Reaching Out to All People

 

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

 

God does not want anyone to live and die and without a relationship with Him through having accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord.

 

Jesus spent His life reaching out to all kinds of people.

 

In Luke 19 Jesus invites Himself to a tax collector’s house, Zacchaeus, to have lunch.

 

In Matthew 9 Jesus calls Matthew, a tax collector, to come and follow Him and later calls Matthew to be one of the Twelve. Jesus has dinner at Matthew’s house with a house full of tax collectors and sinners. When Jesus’ disciples are questioned about why Jesus is doing that, Jesus responds by saying that He “didn’t come to call righteous people but sinners” to come to Him.

 

In John 8 Jesus defends a woman who was caught in the act of committing adultery. He tells her to “go and from now on sin no more.”

 

In Matthew 15 Jesus heals the daughter of a Canaanite women.

 

In Luke 4 Jesus is in Nazareth and, in His sharing on the Sabbath in the synagogue, He points out that God provided for the widow in Zarephath and that He healed Naaman, a Syrian. Neither of these people were Israelite yet God still provided what they needed. The people of Nazareth got very angry at Jesus and tried to kill Him.

 

The point is that Jesus reached out to sinners, outcast, powerless, marginalized people. He reached out to people that the Jewish culture saw as unclean and sinful.

 

The question: Is the church reaching out to the sinner, to the outcast, to the powerless, and to the marginalized?

 

Another question is how do we reaching out.

 

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

 

All Have Sinned – we have to always remember that.

 

God’s eyes. There are no black sins and white sins; there is just sin.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is never forgetting of what God has forgiven us and always extending forgiveness to others.

 

Ephesians 4:15

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way unto Him who is the head, into Christ.

 

We Speak the Truth in Love

 

Speaking truth is essential but truth without love can be very harsh.

Speaking love is essential but love without truth can be weak.

So, both are essential to effectively reach out.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is speaking the truth of the Gospel to people but always with the attitude of love.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

 

Our Salvation is Because of Jesus and Not About Us

 

It is not because of who we are but because of who God is.

It is not because of what we have done because of what God has done.

 

I can not boast about me; I can only boast about Jesus.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is realizing and acknowledging that it is by God’s grace and not our goodness.

 

All people need Jesus. The church is the Body of Christ. We as the church are to reach out to all the culture and proclaim Jesus and show Jesus to them.

 

We live in a culture where the majority don’t trust the church or church leaders. So, we have to remember that we were all at one time separated from God and only through Jesus are we brought into relationship with God. We have to speak the truth in love to all people.

 

Desiring that All People Come to Jesus,

Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe

Jesus is Risen!

 

Jesus is risen! This is the central message of Christianity.

 

Matthew 28:5-6

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come see the place where He lay but has risen.”

 

Mark 16:6

And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.”

 

Luke 24:5-6

And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee.”

 

In these three gospels there are three things revealed to us.

 

The people came to the tomb expecting to find Jesus’ body there in the tomb and, when they didn’t find it there, they were afraid.

 

When we don’t find things as we expect them to be and we have no explanation, we can become very fearful. This is why they are told to not be afraid.

 

Jesus’ resurrection gives us the ability to not have to live in fear. The greatest enemy we as humans face is death. Jesus defeated death when He bodily came out of the tomb.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living in complete peace with no fear because of Jesus’ resurrection.

 

A second thing we see in these accounts is that the people are invited to come see that Jesus is not in the tomb.

 

The people coming to the tomb could have been met before they got to the tomb but they are invited to come and see for themselves.

 

We never have to apologize for our faith in Jesus, His death and His resurrection. The death and resurrection of Jesus is real and there is nothing that has been brought to light that disproves it.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is sharing the truth about Jesus and inviting people to come and experience it for themselves.  

 

The third thing we see in these accounts is that Jesus had died. He was dead but He bodily rose from the dead.

 

We all will die, unless Jesus returns, but unlike Jesus we will not come back to life in three days.

 

Jesus tells His disciples before that last week that He will be rejected by the religious leaders, crucified, and on the third day rise again.

 

And Jesus did it!

 

Many have predicted they would do it but did not. Jesus said He would and He did it.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is believing that Jesus died on the cross for our sin and rose from the dead on the third day for our justification and living based on that belief every day.

 

May you experience the reality of the risen Lord Jesus today and each day. And may in your words and actions you proclaim Jesus’ death and resurrection every day.

