Wednesday June 30, 2010

Read Mark 4:13-17

As we’ve seen already, there are many ways to react to the Word. Some people are ignorant. Some are interested. Some are informed. Some are, or become, insiders. Which one of the four soils best represents you and your reaction to the Word of Christ Jesus?

The first kind of person that Jesus represented was the person who had no interest in the Word. It is irrelevant to their life and has no meaning or value to them. This kind of person may give Jesus credence as a religious leader but only on shelf with all other Christian books. There is no personal reaction to the Word. Spiritually, satan sneaks away with the Word as soon as it is sown, much like birds steal seeds sown on a pathway. This person remains ignorant of Jesus and has desire to change.

The next type of soil is rocky soil. The person described as rocky soil receives the Word with joy. They grab the Word at once and joyfully accept it. But once hardship because of the Word comes along, they quickly fall away. They are eager to deny Christ, to hide their Christ-light and to make sure that they do not stand out for Jesus in the crowd.

These kinds of people are interested in Jesus but are by no means, insiders or close friends with Jesus. One wonders if they came to Jesus the Saviour, who demands repentance and faith. Maybe they came to Jesus the therapist to feel better about themselves. It could have been Jesus the Genie who grants us all our wishes. Maybe it was Jesus the psychologist who helps me love myself. Perhaps it was grandpa who loves everyone and allows everything. Either way, these people fall away and deny Christ as soon as the temperature begins to rise.

Neither the first kind of soil nor the second will bear fruit from the Word.  The second rocky soil may claim to be Christian and may even go through Christian motions but there is no proof of their Christianity.

One of the great questions to keep asking ourselves is, ‘If Christianity were a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict me?’

Prayer:-

• Pray that your church would be overtly Christian in its make up. Pray that the community around your church would indeed see the Christ-light shining from your church. Ask God to send out many from that church into the harvest field to reap the harvest for the kingdom of God.


• Pray that our brothers and sisters in North Korea would be strong in the face of persecution. Pray that they would not deny Christ or seek to protect their own lives by denying Jesus. Pray that they would proclaim the Word fearlessly. There are reports that some believers are captured and used in tests/experiments using biological and chemical warfare. Ask the Lord to uphold and protect these believers. Pray that the nation adopts a government that allows Christianity to be practiced.

Do It Today

Log onto opendoors.org.au

Find one country to pray for and add it to your daily prayer list.

You can find a world watch list under the prayer icon at the top.

Tuesday June 29, 2010

Read Mark 4:10-13

As Jesus teaches the people, we come to realise quite quickly that His teaching has a sifting function.  As people hear what Jesus has to say, some will remain ignorant of Jesus’ true identity. Others will be interested but not necessarily clued in. Some will be informed and others will become insiders.

Jesus Himself tells us that His teaching in parables has a sifting function. He deliberately teaches in parables so that those who are ignorant and want nothing to do with Jesus are confirmed in their hard heartedness. The parables drive them away, to the point of no return. To them, Jesus is a teller of nice but largely irrelevant stories.  Still to others, to those who have been given the secrets of the kingdom, the parables contain a wealth of truth and joy. They have deep treasures that need to be mined out and enjoyed.

How you respond to the teachings of Jesus shows where your heart really is. When the words of Christ are read, do you yawn and give a ‘ho-hum, here we go again?’ Do you fidget and fiddle uncomfortably until it’s over? Do you sit through it, gritting your teeth, anticipating the ending? These are not good signs. Or maybe you sit up and listen and anticipate great things from the mouth of the master. Your reaction to the Word of God shows where your heart really is.  The Bereans were described in such a way:-

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

Let us strive to be a Berean in our attitude to Christ’s Word.

Prayer:-

Pray that we will, as a congregation, be eager to hear the Word each Lord’s day and willing/eager to put it into practice.

• Pray for those who preach. Ask God to fill them with wisdom, insight and a deep knowledge of the Word so that they can feed us faithfully. Pray that God would work in the lives of our preachers before they come to teach us.


• Pray for those who teach in persecuted lands. Pray that God would protect them and cause His Word to flourish.  Pray that these teachers would not fear mankind and would proclaim the word unashamedly.

Monday June 28, 2010

Read Mark 4:1-9

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%204:1-9%20%20&version=NIV

Put yourself in the shoes (or more probably, the sandals) of the average person in Jesus time. Life was governed by the Torah and the religious leaders and elders of the day. They interpreted the law of God and taught the masses the way of God. They had the authority. They had the power. They were clearly and irrevocably in control. To question them was unthinkable.

And into the mix comes this young, uneducated man called Jesus. He teaches the Word of God and the Law of God in common language, in ordinary everyday common speech. His were not theological ramblings or wrestlings with irrelevant issues and convoluted theological conundrums. This Jesus taught about God and He taught plainly from ordinary every day life.

