The Folded Napkin

We are quickly approaching that time of the year when Christians from all over the world will be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. Of course, every Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, since that is the day evangelical churches meet for worship (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2).


But Easter is a common global celebration of Jesus’ resurrection and scores of people who normally do not attend church will make the time to go to church on Easter Sunday.


So you will be reading articles and blogs on the resurrection and of course hearing messages as well. Here is what I want to show you as a way to start things off.


In John 20, we come across this account of the resurrection of Christ:


3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) – John 20:3-9 NIV


Now verses 6 and 7 is where I need for you to focus your attention. Notice what is written: “He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.”


John writes and tells us that the “burial cloth” that had been placed around Jesus’ head was FOLDED UP by itself and SEPARATE from the linen – that is from the rest of the burial cloth that had been wrapped around the body of Jesus.


Now remember what brought Peter and John to the tomb? Mary Magdalene had come early to the tomb on a Sunday (John 20:1) to prepare the body of Jesus for final burial by bringing more spices to anoint the corpse (Luke 24:1).


When Mary got there she discovered that the body of Jesus was gone (v. 2). She ran back and told Peter and John what she thought had happened: “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they had laid Him.”


Mary wrongly concluded that Jesus’ body had been stolen. Now the Romans would not have allowed this to occurred, because they did not want to run the risk of news spreading all over the place that Jesus was resurrected. The Romans as well as the religious Jews wanted the body to be left alone as proof that Jesus was merely an ordinary man. But such was not the case. Someone had taken the body, according to Mary.


Now the way the body wrappings were laid out suggests that there was no way for the body of Jesus to have been stolen. First, thieves would not waste the time to unwrap the body of its grave clothes. That would take too much time. Thieves would want to get in and get out as quickly as possible.


Furthermore, thieves would not unwrap the body of its grave clothes and then carry out the naked corpse into the night. Touching a dead smelling corpse would be too much for any thief to consider doing especially a Jew. Since the body was nicely wrapped, why not just carry it out with all its wrappings and not have to touch a dead stinky corpse?


So, there was no way for the body of Jesus to have been stolen. Something much more significant was going on here.


Upon hearing the news of Mary, Peter and John ran to the tomb to see. John out ran Peter and got there first. He stopped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.


Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.


Note: The cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded and lying off to the side from the rest of the grave cloth.


Was that important? Absolutely! Is it really significant? Yes!


In order to understand the significance of the folded cloth or napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.


When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it.


The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.


Now if the master was done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.


The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded up napkin meant, "I'm finished."


But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because...........


The folded napkin meant, "I'm coming back."


This is what Peter saw when he entered the tomb of Jesus. He saw the folded up napkin or head cloth off to the side. When John also got up enough nerve to enter the tomb, the bible says “he saw and believed” (John 20:8).


Back in verses 6-7, when Peter entered the tomb, it says, “he BEHELD. . .the face cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. . .rolled up in a place by itself.


The word “beheld” in the Greek literally means, “to look at attentively.” In other words, Peter looked at the folded napkin off to the side and remembered what that meant.


And sure enough, Jesus did come back (see His appearance to Mary outside the tomb in verses 11-16).


So there you have it. The folded up head cloth by itself is further proof that Jesus’ body was not stolen by thieves. Rather, Jesus left a clue for His disciples that He would soon be back.


That folded up head cloth has both a near and far fulfillment. In terms of the near fulfillment, Jesus did return to the tomb where He met Mary. Later Jesus appeared to the rest of His disciples.


The far fulfillment will be when Jesus returns a second time to this earth. Not exactly sure on what to do and make of all they had seen, Peter and John went back home (v. 10). But Mary stayed and was rewarded with Jesus’ personal appearance whereas Peter and John had to be content with just hearing about it. 


Will you stick around as well? You don’t have to stick next to a tomb to see Jesus, just be ready and watching.


Since all this took place on a Sunday, and since the church worships on a Sunday, and since Easter is celebrated on a Sunday. Could it be that when Jesus does return, He may do so on a Sunday?

Again

Mark 8:25 says: “Then again He laid His hands upon his eyes. . .and he began to see everything clearly.”


How many of you could use a miracle right now in your life? Have you prayed for one and nothing has occurred? Or did you pray for one and got sort of a “half-miracle?”


Here’s my word of encouragement: Pray AGAIN! Notice the second word in the above verse: “again.”


Dr. Jess Moody once wrote with biting sarcasm,


"What do aged atheists have to talk about, as they sit around waiting to die? Do they discuss the legacy of morality, decency, integrity, and spiritual sensitivity they have given to their children? Or the good atheism has done the world: the hospitals, orphanages, and the elevation of women...? And when the sun is sinking low, and when the conversation for the wheelchair atheist begins to lull, they can joyously contemplate their future. There is so much for an aged atheist to look forward to."


When a person tries to do away with God, then he also does away with miracles. No God, no miracles. And when there are no miracles, there is nothing in life worth looking forward too. Nothing changes for the good, nothing significant can happen, life is meaningless.


Much too often we settle for half-miracles. This is at what at first occurred with this blind man Jesus had encountered. The first time Jesus touched the blind man he saw people “like trees walking about” (v. 24).


Although there was a great improvement than what he had before which was nothing. But imagine if this half-blind man said to Jesus, “Thank you, thank you! I can at least see people as trees moving about. Before I wasn’t able to see anything, but at least I can see something!” And then imagine him walking away from Jesus satisfied with his half-miracle?


I think we do this often. We pray for a miracle and God does not come through, so we think, “Well, at least my prayer life got better having prayed for this miracle to occur.”


Or we pray for some form of deliverance and God comes through “progressively,” and we settle for the little light we see. We tell ourselves, “What I have now is better than what I had before.” And so we stop and walk away from ever asking the Lord if He had more to give.


I think Jesus wants to touch our lives “again.” This is why I am not opposed to times in the church service where we offer to Christians a time for “rededication.” What is rededication? It a time where we allow Jesus to touch our lives “again” in a specific area. What’s wrong with that?


Don’t settle for half-miracles. Go back to Jesus “again” and see if there’s more He wants to give to you. Don’t turn away when He is just getting started.

Times Are Critical

On March 23, 2010, on WJR radio Detroit, John Dingell, the senior Democrat in the House of Representatives made following statement:


DINGELL: Paul W. (Smith), we're not ready to be doing it, but let me remind you, this has been going on for years. We are bringing it to a halt. The harsh fact of the matter is when you're going to pass legislation that will cover 300 American people in different ways it takes a long time to do the necessary administrative steps that have to be taken to put the legislation together to control the people.


Did you get that last statement – “To control the people?” If you have not figured this out by now I hope you will soon. Universal healthcare is about controlling as much as the population as possible.


Although the healthcare was passed, most of it does not take affect until four years from now. However, what will take affect are higher taxes to pay for when it does take affect.


Here is how our government will work to begin controlling the people:


No 1: Beginning in 2014, the IRS will be the primary enforcement arm of universal health care, and it might need 16,000 new agents. If you don't buy health insurance, the IRS can fine you. Here is the projected way it may work out: The first year, consumers who did not have insurance would owe $95, or 1 percent of their income, whichever is greater. But the penalty would subsequently rise, reaching $695, or 2 percent of income.