 

In the Power of the Resurrection of Jesus

Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe

Prophecies Fulfilled Part 4

 

I hear a lot on reality competitions when a contestant is asked what it would mean to win the competition and they say, “It would mean everything.” Another thing I hear a lot is when something good happens in a person’s life and they say this is the greatest day of their life.

 

I have had some great days and I have had some things that impacted my life in a big way. But the thing that means everything and the greatest two days in the history of the world are the day that Jesus died and the day that Jesus rose from the dead.

 

Isaiah 53:10

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

 

This verse reveals to us that the Messiah will be crushed and put to grief and become an offering for our guilt or sin.

 

John 19:28-30

After this, Jesus knowing that all was now finished, said, (to fulfill scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to His mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished,” and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

 

Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified as our sacrifice for sin. He could have stopped it at any point, He had the power. But Jesus chose to do the Father’s will and gave Himself up for our sin.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is surrendering our lives to Jesus as Lord and receiving His death to pay for sins and acknowledging Him as our Savior.

 

Isaiah 53:10 also says that the Messiah will see His offspring and His days will be prolonged.

 

The Messiah will not stay dead but will rise from the dead.

 

Matthew 28:5-6

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where He lay.”

 

Jesus was placed in a tomb on Friday after His death. Jesus rose bodily from the dead and came out of the tomb.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is believing that Jesus rose bodily from the tomb and is alive.

 

When Jesus rose from the dead, He showed His power and authority over:

Death: He didn’t stay dead after He died, but came back to life

Sin: Sin is the cause of death being a reality in this world

Satan: Satan is the one who tempts us to sin and caused death to come into the world.

 

When we surrender our lives to Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we receive from Him His victory over death and sin and Satan.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living in the victory that Jesus accomplished in His resurrection.

 

As you celebrate Good Friday may you remember Jesus’ sacrifice for your sin.

As you celebrate Resurrection Sunday may you experience Jesus’ victory over death and sin and Satan.

 

With Jesus as Savior and Lord, Celebrating His Victory

by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe

Prophecies Fulfilled Part 3

 

This week we continue to look at prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament and their fulfillment in the New Testament.

 

Jeremiah 31:31-33

Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put My law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

 

The old covenant that God gave Israel through Moses was a covenant based in the law that God gave Israel. It was a covenant that the people of God continually violated. They sought to make the law everything and ignored the personal relationship that God desired to have with them.

 

The new covenant would not be an outward but an inward covenant written on their hearts.

 

Luke 22:20

And likewise, the cup after they had eaten saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”

 

Jesus establishes the new covenant through His blood that He shed on the cross. It is a covenant that is put into our lives at conversion by the Holy Spirit as He comes to indwell us.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is having a personal relationship with Jesus and having that relationship sealed in our lives by the filling of the Holy Spirit.

 

Zechariah 9:9

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey.

 

The Messiah would come into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. The king proclaiming Himself king.

 

Mark 11:7-9

 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

 

Jesus fulfilled this prophecy by riding into Jerusalem as He began the last week of His earthly life. As He rode into Jerusalem on the donkey, He accept the praise as the Messiah and their king.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is receiving and serving Jesus as your king.

 

Psalm 22 vividly describes a crucifixion. In a very detailed manner, it describes the crucifixion of Jesus.

 

It describes the crowd mocking Jesus.

It describes the physical effects of crucifixion on Jesus.

It describes the fact that Jesus is crucified with criminals.

It describes the fact that the soldiers gambled for Jesus’ cloak.

 

All four Gospels, Jesus’ crucifixion is recorded. The Gospels record:

 

The crowd mocking Jesus

The physical effects of crucifixion

That Jesus is crucified with two convicted criminals

The soldiers casting lots for Jesus’ cloak

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that Jesus died for our sins and trusting in His death to completely pay for our sins.

 

Without Jesus’ teachings we would not know how to live in a righteous relationship with God.

Without Jesus’ miracles we would not know the power of God and how that power can transform our lives.

Without Jesus’ death we would not have forgiveness of sin and no guarantee of eternal life.

Jesus’ life and His death fulfill all the prophecies to show that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. This empowers us to trust Jesus as Savior and Lord and commit our lives to obey, follow, and serve Jesus with our lives.

 

Believing and Following Jesus

by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe