Why Am I a Christian?

 

The summer of 1970 was a turning point in my life. It was a time when Jesus said to me, “Either let’s get real with our relationship or let’s forget it”. I was living for myself and going through the motions for Jesus. Jesus did a work that led me to give all my life to Jesus as Lord of my life. In June of 1973 I went into full time local church ministry and served Jesus in the local church for over forty-seven years.

 

This year marked the beginning of my retirement from pastoring. I have found the answer to a question that I asked regularly throughout forty-seven years of pastoring: “Why am I doing this?”

 

In Acts 8 we encounter a man named Simon. Simon was a magician who amazed the people in Samaria. Simon responded to the preaching of Philip.

 

Acts 8:12-13 says, “But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philp. And seeing sings and great miracles performed he was amazed.”

 

Simon believed and was baptized. He began with the right focus on Jesus as his Savior, living as a follower focusing on the kingdom of God. But notice that Simon began focusing on the signs and great miracles.

 

In Acts 8:15 Peter and John come and pray for the new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. In Acts 8:17 they laid hands on the believers and the believers received the Holy Spirit.

 

Acts 8:18-19 says, “Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered money, saying. ‘Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands my receive the Holy Spirit’.”

 

Simon is focusing on the miraculous and not on Jesus. He wants the power so that people look to him and are impressed with him. He believes he can obtain this through material means.

 

I had to be careful as I served God through His church that I was not doing it so people would be impressed with me or for financial gain.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about focusing on Jesus and following Him.

 

What does it look like when we are focused on following God and seeking His kingdom?

 

In Genesis 6 God tells Noah to build an ark because God is going to bring judgment by flooding the earth. It had never even rained at that point. God was telling Noah to do something that he had no knowledge of.

 

In Genesis 6:22 it says, “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.”

 

Following God and seeking His kingdom will mean we have to obey God in areas in which we have no knowledge or understanding; it means we obey by faith.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about obeying God by faith, not sight.

 

In Genesis 39 Joseph is tempted to have sex with Potiphar’s wife. He says no and in Genesis 39:9 Joseph says, “Np one is greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”

 

Following God and seeking His kingdom will mean we will say no to sin because we know that it is displeasing to God and will harm others.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about seeing what sin really is and letting God empower us to say no to it.

 

In Matthew 4 Jesus calls Andrew, Peter, James, and John to come follow Him. In Matthew 4:20 it says, “Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.” In Matthew 4:22 it says, “Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.”

 

Following God and seeking His kingdom will mean that we have to leave things that take the focus over Jesus.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about making Jesus and His kingdom the priority of our lives.

 

In Acts 9 Ananias is told to go and share the gospel with Saul and heal him of his blindness. Ananias is not sure he wants to do that because he knows that Saul had been severely persecuting the church. In Acts 9:15-16 God says to Ananias, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine to carry My name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of My name.”

 

Following God and seeking His kingdom will mean we will have to take risk and experience suffering because of the God’s kingdom.

 

When I served Jesus through the local church, I had to make sure I was doing it to honor God and not for selfish purposes. Serving Jesus must be about Jesus and not ourselves. It must be about His honor, His will, and His kingdom.

 

Focusing on God’s kingdom by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                                     Joe

Letting Jesus Create Courage

 

We mention many qualities of the character that God wants to produce in our lives as followers of Jesus. One that is not mentioned as part of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, but I am finding as I grow older is increasingly essential, is courage.

 

As a young man I thought that I was invincible. I really thought that I was not going to be harmed by doing risky things, but as I grew older & hopefully wiser, I realized that there were things that could harm and even kill me. So, to be honest, in my older years I back off doing risky things. But now I believe that one of the things God is calling us a Jesus’ followers to do is to risk for the kingdom, and to do that, we need godly courage.

 

When we think of courage, we usually think of David as he faced Goliath or Daniel in the lion’s den or Paul facing hostile crowds.

 

But I want to focus on three men in Scripture who many times get overlooked.

 

The first man is Andrew who was not afraid to bring things to Jesus. 

 

John 1:40-41

One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means the Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).  

 

Andrew brings his brother Peter to Jesus.

 

John 6:8-9

One His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here with five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”

 

He brings a boy with a lunch to Jesus. Jesus uses both Peter and the boy’s lunch to change people’s lives.

 

We need to have the courage to bring what we have to Jesus. We and others may not view what we have to bring as being very valuable or being something that Jesus can use, but we need to have the courage to bring everything to Jesus. Jesus is powerful to use everything we bring to Him.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about bringing everything we have to Jesus.

 

The second man is Barnabas who was not afraid to stand up for someone who others were not sure about.

 

Acts 9:26-27

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of the Lord.

 

Many time when Jesus transforms a person, others are skeptical of the change that the person claims to have happened. In Paul’s case they may have been afraid that Paul was lying so he could find and harm more followers of Jesus. Barnabas had the courage to believe that Jesus had changed Paul and brought him to the apostles. This allowed Jesus to use Paul to take the gospel to the Gentiles and change the world.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about believing that Jesus can and does change people and welcoming those people into the body of Christ and allowing Jesus to use them to build His kingdom.  

 

The third man is Philip who was not afraid to go anywhere God directed him to go.

 

Acts 8:4-5

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them Christ.

 

Acts 8:26

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place.

 

When persecution is brought against the church in Jerusalem the believers are scattered and Philip is directed to go to Samaria and proclaim Jesus to them. The Samaritans were hated by the Jews so it was risky for Philip to do this. God brings revival through Philip’s preaching. Then Philip is directed by God to go to the middle of nowhere and in the midst of a great revival, Philip obeys and goes.

