Matthew 28

Go and Tell!

The last chapter of the book of Matthew is all about a mission. A mission to tell the Good News of the resurrected Savior. We often talk about Matthew 28 in the framework of the Great Commission. However, if we back up in this chapter and take a broader look at the context we get much a richer and more meaningful picture.

In the beginning of Matthew 28 we find Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (who could have been either the wife of Clopas [John 19:25], or the mother of James and John [Matthew 27:56]), had come the grave of Jesus. Why they are there isn’t important at this point, what is important is what they found, they found the tomb empty. The two women are told by the angel to “go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead” (v. 7). We will see this pattern repeated time and again following the resurrection and ascension of Jesus where a messenger from God directs human intervention and teaching of the Good News. Verse 8 tells us that they “ran” to tell the disciples and Jesus met them in the way. Jesus then tells them to go and tell his brethren to meet him in Galilee.

In contrast, the soldiers who had been guarding the tomb are compelled to lie about the risen Jesus and what they had seen. Their lies are bought and their earthly security seems to have been more of a priority to them than did their eternal well – being. Not only that, but Matthew goes on to say that their lie was one that continued to be disseminated.

Finally, Jesus meets with his disciples and issues the final charge to go and teach all nations, baptizing them, and teaching them to observe all that He had commanded. Philip would preach Jesus to the Eunuch (Acts 8). Peter would preach words whereby the house of Cornelius would be saved (Acts 11:14). The preaching of the cross is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18) that saves those who believe (1 Corinthians 1:21).

Here are a few things we need to take from this chapter:

When God tells us to go, we need to “GO!” We need to go “NOW” and we need to god with “Urgency.” When we go, teach, and do his will, he meets us in the way and never leaves our side. “I am with you always.” “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). We need to be careful what we believe. There are many false prophets and we need to be diligent in testing the things that are said (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1).

The Apostle Paul said that “now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). What are you waiting for? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins (Acts 22:16). Repent and pray (Acts 8:22). God and share the Good News and you will surely meet Him in the way!

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Blah Days

Even During Those “Blah” Days

Do you suffer from Blah days?

Do you suffer from Blah days?

I have often wondered about those “in-between” years — the years in Bible heroes’ lives that passed by with little more than a single verse acknowledging that time had moved on. For instance, Adam was already 130 years old when Seth was born (Genesis 5:3). Joseph spent over two years in prison for a crime he did not commit (Genesis 40:23-41:1). Moses spent forty years shepherding sheep in Midian (Exodus 2:15; 3:1-4; Acts 7:29-31). What did these men do during these long spans of time? What did these men do on a normal day? How was their everyday life similar to ours today?

While the Bible does not go into detail about these “in-between” years, one can rest assured that part of their average day was spent building and strengthening their relationship to God. These men were employed by God used to accomplish great things, and literally changed the course of history—but these changes did not occur by mere happenstance. They were tools in the hand of God, put there “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:13-14). A quick examination of the great “Hall of Faith” found in Hebrews chapter 11 reminds us that throughout many different centuries God utilized individuals to do His work. However, long before these individuals accomplished something special for God, most had already been cultivating a relationship with Him. These were righteous men—men after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) at all times, even during those “ blah ” days.

Whether they were shepherding sheep, lying in jail, or leading a chosen people across the Red Sea, these individuals never neglected their own personal relationship with Almighty God. What about us today? In a world in which we have drive-through windows for food, instant digital pictures, high-speed internet, and 24 hour online banking, do we ever slow down enough to focus on our relationship to Jehovah God? Can we honestly stand before the throne of God knowing we have been “still, and know[n]” He is God (Psalm 46:10). If you were to stop and rate the closeness of your relationship to God on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the closest possible), what number would you select? Now think again, God hasn’t moved in your relationship with Him. God’s position in your relationship to Him does not change. The Bible tells us that God loves us (John 3:16) and He desires all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the Truth (1 Timothy 2:4). He is always there for us. But are we always there for Him? Do we honestly spend time—even on those blah days—cultivating our relationship with Him, so that when He decides to make use of us for great things, we are there ready to get the job done?

One of the key factors in building a healthy relationship is getting to know the other person—and more than just superficial trivia. This means comprehending the full portrait of God. Have you painted a portrait of God in your home that only includes a loving, grandfatherly Being who is full of grace? Or have you incorporated into your portrait the jealousy, wrath, power, righteousness, mercy, judgment, and holiness of God? Proverbs 1:7 reminds us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” To really form a relationship with our eternal Creator we must first learn what we can about Him. The only place to do this is in His inspired Word. It can’t be done through listening to sermons alone, or even reading Think magazine! We must study and meditate on His Word.

