Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Matthew

How (Not) To Grow a Church

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My Dad was a pastor so I grew up very aware of the inner workings of churches in America. I was privy to the strategies and techniques used to grow a church and the plans to attract more people each Sunday. It is both interesting and sad that church growth has traditionally been about the number of bodies in the pews rather than the actual development of the individual; but I digress. As an avid reader I have consumed many books on the subject of the Western church, megachurches, emerging churches, evangelism, church growth, etc. With that in mind, I believe I have discovered the one sure fire way to impede church growth (as defined by adding members): preach the Gospel. Most Christians I have talked to in my life attend their particular church because they preach the Gospel, or they leave a church because it does not. It makes me wonder exactly what Gospel they are talking about. Let’s take a quick look at a few teachings of Jesus to determine whether or not your church is actually preaching the Gospel.

In Luke 18:18-23, Jesus told the young man that if he wanted to follow Him, he would have to sell all of his possessions and give the money to the poor. When was the last time your preacher told the congregation they needed to start liquidating their material possessions and donate that money to care for the less fortunate in their town and around the world? How well do you think that sermon might go over? This isn’t some vague notion or the opinion of a learned scholar, these words came directly from the mouth of Jesus. How convenient that we have chosen to either ignore or explain away this teaching. This is part of the Gospel of Jesus. The good news is that He has come to bring life and justice, and sometimes justice means selling what we have in order to give to those who are hungry or homeless.

In the book of Matthew (chapter 8, verses 21 and 22), a man says he will follow Jesus, but first needs to go bury his father. Jesus rebuked him and told the man that if he wanted to be His follower, he would need to forget about his family. In fact, Jesus went so far as to say we must hate our mother, father, brothers and sisters if we would follow Him (Luke 14:25-27). I have heard more sermons preached on taking care of one’s own family than I have on hating them. The point is we must be so consumed with Jesus that everything we do in life is with Him in mind. All other obligations and responsibilities must be set aside when it competes with following Jesus. If a scheduling conflict forces you to choose between a kid’s soccer game and feeding the hungry at a soup kitchen, it has to be the soup kitchen every time. This is not going to be a popular message on Sunday morning, and I can only imagine the email the pastor would receive after preaching it. But this too is the Gospel. Our mission is to tell the world about Christ, to make disciples of all people. Everything we do must revolve around this purpose.

Finally, Jesus told another man who wished to follow Him that He had no home (Matthew 8:19-20). The implication is that if we would follow Christ, we too will be homeless; so much for the American dream. In the era of the “prosperity gospel”, this is not a popular topic. Western Christianity has come to be taught as some sort of slick panacea, a comfortable existence lived with a dose of compassion. The modern church has planted itself in the suburbs and consumed itself with programs to entertain and cocoon its members. Many churches have become nothing more than large social clubs where one must maintain a certain look and lifestyle in order to gain admittance; the homeless are often not welcome. Yet, the Gospel of Jesus, the true Gospel, states that if we would follow Him, we will have no place to lay our head at night.

Do you really want to attend a church that preaches the Gospel? The Gospel is amazing news indeed; it is the story of God’s love for His creation. It is the story of His redemption of our fallen and wicked world. It is the story of Jesus giving up His own life so that we might gain eternal life. There is more than this, however. The Gospel is also about our responsibility to spread the message to all nations. We are called to give up everything we own or hold dear for the purpose of furthering the Kingdom of God. We are called to sell our possessions, to renounce our earthly relationships and to live a life of utter dependence on Jesus. Not all will be faced with these trials, but all must be willing. If God chooses to bless us with even more than we give up, then it is for His glory. If He chooses to not return abundance to us in this life, it is also for His glory and we will be lavishly rewarded in the life to come. Are you willing to live your life in total surrender to Jesus? Are you willing to live out the whole Gospel, not just the comfortable parts? Your answers to these questions will determine whether or not you are a true follower of Jesus. Don’t get left behind.

How Far Would You Go?

