Unlikely Evangelist

 Nobody would have picked this person to become an effective evangelist. The past was far from squeaky clean. The candidate failed morally. This one was also a social outcast. This one was also the wrong nationality. A minority despised by the ruling religious class. This person would have been easy to walk right past, to prejudge, and to eliminate from consideration for the work of evangelism. 

None of that mattered to Jesus. Jesus looked past nationality and cultural customs of prejudice. Jesus saw the sin clearly and even called it out. Somehow the sinner did not get offended nor reject Jesus. In fact, just the opposite reaction occurred. After being confronted with sin, this person gathered others to come to Jesus. Many people. A good portion of the hometown. The crowds flocked to Jesus and believed. 

This unlikely evangelist is not even named in the Bible. She is only known as the Samaritan woman. Her checkered past included five different husbands and living with a man outside marriage. We are spared other details. Did her previous husbands die? Did they divorce her? We are not given those details, but we are told she was living with a man the day she met Jesus. Blatantly committing fornication. 

A recent study reported that over 70% of couples under age 40 lived with their spouse before getting married. Sex outside marriage is common today. [I Thess 4:3-5] minces no word. Sex outside marriage is sin. The Bible defines marriage as between one man and one woman. The two shall become one flesh. [Gen 2:24] Nobody would have identified this woman to ever become a flaming evangelist for the Lord. Nobody but Jesus. 

Jesus identified Himself to her as the Messiah. She went to the men in town and encouraged them to come see for themselves. They did and many believed. She was not a theologian. At best, she was a new believer. She had no training, no track record of success, nor did she even fully understand what Jesus being Messiah meant. 

She did know that Jesus knew all about her. Her painful past and sinful present. He did not condemn her. Something about Jesus attracted her to summon others to Him. The Lord used her mightily. The Bible does not clarify what "many believed" meant. It was more than one. More than a few. Many means a large number. Her first evangelistic campaign was very successful. All she did was tell her story. 

That is something we can do. We can tell people our story and invite them to discover Jesus for themselves. People are ripe for this message. Not more religiosity. They yearn for something real. The fields are still white unto harvest just like they were on the day this story unfolded in John 4. May the Lord do it again through unlikely evangelists like us. 

Courage

 Courage defined is the ability to do something that frightens you. Fear can be crippling. To keep a person frozen in their tracks. Fear can also enslave people to past failures and reluctance to risk in the future. 

God commanded Joshua to be courageous multiple times in the first chapter of the book of Joshua. The Bible is littered with stories of people courageously obeying God in exploits of faith. I read one of the most familiar of all time this morning from [I Samuel 17]. If you are a serious Bible student, you recognize that chapter as the one about David and Goliath. 

I don't know how many times I have read that story. I have preached on it, taught it, and used it multiple times in pregame devotions for football teams. Today I read it with fresh eyes. It came alive sentence after sentence in a new way. Multiple things seemed to jump off the page at me. It almost seemed like I was reading it for the first time except I knew the ending. 

David's three oldest brothers were in the army squared off against the Philistines. They heard the taunts of the giant Goliath day after day. They shrunk back in cowardice just like the rest of the Israelite army. Goliath mocked and taunted the enemy soldiers willing to take on anyone who had the courage to face him. Nobody wanted to square off against this mountain of a man. Not Saul. Interestingly, the Bible describes Saul as standing head and shoulders above the rest of the men of his nation. He was a big man himself. He was also a coward. Sowas David's oldest brothers and every other Hebrew on that battlefield. 

Enter David. He was curious. He also brought some provisions to his brothers. Goliath fully captivated David's attention when he began parading before and profaning the God of Israel. Everyone quaked in their boots except David. He was provoked. Livid this pagan defied God. He could not hold his tongue. David's courage offended his cowardly brothers. 

David was brought to Saul. Saul only saw the youthfulness of this would be warrior. David quickly spouted off his resume of killing both lions and bears who attacked his sheep. He even killed them in hand to hand combat by seizing their fur and ending their lives. David knew God helped him against those beasts, and he confidently believed God would help him against the giant. 

With five smooth stones and his sling he approached Goliath. Did David have any fear? None is recorded. You know his pulse quickened as he stood across the battlefield from the largest man he had ever seen. The head of Goliath's spear weighed 15 pounds. Go ahead. Pick up a sledge hammer and hoist it behind your ear and then try to throw it like javelin. I think you get the point. 

Both sides did a little trash talking leading up to the clash. Goliath boasted in his size and strength. David boasted in Yahweh. 

My favorite part of the story may be overlooked by a lot of people. It is found in verse 48 at the end. It reads, "... David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine." It is that phrase he ran quickly toward the battle line that gets me. David did not succumb to fear. He didn't retreat to save his own hide. He not only ran toward Goliath, but he ran quickly toward him. 