That is, the IRS will take part of your tax refund or add to what you owe -- up to 2.5 percent come 2016. For some people, that's big.
No 2: The IRS will have control over who does and who does not purchase health insurance. You will have to tell the agency your insurance status on your tax returns.


No 3: The feds can punish you in other ways if you do not get a tax refund. If you are receiving any other federal benefits, they could take them away from you after checking first with the IRS.


So you can see that the Internal Revenue Service will greatly expand its power under Obamacare.


One such question that’s being asked is: Does the federal government have a right to demand that you buy anything that doesn't directly relate to public safety, like car insurance? Eventually that will be what the Supreme Court will have to decide.


In the meantime, the feds will require you to purchase some kind of health insurance, and if you don't have the money, they will subsidize you – of course, through tax payer’s expense. And everyone will be required to tell the government exactly what kind of insurance they have. But in the end, EVERYONE is required to have not just health insurance, but GOVERNMENTAL HEALTH INSURANCE.


Now according to the John Dingell, the senior democrat in the House of Representatives, all this is designed to “control the people.”


What does this make you think of? “He (the antichrist and his government) causes all small and great (rich, middle class and poor), freemen and the slaves (everyone), to be given a mark on their right hand or forehead; and he provides that no one should be able to buy or sell, except the one who has the mark. . .” (Rev. 13:16-17).


As of now, it would be hard, if not impossible to control a nation founded on freedom. But if slowly this freedom is taken away from its citizens for what appears to be something good and beneficial, then later on in the future when you need to enforce something really big like doing away with all monetary funds and enforce a numbering system, it would be a lot easier and appear less bullying if most of the population was already under some kind of governmental control.


Now get this – not until four years from now does all this take place and the enforcement is pushed on the American people. So that means, we got four years to -- now watch this – get our finances in order and make practical steps to live like “aliens” and “strangers” in this world.


Once the government seeks to get everyone in its system of control, then it can regulate how it wants to manage people's lives. A large portion of our privacy will be gone. A large benefit of our freedom will be stripped. Folks, when a government controls the healthcare, it can enforce who it takes care of and who it chooses not to. And it can also enforce how people ought to manage their own lives – what to eat and how much; what health regimen to live by, etc. Since the healthcare system will be fully under the government control, all who see their doctors for whatever reason, will be giving a little more private information about their personal lives to the government.


Furthermore, the government will be taken over the pharmaceutical industry, which means that the government will have control over the content of the kind of drugs that you will take. Who knows what sinister ingredients will be put inside in order to further the means of controlling the people?


We got four years! You know what this reminds me of? Remember reading a little about Enoch’s son, Methuselah? His name means, “Man of the Sending Out.” This man lived the longest on earth – 969 years (Gen. 5:27). Interestingly, when he died, that was the year of the flood (Gen. 7:6). God was saying to the world through Methuselah, “you got 969 years to get your act together before I ‘send out’ upon the earth a global catastrophic flood.” Did they take God seriously? No. When the time came, only eight people out of all the people living at that time went into the ark. The rest did not take God seriously.


You know what this reminds me of also? It reminds me of what Peter said: 3First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.


4They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." 5But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.


8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.


10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.


11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.


14So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation – 2 Pet. 3:3-15 NIV


Just like it was in the days of Noah (Matt. 24:37-39), so it will be also in our last days. There will be plenty of people who will be skeptical and say, “Come on, give me a break. All this doom and gloom. We are going to be just fine. You’ll see.” Sadly scores of people will listen to such things and not prepare themselves spiritually for what God promised is to come.


We got four years to do the following:
1. Strengthen your faith in God because it will be tested and if you are not ready to make some really hard decisions, you will be captured and caught unaware.


2. Get your finances in order. You do not want to be in a tough position where you are in bondage to anyone, including the government. You do not want anyone or any institution to be used by the enemy as a means of using leverage against you. Be financially free and out of debt as much as possible.


3. Begin to create now godly habits such as prayer, devotions, bible study and times of personal fellowship with others. Two things you will count on when times are tough: First, your relationship on God, and Second, your friends and family.


4. Enjoy what freedom you have now and use it all for the Lord. You may think this is crazy and that there’s no worry. But if you read your bible, you will see otherwise. True, we are not to worry (Matt. 6:34), but we are to take God’s Word seriously and have a healthy concern for the future that will motivate us to submit more and more under the Lordship of Christ.


Our freedom and even the nation we call home are being changed right before our eyes. I guarantee it, one day, as the Lord tarries, we will wake up and see a different America. Make the most of your time now because the days are evil (Eph. 5:16).


Sure, the Rapture will occur before the events of the Tribulation takes place in Revelation 6-18. But that does not mean we will not experience to some degree the shadow of the events to occur during the Tribulation.


God knows that persecution and suffering helps to purify His people and get them ready for His coming (1 Pet. 4:17, 19).


Finally, here are a couple of passages from Proverbs 24 that I have been meditating on for that last few days.


“If you falter in times of trouble, your strength is limited” (v. 10).


The point is this: If in the present times of distress causes you to stumble, faint and fall, what will happen to you when greater pressures occur? Will you come through it? Will you still be standing?


Compare this with verse 16: For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.


You will make it through tough times, only if your are righteous. But if you think and live like the wicked, then expect to be brought down by calamity.


Again I say, we got four years to shore up our faith and get our lives in order and reach out to as many people as we can with the gospel of Christ before we will be forced to make some hard and difficult decisions.


God is most gracious to give us all a window of four years. How we use our time now will tell a lot of who we are and who we belong to.

What Is In God's Tool Bag?

“In the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior” – Titus 1:3b

Paul knew a Christian who is not committed to the things of Christ was a contradiction. Paul also knew that a minister who was not committed to certain core values necessary for effectively overseeing a church was also a contradiction. Therefore, Paul informs Titus on some very important core values to be committed to.

1. Be Committed to the Authority of God.
2. Be Committed to the Plan of God – Evangelism, Edification and Encouragement.
3. Be Committed to the Truth of God – God’s eternal message found in the Scriptures.

And now for the fourth great commitment –

4. Be Committed to the Tool of God – “Proclamation”

If we are going to be committed to the truth of God, then how in the world are we going to use it? Besides applying it to our lives, God wants us to “proclaim” His truth to others. This is God’s means of giving out the truth. Proclamation is the one tool we do not want to set aside for more sophisticated and conventional avenues.

The word “proclamation” comes from the Greek word, “kerugma” which was used of a message that a herald would give on behalf of a ruler under whom he served. In the New Testament, the word is often translated “preaching.” When used as preaching in the N.T., it is always used of the “public proclamation” of God’s Word, which as Paul already pointed out, is the saving truth that leads people to Christ for salvation, and the sanctifying truth that builds Christians up in their faith and strengthens them for godly living.

Elsewhere Paul made this statement:
4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power – 1 Cor. 2:4-5 NIV

Obviously if our faith rests in the wisdom of men, then ultimately someone will come along who appears to have more wisdom than the one whose wisdom we have trusted in previously. And then our faith is shattered by what appears to be greater wisdom. So ultimately, assurance of the truth of God comes from the objective testimony of God the Holy Spirit. No testimony is stronger than the testimony of God himself and he gives testimony to the truth of his word.