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How far would you go to follow Jesus? It’s easy to say you love Him; most of us would even say we’d die for Him. In Matthew 10, Jesus tells His us that if we follow Him, the world at large will hate us. Are we willing to be hated by the world? The leaders of Israel were constantly conspiring to kill Jesus, or to trap Him in His own words. They were determined to take Him down, one way or the other. Are you prepared to live that way, under that kind of scrutiny? Again in Matthew 10, Jesus issues another warning, telling us that our own family members will betray, disown and kill us. They will do this simply because we choose to follow Jesus. Are you prepared to cause division and strife in your family? Are you willing to love God more than you love them? Obedience to the call of Jesus is not an easy road.

It doesn’t end here. Still in Matthew 10, Jesus tells his followers that they will be persecuted and tortured because of His name. This is not a calling for the marginally curious. Following Jesus is extremely serious, and you must be willing to pay the price before you endeavor to do so. We are not promised an easy, secure life; rather we are told by Jesus that we’ll be like a lone sheep surrounded by many hungry wolves (Matthew 10:16). We will suffer. We may die. We will alienate many around us, and we may lose our friends and family. These are the facts given by Jesus Himself; this is not a game. Following Jesus calls for a radical commitment devoid of any self-interest. Is the cost worth it to you? Are you still willing to come along?

In another passage in Matthew (chapter 8, verses 20-22), Jesus tells us we should expect to be homeless if we follow Him. This is almost unfathomable to Christians in the West who have intertwined their faith with the American dream. If we are traveling into all nations telling others about Jesus, just as He commanded us to do, then what need of a home would we have anyway? Jesus goes on to say that we should not even take the time to bury our family members. This is urgent, and there is no time to lose. The days are evil and counting furiously down. Time is against us, so we cannot deviate from our mission for even an hour. We have to reject all that the world offers us and instead, accept all that Christ will freely give. Though others may curse us and spit on us, we must respond by loving them, understanding that they are simply in need of a Savior and that God considers them to be of infinite worth. Though others may jeer and even torture us, we must remain steadfastly committed to praying for them, and loving them. This is what Jesus did. If we would follow Him, we must not waver.

Are you in? Are you still able to say that you truly love Jesus? Do you love Him to the extent that you would die for Him? Christ took the time to warn us of exactly what we should expect. There should be no surprises when it comes our time to face and endure trials and persecutions. Rather, we should seriously consider our walk with Him if we are not already facing these trials. Perhaps we’ve given in to the Westernized view of Christianity, the one that is replete with multi-million dollar buildings and with sermons proclaiming a safe, successful version of Christianity. This isn’t about being comfortable or feeling secure. This is about following hard after Jesus Christ with an unbridled and unrestrained passion. The road is narrow and difficult, and only a few will persist.

Let me ask once more, “Are you in?” Are you ready to literally lose everything for the sake of Jesus Christ? Are you ready to travel all over the world to proclaim His message? Will you endure being mocked, spit upon, and tortured? Will you concede all of your friends and family in order to follow Him? Are you willing to die for the sake of Jesus? How far would you go?

Unity and Peace

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My dad is a retired pastor (contradicted by the steady number of Sundays he continues to preach at various churches around the area!), so I have seen more than most of what goes on behind the scenes in churches. The backbiting and sniping, the conniving and planning, and the outright wickedness and lies; I’ve seen it all. Don’t misunderstand me; those engaging in these activities are always a small minority of the people attending church. This group does, however, point out how easy it seems to be for Christians to be anything but unified. There is as much discord in your typical church as there is within your typical political party. This isn’t how it is supposed to be. We are instructed to diligently seek unity. Diligence is defined as “constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken”. This is not a word that means to nonchalantly give lip service to our efforts. We must be constantly seeking unity. Unity is difficult to achieve, division is easy. It’s far less work to complain about someone else than to work towards a solution. It’s far easier to criticize the ideas of others than to present one of your own. It seems like most of our efforts result in tearing apart rather than building up. As long as we are pulling in disparate directions, our effectiveness will be significantly hindered. Cooperation yields incredible power by sheer quantity of scale. As the saying goes, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” In the same way, none of us is as strong as all of us. As Jesus Himself said, wherever two or three are gathered together in His name, He will be there with them (Matthew 18:20). There is great power in unity.

