper coins, only the fraction of a penny." God's command is clear, "cease from your own wisdom." But, as is the nature of fallen man, we think we know better than God. Of course, we are okay with God's wisdom, so long as we can have ours too. Furthermore, he must understand that when there is a conflict of interest, our way wins out. Thus we tend to say to God, "surely you don't mean that!" So it is, we loose the blessing of living out the wisdom of God in our lives. Only those who are willing to repent of sin and submit to God's wisdom find the blessing of God in their lives. Make no mistake, he doesn't take second place. If you are giving the Lord second place you need to be converted. The command is clear: Repent. Your soul is in danger of hell fire!
    Ananias and Saphira thought they could have the best of both worlds. You know, live with one foot in the world, and one foot in God's kingdom. How did that turn out for them? For those of you who don't know, they fell down dead at the apostles feet- Acts 5:1-11. They failed to heed the instruction to cease from their own wisdom. Rather, they decided that they would live according to their wisdom in the matter of wealth and riches.
    Moreover, look at the predicament Gehazi, Elisha's servant, found himself in. It was his greed for riches that brought a leprous judgment upon him and his descendants forever. He couldn't shake the desire for "filthy lucre." It was his greed that blinded him. He also thought he could live with his own wisdom in front of God's. But, again the warning is clear: cease from your own wisdom!
    So, what is God's wisdom in regard to riches and wealth? There is so much that could be said on this topic. I will limit my discussion to only a few passages and principles.
I. First, we must heed the call to guard our hearts, here is the warning, "But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (1 Tim 6:9–10) Riches and wealth are not evil in and of themselves. It is the love of money that pierces the soul through with many pangs. Ultimately, evenly the desire for riches is sinful. Here is the Lord's illustration regarding the desire for riches:
"And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'" (Luke 12:16-20) Indeed, this man loved his security.

II. Second, we must allow God's Word to be our only wisdom. In a word: submit to the Word of God. Indeed, this is a life long process. As maturity comes, so does a yielding of all our ways to God's Word: in mind and practice. (Rom 12:1-2) Consider the text: "Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven." (Proverbs 23:4–5) The examples illustrated above bear the striking example of what happens when we think we know more than God. We must indeed cease from our own wisdom for the hope of Godly wisdom in life.

III. Moving back to II Timothy again, notice what wisdom says right before the passage we looked at above: "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." (II Tim 6:6-8) That is why I began my post suggesting that wealth is not limited to riches and true biblical wealth has little to do with earthly riches.

The conclusion of the matter: cease from thine own wisdom. Let God's Word richly dwell in you, and this all begins to make sense. Otherwise you will never accept it."And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last first. (Mark 10:29-31) This is an economic lesson for all of life, it takes faith to accept the wisdom of God and cease from thine own wisdom.

Living the Covenant

Everything seemed to fit into place. I sat there in awe as if I were in a dream. Every face held forth a telling smile. All where joyous and laughter filled the air. For me, the sense of peace was overwhelming. I found myself overwhelmed by the power of God's loving grace. The realization is beginning to set in. Indeed, as I have grown older I have been tempered by life's rhythmical beating. Daily responsibilities, duties, and God's Law have a way of doing that. Tears welled up in my eyes, the depth of joy shot into my consciousness. I immediately thought: "I am living in the covenant!" The weight of God's grace was heavy upon me. I remembered that my prayers had been diligent. My Father heard every one of my desperate cries. I recalled that He had enabled me through doubt and discouragement to keep my head up and not waver.

Every face at my table sanctifies me daily. Every face teaches me. My bride is a fruitful vine by the sides of my house. My children like olive plants round about my table. Truly the Psalmist speaks: "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." (Ps 127:1) My heart is turned toward my home. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." (Deut 6:4-7)

I am more aware of my need now. The doctrine of total depravity has made it's way from an abstract concept to a felt reality. Daily I transgress God's law in thought, word, and deed. While I have been saved from the wrath of God through Jesus Christ there still remains in my soul a part of the old man. A remaining seed of corruption. Every week the Lord meets me at His table and reminds me that His Son is all sufficient. Jesus puts my life together. He takes everything that is wrong and makes it right. Jesus will never push me away. He will never push my children away. That is why I whisper in their ear: "Jesus is FOR you." I am living the covenant because Christ is in me- the hope of glory.

Now, His blessing  being poured out. Truly, not one of God's promises will ever fail. Ever.

True Communication

   (*note: Communication is a topic of vast importance and numerous articles will be written to help build a biblical view of communication. The present article was written by the author around fourteen years ago.)