A young man once lost his job, and growing somewhat desperate about his plight, went to see an old preacher that he knew. As he poured out his heart to the preacher he angrily declared "I’ve begged and begged God to say something to help me, preacher. Why doesn’t God answer?"

The old preacher, who was sitting across the room, spoke a reply so quiet the young man was unable to make it out. The young man stepped across the room. "What did you say?" he asked. The preacher repeated himself, again in a soft tone. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher’s chair. "Sorry," he said. "I still didn’t hear you." With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. "God sometimes whispers," he said, "so we will move closer to hear him."

Perhaps, the reason why we tend to believe that the bible is not relevant enough is because we are not hearing from God as we should. And the reasons for that is because we have been trying to listen to Him from a distance – using other mediums or tools that are not in God’s tool bag.

I’m 52 years old – thank you very much! Perhaps, considered by some old fashion. It is my unshakable belief that no matter what era we find ourselves living in, no matter what country, culture or context, nothing is to replace the proclamation of the Word of God. It is the means and the tool that God uses to bring people to salvation.

Now of course, I am not saying that one-on-one witnessing is to be avoided. No, this too is an important and necessary type of proclamation, but engaged in privately. And this type or proclamation should be done and ought to be done by the majority of Christians, because not every one is called to “kerugma” the Word publicly like a pastor or evangelist. But everyone is called to be a witness and share Jesus “as we go” (Matt. 28:19).

But too often – and this is where things can get a little touchy – we tend to let more of our electronics and high tech sophistications to be the medium by which the gospel is communicated.

Now hear me out – there is good in doing so. When used in a right way, more people can be reached with the Word – such as the use of television, internet and satellites. When used in the wrong way, people will tend to leave church more entertained by the “tools” used by man than with the content of the message. We do not want people to walk out of our church doors saying, “Whoa! That was so good. Did you check out the lights, the costumes, the sound, the program?”

After a while, these same people find themselves in a church where only the pastor and his bible are up on stage preaching a message, with no power point, no lights, or multi-media, and those listening are thinking, “Where’s the action? Where’s the entertainment? You mean, I have to sit here and listen to the Word proclaim for 30-40 minutes? No way. I’m going back to that other church where the service is exciting and entertaining.”

Note: Now let me say this: We who are serving in small churches would be out of our minds if we thought that big churches were not useful to God. If we thought that only our small churches were the “real” effective churches that God uses, then we need to get a grip on reality. God uses in big ways big churches. We need them. The world needs them although the world does not know it.

Here’s why: Big churches do put on an entertaining program during its services. If you as a pastor in a small church have not attended a church service in a big church, then you should do so soon. It will humble you and explain in many respects why such churches are big. It will show to you what people are being attractive to and it will also show you how the dynamics of ministry in a big church changes from that of a small church.

It is my personal belief that the entertaining program of a big church is a “hook” that God uses to bring people to the services. There are scores of people who will not attend church because in their minds – and there are scores of other reasons – but in their minds it is boring and simply a waste of effort to come to. But unsaved people will be challenged to attend a mega church service that’s entertaining, especially if they are personally invited by a friend or family member who already has been to a mega church service.

Once the people are present – brought in by the “hook” of entertainment and thought provoking programming, then the leadership has the awesome and wonderful responsibility to “kerugma” the gospel. The proclamation begins as soon as the people who are arriving to church come out of their cars. They are already being greeted by the greeters – who by the way are not waiting in the building, but are outside in the parking lot or out front of the building a few feet from the entrance. That kind of warm personal reception is communicating something positive and significant that God will use later on during the message.

Once they are greeted usually with a warm embrace and given a bulletin, then they are escorted to their seats. The environment is cool – thanks to air con. There is usually soft music playing in the background, power point slides with upcoming announcements are being shown on the screen. The excitement of being in a place where masses amount of people are filling in is heart throbbing.

And then shortly thereafter the program itself begins and 90 minutes ends quickly. 

Now here is my point and in my mind it is very important to understand how God uses both big and small churches. In a small church, the Sunday service is the primary means by which the saints are edified (Eph. 4:11-16). The proclamation of the Word is the main meal on the menu. Pastors can go deep into the Scriptures. The people who are there want to be there because of a strong desire to know God through His Word. Most of the people are growing disciples of Christ.

But in a big church, the main weekend services are not used primarily as a means to edify the saints. Instead, the weekend services are a means to “hook” people into coming and watch this – finding out more of what is available during the week to assist them in their growth walk with God, and/or to lead them to Christ. Now the program will serve as a means to proclaim the gospel, but real growth that calls for personal sacrifice, denying oneself, taking up your cross and following Jesus is not the primary message at a weekend service in a big church. Instead, it is a “hello, we’re happy to meet you and this is who we are and what we have during the week.”

So for the big church – now stick with me here – the nuts and bolts of discipleship occur during the week within their small groups or midweek services.

God uses big churches to often times “hook” people into coming to church who normally would not even set foot in a house of God. And God uses small churches to personally equip those who have come to Christ and disciple them in more particular and personal ways. Both are vitally needed. It is a shame if small church pastors look at mega churches and see them as a threat. Nothing is further from the truth. Big churches are often times God resources to expand the ways of the kingdom. Big churches are like a storm that rains upon a town and saturates water all over the place, and small churches are the sunlight that breaks through the clouds and warms up those who are willing to come out and stand in the sunlight.

But whether big or small, one thing must never be ejected from a church: The kerugma of the Word! The proclamation of the Word is the means by which people are saved and also the means by which the saints are edified. This holds true for both personal and public proclamation.

Notice in Titus 1:3, Paul said that he had been “entrusted” with the proclamation of the gospel. God gave to Paul a mission and entrusted him to carry it out exactly as God intended. To entrust someone with something is to trust that person.

Interestingly, the Greek word is “pisteuo” which is the exact word often used of sinners placing their belief or trust in Christ for salvation (cf. John 4:41). So in the same way we “entrust” our eternal souls to Jesus for salvation, God “entrust” us with the proclamation of His Word. What trust! What confidence God has in us! Are we living up to it?

Now the “entrusting” aspect is to motivate us emotionally. God has confidence in us to carry out His assignment. But there is another form of motivation listed by Paul and that is “the commandment of God.”

This is to appeal not to Paul’s emotions but to his mind and will. You see, there will be times when one does not feel like staying up late at night preparing for proclamation. There will be lots of demands on a pastor’s time to draw him away from preparation time. There will be unforeseen obstacles along the way and before he knows it, the day of the week is already Saturday and the time is late. He does not feel like finishing that sermon. He would rather take out an old one, make some slight changes so that no one will recognize that he had preach it before, and go with that. But a man of God who is committed to the proclamation of the Word will nevertheless finish his message even if he has to stay up all night. Why? Because he is under the “commandment of God."

I like this passage by Paul in Galatians 1: 15But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles.

In other words, if God was pleased and motivated to reveal His Son to us, then how much more should I be pleased and motivated to “proclaim” Him to the nations? If God thought it was so important to reveal His Son, then just how important is it to me to proclaim Him? I have been both entrusted with the proclamation of the gospel and commanded by God to delivered it in the manner He has appointed.