In Ephesians 4:3, we find the key to unity: peace. If we live in peace with one another, unity will come easily. The problem is we live in anything but peace. We are far more interested in establishing our own superiority. We want to be the one everyone else looks up to or seeks out in times of trouble. We want to be seen as the wisest and most spiritual person in our group. Whenever anyone else appears to be taking on that role, we are quick to attack them. Suddenly we see it as our duty to expose their every fault. As a result, we give them no peace, nor do we have any of our own. If we would follow Jesus then we must follow His pattern of peace. He did not react violently when violence was being inflicted upon Him; He did not reject others though they rejected Him. Instead, He chose to respond in peace and with tender love to all. He was a man of peace, consumed with a passion for God and people, but determined to demonstrate victory through love and not force. He succeeded beyond all comprehension. Jesus began the largest and most enduring movement in history without ever “firing a shot”. Jesus won the war of eternity through the use of His love and with an attitude of peace. He is all inclusive and will never berate or look down on anyone. He simply loves you, and in His love, He brings perfect peace to all who ask. Live in peace with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Diligently, and without exception, work at building unity with one another. Peace will draw us together into unity, and peace will hold that very unity together.

Are you doing all you can to live in peace and unity with all those around you? Are you living that way among your Christian brothers and sisters? It is paramount that we who profess to be followers of Jesus love one another, care for one another and seek unity in all things. The devil takes great delight in our infighting because it frustrates and hinders our effectiveness. We must remember at all times that we have a common enemy. The battle for the Kingdom is not about us, but rather about Christ living through us. The next time you are tempted to gossip, to berate or to lash out at your brother or sister, stop and ask yourself if it is the way Jesus would react. Ask yourself if your words or actions will work toward an environment of unity and peace. Take yourself out of the equation and let the peace of Christ reign among us as we live in unity for His name and His glory.

Satan’s Worst Nightmare

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It has long frustrated me that followers of Jesus (which would certainly include me) seem so hesitant to follow Jesus through uncertain or turbulent waters. As long as our path is fairly smooth and our direction is somewhat certain, we have no problems dedicating our lives to Jesus. When uncertainty enters the equation, however, we hesitate. When following Him means giving up some sense of our security, we flinch and falter. We become fearful of the unknown. Of what are we truly afraid? The God who walks with us through the good times is the same God who will be there in the bad.

The fear comes from the enemy. When we are compelled to walk along the narrow path, through darkness and uneven terrain, Satan is there to immediately cast doubt on our ability to traverse the chosen path. He injects worry, fear and anxiety into our minds. He does not want us to move forward, as he realizes this will bring defeat to his intentions. When you feel most paralyzed by fear, rest assured that your obedience has placed you on the cusp of accomplishing something significant for the Kingdom of God.

The paralysis comes from our fear. Yet this fear is totally irrational. Scripture is full of examples of God giving victory over extraordinary circumstances; we need only to trust Him. If God is for us, nothing can come against us. (Romans 8:31) We have everything we need at our disposal, we simply need ask (John 14:13-14). All of Hell itself cannot prevail against the people of God (Matthew 16:18). Again I must ask, “What are we afraid of?” How ridiculous is such fear! As a matter of fact, this fear turns out to be just another lie of Satan. Once again he is subtly altering the truth; he is shifting our focus ever so slightly in a way that blinds us to what is really going on. The truth of the matter is it is Satan himself who is trembling in utter fear of us! The entire time that we are immobilized by fear, it isn’t even our fear we are feeling; it is the trembling cowardice of Satan being reflected into our minds. He knows he cannot defeat a follower of Jesus who is walking in the power of God. It is all too obvious to the devil that he is about to suffer yet another crushing defeat. It infuriates him to lose, so he is in panic mode; he is scared to death that you will stay focused on Christ and obediently follow Jesus.

