There are things that Scripture records God saying and doing that if it were not God saying or doing them, would be either harsh or just plain crazy.
In Luke 7 Jesus and His disciples encounter a funeral procession coming out of a town called Nain. In verse 13 Jesus tells the mother of the young man who died not to weep. Now, if this was anyone but Jesus, God in the flesh, those would be harsh and unfeeling words. But Jesus next goes over to the casket and brings the young man back to life.
In John 11 Jesus brings Lazarus back to life. In verses 25 and 26 Jesus tells Martha, “I am the resurrection and life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” If anyone else either then Jesus said that they would be crazy. But Jesus then goes and calls Lazarus from the tomb and Lazarus comes out alive.
Maybe the craziest thing that God did in all of Scripture is found in Ezekiel 37.
Ezekiel 37:1 says, “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley, it was full of bones.”
God takes Ezekiel and places him in a valley full of old dead bones. That sounds weird and creepy to me.
Verse 2 describes these bones as being very dry. That means the bones had been in that valley for a long time.
In verse 3 God asks Ezekiel if these bones can live. Now, my answer would have been - No Way!
But that is not how Ezekiel answered. He said, “O Lord God, you know.” Ezekiel is saying, “God, if You want them to live, You can make them live.”
God tells Ezekiel to speak in his authority as a prophet over the bones. He tells Ezekiel to say to the bones “hear the word of the Lord.”
That seems crazy to me that God would tell Ezekiel to speak to these dry dead bones.
But the message God has for Ezekiel seems even crazier. He tells Ezekiel to say to the bones: “Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
And Ezekiel did exactly what God told him to do.
The result of Ezekiel’s obedience and God’s power is recorded in verses 7 through 10. It says:
“There was a sound and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there was sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.”
This is a weird and awesome story. But is that all it is? - NO!
I believe it really happened. Does that make me crazy?
There is more to what God is doing here.
Because God tells us in verse 11 what the bones represent. God says, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.”
So the bones represent God’s people, the nation of Israel.
The bones show that God’s people were dried up, without hope, and cut off.
God then tells Ezekiel to tell His people what He would do for them. God will:
Bring Them to Life
Establish Them in the Land
Put His Spirit in Them
Make Them Know that He is Lord
God ends this passage at the end of verse 14 with these words, “I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
As I read the way that God described His people in verse 11, I believe that God could describe the church in America today in the same way.
The church in America is dry.
The church in America feels hopeless.
The church in America is cut off from the power of God.
But look at what God says He will do:
Bring us to life
Establish us in the land
Put His Spirit in us
Make Us Know that He is Lord
So what is it going to take for God to do these things for us as His people in America? It will take us as His people cooperating with Him.
Cooperating in Praying
John 14:13
Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be gloried in the Son.
Cooperating in Worshiping
Matthew 4:10
You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.
Cooperating in Being One Together as His People
John 17:21
That they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, I and in You, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
Cooperating in Sharing the Gospel
Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.
Cooperating in Sharing our Resources
Acts 4:34-35
There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ fee, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
Cooperating in Making Disciples
Matthew 28:19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Cooperating in Living as Children of God
Philippians 2:14-15
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.
Cooperating by Surrendering Your Lives to Jesus
Luke 9:23
And He said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
We live in an insane world. So God is going to look crazy to the world and if we follow Him we will look crazy.
Everything in our world is asking us to give up everything and Buy Into, Give, Surrender, or Abandon All for it. Jesus is the only one that asks us to surrender all to Him because He has already surrendered all for us.
1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about being crazy, crazy enough to trust God and obey Him.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about being radical, radical enough to believe God’s Word and live it.
Radically Crazy Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Holy Humble Courage
Over the last several years I have been praying for myself, my family, my faith family and my friends that we would have Humble Holy Courage.
Holy Humble Courage is a courage that come from Jesus not us. It is a courage that is not boastful, proud or arrogant. It is a courage based in know the truth and being willing to live and speak it out.
A great picture of what Holy Humble Courage looks like and what is results in is found in Acts 3 and 4.
Acts chapter 3 begins with Peter and John going to the temple to pray at three in the afternoon. They encounter a lame man who is at one of the gates of the temple begging for money. Peter and John tell him they have no money, but what they do have they will give him. Peter tells him in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth to get up and walk.
