How Truth is Received by Power ...

It is perhaps our finest wish that once truth has been spoken to power, that power will be moved, perhaps transformed, and begin to pursue another course.  We are taught from a very young age that truth will win out in the end.  And so when we dare to carry the banner of truth into the world we face, we do so carrying hope that it will be received in the spirit of Love in which it is offered.  Not to condemn, but to point the way to the open doors of salvation and reformation that Jesus longs to offer us all.  But alas it is no small thing to maintain that hope, when time after time, power demonstrates it has no interest in truth or love, only in the maintaining of power.  And to that end power will deny what it should otherwise plainly see, or what it knows in its heart to be true, all for the sake of never losing a grasp on power.  If only this were a secular phenomenon never to be seen within the doors of the church.  But as power was never meant to be ours, when power is perceived within church walls, it behaves no differently.  Power becomes an infectious cancer, a weight to doom the souls who attempt to carry it, a sickness that perverts the thinking and transform the humble into the proud, and blind, and naked.

This is nothing new.  It is prologue.  The leadership of the one true church of God was once so caught up in it, that a new church of God had to be formed.  The new one, not so proud, not at all consumed with power, only with the transforming love that Jesus offers us all so freely.  Imagine that; the singular true church of God, who comes to a place to discard that God behind the church.  The first church was not discarded “by” God, it chose rather to walk away from God, than to embrace the name of Jesus Christ.  And still, it was not left, with no chance to repent, to change its mind, to embrace what was so clear to see with anyone who had eyes to see, or ears to hear.  Peter and John had healed a man stricken for more than 40 years that nearly everyone in Jerusalem had met or seen begging in front of the temple gates.  When the news spread, the people responded by praising God.  It becomes very hard for church leaders to claim that praising and worshipping Adonai is a bad thing.  Harder still to wish further misery on a man who was now lifting his voice in that same praise of Adonai and of Jesus the son of God.

But the temple leaders had no inclination to change now.  Power had heard the truth, and was determined to deny it still.  Luke picks up the account in his book of Acts in the fourth chapter starting in verse 13 saying … “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. [verse 14] And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. [verse 15] But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,”  The first thing an assembly of academics and well educated men steeped in power notice, is that both Peter and John are nothing of the kind.  They are poor, unlearned, uneducated, and common folks.  Nobody of that ilk has ever dared to speak so in any kind of gathering of the elite of the nation and the church.  Common folks take direction, they do not offer it.  Being with Jesus has so transformed these common men, that they have become the most effective of evangelists.  Their words are not their own, but instead powered by the Holy Spirit within them.  As much as the Pharisees and Sadducees want to resist these words, it is like trying to resist the most powerful of all magnets.

Then there is the matter of the healed man, who continues to bellow praises to Adonai and to Jesus His Son.  The people all know about it.  The leaders are unable to deny it.  So they step outside to try to figure out what to do.  Luke continues in verse 16 saying … “Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. [verse 17] But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. [verse 18] And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.”  Normally, if you told a parishioner of the faith how to speak or what to say or not say regarding any tenant of the Torah, that parishioner would be fully compliant and respectful of the council.  But neither Peter or John were normal.  They had been with Jesus.  And now they were filled with Holy Ghost which never leaves a person just normal.  Those leaders could have threatened them all day and night with all manner of tortures and death.  It was like water off a duck’s back.  Someone else was running them.  Someone else was speaking through them.  And that is the point.  It is not up to you to “become” something to be used by God.  It is only up to you if you will let God use you when it is time to do so.  How your audience responds is not a reflection on you.  The appeal for salvation, for repentance, is the gift of God to your audience.

Luke continues in verse 19 saying … “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. [verse 20] For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. [verse 21] So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. [verse 22] For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.”  It becomes very hard to punish an entire city for praising God at the miracle His love sought to perform.  And Peter and John were only saying what they themselves had seen and heard, and calling on the only name by which salvation was offered.  The leadership hated all of this.  They railed against it.  Power did what power does, it threatens the very lives of those who would oppose it.  But when you understand where the value of life itself originates, it is hard to fear the death this world will surely one day bring to us all.  The length of our days is hardly worth an absence of God for even one of them.

Is it any wonder the Lord values our humility so highly?  When we see our state of affairs and recognize our need is so great, we realize how badly we need a Savior.  Pride and power work to counteract all of that.  Having achieved power (no matter the context) we become certain of ourselves, and see no need.  We push away that still small voice in favor of the loud bellowing one in our own heads.  We start telling others what they need to do.  After all, “we” are the ones who achieved power.  Just as in that church leadership meeting of old, we blind ourselves to Truth, in favor of our own ideas.  Our certainty robs us of humility.  We may ask to be led by God, as I am sure they did as well.  But the words are useless if our ideas are so grounded in the stone of our hearts that we have no intention to ever let them sink in and affect us.  Rather “asking God to lead” becomes a tradition we speak like saying “bless you” after a sneeze.  Nobody really knows why, and nobody really means it, it is just a tradition we speak at a rote response.  Asking God to lead for real, requires us to shut up and listen, not go right on speaking when God has not had the slightest chance to respond let alone the time and opportunity to speak through us.

Peter was a common man.  He was full of faults, weaknesses, bad habits.  He would not have ever deserved a place in the halls of the church leadership of his day.  Peter did not need to be perfect to serve.  He just needed to be willing.  He was.  Are you?  Are you willing to silence the ideas floating around in your head, and give God the time and space to speak through you, to the audience He picks, at the time He decides the need is now?  It doesn’t matter what it looks like to us.  It doesn’t matter if it makes sense to us.  It only matters if we decide to say yes, turn over control to the Holy Spirit, and become the vessel of His love to others.  If there is anything I have learned about me, it is that what I want, or what I think, is seldom aligned with what and how He thinks.  So perhaps better He runs my show for me.  And perhaps better I just give Him the keys and sit back and watch.