Many people spend their whole lives running from battles as quickly as they can. David ran toward his opponent. David exercised faith and exuded confidence in the one true God. David refused to be a slave to fear. He lived out his courage for all to see. The reason we love this story so much is because of the courage. It is the ultimate underdog story. David and Goliath has become synonymous with impossible odds. David did not set out to make history that day. He just courageously lived out his convictions. 

I wonder what God could do through us if we chose to live out our convictions in a courageous manner. How many impossible things would God do through us. How many would be inspired by our example of courageous exploits. People are not inspired by fear. Cowards are often forgotten in history. People of courage are history makers. Which defines you? Courage or coward? Remember God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. [II Tim 1:7] Choose the path of courage. Run quickly to your battle line and trust God with all that is within you. 

It's High Time

 It's high time for judgment to begin in the household of God. [I Pet 4:17] When is the last time the church of God stopped their religious shams to take an honest look at themselves from God's point of view? I am guessing it might have been a while. 

I am not sure how often Christians do this in their personal lives either including myself.  It is easy to just pray a,"God forgive me for my many sins," prayer than to ask God to try us and to know if there be any wicked way in us. [Ps 139:23]. It hurts more to confess sins individually than to pray a blanket prayer of confession. 

More hypocrites fill the pews than holy people. That is a harsh statement. I still believe it is true. The list of sins in the church is long. Just about any sins pagans commit, some Christians also commit those same sins. Lying. Gossip. Deceit. Fornication. Adultery. Pornography. Theft. Cheating. I could go on, but what's the point. Hypocrites walk the hallowed halls of the house of God. Nobody seems to mind. It is easy to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to all the sin. Do people care about holiness anymore?

The church needs to stop and look at herself in the mirror. Do frequent worship attenders worship privately? Do they practice the discipline of devotions? Do people really pray when they say they will pray for others' prayer requests? It appears that Bible illiteracy is growing. For all our programs and special studies many do not live according to biblical principles. Far too many are hearers of the word, but not doers. [James1:22-25] Do we really live in the light of eternity? If we really believed that we will have to give an account for our lives, would we live differently?

The church needs a good purging. A good cleansing and renewal. That will not happen until we admit our sinful ways. I say our sinful ways, because sin impacts all of us. Repentance is in order. Private confession of sin, and maybe in certain situations, corporate repentance is needed. We live in a lukewarm church age and it makes Jesus want to vomit. [Rev 3:15-16] Apathy has atrophied the faith of many. Without faith it is impossible to please God. [Heb 11:6] Addictions cripple the church from effective ministry. We need cleansing and deliverance. 

No groom would be pleased to see his bride walking down the aisle on their wedding day in a soiled polluted dress. He wants to see his bride walking down in a spotless white wedding dress. Is it any different for the Lord? Doesn't He also want to see a spotless bride when He returns for His church?

It is high time for judgement to begin among the people of faith. It is time for us to take sin seriously and to hustle toward holiness while shunning hypocrisy. God will bless in return. The prophet Joel exhorted people to return to the Lord. [Joel 2:12] Right now. Today. Without delay. It is high time for the church to put away those things that dishonor the Lord, and embrace consecrated renewed devotion to Him. 

It's Too Hard

 I visited a football coach last night who told me a sad tale. He commented that during the spring semester he had 33 kids who signed up to play football. As the summer cranks up, he is down to 11. I asked what happened. He replied, "They said it was too hard. I am not about easy."

His comment reminds me of Christians. Those who are half hearted and half dedicated to Jesus and His causes. These people want a Jesus who will enhance their lives. Bless them. Forgive them. Help them in tough times. They do not want the Jesus who calls people to hard things like denying yourself, taking up your cross daily, and following Him. [Luke 9:23] 

Did Jesus say it was too hard when He hung blood bathed on the cross? Did the disciples say it too hard when they were beaten, thrown off buildings, stoned, hung, beheaded and burned? Did the Apostle John say it was too hard when a boiling cauldron of oil was poured on him. He survived that execution attempt and was exiled on the island of Patmos? Did Paul say it was too hard when he was stoned and left for dead? When he was brutally beaten with back bloodied and bruised, whisper the cost of following Jesus was too hard? What about Polycarp when he was sizzling in the fire like a steak, but not burned? I could recount the stories of William Carey, David Brainerd, Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson, Jim Elliott, Nate Saint, Amy Carmichael, Jackie Pullinger, and scores and scores of other relentless followers of Jesus. 