The man with Peter’s help gets up and not only walks, but leaps. The man is healed.
News about the miracle spreads through out Jerusalem. The miracle and Peter’s sharing about Jesus lead many people to surrender their lives to Jesus as Lord.
This brought Peter and John to the attention of the religious leaders. They had Peter and John brought before them. Peter then preaches to the religious leaders.
The religious leaders notice something about Peter and John. In Acts 4:13 it says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
They saw boldness in these uneducated, common men and the only thing that could attribute it to was that they had been with Jesus.
They boldness didn’t come from:
Being Educated
Being of Noble Birth
Being Wealthy
Their boldness came because they were connected with Jesus.
I see in the church today more education and wealth then boldness. I would have to conclude that we as the church, God’s people are not connected with Jesus as we should be.
The religious leaders although impressed with Peter and John’s boldness were still ready to punish them.
They couldn’t because the man healed in Jesus’ name was standing right there in front of them. The proof of the reality and power of Jesus was staring them in the face.
The religious leaders decide to just warn Peter and John not to speak in the name or about Jesus any more.
But Peter and John answer in verses 19 and 20. They say, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
Peter and John in a very humble and respectful way tell the religious leaders that they not only will, but they have to go on speaking about Jesus.
When Peter and John get back to the church they share what they had been told and the threats they had been given.
In Acts 4:24-30 the church prays. In verses 29-30 they pray, “And now, Lord look upon their threats and grant to Your servants to continue to speak Your word will all boldness, while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and sign and wonders are preformed through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”
The church did not:
Complain
Whine
React With Anger.
They ask God to give them more boldness to share His word and for Him to continue to do mighty acts that could only be explained by the fact that God had done them.
The result of their prayer is recorded in Acts 4:31. It says, “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
When was the last time your church came together to pray and the place was shaken?
When was the last time your church came together to pray and the church was filled with the Holy Spirit?
When was the last time your church came together to pray and the church left the building and spoke the world of God with boldness?
In Acts 4:32-35 describes the church. These verses tells us that the church was:
- United - One Heart and Soul
- Sharing - No One Claimed Anything as Their Own
- Proclaiming - With Great Power the Resurrection of Jesus Was
Preached
- Grace Covered - Great Grace Was Upon Them
- Giving - No Needy Among Them They Gave out What Came In
They church was like that because it had Humble Holy Courage.
The church in Acts is described in Acts 17:6 as the people who turned the world upside down.
Has your church ever been described as turning the world upside down?
What allowed those early believers to have Humble Holy Courage?
It wasn’t just because they believed that Jesus is the savior. Christians today believe that.
It wasn’t just because they loved Jesus. Christians today love Jesus.
It wasn’t just because they believed God’s word. I believe that Christians today believe God’s word.
The difference is in they willingness to give over everything to Jesus and for Jesus.
In Acts 14 Paul is stoned for preaching about Jesus in Lystra and he is dragged outside the city. They thought he was dead. But Paul gets up from being stoned and goes back into the city. Preaching the Gospel was more important to Paul then his life was.
In Acts 16 Paul and Silas are in Philippi. They exorcise a demon from a slave girl. As a result of doing that they are beaten, arrested, and throw into prison. In prison Paul and Silas were praying and singing. It was more important for Paul and Silas to do the work God had called them to do than to consider their own safety and comfort.
In Acts 20:24 Paul says, “He considers his life to be worthy nothing compare the finishing the course and completing the task God had given him, the task of testifying the gospel of God’s grace.”
John writes in Revelation 12:11 how we as God’s people can overcome Satan. He says, “And they conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even into death.”
They were willing to die if that was what it took.
Am I willing to give up everything for Jesus, even my life?
I see the early believers not just being willing to give up everything, but DOING IT!
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about God’s people have Humble Holy Courage. That comes only by giving everything to Jesus.
I look at those early followers of Jesus and I am in total awe.
I want our culture to look at followers of Jesus today and to be in total awe because we have Humble Holy Courage because we desire Jesus more than we desire our own lives.
This has to begin with me.
With Humble Holy Courage Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Holy Humble Courage is a courage that come from Jesus not us. It is a courage that is not boastful, proud or arrogant. It is a courage based in know the truth and being willing to live and speak it out.
A great picture of what Holy Humble Courage looks like and what is results in is found in Acts 3 and 4.
Acts chapter 3 begins with Peter and John going to the temple to pray at three in the afternoon. They encounter a lame man who is at one of the gates of the temple begging for money. Peter and John tell him they have no money, but what they do have they will give him. Peter tells him in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth to get up and walk.
The man with Peter’s help gets up and not only walks, but leaps. The man is healed.
News about the miracle spreads through out Jerusalem. The miracle and Peter’s sharing about Jesus lead many people to surrender their lives to Jesus as Lord.
This brought Peter and John to the attention of the religious leaders. They had Peter and John brought before them. Peter then preaches to the religious leaders.
The religious leaders notice something about Peter and John. In Acts 4:13 it says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
They saw boldness in these uneducated, common men and the only thing that could attribute it to was that they had been with Jesus.
They boldness didn’t come from:
Being Educated
Being of Noble Birth
Being Wealthy
Their boldness came because they were connected with Jesus.
I see in the church today more education and wealth then boldness. I would have to conclude that we as the church, God’s people are not connected with Jesus as we should be.
The religious leaders although impressed with Peter and John’s boldness were still ready to punish them.
They couldn’t because the man healed in Jesus’ name was standing right there in front of them. The proof of the reality and power of Jesus was staring them in the face.
The religious leaders decide to just warn Peter and John not to speak in the name or about Jesus any more.
But Peter and John answer in verses 19 and 20. They say, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
Peter and John in a very humble and respectful way tell the religious leaders that they not only will, but they have to go on speaking about Jesus.
When Peter and John get back to the church they share what they had been told and the threats they had been given.
In Acts 4:24-30 the church prays. In verses 29-30 they pray, “And now, Lord look upon their threats and grant to Your servants to continue to speak Your word will all boldness, while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and sign and wonders are preformed through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”
The church did not:
Complain
Whine
React With Anger.
They ask God to give them more boldness to share His word and for Him to continue to do mighty acts that could only be explained by the fact that God had done them.
The result of their prayer is recorded in Acts 4:31. It says, “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
When was the last time your church came together to pray and the place was shaken?
When was the last time your church came together to pray and the church was filled with the Holy Spirit?
When was the last time your church came together to pray and the church left the building and spoke the world of God with boldness?
In Acts 4:32-35 describes the church. These verses tells us that the church was:
- United - One Heart and Soul
- Sharing - No One Claimed Anything as Their Own
- Proclaiming - With Great Power the Resurrection of Jesus Was
Preached
- Grace Covered - Great Grace Was Upon Them
- Giving - No Needy Among Them They Gave out What Came In
They church was like that because it had Humble Holy Courage.
The church in Acts is described in Acts 17:6 as the people who turned the world upside down.
Has your church ever been described as turning the world upside down?
What allowed those early believers to have Humble Holy Courage?
It wasn’t just because they believed that Jesus is the savior. Christians today believe that.
It wasn’t just because they loved Jesus. Christians today love Jesus.
It wasn’t just because they believed God’s word. I believe that Christians today believe God’s word.
The difference is in they willingness to give over everything to Jesus and for Jesus.
In Acts 14 Paul is stoned for preaching about Jesus in Lystra and he is dragged outside the city. They thought he was dead. But Paul gets up from being stoned and goes back into the city. Preaching the Gospel was more important to Paul then his life was.
In Acts 16 Paul and Silas are in Philippi. They exorcise a demon from a slave girl. As a result of doing that they are beaten, arrested, and throw into prison. In prison Paul and Silas were praying and singing. It was more important for Paul and Silas to do the work God had called them to do than to consider their own safety and comfort.
In Acts 20:24 Paul says, “He considers his life to be worthy nothing compare the finishing the course and completing the task God had given him, the task of testifying the gospel of God’s grace.”
John writes in Revelation 12:11 how we as God’s people can overcome Satan. He says, “And they conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even into death.”
They were willing to die if that was what it took.
Am I willing to give up everything for Jesus, even my life?
I see the early believers not just being willing to give up everything, but DOING IT!
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about God’s people have Humble Holy Courage. That comes only by giving everything to Jesus.
I look at those early followers of Jesus and I am in total awe.
I want our culture to look at followers of Jesus today and to be in total awe because we have Humble Holy Courage because we desire Jesus more than we desire our own lives.
This has to begin with me.
With Humble Holy Courage Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Am I Effective?
Do you ever wonder if you are being effective at what you do? If you are being effective in your job, as a parent, in your marriage, or as a follower of Jesus?
I do.
I do a lot.
I do all the time.
I have to be honest: Many I times obsess over whether I am effective.
( My wife is reading this as she edits it and is laughing.)
I have written 100 blogs.
I have written 193 devotions.
I have preached over 1,200 sermons.
I have led over 2,000 Bible studies.
I have done countless counseling sessions.
I have shared my faith for 40 years.
Have any of these things made a difference? Have I been effective in what I have shared, preached, taught, or written?
I looked up the word effective. It means producing a definite or desired result; making a striking impression; equipped and ready for combat.
Now as I read those definitions I marked one off immediately. I don’t and never will make a striking impression.
I have served at five churches and in talking to the people who were involved in my going to those five different churches I was never their first choice. It was only after one or more of the other people they were considering said no did they look at me. I am not impressive.
I used to bemoan that fact.
UNTIL! I read Isaiah 53:2: “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.”
Jesus was not impressive from a human perspective either. I was like Jesus in not being impressive from a human standard.
So I ask myself, have I always produced a definite or desired results?
Well, I have to admit that I am usually able to produce a definite result, but not always a desired result.
I have to be honest, I’ve failed many times at getting the result I desired.
Jesus also produced definite results. There was and is no real middle ground in relationship to Jesus. Jesus is either all or nothing. He didn’t leave us any middle ground.
Jesus claimed to be God.
In John 10:30 Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” The people’s reaction to that in John 10:31 was to pick up stones to stone Him. They didn’t take kindly to Jesus claiming to be equal to God.
Jesus says in Luke 19:10 that He came to seek and save the lost.
Jesus accomplished the desired result in Zacchaeus but not in the Rich Young Ruler.
Jesus accomplished the desired result in Nicodemus but not in the majority of the Pharisees.
Jesus accomplished the desired results in Peter but not in Judas.
Jesus didn’t always see the results He wanted in other people’s lives.
Again I realized that I have another thing in common with Jesus in the area of being effective.
I also realized that Jesus’ motivation for what He did was never the result.
Jesus’ motivation was the Kingdom Of God.
Jesus tells us in Matthew to seek first and above anything else the Kingdom of God and God’s righteous. He tells us that because that was what His motivation was and that is what is of ultimate importance.
If my motivation to preach, teach, counsel, or write is to get a certain reaction or result in your life, then I am totally controlled by how you respond. And I will feel like a failure a lot.
If my motivation is to please and honor God, then no matter how you respond if I obey God, He is pleased and I have been successful and effective. It really has nothing to do with you. Hope that doesn’t hurt your feelings.
Jesus makes two statements in John that show that is motivation was to obey and thus please the Father and the results of living with that as His motivation.
In John 4:34 Jesus says, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”
What fueled Jesus life and ministry was doing what the Father wanted.
The result is found in John 14:30-31 where Jesus says, “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on Me, but I do as the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.”
Because Jesus’ life and ministry was driven by doing the will of the father, Satan had no claim on Him and the world could see how much He loved the Father.
Effective can also mean equipped and ready for combat.
We are told In Ephesians 6 to be alert and stand ready for battle by putting on the armor He has given us.
We are told in1 Peter 5:8 to be alert and watch for Satan as a roaring lion who is seeking to devour us.
It is interesting that Satan is referred to as a lion in 1 Peter 5:8 and Jesus is given the title Lion of Judah. Again Satan tries to imitate Jesus. But our Lion is the real one. And our Lion is bigger and stronger.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about being effective.
Not looking impressive
Not getting the desired results every time
But being ready for battle
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about pleasing God being our motivation.
Not results directed
Not achievement directed
But the Kingdom of God directed
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about ordinary people being ordinary, but serving an extraordinary God.
Effectively Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
I do.
I do a lot.
I do all the time.
I have to be honest: Many I times obsess over whether I am effective.
( My wife is reading this as she edits it and is laughing.)
I have written 100 blogs.
I have written 193 devotions.
I have preached over 1,200 sermons.
I have led over 2,000 Bible studies.
I have done countless counseling sessions.
I have shared my faith for 40 years.
Have any of these things made a difference? Have I been effective in what I have shared, preached, taught, or written?
I looked up the word effective. It means producing a definite or desired result; making a striking impression; equipped and ready for combat.
Now as I read those definitions I marked one off immediately. I don’t and never will make a striking impression.
I have served at five churches and in talking to the people who were involved in my going to those five different churches I was never their first choice. It was only after one or more of the other people they were considering said no did they look at me. I am not impressive.
I used to bemoan that fact.
UNTIL! I read Isaiah 53:2: “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.”
Jesus was not impressive from a human perspective either. I was like Jesus in not being impressive from a human standard.
So I ask myself, have I always produced a definite or desired results?
Well, I have to admit that I am usually able to produce a definite result, but not always a desired result.
I have to be honest, I’ve failed many times at getting the result I desired.
Jesus also produced definite results. There was and is no real middle ground in relationship to Jesus. Jesus is either all or nothing. He didn’t leave us any middle ground.
Jesus claimed to be God.
In John 10:30 Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” The people’s reaction to that in John 10:31 was to pick up stones to stone Him. They didn’t take kindly to Jesus claiming to be equal to God.
Jesus says in Luke 19:10 that He came to seek and save the lost.
Jesus accomplished the desired result in Zacchaeus but not in the Rich Young Ruler.
Jesus accomplished the desired result in Nicodemus but not in the majority of the Pharisees.
Jesus accomplished the desired results in Peter but not in Judas.
Jesus didn’t always see the results He wanted in other people’s lives.
Again I realized that I have another thing in common with Jesus in the area of being effective.
I also realized that Jesus’ motivation for what He did was never the result.
Jesus’ motivation was the Kingdom Of God.
Jesus tells us in Matthew to seek first and above anything else the Kingdom of God and God’s righteous. He tells us that because that was what His motivation was and that is what is of ultimate importance.
If my motivation to preach, teach, counsel, or write is to get a certain reaction or result in your life, then I am totally controlled by how you respond. And I will feel like a failure a lot.
If my motivation is to please and honor God, then no matter how you respond if I obey God, He is pleased and I have been successful and effective. It really has nothing to do with you. Hope that doesn’t hurt your feelings.
Jesus makes two statements in John that show that is motivation was to obey and thus please the Father and the results of living with that as His motivation.
In John 4:34 Jesus says, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”
What fueled Jesus life and ministry was doing what the Father wanted.
The result is found in John 14:30-31 where Jesus says, “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on Me, but I do as the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.”
Because Jesus’ life and ministry was driven by doing the will of the father, Satan had no claim on Him and the world could see how much He loved the Father.
Effective can also mean equipped and ready for combat.
We are told In Ephesians 6 to be alert and stand ready for battle by putting on the armor He has given us.
We are told in1 Peter 5:8 to be alert and watch for Satan as a roaring lion who is seeking to devour us.
It is interesting that Satan is referred to as a lion in 1 Peter 5:8 and Jesus is given the title Lion of Judah. Again Satan tries to imitate Jesus. But our Lion is the real one. And our Lion is bigger and stronger.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about being effective.
Not looking impressive
Not getting the desired results every time
But being ready for battle
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about pleasing God being our motivation.
Not results directed
Not achievement directed
But the Kingdom of God directed
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about ordinary people being ordinary, but serving an extraordinary God.
Effectively Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, October 5, 2014
It Is Not Hopeless!
I talk to many people who seem to be hopeless as they look at their lives and the circumstances that surround them. I perceive a sense of hopelessness in our culture today.
Paul saw a similar situation in the world of the first century. In Ephesians 4:17-19 he says, “With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against Him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.”
These people are hopelessly confused and their minds are full of darkness. They are in this condition because they wandered far from the life God gives. They wandered away because they closed their minds and hardened their hearts against God. That led to them living lives with no sense of shame, of living for their own lustful pleasure, and practicing every kind of impurity.
Honestly, that sounds very much like the culture we live in today.
But the Good News in Jesus is that we don’t have to live:
Hopeless
Confused
Minds Closed
Hearts Darkened
Far from God and His Life
In Lustful Pleasure
Practicing Impurity
We can live in hope.
We can live in confidence.
We can live in boldness.
Let’s look at the lives of four men who lived in very difficult times.
These men loved God.
These men sought to obey God.
These men sought to serve God.