Elsewhere Paul said, “I have become its (the church) servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness” (Col. 1:25). And then he adds, “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (vv. 28-29). Paul says, “I am under God’s command to proclaim Christ and that’s why I labor so hard.”

To Timothy he said, “And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles” (1 Tim. 2:7). Paul knew his purpose in life. He was called to “herald” the gospel and be a teacher of the true faith. What a calling!

One more passage on the thrust of this command: “Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel . . .I am simply discharging the trust committed to me” (1 Cor. 9:16-17). The word “woe” means judgment. Paul says, “If I renege on the assignment of proclaiming the gospel, then “woe is me!”

Interestingly Paul uses a phrase we are not often accustomed to reading from the pen of Paul. He said, “God our Savior” (cf. 1 Tim. 1:1; 2:3; 4:10; Titus 2:10; 3:4). Now we often read the phrase, “Jesus our Savior,” or “God our Father.” But why the change here?

I think Paul wants something to be very clear in the minds of his readers, and that is, “God is not reluctant to save sinners.” The salvation of sinners is not merely the desire of the second Person of the Trinity. It is also God the Father’s desire as well. After all, don’t we remember reading, “For God so loved the World that He gave His only begotten Son; that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)? God loves to save sinners (see Luke 15:7, 10, 20-24), and God is sorrowful when they are lost (see Luke 19:21-24).

Therefore, God is very interested in saving sinners since the plan originated with Him and was executed by the Son, and empowered by the Spirit. The whole Godhead is interested in saving sinners.

Are we also interested enough to be committed to the one tool that God never wants us to give up on – i.e. the proclamation of the message?

Oppositional Defiant Disorder or ODD

If you were told you had a disease by a medical practitioner, you would probably think that some medical treatment would be in order. Well the psychiatric industry has once again come to the rescue of the church. It is constantly coming up with labels to explain human behavior and than calling it a disease.

People who are considered antisocial aren't merely antisocial. They're suffering from "Antisocial Personality Disorder" and require pharmacological treatment. So the person in church who seldom says “hello” and sits by himself in the corner of church is a sufferer of a “disorder” and needs medical treatment. All the sermons in the world will not help such a person.

Children are no longer unhappy or throwing a temper tantrum, they are suffering from "Temper Dysregulation Disorder with Dysphoria." All this is designed to comfort parents into thinking that there is some logical medical explanation for their kid’s abnormal behavior. And of course, once the diagnosis has been made, then simply pop the kid a pill and everything will be fine.

As a pastor, I find this particular disease reassuring: "Oppositional Defiant Disorder" (ODD), which includes anyone who disagrees with authority. Know of anyone who does not listen to authority in your church? That person suffers from “ODD.” What you need to do now is get such a person to the psychiatrist who then will prescribe the right pill so that a spirit of submission will take over the spirit of opposition to authority.

All this time, I thought that ODD was a spiritual matter, not physiological. This now helps to explain in my mind two unanswered questions: First, why using the bible to combat the spirit of rebellion only confuses those who are sick and makes them even sicker by saying such things as, “My authority is God. I listen only to Him.” I have always wondered where such things come from. Now I am beginning to see.

And second, this also helps to explain how ODD spreads. You see, I was told that people with ODD were rebellious toward authority and chose to be that way. Now with this new insight and information from medical science, I understand now that those with ODD are actually sick and can’t help themselves.

So what should I be now doing as a pastor?

1. I should have more compassion for those with ODD. They can’t help it themselves. They are suffering from a disease.

2. I should consult frequently with a psychiatrist or take the time to take some psychiatry courses so I will be better equipped to make a proper diagnosis.

3. I should not be threatened by those with ODD. They don’t mean any harm. They are just acting out an inner biological disorder.

4. I should stop being so naïve to think that the bible is sufficient in handling the issues of life. The bible can help in some ways, but the bible itself needs help.

5. I should stop calling rebellious behavior sin. Doing so makes the questionable behavior a moral issue, but we know now that it is a medical one.

6. I should not encourage the discipline of bible verses memorization as a means to keep one’s life pure and focus on God. What sick people need to do is not memorize and apply bible verses, but pop a pill.

7. I should encourage ODD sufferers to start their own small groups to help other ODD sufferers to come clean and seek help.

I always thought that when Paul said, “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Rom. 1:22), was directed to idol worshipers who were trying to understand God without going through Christ.  Now I am beginning to see how Paul may have had pastors in mind for not understanding their people better without going through medical science. 

Hmmm, I wonder if I am coming down with a slight case of ODD?

Committed To The Truth

Dr. Harry Ironside was a great Christian leader in the first half of this century. On one occasion, he was involved with a Salvation Army meeting in San Francisco.

Dr. Ironside shared his testimony with the gathering then returned to his seat on the platform. Soon after sitting down, a note was handed to Dr. Ironside. A well-known atheist (that is someone who doesn’t believe in God) was in the crowd and he had written a brief note on his business card, then had someone hand it to Ironside.

The atheist challenged Ironside to a public debate and offered to pay all expenses. Ironside then returned to the podium and publicly accepted the debate on the following conditions: that the atheist would bring one man and one woman who had both fallen into some type of vice that had caused them to experience great loss and cost them favor within society, but who were now back in the graces of their respective families and society at large because of the positive changes and transformation caused by their newfound belief in atheism.

Ironside then acknowledged that he would have 100 such people whose lives have been radically changed by their commitment to Jesus Christ. Upon hearing these conditions the atheist waved his hand in polite surrender and exited the building.

For a Christian, a solid commitment to God means everything. Without it, salvation would be impossible. Apart from commitment to God, deliverance from sin would fall short. And without a solid commitment to God, serving God and being effective in ministry would be useless.

Review
When Paul wrote to Titus, he revealed to him five absolute core commitments to God that must be carried out by the man who stands up and calls himself a pastor of any church. Without these five commitments, no pastor, no church member will see fruitful results.

1. A commitment to God’s Authority – Titus 1:1: “Paul, a bond-servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ.”

Paul knew that once he said “yes” to Jesus, he was no longer his own. He belonged to another. His life as a sinner who could do whatever he thought was best was over. He now would do whatever God thought was best and all he was expected to do was to obey.

Paul saw himself first as God’s bond-servant or doulos; that is he was God’s slave. And once he understood this, then he recognized that God had also chosen him to be his apostle or missionary (i.e. one sent from God).

The point is this: Before Paul understood his God-given position as an apostle, he first had to realize his overall relationship to God – he was the Lord’s slave!

Remember this for those of you who have a position in the church: To effectively carry out your position under the authority of God without going awry, you must see yourself as a slave to God. That is, you must always view yourself accountable to Him and those whom He has set over you. Then and only then will you faithfully exercise your God-given calling.

2. A Commitment to God’s Mission Plan – vv. 1b-2a: “for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life”

God has a mission plan for each of His saints. It is a simple plan. It is a plan that must be pursued at all cost. Sometimes Satan will throw our way various forms of distractions. We must be on the alert. We must not deviate from the plan. So much is counting on us in staying faithful and loyal to the cause.

What is God’s mission for us? It involves reaching out to the lost and bringing them to Christ; reaching in to the saints for the purpose of building them up in the faith; and reaching for those who are hurting and discourage so as to restore them to wholeness and spiritual health.