Second, relationships must involve communication. Our method of communicating with God is through prayer—utilizing Jesus as our mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). Consider how deep your relationship is to God if the only time you communicate with Him is to pray for your food at mealtime. If this description sounds familiar, you need to understand you have a very shallow and fragile relationship with God—one likely to suffer during times of trouble or during those blah periods of life. Likewise, God communicates back to us through His Word. If we neglect daily reading of the Bible, then our relationship will not be as strong as it can be. How can we know Him if we don’t know His Word. Far too many Christians today are relying on the biblical knowledge of their preachers and leaders—an eerie step towards the days when Roman Catholics were told that only the priests could understand the Bible. Finally, our relationship must be visible through our actions. It’s often been said: “Don’t tell me you love me, show me.” The same can be said for our relationship with God (John 14:21; 1 John 2:5). Our declaration of a love for God is empty unless our lives accurately reflect that love.

Most tombstones have the year people were born and the year they died. These dates are commonly separated by a hyphen—the “in between” years. As you evaluate your own “in-between” years, I hope that today you will take some time and reflect on your personal relationship to God. He’s there for you—and one day you will meet Him, face-to-face. Will that meeting be the reunion of two close friends—or merely, two casual acquaintances?

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Alcohol and Sin

Alcohol and Sin

Alcohol from the moment it touches the lips, affects the body.

Alcohol from the moment it touches the lips, affects the body.

Alcohol is a device Satan uses to deceitfully destroy the lives and souls of many people.  Over 1/3rd of Americans drink, meaning that, 10 billion is spent on liquor every year.  Thus, it is sad to consider that while people are losing their jobs and homes, they still refuse to remove the pacifier of alcohol from their mouths.  Alas, people continue to drink despite the fact that 20-50% of hospital beds are occupied by people whose illness is associated with alcohol use.  People drink alcohol despite that over 50% of all arrest are due to alcohol and that over 50 % of seventh graders and nearly 90% of high school seniors have tried alcohol.  Alcohol is further consumed despite the fact that alcohol is the leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds and despite that 40 – 60% of all fatal crashes involving a young driver who had been drinking.  When is it enough to realize alcohol is a problem?

Well, God has always known.  It should be no mystery to anyone that drunkenness is included among the works of the flesh which will not allow an individual to inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21).  In addition, the use of alcohol impairs the qualities one must possess to be pleasing to God such as self-control, reason, and sound judgment (1Peter 1:6; 4:7; Galatians 5:23).   Now, it is difficult at times to live and act properly before God when one is sober, let alone while under the influence of alcohol.

However, some ask, “If drinking is wrong then why did Jesus turn the water into wine in John 2?  Surely Jesus would not provide for some what He condemns for others.”  Jesus did not make alcoholic wine, but fruit of the vine.  That which was not fermented.  Besides this, it is a fact of history that what was drunk at the table in the ancient world was not the intoxicating wine of today.  Not only the Greeks, but the Hebrews and Romans alike cut their wine with 3 and 4 parts water to drink as a beverage.  Now, wine that was not deluded and was not the fruit of the vine, was referred to as strong drink, which the Bible so clearly warns against.  Every product that anyone would drink as a social drink today, such as beer, wine, or liquor, has alcohol content classifying it as strong drink.

Now, some defend social drinking by stating, “I can control my drinking, I don’t get drunk.”  Well, drunk by whose standards: yours or God’s?  Besides, you should know that the very example that drinking sets before others condemns it before God (1Timothy 4:12).  So, could anyone who defends social drinking be willing to say: (1) That they believe they could convincingly have a righteous influence on others with a drink in their hand?  (2) That they would want others, especially children to follow their example?  (3) That when Jesus comes in judgment they would be perfectly comfortable meeting Him with a drink in their hand?

Sadly, billions of dollars are spent to advertise the use of alcohol as fun and glamorous. To drink, we are told, is to “go for the gusto,” “the high life.”  We are told that when you drink “it just doesn’t get any better than this” and that when you drink, “life is good.”  You must know that Satan never gives the true picture. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).  Never do the alcohol commercials show the guy in the gutter in his own vomit.  Never do they show hungry children where some mom or dad drank up the paycheck. Never do they show the dead and mangled bodies in a pile of twisted metal where a drunk has hit a car head on.  Neither do they mention God’s displeasure with it all.  Make no mistake, sin is deceitful (Hebrews 3:12-13).