 

Speaking Truth to Power ...

Pilate once asked, “what is truth”?  Jesus once said, “I am the truth, the way, and the life”.  I wonder when we talk about speaking truth to power, are we talking about the ever popular “my truth”, or are we talking about “the Truth”?  Our society seems bent on creating a version of truth that finds its center in “me”, that is to say, in each of us.  It is as if facts, viewed through “my” lens of perspective, create a version of truth that could care less what anyone else thinks.  Somehow, we come to believe in “my” truth with near total certainty ignoring the possibility that an application of the slightest degree of objectivity might actually result in revealing “my” truth as being nothing more than an amplification of “my” selfish desire.  What “you” want does not matter to “me”, only what “I” want, since after all it is “my” life.  We then get pretty brazen about our discovery of this new personal truth and share it ad-nauseum with any who cares to listen.  But none of this is speaking any kind of real “truth” to any kind of real power.  It is just another form of narcissism masquerading as self-discovery.

The idea of being true to one’s-self, is tantamount to the idea of coming to accept ourselves “just as we are”.  Usually when this bright idea occurs to us, we are in a much less than perfect state.  Our failure to reach perfection just looks too permanent, it is just too hard to get there.  So instead of trying and failing over-and-over again, we just give up, and discover that being true to ourselves means accepting our shortcomings and just embracing them.  We usually take that a step farther in the spiritual domain, by insisting that since we accept us “this way”, that God too must accept us “this way”, after all He made us “this way”.  It is then easy to believe that since God can forgive us literally anything, we can just rely on that forgiveness, and somehow we can save changing until He remakes us at the second coming.  This philosophy then adds spiritual credence to the idea that “my truth” is surely “OK” with God as well.  But when Jesus said that He was the Truth, He never mentions anyone else in that same sentiment.  It is not like Jesus says He is the truth, even alongside Moses, David, or John the Baptist.  All of those patriarchs of the faith were famous for their service, and their messages, but none of them qualified to be “the Truth”.

Even though scripture is inspired by God, and is our best method of coming to know God, Jesus is higher than our scripture.  For Jesus did not say, the scripture is truth, and I am just the author of the words in that book of truth.  Keep in mind, the Pharisees had scripture, and still managed to miss Jesus (the inspiration, author, and God of scripture) entirely.  And what happens when our interpretations of scripture, wind up coming in conflict with what God wants?  Do we apologize, submit, and change our way of thinking?  Not when “my truth” is more important than “the Truth”.  Not when being true to myself stands in obvious conflict with the changes Jesus wants to bring into my life.  When I am not looking for a new way of thinking, anything that comes my way different from what I think, just makes me mad.  I would submit the angrier the response, the more mistaken the thinking is in conflict with “the Truth”. 

Case in point; the Pharisees put Jesus to death.  Despite all the evidence they were warring with God, they did it anyway.  They thought that would end it.  It didn’t.  And the miracles that followed Jesus, did not follow Him into the grave and stop.  Instead, they were back in full force from the followers of Jesus who merely used/called on the name of Jesus to see them done.  Ask yourself how hardheaded you have to be to keep fighting that fight after all those miraculous signs that just will not go away?  But then, before we get too critical, perhaps we should ask ourselves how hardheaded we have to be, to keep trying to find perfection by our own strength and will, failing every time, instead of letting Jesus do that work for us?  It is not perfection that is elusive, or giving way to “my truth”.  It is the means by which we go about pursuing perfection.  We keep allowing “self” to have a role in our salvation from ourselves.  This is not what Jesus needs.  He just needs your permission, your willingness to let Him change you however He sees fit.  That’s all.  If you are willing to let Him change it, it will change.  If you try to do it yourself, or try to help God out, count on failure in your future.

It might make you mad to read these words.  The Pharisees sure did not want to hear that Jesus could end even your desire to sin, that Jesus could make you free from sin, from the inside out.  Pharisees had the law of Moses.  They believed that you lived your life according to the Law, and that was “how” you got saved (and rich by the way).  If you sinned, that was on you to fix.  Having some upstart Nazarene Hippy come claim to release you from sin just by freeing your very desires, sounded like pure apostacy to Law keepers who wanted no other way to win, even when that method only showed them the failure of our lives.  The secret they could not grasp was the idea that the Law of God points out our need of a Savior, to write it on our hearts and minds.  The Law is not the method of salvation.  It is the results of salvation.  We keep it, because we want to, because we cannot imagine any other way to live, not because we “have to” in order to be saved.  The Pharisees did not want any part of that thinking, it was too radical a shift for them and would up-end their whole way of living.  So you can imagine when Peter and John perform a miracle in the name of Jesus, then preach in His Name, convert 5,000 folks, and don’t stop doing this.  The Pharisees were angry beyond belief.

Luke gives us the account in Acts chapter 4 picking up in verse 1 the story continues saying … “And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, [verse 2] Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. [verse 3] And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. [verse 4] Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.”  The Sadducees had only one main difference from the Pharisees and that was around the entire idea of resurrection.  They did not think it was part of Gods plan ever.  You lived, you died, end of story.  So having Lazarus be resurrected was a living, breathing, example that their doctrine was wrong.  Jesus doing it too, made it worse.  And all the others who were raised from the dead just kept putting nails in the coffin of this obviously mistaken ideology.  They did not respond, nor do we usually, by admitting they were wrong.  They did not apologize and embrace “the Truth”, because that Truth conflicted with “their” truth.  So they grab Peter and John and throw them into prison for the night.