     Everyone knows that building and maintaining relationships takes work. Moreover, with that work comes communication. If one were to imagine a relationship without communication it would be similar to trying to imagine fishing without water or peanut butter without peanuts. Without communication even a once good relationship will loose its health. There wouldn't be much of a relationship left after awhile. Now, let's take this communication thing a step further, what if we couldn't communicate with God? We Christians would be in a world of insecurity and fear!
    Stepping back once again, let's focus in on marriage. Imagine a marriage without communication. Unfortunately, for most readers, that won't be a challenging task. As sad as it sounds, this lack of communication is present in many marriages today. Many marriages are in shreds because there is little if any communication between the couple. Our purpose in this article is to focus not on communication per se, but rather to focus on a specific aspect of communcation: the importance of listening as communication in the covenant of marriage.
    So, why do married couples struggle with communication? Many problems such as laziness, children, fatigue, fear, pride, selfishness, or even unconfessed sin could all be contributing to poor communication within marriage. Over time, if these problems are not dealt with, then the couple may tend to drift away from one another. The present author would suggest however that an even deeper issue is at play behind all these contributing factors to poor communication. Namely, some couples just don't know how to communicate biblically according to God's Word.
    Now, to focus attention on  the importance of listening as communication in the covenant of marriage.  two verses will be suggested as a rule or standard to begin developing biblical listening skills for healthy communication. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote: "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." ( James 1:19) Along these similar lines, Proverbs also suggests, "He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him." (Prov 18:13) In many marriages there is too much talking and not enough listening. It has been said, "good conversation is determined more by how well we listen than how well we speak" (Dale Carnegie). The truth is, that in order to communicate effectively, we must first be able to listen well. Jesus was always quick to remind his hearers, "he who has ears to hear, let him hear." The Lord wants us to listen to each other. It is in the dynamics of the marriage relationship that this truth is most necessary.
   God is our exemplary teacher. Think of the way he shows his own love to his people in prayer. He is always willing to listen, Isaiah 59:1 says, "Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear." In Psalm 34, God listens to the righteous, "and his ears are open unto their cry." (Psalm 34:15) God is interested in our communication with him. This obviously has rich overtones for marriage through his example to each couple. Once both husband and wife begin to focus on God's willingness to listen and meditate on this truth, it will become easier for them to practice it with each other. Instead of always being heard, one key to effective communication is to focus on what the other person has to say.
    In order to illustrate the need for good listening skills, Robert Fisher offers a good bit of wisdom:

"In counseling sessions with couples experiencing marital difficulties, I usually set an important guideline at the outset of the discussion. I suggest that the wife first say what she wants to say without interruption from her husband. When she finishes, the husband is to express his perspective of the problem, while his wife listens. The result of this arrangement has been quite revealing. Often the wife, after beginning to tell her side of the story, will become too emotional to continue. She will say something like this, 'Do you know this is the first time since our marriage got into trouble that my husband has heard what I have to say. He always avoids the issue, he never listens to me.' The reaction fro her husband is similar, 'I've tried to talk to her about these things, but she always gets upset. She never lets me explain.'" 

    Fisher brings to the forefront the importance of listening so as not to interrupt. Interruption causes many problems in the communication process. Moreover, it shows disrespect and disinterest; not to mention an unwillingness to listen. In return this only leads to complications in the relationship, before long  feelings of anger, frustration, bitterness, and the like take root. In talking to a couple he was counseling, James H. Jauncey writes about a husbands words, "I used to talk to her. Your know, about my job and all that. I would start to explain a problem I might have. But she would always cut me off. 'That reminds me' she would interupt, and be off on some tangent. All that my talking did was to give her a springboard for some topic of her own. She wasn't interested in what I wanted to say.'" Granted, this woman no doubt loved her husband, and she most likely never intended for her husband to get the impressions he did. Yet, this is what she had communicated to him by her interruptions. While, this article is not intended to focus on non-verbal communication, yet this example supplied by Jauncey, offers a good reminder that we communicate in many ways even when we don't realize it!

   Peter exhorts husbands to understand their wives: "likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge." (1 Peter 3:7) Not understanding one another in marriage is, in part, a result of poor listening. Once a couple spends time learning the art of listening and grows thereby, an incredible transformation will take place. Paul Tournier explains, "In order for the husband or wife to express themselves, there must be a feeling of warm and kind receptivity and intensity of listening." That intensity of listening gives way for both husband and wife to learn to express themselves. The thoughts  of being criticized, judged, or even having to receive advise will give way to true self expression. Self expression enables couples to truly understand one another. 

    The best way to understand someone is to listen, not state what's on our mind. Paul Tournier suggests:

"In order to truly understand, we need to listen, not reply. We need to listen long and attentively. In order to help anybody to open his heart, we have to give him time, asking only a few questions, as carefully as possible, in order to help him better explain his experience. Above all we must not give the impression that we know better than he does what he must do. Otherwise we force him to withdraw. Too much criticism will also achieve the same result, so fragile are his inner sensitivities." 

    When the marriage is at the point when neither spouse can open up (self expression), the marriage is in serious trouble; these are the ground for future problems, perhaps even temptations toward adultery. The reason being that husbands and wives are wired by God to have someone to communicate with. Everyone desires to be heard, understood, and noticed. We all want to be able to express ourselves to someone.

   In conclusion, perhaps it is wise to learn to be slow to speak. Pay attention to your spouse and begin to develop an intensity for listening. No matter how many times one has tried and failed, there is not doubt that the Christian truly can do all things through Christ. As God listens to his children, as Jesus listens to his bride, may marriages find health and life as each couple practices the heavenly art of listening well.