This Christian generation is soft. Some think a Sunday morning worship attendance is a sacrificial commitment. There are so many other things to compete. Ball games, recreational trips, and family functions trump Jesus and His calling. Fewer people seem willing to volunteer. Wait staff get better tips than God much of the time. People may own Bibles, but they are seldom cracked open and read. The pages are still stuck together in some from lack of use. 

Getting up early to read and study is hard. Staying up late for prayer sessions is hard. Ask E.M. Bounds, Leonard Ravehill, and John Hyde. Traveling the world to share the gospel is hard. Ask D.L. Moody, Billy Graham, and Greg Laurie. Staying up late to watch a movie is easy. Taking exotic vacations around the world is easy. 

Following Jesus is not always easy. Sometimes it is hard. SOMETIMES IT IS VERY HARD! Is He worth it? If following, loving, serving, and sacrificing, and even suffering worth it? I say yes. A thousand times yes. A million times yes. We may not be rewarded down here, but one day the reward of eternal life will be greater than any hardships we encountered in life. It will not seem too hard then. It will be a momentary and light affliction. In light of what Jesus suffered on the cross, following Him anywhere, at anytime, to do anything is not too hard. 

Saving America

 When I look at this once great country, my heart breaks to see what has become of it today. A very vocal minority have stormed the beachhead of ideologies and toppled everything that once was held sacred. God, Bible, marriage, family, education, life of the young and elderly, and even down to gender. 

I am a one God, one Savior, and one Bible guy. I do not believe in pluralism. I do not adhere to the belief that all religions are equal. I know in the United States people are given the right to believe whatever they want to believe. THAT DOES NOT MAKE THEIR BELIEFS RIGHT! God set it straight in the first of the Ten Commandments. You shall have no others gods before Me. [Ex 20:4] Islam is not another form of Christianity. ISLAM IS A FALSE RELIGION. A MAN MADE DOCTRINE. A PAGAN PRACTICE. I am not ashamed to say so. Do not fall for all the happy talk. A true Muslim considers Christians as infidels and sworn enemies. Just as Christians are out to convert the world, so are Muslims and they appear to be more successful than we are. 

Right here in the United States, I was told three cities exist in the state of Michigan called free zones. A free zone is a place where not only is Islam tolerated, it is preferred and a Christian going into that free zone trying to convert Muslims could be arrested for stirring up trouble. So much for freedom of religion when Muslims are given special privileges while the rights of Christians are trampled on repeatedly. In the DFW area, a man told me recently a street he grew up on as a child where is old home used to be has been renamed to Islamic Way. Several states and cities are converting their flags to include the Islamic star with eight points instead of the traditional five pointed star. One nation under God does not mean what it used to for many folks. One God. Now a duplicity of gods has duped millions. 

The celebration of "pride month" has already begun. A lesbian lover was recently interviewed and featured for her marriage to a female partner. I don't care what the Supreme Court ruled. God established and defined marriage. No perversion from His plan will ever be seen as anything else but sin in His eyes. No matter how many people get on board, fly flags, march in parades, tolerate, or even legislate cannot change God's mind and His word for those who have the courage to stand. Does God love homosexuals? Yes. Can Jesus save and deliver homosexuals? Yes. He will not change His mind and ever say homosexuality is tolerated and celebrated by Him. Homosexuality is no worse than any other sin, but IT IS STILL SIN!

Since when did talking so foul mouthed become seen as professional. F-bombs and gds are common in society. My family watched a faith based movie this past weekend. For the first time in my life I heard three f-bombs dropped in a trailer about a summer block buster movie soon to be released. I have deep convictions about watching movies with such language. I wish more Christians did. Christians support such foul mouthed movies as freely as the pagans. My entire family was highly offended by that trailer. Some church people may talk that way, but me and my house do not. Do not even get me started on Christian schools with foul mouthed students, coaches, teachers, and parents. As a Christian coach, I do not tolerate potty mouths. The word Christian means something. It means we are supposed to be like CHRIST in our behavior and speech. 

Pornography is penetrating most homes and parents are hiding their heads in the sand pretending it does not effect them and their children. You have to be kidding. NO FAMILY IS IMMUNE. If you have devices connected to the internet, people in your household are vulnerable. You have to courageously confront because sin is crouching at the door, but you must mater it. [Gen 4:7] Pornography leads to addiction, immorality, rape, sexual abuse, and adultery. These sins are in the church too. 

Our country is being invaded. Fighting age men crossing our borders giving pseudo addresses once they enter. Violent men with evil intent are being flown across the nation at night while we sleep. Another terrorist attack seems imminent. One day we will feel the fury of those who hate us within our own borders because our elected officials refused to stand to protect those borders. It feels like a ticking time bomb waiting to blast. 