Now we come to the third and necessary commitment for every believer –

3. A Commitment To The Truth – 1:2b-3a: “which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, but at the proper time manifested, even His Word”

What is the truth Paul is referring to? “Even His Word!”

No ministry in or outside of the church that is in anyway rooted or grounded in God will be of any use or seasoned with any effectiveness in terms of having God’s personal and divine approval unless it is a ministry that is committed to operating under the guidance of the Holy Scriptures.

You see, we cannot understand our commitment to God’s Authority and Mission Plan, unless we understand our commitment to the truth and message of the Scriptures. For it is out of the scriptures we come to understand our place under God’s authority and the plan of God for our lives.

God has revealed to us His will in His Word and we can trust what He says in all sixty-six books of the bible because “God cannot lie.” We read the same thing elsewhere in 1 Samuel 15:29, “the glory of Israel, will not lie.”

God is the absolute source and measure of all truth, therefore it is impossible for Him to lie (Heb. 6:18). This is opposite of the devil who from his own nature speaks lies (John 8:44).

Now what did God “promise long ages ago?” Well first, it is important to note that the phrase, “long ages ago” does not refer to ancient human history. It really means “before time began.”

You see, the plan of God to save sinners did not occur after the Fall of Adam, but it occurred before the creation of man. Here is what was promised long before man was created. The only ones in existence at the time were the members of the Godhead. The Father therefore promised the Son a redeemed humanity who would serve and glorify Him forever. The Son accepted this gift from the Father and took on willingly the role of being the sacrifice for the sins of this chosen group of people, also known as the elect, so that redemption would be possible and the salvation of the Father’s chosen ones would be made sure.

Jesus reminded the Father of His promise in John 17:24: "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”

Earlier Jesus also affirmed this promise from the Father when He said, “All that the Father gives to Me shall come to Me” (John 6:37). Therefore, sometime in eternity past before man was created, God the Father made a promise to God the Son to give to Him a redeem group of people. The Son accepted this gift from the Father and participated in the actual gathering of this gift by willingly becoming the sinless sacrifice for the sins of the elect (i.e. the Father’s gift to the Son).

One glorious time in the future when the Father’s gift to the Son is complete and thus the Father’s promise to the Son has been fulfilled, and Jesus receives the Father’s gift and all the saved are glorified and made in the image of Christ and serve and praise Him forever, the Son, in one great gesture of divine love to the Father, will give to Him the promise gift back.

Here is how Paul described it: 28When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all – 1 Cor. 15:28.

“When all things” – all of the redeemed humanity plus the title deed to the new earth; “to Him” – i.e. Christ. “Then the Son Himself will be subjected to the One” (i.e. the Father), who subjected all things to Him (i.e. the Son), “so that God may be all in all” (so that the Father, Son and Spirit will rule as one, enjoying the gift [redeemed humanity] first given to the Son by the Father as an expression of the Father’s love to the Son; then received by the Son and given back to the Father, as an expression of the Son’s love to the Father).

Here is the point: Long before man was put on this planet, the Father promised the Son a redeemed group of people who would be His bride. That would be you and me. We are the Father’s gift to the Son. Did you get that? Every person who comes to Jesus is the Father’s gift to the Son.

When the final person is saved and the bride of Christ is complete, the Son will offer back to the Father the gift the Father had promised the Son. All this giving from the Father to the Son, from the Son back to the Father are all acts of love between Father and Son and Son and Father. And we are caught in the middle as the gift that keeps on giving. Tell me just how wonderful is that? And tell me just how important are you and I in the eyes of the Father and Son? Amazing!

In my mind, I am staggered and astonished to consider that those of us who are the redeemed are caught between the Father and Son as the gift they give to one another as a sign of their eternal covenant made to one another.

“At the proper time,” that is, when God was in the process of revealing His eternal promise to others, and as the bible was being written so as to record this eternal covenant – together with all of its related truths – “was manifested, even His Word.”

The only way we could have ever known of such a covenant between God the Father and God the Son is through the Holy Scriptures – God’s message of truth. And the only way we would have ever known – now watch this – THE ETERNAL PURPOSE OF OUR REDEMPTON – is only through the written revelation of the Word of Truth.

You see, God did not merely saved you because He felt sorry for you. He saved you because you are part of His promise (covenant) and gift to the Son. Now the Father won’t ever give to the Son a gift that does not have eternal significance. He won’t give to the Son a gift that is junk or second hand! If the Father gives a gift, it will be priceless. That’s what we are as a redeemed group of people. We are priceless, not because of what we were, but because of who we are – people redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus (1 Pet. 1:19; Acts 20:28).

So in other words, apart from Jesus, we would be a pathetic gift. But after Jesus got a hold of us, saved us, sanctifying us, and one day glorify us into the perfect image of Himself, we become at that moment – God the Father’s perfect and awesome love gift to the Son. Now if none of this makes the back of the hairs on your neck stand – God help you!

This is why it is so important that we proclaim the essence of why it is stated in the bible that “God so loved the World, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Read this passage thinking of the eternal covenant between the Father and Son and you will never think of John 3:16 the same again.

We got to be people who are committed to the truth found in God’s Word. The word of truth is the only seed that gives eternal life (1 Pet. 1:23). All the truth needed to build believers up in their faith is found in the Word (1 Pet. 2:1-2). All the truth needed to teach, warn, discipline, build up and save people is found in the message of the Bible (John 17:17; Acts 20:32).

You want to add great spiritual things to your life, don’t go looking elsewhere. It is all there in God’s Word. All you have to do on your part is to be committed to the truth!

There are two more great commitments that Paul openly shares with Titus. Later, we will look closely at number four.

God's Divinely Appointed Mission, Part 3

“in the hope of eternal life” – Titus 1:2a

One of the greatest tragedies for people would be to live in darkness when they could live in the light…

Rose Crawford had been blind for 50 years. Then she had an operation in an Ontario hospital. She said, "I just can’t believe it," as the doctor lifted the bandages from her eyes. She wept—when for the first time in her life she saw a dazzling and beautiful world of form and color greeted her eyes and she could now see.

The amazing thing about her story, however, was that 20 years of her blindness was unnecessary. She didn’t know that surgical techniques had been developed, and that an operation could have restored her vision at the age of 30.

The Dr. said, "She just figured there was nothing that could be done for her condition. Much of her life could have been different."

For scores of people even within Christ's church, hopelessness is a condition most are willing to endure because they don’t know any better. Through so many avenues, Satan has convinced Christians that there is no hope for their spiritual condition and that they are better off not trusting God.

Paul knew differently. He had been beaten, forsaken by those who claimed to be his friends, stoned, put in prison and placed in shackles, yet he never stopped believing in the “hope of eternal life.”

After informing Titus that God has bestowed on him a great mission, Paul informed his young pupil what that mission entails. He mentions three awesome tasks: Titus 1:1-2

1. Reading Out (Evangelism): “for the faith of those chosen by God” 
2. Reaching In (Edification): “and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness”

And now the third great task specifically for any pastor, and generally for all Christians –

3. Reaching For (Encouragement): “in the hope of eternal life.”

Eternal life is not a “hope for” sort of a wishful thing, it is a “hope of.” It will happen and it will come to those who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Eternal life is the pervading reality of salvation, and the hope of that life gives believers so much encouragement to boldly fight on in this life and not throw in the towel of surrender.