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Stop Inviting to Church

We Must Stop Inviting People To Church!

“We have to stop inviting people to church.” Those are probably words you never thought you’d hear from a preacher. Let me add to your conundrum: “We have to stop inviting people to church… if we ever want to see the church of our Lord truly grow.” How is that even remotely possible you ask? Let me explain.

How are you inviting others to Christ?

How are you inviting others to Christ?

First off, anyone can invite anybody anywhere. Chances are that if you have a friend you’re considering inviting to ‘church,’ several others have already invited them to ‘their church’ as well – if, indeed, they don’t have ‘their own church’ already. And so, because your friend, not knowing the Scriptures (and hence, not knowing anything about the uniqueness and distinctiveness of the Lord’s one New Testament church as seen in those Scriptures, as opposed to all of the man-made denominations all around them), simply therefore views your invitation as nothing more than only one of many different offers to attend only slightly differing religious organizations which will all accomplish the same thing (at least in their mind), they have no real and reasonable reason to choose attending ‘your church’ over any of their other friends’ ‘churches.’ And then, when they additionally discover that the other groups have bands, light shows, contests, and allow both sexes to be involved in church leadership and are therefore much more “progressive,” exciting, and entertaining… well, is it any wonder we lose out and they go elsewhere to “church” with their other friends? We have (in their minds) become just one dull, archaic offer amongst many more intriguing, exciting, and otherwise much more entertaining options.

But wait a minute you say! We have to preach and teach the truth of God’s word exclusively! That’s what makes us completely unique in today’s religious landscape! We are not only constantly ‘in the word,’ we’re actually ‘in the word’ (Romans 16:16)! This isn’t about entertainment; this is about almighty God’s eternal grace, truth, and love, and our subsequent love for, and loyalty to, God, through our faithful obedience to His word! This is about growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord; about rightly dividing the word; and about learning, knowing, and obeying the truth that will set people free! Yes, I know all that – but they don’t. Satan has the whole world completely convinced and deceived (1 John 5:19-20) into believing that ‘all churches are the same,’ and that one only need ‘attend the church of their choice’ because any ‘one church is as good as another.’ Yours and my biblically uninformed and denominational friends and neighbors haven’t got a clue about the scriptural Jesus; the gospel plan of salvation; spirit and truth versus vain worship (John 4:23-24; Mark 7:1-13); or the essentiality, exclusivity, or eternality of the Lord’s one, New Testament church (Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:4-6) – or else they’d be members of it! And they’re not going to get a clue either unless God’s people use the proper approach in getting these truths of God to them. Instead, those friends and family we claim to love are going to become just another ‘Christian entertainment casualty’ at the casually dressed, culturally addressed, ear-tickling and people pleasing contemporary denomination down on the corner unless we alter our approach (2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Galatians 1:10). AND PLEASE NOTE: It is NOT our Spirit and truth worship patterns and practices that make us the kind of worshippers the Father is seeking (John 4:23-24) which need to be changed; it is our practice and approach at getting these vital, biblical truths to others that needs to be changed! And so, the question is, how?

Well, we see ourselves as the church in the Bible, right? Right! We claim to want to restore first-century Christianity in the modern world, correct? Correct! We ‘pride’ ourselves on ‘calling bible things by bible names,’ and ‘doing bible things in bible ways,’ don’t we? We do! So how about going back to the bible and honestly examining exactly how the church grew so fast in the first century, as opposed to how it’s NOT, now?

And the number one thing I DON’T see? Anyone inviting anyone to church. That’s right. Re-read every New Testament conversion account you can find. And the one thing you won’t find? Anyone inviting anyone to church! Invitations to church by congregation members are as absent from the biblical text as the so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” for salvation sake! (So… quick question here…. How can we have such a problem with the latter as being completely and blatantly unscriptural, and yet practice the former as universally and unquestioningly as we do?) And yet, the church grew on a daily basis (Acts 2:47). Why? Because instead of inviting the lost to come to church on Sunday and giving them time to come up with a myriad of weak excuses as to why they couldn’t, they taught them Jesus right then and there. Because instead of inviting them to come to church on Sunday in hopes the preacher would convert them (After all, that’s what he gets paid for, correct – to do the evangelistic work that is biblically speaking, every Christian’s responsibility?), they taught them Jesus right then and there… and lost souls were saved by the thousands!