 

When we decide there are places or people that we will not go to so we can share Jesus, then we are being disobedient to Jesus and limiting what He can use us to do (we are not limiting Jesus).

 

We need to be so available to Jesus that wherever and whenever and to whomever He tells us to go, we obey and go.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about going wherever and to whomever Jesus tells us to go.

 

Courage is not not being fearful; it is, in our fear, still obeying what Jesus tells us. It is an act of the will, not of our emotions.

 

With Godly Courage Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

Joe

Jesus is Working

 

In John 15:7 Jesus says, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

 

We know that God is never inactive, that He is working in our world all the time.

 

I was asked one time what does it look like when God brings revival. Now, revival and spiritual awakening are different things. Revival is for the church, God’s people, who already have been given life through Jesus but have grown apathetic toward Him. They have lost their passion for Jesus and His kingdom. Spiritual awakening is for those are lost. God graciously moves to create a desperate desire for salvation. The mark of spiritual awakening is many people coming into a relationship with Jesus. But the marks of a revival can numerous and varied.

 

I want to mention three marks that indicate revival in God’s people.

 

Mark #1: Restore the church to love one another with familial love.

 

The church loves each other as family and not just hanging out with each other like members of club or part of an organization.

 

In John 13:34-35 Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 

When we don’t love each as God loves as His children, as a part of His family, then we don’t show the world the reality of God’s love. The church appears to be just like any other group of people instead of who were really are, the body of Christ.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about loving each other as God loves us, to be able to show God’s love to the world.

 

Mark #2: Restore honor in our relationships.

 

Romans 12:9-10 says, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”

Love that comes from God does not stand aloof but enters into the pain of others.

 

In our culture today we demonize those who are not like us or who disagree with us. We are told in this passage that we are to work hard to outdo each other as followers of Jesus to show honor, not contempt to all others. Showing honor to others does not mean that we have to agree with them, but we do have to respect them and give them the right to disagree.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about showing honor to all people regardless of what they think or believe.

 

Mark #3: Restore our relational harmony with one another.

 

Romans 12:16 says, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.”

 

We as the church need to move from haughtiness to humbleness. Paul reminds us in Romans 5:6-8 that Jesus died for us while we were still weak, ungodly, and sinners. So, we have no reason to feel haughty or prideful that we are saints and others are sinners because we are all saved by grace and not because we have earned it.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about living humbly before God and before people. 

 

God is moving in our nation. The question: Is God moving in your church and in your life?

 

God Moving to Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls,

Joe

Fear or Faith

 

One of the biggest things that we as humans face is fear. Jesus knows and understands that fear is a big thing for us as humans. It is why when He first appears to His disciples after His resurrection in John 20 Jesus gives peace to them.

 

Jesus tells us six times that we should not fear.

 

Matthew 28:10

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid, go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

 

We are not to fear what we don’t understand.

 

The women and the disciples did not understand that Jesus was going to rise from the dead. When He did, they still struggled with understanding it and really believing it. Jesus tells them not to be afraid.

 

Jesus works in His way, in His timing and for His purposes. We don’t always understand what Jesus does or how He does it. We don’t have to be afraid because we can trust Jesus to always work in ways that are good and righteous.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about trusting Jesus even when we don’t understand.

 

Luke 1:13

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, you will call his name John.”

 

We don’t have to fear the unknown. Zechariah and Elizabeth had been praying for a child for a long time. They were now old when and Zechariah was not sure how they would raise a child. They were going to experience a blessing of God and it was a good unknown, but still an unknown.

 

There are three truths that we can hold onto when we face the unknown. One is that God is all-powerful, so He can handle it. Second, God is all-knowing, so He knows our unknowns. Third, God is good so He will not cause us harm.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about trusting God because He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfectly good.

 

Luke 1:30

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary for you have found favor with God.”

 

We don’t have to fear when God challenges us to move outside of our comfort zone. Mary was being asked by God to do something very hard. It could have caused Mary to lose family, friends and even her marriage to Joseph. Challenges are never easy, but God gives us the promise in Matthew 28:20 that He is with us to the end of the age. Whatever God challenges us to be or do, He will empower us to do it.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about trusting God as He challenges us to move out of our comfort zone because He will be with us and empower us to meet the challenge.

 

Luke 5:10

And so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

 

We don’t have to fear taking risks for Jesus. James and John knew how to fish for fish, but they did not know how to fish for men. They made their living by fishing and Jesus was asking them to leave that and follow Him full time.

 

They were asked to risk their ability to take care of their families. They were willing to follow Jesus because they believed that He was the Messiah and that He would provide for them.

 

One of the names of God is Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide. Jesus fed thousands of people with little food. Jesus will provide when we are willing to take a risk to do His will.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about knowing God is our provider and being willing to take a risk to do God’s will.

 

Matthew 28:5-6

“But the angel said to the women, “Do 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.”

 

We don’t have to fear death because Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus promises that if we place our faith in Him, we experience our own resurrection from the dead. Believers have a win, win; we go to heaven at death and then at the rapture we get a new eternal body.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about not fearing death because Jesus overcame death by His resurrection.

 

In Matthew 14 the disciples are in a boat caught in a storm and Jesus comes walking on the water. The disciples are afraid. In Matthew 14:27 Jesus tells them, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

 

Jesus is telling us that we don’t have to live fearfully because of Him. Nothing is bigger or stronger or more powerful than Jesus, and Jesus is with us and for us.

 

In Boldness and Not Fear, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                               Joe