But it didn’t matter. 5000 folks were converted by the power of the Holy Spirit moving through the words Peter said about Jesus.  The church leadership still hoped this might not be about Jesus.  They still clung to the idea maybe something new, or something else, was driving the miracle.  So on the next day they got together to flush out the details and find out what was going on.  Luke picks back up in verse 5 saying … “And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, [verse 6] And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. [verse 7] And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?”  This was the last desperate hope that the Jesus thing was dead and gone in the grave.  But in their hearts, they already knew it was not.  The Roman guards at the tomb already told them the truth about the resurrection and there was no way around that truth.

Peter then responds, again He is filled with Holy Spirit, it picks back up in verse 8 saying … “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, [verse 9] If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; [verse 10] Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. [verse 11] This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. [verse 12] Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”  Yikes.  Now that is an example of speaking real Truth to a room full of what we call power.  This was the head of the church, at least the head of the original one.  These men were rich, powerful, full of influence.  They could have Peter killed if they really wanted it.  And this was certainly NOT what they wanted to hear.  My guess, these old church leaders would have rather heard that Peter was on team Satan, than on team Jesus.  At least Satan could not claim to be the Son of God, well, without lying anyway.  Jesus had a rational claim, a claim that fulfilled scripture and prophecy, a claim steeped in truth and love.

Imagine yourself in that room of angry men.  Would you tell them the unvarnished truth?  Peter did not hesitate to remind these guys that “THEY” killed Jesus.  Peter does not blame the Romans.  Peter blames them personally.  As they all had personal accountability, and frankly so do we.  Each sin we embrace requires that blood fresh upon the cross of calvary once more, the nails driven into His hands and feet, by us.  And we know what we are doing.  That kind of truth demolishes the idea of “my” truth.  What Peter spoke was not just his own words, but because he was filled with the Holy Ghost.  And despite the criticism of them, or me, here was again another opportunity to repent and be saved.  Another chance to let go of my errors, and embrace His Truth.  To see that Jesus alone is Truth.  For those leaders to change, they would have had to admit they were wrong in the first place.  Not many of us are willing to do that.

But it was not certainty that fueled the obstinance of the Pharisees, or of us.  It is pride.  It is pride that refuses to admit the possibility of being wrong, of having someone else know something that we did not know first.  We sometimes harden into the core beliefs of our spiritual ancestors instead of building upon the foundation of faith they left us.  Our church forefathers in their day, were the champions of change, they endured more of it than we will ever allow ourselves to know.  But instead of treating the Word of God as a living breathing document, a wellspring of relevance that never runs dry – we treat it more the like the rocks upon which the Law was written, fixed, immovable, when in truth it is we who have become fixed and immovable.  Take the Sabbath being kept Holy for example, in the time of Christ, the church leadership had made the Sabbath so burdensome, that the miracle of healing someone on Sabbath was not celebrated, it was ruled as a means to kill the healer.  Jesus sought to change that.  Not just in what we do, but in how we think about loving others and how that does not take a holiday on Sabbath, instead it is supposed to be amplified on Sabbath.  Jesus was a radical change agent to the common thinking about the Law in His own day.  Why do try to put cement sandals on the Lord in our own day?

Let us not become so fixed in our positions, that we cannot accommodate the Truth when it knocks on the doors of our hearts.  Let us instead see ourselves as clay, ready to be molded into an image of the Truth who fashions us daily upon the craftsman’s wheel.  What He intends us to be is yet to be known to us.  But if we are to hold on to certainty, let it be certainty in the love of the Craftsman who remakes us into His own image, at our request.

 

Missing the Point [part two] ...

Fear of public speaking, fear of looking like an idiot in front of an audience, what could be worse?  So in those rare events when you are forced into the limelight to make some sort of speech, we tend to prepare, rehearse, and try to get ourselves ready however we can.  Some folks use cue cards.  Professionals use a teleprompter.  And children try to memorize what they are supposed to say.  We do our best, partly because we want whatever it is we have to say to come across well, be heard, and be understood by our listeners.  But in those even rarer impromptu situations when you have zero time to prep at all, your ability to “wing it” in front of a crowd may define whether you a “gift” for speaking in public, or whether you should never quit your day job.  Ideally you are never thrust into one of those impromptu situations throughout your life.  But they do happen.  And there is no way to prep for them, when they come up, they are just here, when nobody, least of all you, had time to imagine they would come.

Some might think pastors get impromptu situations all the time.  But really?  Oh sure, they face public speaking every weekend.  But those sermons are rarely done by winging-it.  Instead they are prepared well ahead of time.  And weddings, funerals, and child dedications are not events that occur without at least some foreknowledge they are coming.  These events generally have a lot in common, i.e. when you have done one baby dedication, you have done them all kind of thinking.  Being asked about your own personal testimony with Jesus may happen unexpectedly, but it tends to be the same story you have told a hundred times before, so that one is well rehearsed.  Even the questions that spiritual leaders are asked tend to follow similar lines of thinking, why me, why her, why does God permit evil to happen to good folks, when will it all end, how can I be saved, how do you know Jesus is real, etc. etc.  The answers to these questions for the speaker tend to be well rehearsed over a lifetime, if you have ever done any witnessing to anyone before.  So while it is not impossible for a pastor or spiritual leader to get caught with something impromptu that has not been well rehearsed, it is not as common as you might think.