So why don’t we do it that way? Why, instead of taking the time and personally putting in the effort to teach the lost the truth the same way these first century saints did at every opportunity they had, do we invite them to church in hopes the preacher can reach our friends better than we, their friends, can? Because Satan has given us way too many convenient-sounding and self-justifying excuses to not even try to evangelize as effectively as God’s word shows us they did and we should. We say we don’t have time when we all have all there is (See: Matthew 6:19-34). We tell ourselves we don’t have knowledge enough as “lay-people” to teach the lost. To begin with, “lay-people” isn’t biblical, it’s Catholic. If we are “in Christ” (Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:26-27), we are all a part of His royal priesthood (2 Peter 2:9-11). And as such, each and every one of us as individual Christians are summarily commanded to “sanctify the Lord God in [our] hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks [us] a reason for the hope that is in [us]” (1 Peter 3:15). If we are not capable of doing that, then what on earth have we been doing (2 Peter 1:1-11)?

The first missionary (chronologically speaking) that Jesus ever sent anywhere, was one who had known of or about Him but for only a few hours at best (cf. Mark 5:1-20). He was told to: “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled” (Mark 5:19-20). Can you do that much? If you are a ‘saved by the blood of Christ’ New Testament Christian, can you tell – are you capable of telling – others “what great things the Lord has done for you?” That’s all the Lord requires. Notice Jesus never said “Go home to your friends… and invite them to come out to hear Myself or John the Baptist preach this coming Sabbath!”

What about the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4)? She had just one meeting with Jesus, realized Who He was, and then went back and talked to her whole hometown about Him. She told anyone and everone who would listen about what Jesus had said and done… and caused them enough curiosity so that they all came out to see – and came to believe in – Him! Can you do that? If not, why not? One reason: Because Satan has us wrongfully convinced that we can’t do that. (By the way, is Philippians 4:13 still in your bible? Please take a moment right now to check and see, if you would.) Satan has us convinced (despite the lip-service we sometimes pay to one of our favorite slogans), that instead of truly ‘doing bible things in bible ways’ with every Christian personally bible studying with all their lost friends and neighbors at any and every opportunity, the same exact way they did in the first century when the Lord’s church was growing and spreading like wildfire, the best way to evangelize is to maybe invite our lost friends to church – if we can somehow gather up the courage to do even that much – then just and have the preacher convert them like we pay him to do. And of course when the numbers continue to decline because we are not truly, personally, individually or congregationally following the Lord’s infallible New Testament pattern for evangelism by spreading His word one on one, with everyone, everywhere we go (Acts 8:1-5), we can always blame and then terminate the preacher, and try to find another, better one, who will hopefully do a better job of converting our friends and family and growing the church, while we fully and fatally continue to convince ourselves that we’ve certainly, personally done our part. After all, don’t we put part of the preacher’s salary into the offering plate… and occasionally even maybe invite somebody to church when it’s not too inconvenient or uncomfortable to take a second or two to do so?

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Whoever Verses

Thank God that I am a “Whoever”

The Bible is filled with verses that use the word “whoever” or “whosoever.” I am so thankful that this is true. In Old Testament times, God had His chosen nation called Israel because the rest of mankind had turned away from Him. However, such is no longer true for the New Testament is fill with promise to the “whoevers.”

Whoever desires to come to Jesus is invited.

Whoever desires to come to Jesus is invited.

Can you image how tragic it would be to have the knowledge you have of God, of His purposes and His providence if you were not part of that plan? Imagine knowing the one mediator between God and man and you being excluded from the picture. Imagine knowing of the words, “Come you blessed of Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34), and you being excluded from them! God perish the thought!

Take time to read these “whoever” verses, and then imagine you are excluded from them.  Think about it. Then, read them a second time and take time to thank God you are included. Think about it.

God’s “whoever” verses. “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me and…I will show the salvation of God” (Psa. 50:23). “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 2:32). Think about it.

Jesus’ “whoever” verses. “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32-33). “Whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:15).  “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst” (John 4:13-14). “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:54). “Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:26). “Whoever believes in Me shall not abide in darkness” (John 12:46). Think about it.

The apostles’ “whoever” verses. “But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him . . . Whoever believes in Him will receive the remission of sins” (Acts 10:35, 43).  “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame” (Rom. 9:33).  Think about it.

The last “whoever” verse. Now go to the last page in in the Bible. Read the final words of God. “The Spirit and the bride say ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17). As you read His words, just imagine what it would be like if you were excluded. How blessed we are. Think about it!

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