The key to victory, the key to overcoming fear is to realize from where that fear is originating. Don’t let Satan put the stench of his own fear onto you. Don’t be deceived into believing the lies of the enemy. He tells you that you are not strong enough for the battle ahead. Jesus tells us that in our weakness, through Him, we will be made strong. Satan will tell you that you are too young, too old, too uneducated or too damaged. Jesus tells us that we are the exact person for the job, we are His unique and beautiful creation; He has equipped us perfectly for the task ahead. As followers of Jesus we have access to the power of God. This same power has already repeatedly defeated Satan. The devil cannot win, and he knows it. His only hope is to deceive us into believing that his fear is our own. He is a liar, and we must call him on it. We must obey and follow Jesus; doing so makes us very dangerous indeed to Satan and all of his plans. This is why he is so frightened of us. Don’t be deceived, don’t buy into his lies. Instead, walk in the truth and in the strength of the power of Jesus. Surrender everything to Christ and follow Him anywhere, at any cost; we have nothing to fear, because we have Jesus. Move forward with courage and strength; don’t be paralyzed by someone else’s fear. Reject the lies of Satan, engage in the battle and watch the Kingdom advance as a result of your obedience. Satan fears an obedient disciple of Jesus more than anything else, so follow Jesus; doing so will cause you to become Satan’s worst nightmare!

Depart From Me

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One of the most haunting passages in the Bible has to be Matthew 7:20-23, where Jesus tells a group of people to depart from Him because He never knew them. These people are claiming that they believed in Him and did great works for Him, yet Jesus doesn’t recognize them because they never did the things He told them to do. The actions Christ expects us to take are clearly outlined in His teaching on ‘The Sheep and the Goats” in Matthew 25:31-46, a passage I discussed in some length in a three part post on this passage (see parts 1, 2, 3, and 4). Jesus plainly lays out the actions He expects of those who would call Him ‘Lord’. Whether or not we choose to do these things determines if we will be welcomed into His arms or turned away as a stranger when our lives are over and we are judged by the King of the Universe. It takes faith to believe Jesus is who He claimed to be; it takes obedience to live out our faith. Both the faith and obedience elements are required for entrance into eternal life with God.

Having said this, I was told a very troubling story this week. A woman I know has recently taken a poor single mom under her wing. The relationship has been difficult at times as trust is developed and lives from two different worlds are melded together. The woman I know is part of a small group comprised of seasoned Christians from various churches. She related some of the challenges she faced in dealing with the single mom to the group, and asked that they pray for wisdom for this single mom. Instead, she received several judgmental responses. One said “Is she black?” Another responded, “She’s probably working the system.” And still another, “She’s more than likely addicted to drugs.” When the woman I know related the story above to me, I was crushed. God forgive us. Where do these attitudes come from, and how do they inhabit the heart of those who claim to be followers of Christ? More troublesome still, two of the members of that small group happen to be elders at my church. While I was grateful that neither of them were the sources of the comments above, I was disappointed that they did not speak up and defend the cause of the single mother and provide leadership and correction to the group.

While it may sound as if I am being judgmental of some in this small group, it is not my intention. Rather, my goal here is to point out how easy it is for even seasoned Christians to act in ways that are anything but what Christ told us to do. Instead of showing compassion for the single mother or even support for a fellow believer, they chose instead to pass judgment on the very one Christ commanded them to serve. We don’t need more Pharisees in our world, we need more people who will follow Jesus and do what He said to do. For too long, those of us in so-called evangelical circles have swallowed the lie that all we need to do is say the right prayer and we are guaranteed eternity in Heaven. This is not what the Bible teaches and I believe will lead to scores of disappointed and horrified “Christians” when they stand before God and are judged, indeed, by their works. Believing in Jesus gains us entrance to the throne room; obeying His commands, doing the things He told us to do, allows us to take up permanent residence there.

Are you a follower of Jesus or simply a believer? Do you do the things He told you to do or are you content with a fraudulent fire insurance policy? Believing in Jesus is not enough; as James said, even the demons believe in Him… and they shudder! (James 2:18,19). Don’t find yourself shuddering and shut out from God’s presence when it is your time to stand before Him. Instead, show compassion and mercy on everyone in need, love your neighbor, and devote your life to the service of the one you call ‘Lord’. Love God, and obediently do the work He has given to you; then you will be welcomed into His arms and never hear those awful words, “Depart from Me; I never knew you.”