But here is the kicker; when you are NOT a pastor, or well-rehearsed spiritual leader, and “then” you get asked to preach a sermon, or tell a story, in front of a crowd, with zero time to prep, no idea it was coming, and wham – the spotlight falls upon you – then what?  Can you imagine anything more nerve racking than that?  It does happen.  It did happen.  Let’s pick up with the study we began in our last post and continue looking at one of these type of impromptu situations.  It begins with Peter and John heading to the Temple to pray at about 3pm in the afternoon.  That’s all they intended to do.  But along the way they encounter a lame man, at the gate called “Beautiful” of the Temple, who then asked them for money.  They did not have any.  But instead, Peter looks the lame man in the eyes and says in the name of Jesus of Nazareth rise up and walk.  The man tries.  His legs and feet are restored and he winds up walking and leaping into the Temple praising God with all of his might.  If the story ended here and we printed the “and everyone lived happily for ever and ever” banner, we would all leave with the warm fuzzy in our tummy.  If we imagined ourselves as Peter in this story, we might wonder if that kind of miracle healing was still possible in our day, through our prayers.  But that is not where the story ends.  It continues.

Luke picks back up in the book of Acts, in the third chapter in verse 11 saying … “And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.”  The loud praise of this man, leaping for joy, just caused such a stir in an otherwise somber Temple gathering people were just amazed and spellbound at what had taken place.  This miracle was like a light in the darkness.  A light that could not, nor should not, be hidden.  It needed to be explained.  Later we will read, that more than 5000 men gathered to hear the explanation, so the size of the crown was no small thing.  Now I know you probably don’t imagine yourself as truly being like Peter in this story of old.  So you likely don’t pray prayers of miraculous healings, that result in someone leaping around praising God, particularly in such a crowded public place.  But that is us all, myself included, missing the whole point of this story.  We are all, meant for more.  This miracle was intended not to just be a light to the lame man changing his life, it was meant to be a catalyst light to every worshipper to point them back to the love Jesus Christ has for each of us.  Has the need for that kind of light ever been greater than now?

Luke continues in verse 12 saying … “And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?”  The first thing Peter needs to do, is to center the credit for this healing back on God, not on anything to do with the “holiness” of Peter or John.  Human nature tends to look first at the person, instead of the God behind the person.  And so often we would relish the attention and praise we might get for being “the miracle worker”, even though it is always only the power of God that can do anything miraculous.  If the healer wants the credit, he serves a different master.  But now arises one of those dreaded impromptu situations.  One where there is zero time to prep, no rehearsed sermons to call on, and frankly Peter probably does not think of himself as any kind of preacher at all.  He has only given one sermon before.  It is not like he has made any kind of career out of this up to now.  He is young, uneducated, not qualified (by current standards), a known sinner, a guy who even denied Jesus when it counted.  This guy is not a preacher.  Neither are you?  Or, does God have a surprise for you coming soon, a situation just like this, a question, or a personal witness that right now you have no idea about.  But it is coming.  And Peter gives us the road map for how to handle it.

Luke continues in verse 13 saying … “The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. [verse 14] But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; [verse 15] And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. [verse 16] And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”  Ouch.  Peter does not sugar coat his story.  He identifies that Jesus is the Son of God, and then quickly reminds this crowd that they recently killed Jesus when even Pilate wanted to let Him go.  He then tells the crowd that Jesus has risen from the dead and it is by faith in the name of Jesus that this lame man has been fully healed.  Perhaps not the most elegant way to start up a sermon, but keep in mind 5000 men were converted by the power of the Holy Spirit from the words Peter spoke.  Perhaps elegant, professional, and polished was NOT what God was looking for right then.  Perhaps the Holy Spirit was able to use the words of Peter such as they were to effect conviction and change.  Perhaps the Holy Spirit was feeding Peter what to say, right as he was saying it.

Luke continues in verse 17 saying … “And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. [verse 18] But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. [verse 19] Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; [verse 20] And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: [verse 21] Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”  Then Peter says, even if you were ignorant before, it is time to repent now, to be converted, and ready for the refreshing and return of Jesus foretold by all the prophets of old.  Do you think Peter was concerned about looking like an idiot in front of this huge crowd?  Do you think Peter was even thinking about himself at all right about then?  I doubt it.  My guess is he was deep in the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, and fully content to open his own mouth with whatever words the Spirit put in them to say.  He did not need to prep.  He did not need to worry.  This sermon was to be preached whether he thought of himself as a preacher right then or not.  People needed to see the light cast back upon Jesus, both then and now.

Luke continues in verse 22 saying … “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. [verse 23] And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. [verse 24] Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. [verse 25] Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. [verse 26] Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”  And that last line is the essence of the Gospel and its power both then and now.  Jesus was sent to bless us, in that He will turn us away from our sins.  Moses foretold this.  Samuel and all the prophets foretold this.  This Jewish audience were the metaphorical sons of these prophets in that the blessing of Jesus coming was done in their lifetimes.  We are the same sons now; we have the same Bible to read and realize all this was done for us as well.  The Gospel is the same now.  Jesus is still turning hearts away from sin, and THAT is the biggest miracle He can perform for each one of us.  And frankly, it is the most needed one we have.