Unfortunately, today many people in the church have picked up on the way of the Pharisees, using theology, academia and verbosity to air their intelligence and convince others of their view point/argument.  Rather than speaking plainly from the Bible we hide our argument behind a veil of theological jargon, scientific reasoning or original language quotations. One such fellow who claimed to be a Christian argued with me vehemently about the return of Christ (or rather, the falsity of the claim of His return) from the Greek word “Parousia”. Being a new college student I was keen to engage my learned friend. After several more quotes of authors and other Greek words I decided to pull out my Greek New Testament. I handed it to this esteemed would-be theologian and simply said, ‘Prove it from the Greek New Testament’. His reply? ‘Oh I can’t read that, it’s Greek’.

The point is simple. If Jesus, the master teacher, chose to teach the people in ordinary everyday language using images and illustrations from ordinary, understandable language, you and I can do the same. We don’t need to use intellectual sounding arguments, large Greek words, theological jargon and so on to convince others about the Bible. It’s probably more helpful to use language that the other person can understand, especially if he or she is a non believer. Don’t worry about how you sound to others. If you are speaking truths from the Bible, you are on solid ground.

Prayer:-

• Continue to pray for the World Changers Group as they rework their structure, their mission and purpose statements. Pray that God would lead this team and grant them great wisdom, insight and understanding of God’s plan for our church. Pray for the new members on the task force.


• Pray for our level of giving. Ask God to raise giving to levels so that we can achieve the dreams we shared early this month - dreams of full- time children’s worker, youth worker and a part time pastoral care coordinator and mission coordinator.


• Ask God to give the Committee of Management the ability to manage our funds and to take care of our temporal affairs. Pray that these men and women would be filled with the Spirit and able to wisely use the funds granted to them.

Do It Today

Write out a simple every day explanation of

• Salvation by faith


• Repentance


• The meaning of Jesus’ work at the cross.

Pray that God would give you an opportunity to share this with a non believer.

Saturday June 26, 2010

Read John 3:16-21

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203:16-21&version=NIV

I bet you know John 3:16 off by heart. I bet you could recite it without really thinking about it. That’s fantastic! That’s wonderful. I think it’s great to have memory verses in our hearts and heads. God often brings them to mind at the very moment we need them.

But can you recite the rest of John 3:17-21? These are beautiful words to know as we think through evangelism.

The Lord tells us that He sent His son to save the world, not condemn it. Jesus came on a rescue mission, so that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jesus came to make it possible for you and I and all who believe to have eternal life.

This is where we face much confusion and misunderstanding. Verse 18 shows the current standing of both the lost and the saved.

Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

If you believe in Jesus you are pardoned here and now. You don’t have to wait to die and stand in God’s presence before enjoying your salvation. That day will be the consummation of your salvation, not the start of it. Right here, right now, today you are not condemned. God loves you immensely right here, right now.

But the non believer also stands in a relationship with the Lord today. When a non believer comes to the day of judgement it will not be a day of adding up good deeds and bad deeds and seeing which side has the greater count. That day will be a confirmation of where the person stood with Christ in this life. Right here, right now if a person does not believe in Jesus he or she stands condemned. Their disbelief has caused them to be condemned. If they were to stand before the judge of the earth right now there would be eternal condemnation. They would be sent to hell for ever.

That changes the way I think about everyone doesn’t it? My non believing friends, family, neighbours, school mates and work friends etc are condemned at the present time.  Right now they are without hope, facing a terrible eternity of separation from God.

But here’s the good news. You and I have good news to take  to these people. Everyone who believes is not condemned. As I take the message of hope and life to my non believing friends God will pardon them, declare them “NOT GUILTY” the moment they believe in Jesus.

God can use you and me to change the eternal destiny of another person. God can use you and me to call others from darkness into His wonderful light. Once you’ve been used by God to change another person’s destiny, you’ll be hooked and addicted. You’ll pray and plead with God to use you again and again and again. There is simply no greater joy than to have this great privilege.

Prayer:-

Ask the Lord to use you to bring salvation (ie a change in destiny) for others. Pray that God would open doors for you to speak the good news into another person’s life. Pray that the Holy Spirit will allow that person to respond to the message of life.

Pray that God would give everyone in your congregation a heart that yearns to see the lost saved.

Pray that your life (and the lives of your brothers and sisters) will be so attractive to non believers that they will come to seek out Christ.

As you prepare to gather for worship tomorrow pray that your congregation would be loving each other as Christ has loved them. Ask God to show you how you can show love to others tomorrow, to bless others and to build others up.

