Yes!

 

I am a child of the 60’s and so I loved the Beatles and I still enjoy their music. I know they were not believers, but I still find truth that God, not the Beatles, put in their music.

 

The Beatles have a song called Hello, Goodbye. The first line of the song says, “You say, Yes, I say No.”

 

That really summarizes life because life is a series of yeses and nos. Each yes and each no carries consequences. Each yes and each no leads in a certain direction.

 

In Matthew 5:37 Jesus says, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”

 

When we make big elaborate declarations about our faith instead of a simple, “Yes, Lord’ we tend to be doing it to impress others and not in obedience to God’s will.

 

James 5:12 says, “But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” no so that you may not fall under condemnation.”

 

It is about simply obeying God and not about big, overdone proclamation.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is saying yes to God’s will and then doing it.

 

Revelation 16:7 says, “And I heard the altar saying, ‘Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!’”

 

We have to say yes to God’s Word.

The Bible is not a book of suggestions.

The Bible is not a book of religion.

The Bible is not a book of theology.

 

The Bible is the very word of God spoken to us. It reveals who God is, His purpose, and His ways. The Bible also reveals to us the truth of who we are and why we need Jesus as Savior and Lord.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is accepting the Bible as God’s Word and obeying it.

 

In 2 Corinthians 1:17 Paul asks a question, “Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make plans according to the flesh, ready to say, “Yes, yes” and “No” at the same time?”

 

When we know God and seek His will, He promises to revel it to us. When we seek to live life without seeking God’s will in God’s Word, we have no direction and go back and forth between yes and no. We have no direction if we are not guided by God and His will and His Word.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being guided by God and knowing which direction to go by saying yes to God.

 

2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory.”

 

Jesus is the Yes of God. Everything that God promised is fulfilled in Jesus. God will always fulfill His promises because He is faithful. He has and is and will fulfil them all in Jesus.

 

Jesus is the Amen of God. Jesus is the so be it of God. Jesus did everything the Father told Him to do. Jesus perfectly accomplished the will of the Father.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is trusting that God will fulfill all of His promises in Jesus and then living daily based on that truth.

 

We as God’s people, as the Body of Christ need to be like Jesus and say yes to God’s will and God’s way and to God Word. We need each day to surrender to the Will of God.

 

Do we just sing praise songs to Jesus and declare big elaborate statements about our faith in a safe environment around other Christians or do we live out our commitment to Jesus as Savior and Lord every day no matter the circumstances or our feelings?

 

In Obedience to God’s Will and God’s Word

Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe

How to Deal with Opposition

 

How do we as followers of Jesus deal with people who are opposed or hostile to our faith? Because to be honest, the way we as the church are dealing with opposition, hostility, and ungodliness is not working. It is not working because it is not following the biblical pattern.

 

So how do we deal with opposition, hostility, and ungodliness?

 

Proverbs 15:1

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

 

James 1:19-20

Know this my beloved brothers; let every person be quick to hear, slow speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

 

James 3:17-18

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

 

These passages show us some biblical ways of dealing with anger and opposition because of our faith in Jesus.

 

Our word, our answers need to be soft. Our answers need to be made in compassion for others. We must see those who dislike us and oppose our faith and those who live an ungodly lifestyle as victims, not enemies.

 

Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12 that we do not battle against people but against evil spiritual forces. These evil spiritual forces, Satan, and his demons, want to hold humans in slavery. Those who are held in slavery are victims and they are not our enemies.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is using compassionate answers to others for our faith in Jesus.

 

We need to be quick to hear. Hear, not just listen, is the key. I listen to a lot of information daily and I only hear a small portion of the information. We need to hear what those who are opposed to our faith are saying. We need to be open to reason. We need to learn how to dialog with those who disagree with us and those who don’t like us.

Paul when he went to Athens in Acts 17 held discussions with the Greek philosophers about his faith. He even used some of their own ideas to share Jesus with them.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being open and willing to talk in a loving and peaceful manner with those who disagree with us.

 

We approach those who do not like us or agree with us in a loving, sincere, and peaceful attitude.

 

We love those who don’t love us.

We are real and transparent with those who don’t trust us.

We manifest godly peace to those who are angry at us.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is approaching those who oppose our faith with love, authenticity, and peace.

 

We relate to those who are hostile to our faith with mercy and grace. We relate to them in mercy because that is how God related to us when we were in opposition to Him.

 

We relate to those who are hostile to us with grace because it only by God’s grace are people really changed. Paul tells us in Romans 2:4 that it is by kindness that we are brought to repentance.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is relating to others in mercy and grace.

 

Why are we to deal with opposition in this way?

 

When we do it produces:

Good Fruits

Righteousness

Peace

 

It is also the way in which Jesus dealt with

The Women at the Well

The Women Taken in Adultery

Zacchaeus

Demon Possessed Man

 

Jesus does not relate to those held as victims of sin with anger, condemnation, or judgment but with love. He relates to them with love, as victims not enemies, and changes their lives.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is treating those in the grip of a sinful lifestyle with love as victims, not with anger as enemies.

 

Jesus used the early church to change the world because they followed a biblical pattern to deal with those who opposed them, who hated them, and to those who lived ungodly lives.

 

With a Biblical Pattern for Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                              Joe

Jesus Died for Sinners, Losers and Winners

 

In Romans 7:18-19 Paul writes, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”

 

There is a truth that the Bible reveals to us. That truth is that we as humans are not born good. We are born with a bent toward evil.

 

In Romans 3:10-11 Paul writes, “None is righteousness, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks God.”

 

This is very clear, no one is born righteousness, no one is born understanding God, and no one is born naturally seeking God.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is recognizing that no person is born with a bent toward God naturally.

 

Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All of us fall short of God’s standard, which is perfection. No person is perfect so we can’t depend on our goodness or perfection.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is acknowledging that we are not perfect, and that God’s standard is perfection.

 

Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

The best we as imperfect and sinful humans can earn with our very best effort is death. God in His grace gives us a gift through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

 

Romans 3:23 and 6:23 says two things to me.

 

First, it says we need to be aware of our sin and our inability to earn or deserve salvation. That salvation comes through Jesus and Him only.

 

Second it says that we as humans are all in the same situation. There is no human being naturally better than any other human being.  

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is acknowledging that we are sinners who have sinned, and we cannot earn our salvation.

 

All of this sounds depressing and negative.

 

In reality, it allows us to see that God has provided us in Jesus with what we need for salvation.

 

Jesus provides salvation through His mercy. In His mercy Jesus does not give us what we deserve.

Jesus provides salvation through His grace. In His grace Jesus gives us much more than we deserve.

 

The fact that we are sinners who sin is bad, but the fact is that Jesus by His mercy and grace provides what we cannot provide for ourselves – salvation.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is depending on Jesus and His death and His resurrection to provide us salvation, the forgiveness of our sin, and eternal life.

 

Depending on Jesus Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                            Joe

 

A personal note: This Sunday I shared with my faith family that at the end of this year I would be retiring from full time pastoring. I have had the honor to serve six churches over forty-seven years and it has been a great adventure. I don’t know what next year will hold for Jan and me but I know God has more adventures for us.

Forgiven People

 

Colossians 1:13-14

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

 

Jesus is the one, the only one who can:

Deliver us from the kingdom of darkness

Transfer us into the kingdom of Jesus

Give us redemption

Provide forgiveness of our sins

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is receiving the forgiveness of God through surrendering our lives to Jesus as Savior and Lord.

 

What does a person who has been delivered, transferred, redeemed, and forgiven look like?

 

Ephesians 4:25

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

 

Forgiven people put away falsehood and speaks the truth.

 

Jesus said that if we abide in His word, we will know the truth and the truth will make us free because Jesus is the truth. Forgiven people know the truth, Jesus, and speak truth and thus experience freedom.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing the truth, Jesus, and living Him out every day.

 

Ephesians 4:26-27

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

 

Forgiven people are not controlled by their emotions and do not give the devil an opportunity to use their emotions to lead them into unrighteous acts.

 

James 1:20 tells us that human anger does not produce the righteousness of God.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is letting the Holy Spirit, not our emotions, control our lives.

 

Ephesians 4:28

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his owns hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

 

Forgiven people are honest and giving.

 

Peter reminds us that Jesus had no deceit, He was completely honest and had complete integrity. We as followers of Jesus who have been forgiven by Him are to also show those characteristics. Jesus also came as a servant to serve and we as His followers are to use what He has blessed us with to bless others.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being people of integrity and people who share with others.

 

Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as it fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

 

Forgiven people are encouragers and speak grace into other’s lives.

 

Corrupt talk is using words that condemn others and judge them as opposed to showing them grace.

 

Jesus confronted sin but encouraged people and showed grace to the outcast and condemned.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being gracious people who build others up.

 

Ephesians 4:30

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

 

Forgiven people do not grieve the Holy Spirit.

 

We grieve the Holy Spirit when we disobey God. Jesus says that we are His friends if we obey Him. It grieves Him when we disobey Jesus and dishonor His desire to be our friend.

 

Ephesians 4:31

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

 

Forgiven people deal with life differently than the world does.

 

The lives of us who are followers of Jesus need to reflect the person of Jesus, not the attitudes of the world. The world should never look at Jesus’ followers and see wrath, bitterness, anger, physical outcries out of anger and bitterness, and saying hurtful things about others. Our lives are to show love, mercy, joy, and peace.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is showing godly character, not worldly character.

 

Ephesians 4:32

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

 

Forgiven people forgive others.

 

Jesus forgave the women at the well, the woman taken in adultery, Zacchaeus, and Peter. None of these deserved it but all needed it. We, like Jesus, need to forgive those who hurt us.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is forgiving others as Jesus forgave us.

 

As Forgiven People Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                              Joe