You see, God has given to each of us a mission. It is not that complicated. It involves three primary tasks:

First, we are to reach out to the lost. We are not to expect the unsaved to come to us, we must go and find them and share the gospel.

Second, we are to reach in and build up the saints. Each true believer has an insatiable hunger to know God more. Such hunger cannot be fulfilled any other way then by the on-going intake of God’s Word.

Third, we are to reach for those who are in despair, discouraged and hurting and remind them of the hope they have in knowing Jesus.

With the lost, we SHARE the gospel; with the saints, we SERVE the gospel, for it is the main item on God’s menu; and with those who are feeling hopeless, we STAND on the promises of the gospel together, encouraging one another along the way.

Those hurting in the church are in some ways similar to those who are lost – they won’t come to you, instead you must “reach for” them whenever possible and take the time to encourage them in the “hope of eternal life.”

The hope the bible speaks of is very practical. For instance, having such hope for the future, we can encourage others:

1. Toward a greater degree of holiness – 1 John 3:2-3: 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

Notice how knowing this hope causes believers to purify themselves, since they are already pure in Christ. The idea is that we are to strive with God’s help to match our walk with our position. Our standing or position as believers in Christ is one of absolute purity. Jesus has taken away and forgiven us of all our sins – past, present and future (1 John 1:7). So then, we are to walk in a manner that corresponds to our glorious position.

2. Toward a greater degree of service.

One day we Christians are all going to stand before God and give an account of what we did with Jesus and the gift(s) He gave to us to steward. If we build our service on the sure foundation of Christ, “we shall receive a reward” (1 Cor. 3:12, 14). No doubt the greater encouragement for each of us should be to hear our Lord say back to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21). I think this is what compelled Paul to “press on in order that he might lay hold of that for which he had laid hold of by Christ Jesus,” which was the fulfillment of his God-given “upward call” (Phil. 3:12, 14).

Here is my point: We often get whacked by the world and when you see follow believers who need to be set upright again by a word of encouragement – REACH FOR that person and love on him or her and offer them hope through words and deeds of encouragement.

Encourage each other toward greater degrees of holiness, greater degrees of service, and please do not forget this one:

3. Toward a greater degree of suffering.

I know this is the tough one, but it must be remembered, “if we endure [for Him] (i.e. suffer), we shall also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:12). Like Paul, each of us should come to the place where we can say without any hesitation, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things. . .that I might know Him. . .” (Phil. 3:8, 10-11).

Whatever we face in this life, we know “that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18). Whomever the Lord saves (i.e. justifies), He will one day "glorify" (Rom. 8:29-30).

So then, God has given to each of us our marching orders. Our mission on earth has been given by the authority of God. It entails three great tasks:

1. We are to Reach Out in Evangelism to the Lost by Sharing the Gospel with them.

2. We are to Reach In to the Saints and build them up in their faith. This is called Edification and we do this by serving them the gospel as their main meal.

3. We are to Reach For those who are hurting and encouraging them in the hope and theme of eternal life. We do this by standing on the promises of the gospel so together we can help one another endure for the cause of Christ.

Now having reminded Titus about God’s absolute authority and how he was accountable to Him, and as a result of God’s authority, he was commission by God with a divinely important mission, Paul will then inform Titus about the importance of God’s message in 1:2b-3a: “which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, 3but at the proper time manifested, even His word. . .”

We will look into this more in detail later during the week.

God's Divinely Appointed Mission, Part 2

And the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness – Titus 1:1c

In one of his own blogs, Charles Swindoll said this concerning leaders with integrity:

“Leaders with power and brains are common. So are leaders with riches and popularity. But a competent leader full of integrity and skill, coupled with sincerity, is rare indeed.

“Deception creates suspicion. Once the leader's followers begin to suspect motives or find that what is said publicly is denied privately, the thin wire of respect that holds everything in place snaps. Confidence drains away. All of us have suffered disappointment and no little fear as we watched President Clinton's secret life exposed to the public in the last several years. With each revelation of lies, our respect and confidence in our leader dwindled.

“The late President Dwight Eisenhower stated his opinion with dogmatism: ‘The supreme quality for a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is a section gang, on a football field, in an army, or in an office. If his associates find him guilty of phoniness, if they find that he lacks forthright integrity, he will fail. His teachings and actions must square with each other.’”

For true integrity among both leaders and followers to occur, it must be developed first on the inside before it can manifests itself on the outside. This occurs when we make a solid commitment to grow in godliness according to the knowledge of the truth of God’s Word.

After informing Titus that one aspect of his God-give mission is to reach out to the lost, Paul now goes on to explain the need for Pastor Titus to spend his energies edifying the saints.

To edify is to build others up and this is effectively done by teaching the full counsel of God’s Word so that the people who hear it might be sanctified by the knowledge of the truth.

When Paul wrote, “the knowledge of the truth,” he was referring to a clear perception of truth. You see, truth is something one comes to understand not feel. Truth is gained by perception (thinking, understanding, analyzing, etc.), not through emotions.

But Paul does not have in mind just any kind of truth, but “saving truth,” that is, truth that brought us to Jesus Christ for salvation and truth that helps us to grow in Christ unto godliness. In other words, truth as it is found in the Scriptures.

Now it is important to understand that the truth Paul is referring to here is “saving truth” or scriptural truth, because elsewhere Paul states that some are “always learning but are never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7). Notice that learning is occurring. But some forms of learning leads nowhere. Some are learning, but their never ending learning is not leading them to the knowledge of the truth. What truth? Saving truth. What can this possibly mean? Only one thing: Whatever these people were learning, it was not the Scriptures. And whoever was doing the teaching in which these people were learning under, the scriptures were not used as the sole text book.

You see, here is the bottom line: There are all kinds of things out in the world to learn about and to gain knowledge and understanding – things that are not necessarily wrong. We must come to know and understand certain things that pertain to our employment – such things are good. But the only truth that saves people from their sins and keeps them save so those who are saved can walk in freedom is the embodiment of truth found in the sacred Scriptures. This is the pursuit of knowledge that matters. This is the pursuit of knowledge that Paul states “is according to godliness.”

I believe that every person who is brought to faith in Christ will develop a great hunger for the Word. “Like new born babes longing for the pure milk of the Word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Pet. 2:2). This insatiable desire for God’s Word causes Christians to want to grow in the knowledge of the truth and mature in all aspects of godliness.

Think of growing in this way: Salvation (saving truth) leads to “Sanctification” (separating truth, i.e. truth that separates us from sin and sets us apart unto God). The evidence that we are becoming more and more separated from sin and unto God is “godliness.”

Paul put it this way: “For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires (thus separation from sin) and to live sensibly, righteously and godly (thus separation unto God) in the present age" (Titus 2:11-12; 1 Tim. 4:7-8).

You see, divine truth from the Scriptures and godliness are inexplicably related. How so? We cannot come to understand godliness (i.e. how to live our lives before God), if we do not understand what the will of God is, right? We must come to know what God is like and what He expects from those who belong to Him. Therefore, in order to gain this insight, we study the Scriptures which ensure us that we will not be forever learning and not able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

As Paul was leaving he told the elders as Ephesus that God’s Word would build them up (Acts 20:32). And in Jesus’ high priestly prayer, He asked His Father to “Sanctify them (His disciples and eventually us) in the truth; Your Word is truth” (John 17:17).

There is therefore no way to exaggerate the full importance of sound expositional preaching and teaching. God wants to bring His people to maturity and this cannot be done apart from the intake of God’s Word. Maturity is not defined as the amount of ministry one engages in; maturity is not defined by how one comes home in the evening exhausted. Maturity is defined as how well we are growing in “Christ-likeness” (Rom. 8:29). And our own sure roadmap for this are the Scriptures.

The issue to keep in mind is that there is a very close connection between growth in godliness and the knowledge of the Scriptures. Knowledge that does not help people to pursue a life of godliness is spurious at best.

It is certain that every pastor and teacher has been given the divine responsibility “for the equipping of the saints for the work of the service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the mature of the statue which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-13).

How does a pastor know that his people are fulfilling their spiritual appetite by consuming God’s Word? It is easy. Jesus said, “You will know them by their”, what? “Fruit” (Matt. 7:16). “Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, not figs from thistles.” Good trees produce good fruit and bad trees produce bad fruit. The idea here is both character and behavior. When a person who claims to be a Christian produces a rotten behavior or some form of rebellion, God’s Word has not been on that person’s menu. But when a Christian feasts on God’s truth, out from his or her life will spring forth godliness.

Every pastor has a concern for two kinds of growth: Growth in numbers and growth in character. Sometimes in order to achieve the latter, you must be willing to sacrifice the former.

When the nation Israel was going through the wilderness, the time eventually came for them to take possession of the land that God promised them. Here are God’s instructions:

"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, 52 drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places.

55 " 'But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. 56 And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them’” – Num. 33

You see, sometimes more is not necessarily better. God said, “Okay listen, there are people already living in the land who will be thorns in your side if you do not get rid of them.”

Don’t you think it is rather interesting that God does not give to Israel a plan on helping them to just get along? In some cases, getting along is not the issue. Separation is. And so God in His gracious and loving manner says, “I want to save you some unnecessary pain. Get rid of those I tell you to, otherwise you will one day come to regret it.” You see, sometimes in order to achieve growth in character, you have to be willing to thin the ranks.

How about this one? When Israel left Egypt, they were about two million strong. But those who left Egypt began to manifest along their wilderness wandering their true self. After putting up with the people’s constant complaining and rebellious spirit, God said, “Everyone who is 20 years and over will not see the Promise Land. Only those who are less than 20 will” (Num. 14, cp. v. 29). Again, God had to thin the ranks in order to arrive at the place where the people had the kind of character needed to move forward.

As a pastor, I want to see both numerical and character growth in my church. All pastors want this. But there are times in a pastor’s ministry, when he is called to sacrifice his desire for numbers in order to achieve a greater degree of character growth in the church.

What happens is when we try desperately to hold on to both without making any sacrifices. God brings to light and to the surface some people’s true self and character and rather than deal with it, we look the other way. We don’t want to make any sacrifices. But when we do this, we are sacrificing something. We are sacrificing the standards for godly character in order to keep our desire for numbers.

This is not the way it is done in the bible. God often has to thin the ranks so as to preserve and maintain godly character. Every pastor goes through this whenever the need arises. And it may not seem like a blessing, but when you think about it afterwards, it is a blessing.

I can honestly attest to this, that when there were times God wanted to remove someone from my assembly and I stepped in and tried to save that from happening, the person later became a thorn in my side and I later came to see what God was trying to do for me. I found this not only true in terms of church attendance, but also true with church positions.

In my own ministry as a pastor, the two biggest mistakes I have made are these: First, I chose the wrong person for a leadership position. At the time, it seemed like the right thing to do. Perhaps, I should have waited. Perhaps, I should have asked around and got the opinions of others. Perhaps, I should have fasted and prayed longer. Perhaps, I was not listening to God as closely as I thought I was.

Usually a pastor will not see his mistake in doing this until some time later when the person’s true agenda and character is manifested. Then the pastor thinks to himself, “What did I just do?”

The second biggest mistake I have made is when God opens up a door for such a person to be released and rather than supporting the open door, I close it and keep the person on. I can’t tell you the times I kicked myself and said, “Stupid me! No one is to blame for this but me!”

Now this does not happen often, but the few times it did happened, the experience becomes unforgettable.

These are tough issues pastors face. Sometimes the issue is not the congregation as much as the shepherd of the congregation. So God has to remove him in order to advance the flock. But those cases usually entail a shepherd who is behaving morally wrong.

Here is the thing: When people are removed by God and the ranks are thinned, most of the time it is over moral issues, such as rebellion, unforgiveness, not teachable, factious spirit, etc. Unless the leadership cooperates with God and moves in to discipline the cause, risking the possibility of thinning the ranks in order to grow in godliness, thorns in the side will result, and the ministry itself will barely move forward.

In fact, did you know that the greatest person in the world also faced this? In John 6, Jesus had a lot of disciples. But Jesus used the truth as a means to thin the ranks. He taught His followers some very hard lessons – such as, “eat My Flesh and drink My blood” (vv. 55-56). Those who heard Him said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it” (v. 60)?

So Jesus’ disciples began to grumble (v. 61). Jesus’ response to the grumbling of His disciples was priceless. He said, “Does this cause you to stumble” (v. 61b)? If it does cause some of you to stumble, then here is the reason why – v. 64: “Some of you do not believe.”

In other words, how Jesus replied was great. He said, “Some of you are grumbling over what I said because what I said has caused you to stumble. Well, so be it, because I am not going to change My message or water down the truth so that you come to like it. The reason you are stumbling over this issue is due to your own unbelief issues. The real issue lies within you and your lack of faith, not the truth that I preach.”

So as a result of taking such a firm stand, what happened? Verse 66: “As a result of this MANY of His disciples withdrew and were NOT walking with Him anymore.”

Jesus used the truth to thin the ranks. As a result, Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you not want to also go away” (v. 67)? Peter’s replied for the others by saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life” (v. 68).

Jesus could have had a large following at this point. But the majority wanted to follow a compromised message and Jesus was not about to compromise. Truth turns sinners into disciples who grow up into godliness. And if the truth offends and as a result the ranks are thinned, let it be thinned for the sake of those who recognize that Jesus is the truth and that there is no other way to be godly than the feast on His Words.

So Paul tells Titus, your mission as a pastor includes Reaching Out (evangelism), and Reaching In (Edification). But there is one more very important task you must also do as often as God opens the door for you to do it.

And the third great task, we will look at tomorrow.

God's Divinely Appointed Mission, Part 1

1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— 2a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life – Titus 1:1-2a NIV

Paul was completely devoted to Jesus Christ. He referred to himself first as a servant and then an apostle. As a result of fully knowing who he was in Christ, he also understood his divinely appointed mission from God which included three key tasks: Reaching Out, Reaching In, and Reaching For. Let’s take a closer at each of these because they all pertain to our own mission from God as well.

1. Reaching Out (Evangelism)

“for the faith of God’s elect” (1:1b)

Jesus died on the cross to make the salvation of everyone possible, but not everyone of course will respond. God has before the foundation of the world chosen (Eph. 1:4) some to be saved and passed by the rest. You say, “This seems unfair that others are not chosen.” Don’t go there. You want to know why? Because God was not under any obligation to choose ANYONE. The fact that He chose some was purely an act of grace on His part. God did not have to choose anyone at all. And if He did not choose anyone at all, He would have been totally justified. But it was “in love” that God predestined us to adoptions as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:4-5).

Remember, God chose us not because we first loved Him, but because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). If God did not sovereignly choose some to salvation, the “some” would never come to Christ at all. The bible says that “no one seeks after God” (Rom. 3:11). However, those who do come to Christ come as a result of first being “drawn to Him” by the Father (John 6:44).

So my point is this: God has His people out there who are His chosen or elect. We don’t know who they are before salvation. They could be anyone, therefore, we preach the gospel to everyone – no one excluded. Only after salvation when a person exhibits the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) in his her life can we know that such a person is part of the chosen family.

So Paul says that one of the mission of the church is to reach out to the lost because if you do, those who are God’s chosen or elect will hear the message and respond in faith to God’s saving call.

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he wrote and said this: Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory (2 Tim. 2:10).

The cost of why the church is often times persecuted in other parts of the world for preaching the gospel is so that Christians will endure the pain and suffering for the sake of God’s elect. The cost of why you are rejected, ignored and mocked at work for being a witness for Christ is so that you may endure the shame for God’s elect. You don’t know whether the elect is your boss, the person who sits across from you at school, a member of your immediate family, or the person you sit next to on the bus. But you nevertheless when given the opportunity to share the gospel of Christ and be a witness – no matter the cost – you do so all for the sake of God’s elect. That’s our mission and we cannot push it to the side and forget about it.

Elsewhere Paul writes, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). What is the one ingredient every sinner needs in order to be saved? FAITH. “For by grace are you saved through faith” (Eph. 2:8). How is this faith obtained? By hearing. By hearing what? By hearing the Word of Christ. So then, when we share with others God’s plan of salvation found in Christ, and when we tell others the good news of how Jesus loves them and died for their sins, God will give to His chosen people the necessary saving faith to believe in Christ which is required to activate their election by God. Remember Paul words in Ephesians 2:8, faith is a “gift from God.” Who is it given to? God’s elect.

You see, this is why I don’t buy into the notion that we need to somehow make the gospel more relevant and more contemporary in order to see more people saved. I reject this for three reasons:

First, as stated above, God has before the foundation of the world chosen His people. You see, when we deliver the gospel to the world, we are not in a choosing mission, but a finding one. God has already done the choosing; it is our mission to find those whom He has chosen, you see my point?

How do I go about finding them? I preach the gospel and give a general call for faith in Christ. Those who hear the gospel, respond to it, and the chosen as God’s elect will respond to the hearing of the gospel in faith – a faith given to them by God as a gift – thus they are saved.

How in the world can we improve on this? Sometimes I think we believe that it is the lights in the church that causes people to respond to Jesus; or it is the comfort of sitting in a padded chair in an environment of air-con; or it is the drama ministry or the halau (dance) ministry, or the décor, or it is the program with all its elements that helps to give people an emotional lift. Now I am not suggesting that any of these things are evil, they do have a place. But these are not the things God uses to activate the elect to salvation. God uses one thing only – His Word! It is the hearing of His Word that generates faith in the chosen of God, by which their election is made activated.

So what purpose do the things you mentioned above have in the church?  Such things are not done for the purpose of evangelism, but for WORSHIP!  Remember, the church "gathers" for worship, then the church "scatters" for evangelism. We come to church in order to grow in our faith, then we leave the church in order to find others (the elect) and bring them to faith.

Second, I don’t believe in trying to improve the gospel and making it more relevant because all that does is to bring more unsaved people into the church giving them the false assurance that they are saved.

If there is one thing that the typical evangelical church is weak on it is this: We fail to properly distinguish between the sheep and the goats. More and more, the goats are starting to look and talk like sheep, and the sheep are looking and talking more like goats, and as a result, we leaders in the church treat them all as if ALL are born-again. When we do this, we water down our preaching, we become content with messages that become less and less filled with biblical content – more story telling, more jokes, more visual aids, shorter in length because people can’t handle sitting too long in their padded chairs surrounded by air-con.

By and large, because we are not able to distinguish the sheep from the goats, we put goats in leadership, giving them a position of some authority by which they can influence others in a negative manner – after all, they are goats, so what do we expect goats to do? And then we take the sheep who are struggling trying to find their identify and we put them in lesser positions in the church. The goats, we place in leadership while the sheep we put under the goats. Satan sees all this and must be having a grandiose time. How did all this happen? Satan simply made it possible by confusing the church by making it so hard to make a distinction between the sheep and goats. How did Satan get the church into this? By trying to improve on the relevance of the gospel.

One man-made improvement is this: Make the gospel positive and don’t mention sin and the need to repent. Don’t talk about taking up one’s cross, denying self and following Jesus. And NEVER do what Jesus had done to the rich man when he told him, “Only one thing you lack: Sell all your possession and give to the poor and come and follow me and you will have treasures in heaven” (Luke 18:22). And what was the man’s response? He left!

Can you imagine if we were to preach such a message in today’s church? “You want to follow Jesus? You better seriously consider what it is going to cost you if you do. That person you are living with who is not your spouse, God is going to command you to give that up; the wealth that you have, God may tell you to give some of it away and give it to a needy cause; that high and lofty position you have at work in which you are soon ready to retire, God may tell you to quite now and work for the church.”

“Whaaat? No way, I’m, leaving.”

And we cannot handle the possibility of people just leaving or walking away like that, so we try to improve on the bible and the gospel message (which is another way of saying that Jesus’ way is so outdated), and make the gospel more personally relevant to everyone so as to cut down on the possibility of people walking away and leaving the church.

So in the spirit of trying to be modern and relevant, we open the church’s doors and membership to the goats. Now we got sheep and goats that look and sound a like and we can’t tell who’s who.

Third, I use to fall into this mindset of trying to improve on the bible’s message – make it most entertaining, more positive, more fun, less judgmental, etc. Then I got to thinking, “Wait a minute. Is the gospel pure?” Yes! “Is the bible holy?” Yes! “Is the bible inspired by God?” Yes! Then how in the world can someone like me who is a sinner improve on that which is perfect? Won’t I as an imperfect person only corrupt the perfect?

So instead of me trying to figure out ways to improve the bible and make it more relevant, perhaps what I need to do is to let the perfect Word of God improve me and make me more relevant to those I come in contact with. You see my point? There is a need to be culturally relevant. But that does not mean we make the bible relevant – it already is by virtue of it being inspired by God (2 Tim. 3:16). What we need to do is to let the bible work in us so as to make us culturally relevant to those we work and associate with. We are the sinners who need improving, not the bible or the gospel message.

So Paul tells Titus, you have a God-ordained mission – preach the Word! God has out there in various part of the world His elect. Go find them! They will listen to you and find you if you use the Word of God as your call to faith.

There are two other divinely appointed tasks, Paul tells Titus. We will take a close look at the next one tomorrow.