Jesus told us not to concern ourselves with what to say, when a time like this arose.  Don’t worry about it.  Let go, and let the Spirit put the words in your mouth to say.  Keep in mind the results of this sermon led to the conversion of 5000 men, who knows how many more were reached after the initial counting of this.  Who knows how many people were reached as these 5000 went home and told their families and friends what they saw and heard.  All because the most common of young person, allowed himself to be used in spreading the love of Jesus to those who needed it most.  All because a non-preacher became a preacher in the course of 2 sermons, he had no time to prepare for.  All because when a known sinner like Peter looked upon the lame man, he knew Jesus would heal that man, regardless of his own short comings, or the short comings of the lame man.  Jesus’ love is greater than our sin.  And the Power of Jesus is enough to turn our hearts away from our sins.  This is how Jesus saves us to the uttermost.

Isn’t it about time for us to start channeling the love and power of God, through that name of Jesus Christ back into the world as I know Jesus wants us to do?  It is not our power, it is His.  It is not our holiness, it is His.  It may not even be our love for another, but surely Jesus loves that precious soul more than we can imagine.  The time of miracles has come again.  Will you take your first step into the wider world?  Will you let go your sins (allowing Jesus to transform and save you), and focus on asking for Holy Spirit to be poured out on your life everyday?  In an age such as this, how will you be found?  The time is now, what will you do with it? …

 

Missing the Point [part one] ...

Why do you suppose the story of Peter and John healing the lame man at the gates of the Temple exists?  Sure, it is a part of church history.  The resulting reactions reminded the Sanhedrin of Jesus and what they did to Him, and you could argue the miracle caused them to back into persecution mode.  So perhaps you could argue that miracle done in the name of Jesus was a catalyst for the early Christian Church.  But this story would be read by many well after persecution had taken on different forms and come from different sources.  It is read now in our own day when the freedom to read and believe seems well established.  So why do we care about it?  Is it just church history to us?  I think we tend to venerate the disciples as carrying the pillars of our faith on their shoulders, somehow making them beyond normal, making them Biblical heroes in a way we could never imagine ourselves becoming.  And if that is where our thinking has evolved, I dare say we have completely missed the point.

What Peter and John did, did not occur because of how special they were.  They were the farthest thing from special, they were in fact as common as common could be.  Fisherman were not the class to lecture in the sanctuary or temple circuits.  Fisherman were not invited to debate in the halls of power, or to offer insight on any scripture anywhere.  This was not a personal slight against Peter or John, or any other disciple of Christ, it was just the way society in their day measured itself.  To teach, you needed education, quite a bit of education, to even think about it.  To teach, you needed to be disciples of a venerated Rabbi who could pass along his own knowledge to you.  The process took years, many years.  So when you examined “who” did teach scripture it was always the old, always the male, always those tempered by time.  That was NOT Peter and John.  They were young men.  They never did get any kind of notable traditional education at all, not before Jesus, and not after Him.  They did NOT fit the mold of any kind of teacher, let alone preacher, let alone evangelist or eloquent public speaker.  But Luke records in his book of Acts, a series of public sermons by Peter with stunning results.

Does any of that sound like you?  Does the common part of Peter ring a bell in your soul?  What about the youthful inexperienced part of who he was, does that sound like you?  How about a total lack of public speaking up till the days he started doing it out of nowhere, with no plan, no planned event, in front of thousands with no planned speech at all.  Luke starts the story in chapter three of his book of Acts in the first verse it says … “Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.”  This was just two friends going to the temple to pray with everyone else around 3:00pm in the afternoon, as was the custom for those who were in Jerusalem at the time.  They would not be alone.  But they would certainly be praying differently than anyone else in ear shot of the two of them.  For everything these two men would ask would be asked in the name of Jesus.  This was just two young men who just wanted to go to Temple to pray.  Nothing special.  Nothing much uncommon, and zero plans at all.

Luke continues in verse 2 saying … “And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; [verse 3] Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.”  As Peter and John approached the Temple to pray, they encounter a beggar asking for any kind of money or alms they may have been carrying.  How many times have you been approached by someone begging for money, carrying a cardboard sign, or just looking like a homeless person with no better alternatives.  Notice the irony of Luke pointing out the name of the gate was beautiful, when the life of this crippled beggar was anything but beautiful.  He had to be carried to this spot every day.  And once there he could not move to any other.  He sat in abject humility forced to ask any passer-by for anything they could spare, in order to even try to maintain his own needs.  But his needs went far beyond his stomach.

And here is some of the point we tend to miss.  The beggar had no hope beyond the money he asked for.  The beggar had lost any hope that healing was even possible.  His bones were misshapen, his muscles in complete atrophy around his ankles and lower legs.  That was the medical fact of his life.  It had been like this since birth.  And he was known to all who passed by there, as they saw him growing up sitting in the same gate unable to ever move.  Perhaps he had been carried to this site by different people over time, thinking they could at least provide him this service.  So the beggar asks for the only thing he has hope to ask for, not always expecting to get money either, but still hoping for it.  Is that us?  Are we so spiritually crippled by our own self-limitations, or worse the limitations of the box we place God in, that we have lost all hope for the needs we truly have, and instead only ask for money.  In truth, it does sound like so much of the church as it exists today.

I wonder if we encountered such a crippled beggar as this today, would any of us ever think to help carry him to the temple in order to beg?  Would we just give him a dollar or two, and think our responsibility has been met and nothing more of us should ever be required.  Or would we like the Pharisee in the parable of the good Samaritan cross the road, or roll up the window, in order to avoid any contact with the less fortunate fearing they may hurt us to get what they need.  After all, most beggars in our day must just be lazy or crazy right, perhaps we can just say a quick prayer for them and be on our way.  But this is not the approach Peter or John took that afternoon while on the way to prayer.  Perhaps because we never seem to be on the way to prayer, much too busy for that, we don’t have the time for beggars either.