In Daniel chapter 1 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were part of the people from the nation of Judah who were carried into captivity in Babylon.
They were to be trained to serve in the Babylonian government which changed their names and attempted to change their cultural viewpoints and their spiritual viewpoints.
One of the things they did was to give them food from the king’s table to eat. This food had been offered to idols, the false gods of the Babylonians. If Daniel and his companions ate it they would be entering into the worship of those false gods.
Daniel 1:8 says, “Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.”
The chief of the eunuchs refused to allow Daniel and his companions to do that because it was a risk to his positions.
Daniel didn’t give up.
In Daniel 1:12-13, Daniel says, “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
Daniel believes that God wants him and his companions not to eat the food offered to idols and he trusts God to work in such a way that in ten days the chief eunuch would be able to see a visible difference.
The situation looked hopeless and from a human viewpoint it was. Daniel didn’t view it from a human viewpoint but from God’s. And with God nothing is hopeless or impossible.
Then in Daniel 1:19 we are told that when the king interviewed all the young men who were in training, he found that Daniel and his companions were by far the best.
Situations are hopeless when we give up and stop trusting God.
Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
Daniel didn’t give up even when it looked hopeless and God gave him a harvest.
In Daniel chapter three King Nebuchadnezzar sets up a golden statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide. He brings all of his government officials together and tells them that when the music starts they are all to bow down and worship the statue.
There were three of the officials, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who did not bow down and worship the statue of gold.
Nebuchadnezzar had said that anyone who didn’t bow and worship the statue would be thrown into a flaming hot furnace.
When Nebuchadnezzar was made aware of the fact these three did not bow down and worship, he summoned them to come to him. He informed them of the consequences of not obeying.
The three men answered Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3:16-18. They said, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this is to be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
So Nebuchadnezzar has them thrown into the furnace.
This is a hopeless situation. They were going to die.
They choose to not give in and worship a false God. They were willing to pay the cost for their devotion to God.
But out of a seemly hopeless situation God did something amazing.
First when Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace he saw not three men, but four.
Then in Daniel 3:27 listen to the condition of the three men as they came out of the furnace, “The fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair on their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.”
The men obeyed God. The men found themselves in a hopeless situation. The men trusted God. God gave them a miracle that affected the whole Babylonian Empire. In Daniel 3:29 Nebuchadnezzar issues a decree that no one in all the empire can say anything bad about the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
When we are in a seemly hopeless situation and obey God, He will come through.
In Daniel chapter 6 King Darius is enticed to issue a decree that for thirty days that people could not pray to any god or man except Darius.
We are told in Daniel 6:10 that Daniel knew the document had been signed but he still went to his house and with the widows open kneeled on his knees and prayed and gave thanks to God.
This was reported to the king and he was compelled to have Daniel put into the den of lions.
This is a hopeless situation.
The next day the king hurries to check on Daniel and he shouts to see how Daniel is. In Daniel 6:21-22 Daniel responds, “O king live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lion’s mouth, and they have not harmed me because I was found blameless before Him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”
Daniel obeyed God. A seemingly hopeless situation developed and God protected Daniel.
In Daniel 6:26-27 Darius issues a decree that all the people in the Persia Empire were to recognize that Daniels’ God as a living God enduring forever. That His kingdom shall never be destroyed and His dominion shall be to the end. That He delivers and rescues, That He works wonders in heaven and on earth.
When we trust and obey God in seemingly hopeless situations, it lead to:
Harvest
Whole Cultures Being Influenced
Miracles
People Being Transformed
God Being Glorified
We live in a world that is broken and from a human perspective is hopeless.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about looking at life and living life from a God perspective.
When we live from a God perspective, then it is not hopeless.
Zechariah 4:6: “Not by might, not by power but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of Host.
When you face a seemingly hopeless situation or when you feel like things are hopeless, remember the truth of Romans 15:13: “May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in HOPE.”
With Hope Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Paul saw a similar situation in the world of the first century. In Ephesians 4:17-19 he says, “With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against Him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.”
These people are hopelessly confused and their minds are full of darkness. They are in this condition because they wandered far from the life God gives. They wandered away because they closed their minds and hardened their hearts against God. That led to them living lives with no sense of shame, of living for their own lustful pleasure, and practicing every kind of impurity.
Honestly, that sounds very much like the culture we live in today.