Friday June 25, 2010

Read Romans 10:14-15, Isaiah 55:10-11

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2010:14-15,%20%20Isaiah%2055:10-11&version=NIV

Problems and fear often arise for us in evangelism because we forget who we are and where we fit into the picture. Often I find myself being afraid of evangelism because that other person is too smart, has too many questions or is just too plain scary. I forget my role, God’s role and the other person’s role. We worry ourselves, thinking that we have to say the right thing, have every answer and be witty enough, funny enough, serious enough etc to win that person over.  We take upon ourselves the burden that belongs to God.

Romans 10:14-15 paints a beautiful picture of my role in reaching the lost. I am a messenger. I don’t create the message. I don’t make it up. I am a delivery boy sent to give others the message. God determined the message (it’s the Gospel, if you haven’t worked it out yet). The result of how others respond to the message are out of my hands. It’s  not my responsibility. I am a messenger. God determines what will happen when I deliver the message. Read Isaiah 55:10-11. God will work through my delivery, be it as bad as it may or as good as it can be!  My role is to faithfully convey the message of life. I am not responsible for converting others, for making their mind up or for badgering them into the kingdom. Whether the other persons receives or rejects the message is not my issue. God wants me to bring the good news of peace to them. He will determine the rest.

I can lay down in peace each and every night knowing that God has made me a messenger. How beautiful are the feet (remember, the foot is the bit that trudges through mud, camel droppings and is pretty much left till last to clean) that bring good news. You have great news to bring to the world. Be a faithful messenger.

Prayer:-

Ask the Lord to be turning you into a disciple maker. Pray that God would give you the wisdom to  know when to speak, what to say, who to speak to and how to speak to them. Pray that you will be a Spirit filled ambassador for Jesus.

Ask God to open doors for you to speak about Christ to the people you’ve been praying for this month.

Pray that everyone in your church would be taking the message of good news out into their world.

Thursday June 24, 2010

Read 1 Peter 3:15-16

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%203:15-16&version=NIV

I have worked with ex offenders for many years. I remember one particular fellow who was particularly scary. Apart from the tattoos and missing teeth, he had told me of his particularly violent back ground. As he sat in my office chair (my chair, not the chair provided for clients to sit in) he asked me a profound question that I was not ready or prepared to answer. What was the question? ‘Why does God hate me?

The Lord calls us to ALWAYS be prepared to give an answer. When people ask us about Jesus we should be ready and willing to share our faith with them. What got in the way for me was fear and surprise. I should have realised that all authority belonged to Christ and that He would lead me to sharing faithfully at that given moment. I should have opened my mouth and boldly, fearlessly proclaimed the gospel - the love and forgiveness of God in Christ Jesus.

I wonder if you and I are prepared to answer and declare our beliefs to those who ask. Do we understand the gospel? Can we explain it? Can we defend it? Can we share it and call people to make a decision?

More importantly, can we share our faith, as vs 16 says, with gentleness and with tact? Often people are offended at, so we believe,  the message but it’s really our delivery or lack of tact that has offended them. When we share our faith, we are to do so with the utmost respect and honour for the other person. We are not to be rude, judgemental or condescending. In short, our delivery of the message is to have no impediments for the person to believe the message.

Prayer:-

Ask the Lord to write 1 Peter 3:15-16 on your heart. Ask the Lord to soften your heart and to fill it with Christlike love for the lost.

Pray for opportunities to share your faith with those you have been praying for

Wednesday June 23, 2010

Read Matthew 28:18-20

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028:18-20&version=NIV

Evangelism can be pretty scary can’t it? It can be nerve racking and even totally freaky to try to talk about Jesus with another person. Granted, some people are harder to talk to than others but generally, most believers find it hard to speak about Jesus to another person. Sometimes we find it hard to talk about Jesus among ourselves. It only makes talk about Jesus to non believers even harder.

But read Matthew 28:18 again. Jesus utters a very important phrase to remember as we think about evangelism.

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Jesus has all authority here and in heaven. Jesus is the supreme ruler of all. Nothing happens apart from Jesus’ will. Nothing can happen to you apart from Jesus’ will. Your friends, family, neighbours etc can not thwart the plans of Jesus. How does that help me in my evangelism? Put bluntly, you have nothing to fear because Jesus has all authority. Jesus will give you the words to say. He will determine the outcome and He will only allow what He wants to happen to you. You can evangelise in confidence.

What God wants is for each believer to take this Great Commission seriously. As we go throughout our world we are to be making disciples for Jesus. The people you mix with today, the friends/family you’ve been praying for all need to hear about Jesus.  When they come to believe in Jesus they need to be baptised and taught about obeying Jesus and serving Him. Your job for now, is to make them into disciples of Jesus.

Prayer:-

1. Ask the Lord to be turning you into a disciple maker. Pray that God would give you the wisdom to  know when to speak, what to say, who to speak to and how to speak to them. Pray that you will be a Spirit filled ambassador for Jesus.


2. Ask God to open doors for you to speak about Christ to the people you’ve been praying for this month.