Luke continues in verse 4 saying … “And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. [verse 5] And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. [verse 6] Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”  Notice there is no hesitancy in Luke’s account of this encounter.  Peter sees beyond the need of alms to the needs of this beggar’s soul.  To restore his hope, he needs his body healed.  He needs to see a miracle done for him without any faith it could be done, or ever would be done.  Peter does not withhold money in exchange for something greater, as neither Peter or John were carrying any money at the time.  Had they been carrying money, they would have gladly shared it as well, for that is how the whole Christian community was living freely with each other at the time.  When we don’t have spare change how many times do we simply say “sorry, we don’t have anything today”.  And we then feel absolved from any responsibility because since we do not carry cash there is really nothing more we can do.  And I would ask, is that how Jesus handled these encounters?  Peter and John had been with Jesus so many times in encounters like these and they KNEW what Jesus would have done.  So they did it too. 

Without committee to assess, without any faith on the part of the recipient, without going to huddle and determine what approach they should take, or how to pray a prayer that would not embarrass them if it failed, they boldly asked the man to rise up and walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  While the beggar had no idea what was going on, Peter and John expected this miracle to take place, in fact, they had no doubt it would.  Medical facts on the ground were nothing to the disciples of Christ.  Medical facts, even up to death, never stopped Jesus, why should it stop them.  Keep in mind, these were two young men, the most common type of men the earth could produce back then, not formally educated, not Rabbi’s, not teachers or preachers.  And they probably would not have considered themselves evangelists or even faith healers.  But none of that stopped them, or even gave them a moment’s pause.  They just asked for a miracle and knew it was coming.

Luke continues in verse 7 saying … “And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength. [verse 8] And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.”  Crooked malformed bones straightened out without a twitch of pain.  Muscles long in decline were made full, and carried the strength of a young man in his prime.  The former crippled beggar leaped into the air.  He not only stood, but walked and continued leaping like a gazelle, all the while praising God.  Notice the miracle was attributed back to the power and love of a redeeming God.  Neither Peter or John immediately went around saying, “you know, we did that” or “if it were not for us, this guy would still be laying here at the beautiful gate just begging up a storm”.  Nor did Peter or John, turn to the healed beggar, and ask for a donation for their own ministry.  No fame.  No fortune.  Not even to seek for credit as to who did it.  Because they both knew, “they” were as common as common gets.  There was nothing in them, that made the man walk, there was only power in the name of Jesus Christ.

And instead of stopping to judge whether the beggar was worthy of such a miracle (who of us is?) they just acted in love to him.  And the results were stunning.  You could not keep this man from shouting his praise to God, and literally leaping into the air.  Eyes around the temple that had gone there to pray were drawn to this man disturbing the quiet and somber place, with such heartfelt sincere praises to God it was infectious.  The entire crowd recognized him, they saw the miracle, and none could explain it.  But they each knew God did this.  And praise began to sweep over the entire crowd.  The hearts of Israelites were suddenly irreversibly lifted in joy and excitement over what has happened.  Luke goes on in verse 9 saying … “And all the people saw him walking and praising God: [verse 10] And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.”  Wonder and amazement swept the crowd.  The praise lifted to God on this afternoon was catching fire and none could contain it.

This commotion would be noticed quickly by the church authorities.  And predictably they would not share the spirit of joy and praise for they were filled with another spirit.  The contrast would be stunning.  But in the recounting of this story in Acts, I still wonder if we have missed the point entirely.  You are no different than Peter or John.  And before you start protesting in your own mind and heart, immediately recounting all your sins and failures, Peter and John had just as many of those in their own lives.  And unless you happen to be a member of church leadership, educated from birth into the scriptures and how to debate them, you probably resemble Peter and John more than you think.  All you ever needed was time with Jesus.  You spend it in prayer.  Jesus walks with you every day.  And the same Spirit that was poured out on Peter or John, can as easily be poured out on you if you but ask for it.

None of this is to make you some kind of great faith healer, or evangelist.  You probably think that could never be you, you never made any plans along those lines.  Neither did they.  This story is not just a part of church history, it is a road map to your future.  Your ministry could by the grace of God become one where you have the confidence and security in the love of Christ to ask for miracles done in His name.  Miracles for the benefit of someone else in need.  Miracles that restore hope to the soul, and turn misery into praises that leap and bound across church floors.  Imagine the person stricken with cancer, aids, covid, or any other disease that medical science and medical facts just cannot undo.  Imagine the joy and praise that could enter that person’s heart when healing comes from your simple prayer on their behalf said in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

The point of this, the point of this miracle, is that you and Peter and John, are really no different at all.  There was nothing special about them that allowed this to occur.  If you believe, ask for His Spirit, and keep your eyes open for others in need, you too could be calling down miracles from heaven that would disrupt not only the medical community, but restore hope to souls who have long since given up, and have never really known the love of Jesus until it comes cratering into their lives through your prayers for them. 

And healing is only the first part of this story, there is more yet to come …

 

The Word Must Spread [part 2 of 2] ...