But the Good News in Jesus is that we don’t have to live:
Hopeless
Confused
Minds Closed
Hearts Darkened
Far from God and His Life
In Lustful Pleasure
Practicing Impurity
We can live in hope.
We can live in confidence.
We can live in boldness.
Let’s look at the lives of four men who lived in very difficult times.
These men loved God.
These men sought to obey God.
These men sought to serve God.
In Daniel chapter 1 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were part of the people from the nation of Judah who were carried into captivity in Babylon.
They were to be trained to serve in the Babylonian government which changed their names and attempted to change their cultural viewpoints and their spiritual viewpoints.
One of the things they did was to give them food from the king’s table to eat. This food had been offered to idols, the false gods of the Babylonians. If Daniel and his companions ate it they would be entering into the worship of those false gods.
Daniel 1:8 says, “Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.”
The chief of the eunuchs refused to allow Daniel and his companions to do that because it was a risk to his positions.
Daniel didn’t give up.
In Daniel 1:12-13, Daniel says, “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
Daniel believes that God wants him and his companions not to eat the food offered to idols and he trusts God to work in such a way that in ten days the chief eunuch would be able to see a visible difference.
The situation looked hopeless and from a human viewpoint it was. Daniel didn’t view it from a human viewpoint but from God’s. And with God nothing is hopeless or impossible.
Then in Daniel 1:19 we are told that when the king interviewed all the young men who were in training, he found that Daniel and his companions were by far the best.
Situations are hopeless when we give up and stop trusting God.
Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
Daniel didn’t give up even when it looked hopeless and God gave him a harvest.
In Daniel chapter three King Nebuchadnezzar sets up a golden statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide. He brings all of his government officials together and tells them that when the music starts they are all to bow down and worship the statue.
There were three of the officials, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who did not bow down and worship the statue of gold.
Nebuchadnezzar had said that anyone who didn’t bow and worship the statue would be thrown into a flaming hot furnace.
When Nebuchadnezzar was made aware of the fact these three did not bow down and worship, he summoned them to come to him. He informed them of the consequences of not obeying.
The three men answered Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3:16-18. They said, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this is to be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
So Nebuchadnezzar has them thrown into the furnace.
This is a hopeless situation. They were going to die.
They choose to not give in and worship a false God. They were willing to pay the cost for their devotion to God.
But out of a seemly hopeless situation God did something amazing.
First when Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace he saw not three men, but four.
Then in Daniel 3:27 listen to the condition of the three men as they came out of the furnace, “The fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair on their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.”
The men obeyed God. The men found themselves in a hopeless situation. The men trusted God. God gave them a miracle that affected the whole Babylonian Empire. In Daniel 3:29 Nebuchadnezzar issues a decree that no one in all the empire can say anything bad about the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
When we are in a seemly hopeless situation and obey God, He will come through.
In Daniel chapter 6 King Darius is enticed to issue a decree that for thirty days that people could not pray to any god or man except Darius.
We are told in Daniel 6:10 that Daniel knew the document had been signed but he still went to his house and with the widows open kneeled on his knees and prayed and gave thanks to God.
This was reported to the king and he was compelled to have Daniel put into the den of lions.
This is a hopeless situation.
The next day the king hurries to check on Daniel and he shouts to see how Daniel is. In Daniel 6:21-22 Daniel responds, “O king live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lion’s mouth, and they have not harmed me because I was found blameless before Him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”
Daniel obeyed God. A seemingly hopeless situation developed and God protected Daniel.
In Daniel 6:26-27 Darius issues a decree that all the people in the Persia Empire were to recognize that Daniels’ God as a living God enduring forever. That His kingdom shall never be destroyed and His dominion shall be to the end. That He delivers and rescues, That He works wonders in heaven and on earth.
When we trust and obey God in seemingly hopeless situations, it lead to:
Harvest
Whole Cultures Being Influenced
Miracles
People Being Transformed
God Being Glorified
We live in a world that is broken and from a human perspective is hopeless.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about looking at life and living life from a God perspective.
When we live from a God perspective, then it is not hopeless.
Zechariah 4:6: “Not by might, not by power but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of Host.
When you face a seemingly hopeless situation or when you feel like things are hopeless, remember the truth of Romans 15:13: “May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in HOPE.”
With Hope Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
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