Lying lawmakers break their political promises with ease. They sell our best interests in order to pad their pockets with lobbyist money. They undermine the very country they swore to protect and serve. Many like our current President, are paid and bought off by our adversaries. They are compromised and mere puppets and figureheads doing the bidding of those who hate us and want to see us destroyed. 

Globalist work behind the scenes to escalate a WWWIII because war is good for business for the military industrial complex. It is also a good way to purge the deplorables of society who march out of step with the rest. Our justice department is used as a weapon against political opponents. Justice is bought and paid for be the highest bidders. Compromised justices are incapable of ruling fairly when they are bought and paid for by wealthy elite with an agenda. Trust and justice are not for all. 

Consumer prices continue to climb leaving the lower and middle classes struggling to survive. This will lead to an implosion of the economy at some point. Is another Great Depression on the horizon? Many think so. In the meantime, who can afford a new vehicle or house? 

Children are no longer seen as a gift from God. They are used as guinea pigs to manipulate and indoctrinate to cultural and Godless ideologies. History is revised in the classroom to confuse them to the truth. Fundament facts are discarded and misrepresentations replace them. Children are brainwashed into doubting their gender. They are fed falsehoods about sexuality and groomed for victimization and indoctrination into the LGBTQ lifestyle. Parents oppose bringing their children to church to learn about Jesus, but flock to the libraries for Drag Queen story times. 

Where is the church? Sitting politely, quietly, and impotently on the sidelines of culture. Many churches are not growing but slowly dying. Christians are not always fully committed. Fewer live with convictions as they compromise with a culture gone wild. The church is no longer transforming culture but being transformed by culture. Hollywood is imitated more than holy God. Jesus is mocked and rejected more than American Idol. Satan is revered by the Satanic Temple more than Jehovah and Jesus among many of His own people. Legalists squeeze the life of God out of religious rituals. Liberals pervert Bible truths to satisfy their own twisted views. 

America needs saving, but the Savior is openly defied and ridiculed. Hypocrites try and hide their sin while pretending to be walking the straight and narrow. The prayer rooms are vacant. The eyes are dry. True faith is harder to find. America needs saving. I hope we repent and turn back to God before it is too late. As Lenoard Ravehill famously preached, "America is too young to die." 

Breaking Them Down

 Nobody likes to be broken. It is not a pleasant process. That is exactly what Turner and I did this morning in our summer workout program. We broke young undisciplined athletes down in their running form. All the way down. They looked awkward. They looked uncoordinated. They felt uncomfortable and there were a few giggles as they tried to follow the pattern of drills demonstrated to them. It was time to break down bad habits and to try to instill new correct habits of running more efficiently and effectively. The goal at the end of the summer is that each of these athletes will get faster and stronger. In between now and then, there will be a lot more breaking down bad form and learning new ones. 

God breaks us down. He strips us of sinful habits, reconstructs broken hearts, renews attitudes, and restores hope. The breaking down God does to us is often painful. To break a stubborn person like me is not easy. Brenda and I laughed the other day that not only am I as stubborn as a mule, she jokingly said as stubborn as three mules. Guilty as charged. 

That stubbornness enrolled me in a front row seat in the school of brokenness. Like a young colt being broke with saddle and rider, I often rebelled and bucked in resistance. I revolted to the idea of breaking and kept wanting to do things my stubborn way. God increased the pressure. He had to dig in deep to cut away long engrained habits that were toxic. Like a master sculptor shaping granite with chisel and hammer, God has taken the chisel to me several times. He has smoothed out some rough edges. He has hammered away pieces that were jagged and unappealing. 

In the middle of the pain, we are often confused. It does not feel like God loves us, but this is not true. The breaking of God is proof of His love and patience. He is making us a useful vessel. A vessel of honor and beauty It can be a long process depending on our willingness to submit. 

The doctor's scalpel is painful, but it can lead to healing restoration in the body. Two of my sons endured five ACL reconstructive surgeries. One had to endure a shoulder surgery. In the end, the pain of breaking through the skin and other tissues produced healing in the long run. 

Watching those young men run today, it was evident that they wanted to revert to long engrained bad habits. That seemed natural. To learn a new way felt unnatural. It does not make sense in the moment. They run faster doing it the old way. Yet their potential is severely limited. If they submit to the breaking and learn to do things the proper way, their potential is infinitely increased. 

Do we want to be useful to God? That might require Him breaking some areas in our lives. The end result might be greater effectiveness in ministry. The process of getting to that effectiveness might be painful and unpleasant. Temporary pain for eternal glory could be our motto. Like I heard my coaches say, "No pain no gain." I hope we will all be open to a little pain from God in shaping us to greater gains in building His kingdom. He does not break us down for the sake of watching us suffer. He breaks us down to build us up again. The gains I have seen have been worth the pain. I hope you experience the same as well.