Sometimes we modern Christians believe there is nothing left to do.  There are few, if any, new mission fields to discover.  It looks to us like the work of spreading the word has been all but accomplished in the days before our own.  Perhaps there is merit to this, except in one case.  There is a field yet to be truly planted.  There is one field left, perhaps more important than any the missionaries have suffered to explore.  It is the field of our very own hearts.  We modern Christians know all “about” Jesus, we may have studied scripture, even for as long as all of our lives.  Our historical knowledge may be unparalleled.  Our doctrinal knowledge unrivaled.  But our experiential knowledge no more than that of an infant.  This condition is a symptom of one small thing, the insertion of “self” into the process of our salvation.  So many of us have been taught that “bad” people end up in hell, and “good” people end up in heaven at the end of all things.  That simple idea leads us to “try” to be “good” people.  When we fail at it, we are told to ask for forgiveness and get up and “try” again, “try” harder, show more will power, until we stop failing.  And these actions teach us over time that “we” are responsible for the molding of our characters by abstaining from evil.  We are told we must do our best “before” God will “make up the difference”.

And in so doing, our hearts remain our own.  Even for those strong of will, who abstain from evil by the sheer force of their will in action; their hearts remain unplowed fields, still chained to the desires for sin, even if overcome by abstention, still longing for what they should not long for.  We remain addicts to sin, no matter where we are in our self-proscribed 12-step-programs for treating our sins.  We rely upon Jesus so seldomly to truly rid us of sin, we have little exposure to that method, little testimony of it, little witness to it.  Instead, we have a long history of warring against sin on our own, and ultimately failing.  Still addicted to what we cannot change; the desires in us to still want evil.  What we really know about Jesus is from what we hear in sermons, and what we read in scripture, and these days what we see in films or other dramatic interpretations of these events like in “the Chosen” TV series.  All of our knowledge is “about” Jesus, little of our knowledge is personal to us, and truly meaningful in how we live our lives being made free from the desire to sin, because we do not ask Jesus for that, nor expect it if we ask.

Thus our hearts are last great mission field that must be truly sown by the Holy Spirit, creating in us a longing to let our sins go, putting them in the hands of Jesus for more than just forgiveness but to be eliminated from our thinking and our desire, thus freed from our action by His nature that becomes our own, not by struggle of our will.  For so long we have preached a message about the soon coming of our Lord, the return of Jesus to take us home.  And for so long, the Lord has delayed His return.  His delay has been one of love, hoping to harvest as many as can be harvested.  And each time we have preached His return with urgency and urgency has not yielded to fruition, even those in the church have turned aside from that message and decided it is not as real as we thought.  Those who have sought to find signs of the end have found them, yet still the Lord does not return.  Those who have sought exact dates of the Lord’s return have been bitterly disappointed.  And we wonder why the delay, why the disappointment?  All the while seeking a salvation that would tolerate and excuse the sins of our hearts.

His delay in returning is because there is one mission field left, the one of our hearts.  To live in heaven, we need to be transformed to the total absence of sin, holding on to none of it.  So many of us cling to the one cherished sin we refuse to yield up, hoping God will somehow just wink at our weakness.  But God wants us to free us from the pain and death of our sins, not leave us to continue to suffer within them.  So He delays His coming hoping to see the fields of our hearts truly sown, planted, and reaping a harvest centered upon the transformative love of Jesus Christ.  But the time for that is now.  The aspiration of repeating the Day of Pentecost in our lives is no longer just a passing whimsy but a desperate need in order to truly make us ready for His soon coming.  It is time to seek righteousness and discover the only way of finding it.  It is time to seek perfection and realize it has always been possible, not in our own strength but in the strength of Jesus Christ and His transformation of who we are down to the core.  Luke recorded the sermon of Peter upon the Day of Pentecost, but that sermon was not meant for that audience.  It was meant for this one, for you, and for me; for the purpose of these last days.

Peter mounts a defense for what some of Jews were questioning about the miracles seen on the Day of Pentecost in his day.  But Peter also speaks to us directly listen as Luke records picking up in verse 16 saying … “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; [verse 17] And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: [verse 18] And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:”  The last days Joel referred to were never so needed as they are today.  We war against atheism that would deny us purpose and meaning.  We war against humanism that would entice us to believe “intentions” are the pathway of self-realization.  We war against the delays of His return to dull our faith and reduce Jesus to historical stories, not experiential life changing transformation in the here and now.  Christianity has all but given up on the notion of perfection, as we have too long relied upon self to achieve it, and failed.  It is our hearts that need revival, and more reformation.  It is now which has become our last days.  And so our need is greater now than it has ever been.

Joel speaks to that need.  Peter correctly points out how God longs to pour our His Spirit upon ALL FLESH, yet we have too long choked off the access point of our hearts from that very experience.  But what would happen if we restricted God no longer?  What would happen if we longed for the very thing Joel describes, and Peter recounts.  What would happen if we literally begged for this?  Are we ready to beg for it?  I am.  My need is so great of these events my heart breaks for it, and my soul aches for it.  I have seen my need and I know how great it is.  I am certain that if I continue to rely upon me to achieve perfection, then my perfection is ever to remain out of reach. If I am to be saved from myself, only my Savior Jesus Christ can save me.  The Lord has granted me vision to see beyond into what is happening beyond the realms of human sight.  I see what God longs to do.  He only awaits a group of believers who also long to receive it.  “Your” sons and “your” daughters will prophesy.  “Your” children, not the children of strangers, but your own.  Are you ready for that?  Will you hear the word of God they utter, or will you close yourself off to it, affirming the age old adage the prophet receives no glory in his own home.  Your young men will see visions.  Your old men will dream dreams.  On MY servants AND on MY handmaidens will I pour out MY Spirit and they will prophesy says our God.  God describes a group of believers beyond any particular church who are ready and longing to receive this outpouring.  Has there ever been more need of these than there is today?

Luke continues in verse 19 saying … “And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: [verse 20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:”  These signs in the earth have already been in our history.  They could repeat themselves again if the Lord desires, but they are only hallmarks to point us back to readiness.  Not because we make ourselves ready, but that we would allow the Holy Spirit to make us ready.  God is looking for all of us.  God is longing for as many of us as will turn our hearts back to Him and long for Him in return.  Now!  During the time in our history when the ministry for this earth has changed.  We have moved from a period of investigative judgment to one of the final sealing of the people of God.  The investigation is over.  All that remains is to know who will allow the Lord to seal them before He returns.  The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the oil we have long sought, and the delays are finally coming to an end.  But because we have heard this message before will we ignore it now?  Will we treat it like just another boy crying wolf?  Or will we take it to heart, to our hearts.

Luke continues in verse 21 saying … “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  There it is.  There is the simple message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  To call upon “His” name.  For that is the only “name” of God we are certain exists in our knowledge.  Time for our prayers to become of singular nature, to ask forgiveness, and beg for the Holy Spirit if begging is what it takes.  Let us not face the end of all things on our own.  Let us face it armed with the Holy Spirit, and transformed by the power of Jesus Christ.  Devoid of sin, not just in action, but in desire, motive, even thought.  That is the kind of transformation that has always been possible, and is possible still.  If you have not found it yet, then join me as we pray in earnest for it, for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Let us be of one accord, in this one thing, once more.  Let us shed our denominational labels and cling to the one thing that unites us in Jesus Christ, and in the power of His Spirit to bring us into alignment with Him.  Along the way we will find the truth in His Word that has been there eluding us all the while.  We will come to know what He wants us to know.  But I submit there will be no revelation of truth while our eyes are dimmed by a refusal to follow, or while we cling to the notion it is our will that will somehow save us.

Luke continues as Peter continues his sermon in verse 22 saying … “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: [verse 23] Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: [verse 24] Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”  Peter here gives a summary of the gospel word that has the power to save, to save even you from the desire to sin, let alone from the actions of sin.  Peter then goes back to the scriptures of his day to once again give argument for Jesus Christ.  He does not throw away the Old Testament, but instead embraces the truth of the Old Testament to prove out Jesus Christ, referring back to Joel, and now moving back even farther to David.  

Luke continues in verse 25 saying … “For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: [verse 26] Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: [verse 27] Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. [verse 28] Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. [verse 29] Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. [verse 30] Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; [verse 31] He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.”  Peter outlines how David foretold of Jesus Christ and His resurrection.  David in this sense was more than patriarch, he was a prophet.

Luke continues in verse 32 saying … “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. [verse 33] Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. [verse 34] For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, [verse 35] Until I make thy foes thy footstool. [verse 36] Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”  Peter again uses the same texts Jesus used when confronted by Pharisees who asked Him by what authority He spoke in the Temple.  Jesus uses this same story of David’s prophesy for which the Pharisees had no answer how to explain it.  But Peter does.  Now in retrospect Peter is able to use the exact same passages from the author David and the words of Christ to point out how they point to Jesus as the fulfillment of these passages.  And Peter again points out that all the servants of Jesus there, bare witness to these events from ministry, to crucifixion, to resurrection, to ascension.

And in all of this the singular goal of the Holy Spirit is achieved.  Jesus planted the seeds.  Peter becomes a vessel along with all the others in that place.  And the word is spread across the hearts of every person there.  It is undeniable.  And its impact and effects unmistakable.  This is what God wants for you and I in the here and now.  Luke continues in verse 37 saying … “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? [verse 38] Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. [verse 39] For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. [verse 40] And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. [verse 41] Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”

This sermon of Peter was meant for you, not just them as some sort of history lesson.  The effect of the Holy Spirit was “prick them in their hearts”, that is the recognition of our sins, and our guilt in embracing our sins.  That is the first thing the Holy Spirit does, convict us of what we need to lose.  And you will notice it is the heart that is the mechanism, or the field if you will, through which the Holy Spirit enters.  They respond as I hope you and I do asking – what shall we do?.  The answer is “repent”.  Then be baptized literally every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.  Notice not just forgiveness of sins (that is implied), but for the remission or the removal of sins from your life, from your hands and feet, mind and heart.  That is the work of transformation only Jesus promises to perform within you.  And we will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit promised to each and all of us tp accomplish that work.  For the promise is UNTO YOU, and to YOUR children, to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God SHALL CALL.  That call is going out right now.  That call goes out in this text, but more importantly it goes out to your heart from the same Jesus you know so much about.  They gladly received his words and were baptized and that same day 3000 souls were added to his kingdom.

But more importantly than that precious harvest back then, is the harvest of one more, of you, of me.  Let us turn our hearts towards Jesus, let us too repent of our sins, of who we have become, and seek His baptism by the fire of the Holy Spirit.  Let us be transformed not by what we think to do, or try to do, but by the power of His love to make us new, here and now.  In mind and heart let us allow the Holy Spirit to make us One with our God and Lord Jesus Christ.  For it is only Jesus that has ever made us this offer, this promise.  There is no other way to the Father but through Jesus Christ.  And the power of the Holy Spirit is meant to make the gospel of Jesus Christ real in our hearts and minds, and be one with us as we face the end of all things.  Only then will our actions flow from our hearts, aligned with God, one with Him in the redemptive ministry to our world in these last few hours.  The nature of the ministry for our world has changed.  It has entered its final stage.  What will you do with what time you have left?  As for me and my house, clinging to the name and grace of Jesus Christ, we will serve the Lord …