“…God never left us down here.”

Many people found themselves glued to their television sets over the past couple days as news organizations kept a close eye on the events taking place at the San Jose copper-gold mine in the Atacama Desert in Chile.  Through the lens of their cameras we witnessed the rescue of 33 Chilean miners as they ascended from the depths of the mine into the arms of family and friends in a beautiful reunion. 

In those reunions we witnessed what was expected as the miners were reunited with their families after 69 grueling days in the depths of the earth: the hugs, the kisses, and the first words spoken.  We also witnessed things that may not have been expected:  a spontaneous soccer cheer, for example.

There are so many things that we will remember from these events for the rest of our lives.  But in this blog I want to speak to something that was written that stirred something in my heart from the very moment that I heard it.

Among the 33 miners who were rescued from the mine was a nineteen-year-old miner by the name of Jimmy Sanchez.  Before he was even rescued, Jimmy Sanchez wrote a letter that was sent up from the mine in advance of his arrival to the Chilean surface. In the letter were penned these words: 

“There are actually 34 of us, because God has never left us down here."

 

The moment I heard these words, I was instantly reminded of another story that I’ve heard/read many, many times that displays the faithful presence of God in the midst of some of the greatest trials. 

The story that I’m referring to is found in the Old Testament Book of Daniel.  It is the story of three young men. Their names are Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (otherwise known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego).  These three young men were taken captive, along with so many of their people, by the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, when he besieged Jerusalem.

Following their capture they were taken to Babylon, where they were no longer their own people.  They were forced to submit to a king who required them to live in a way that was completely foreign to them.  But one day, the king began to ask too much.  In Daniel 3, we read that…

“King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon…Then the herald loudly proclaimed, ‘This is what you are commanded to do…As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.  Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”—Daniel 3:1-6

That was where the three young men drew the line.  All their lives they had been taught that their God, the One, True, Living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has commanded them:  “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”  The time came for this decree to be put into practice, and Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah made the decision to stand for God rather than bow to an idol.  The result:  They were brought before the king, questioned, and thrown into the blazing furnace (which was now seven times hotter than usual).  Let’s pick it up there:

“Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious…and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace…The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers…and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.  Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisors, ‘Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?’  They replied, ‘Certainly, O king.’  He said, ‘Look!  I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like the Son of God.’”—Daniel 3:19-25

Awesome!!  Whether it is 600 B.C. or 2010 A.D., God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  He has been, and always will be, faithful!  The psalmist said in Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”  

We are living in difficult days, and it seems that there are people that I know and love who are facing tests spiritually, emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially every day.  To those, I just want to share this with you:  Don’t Give Up!! God is still God, and He will always be there.  If He was there in the fiery furnace in Babylon, and in the mine in Chile, what makes you think He won’t be there for you?  The answer:  He will!

Our Greatest Need

There is a tremendous need in the church today.  As easy as it may seem to identify what that need is, oft-times we are looking in the wrong places to meet it.  We think that the need in the church is for more money, methods or people.  Those are needs, but they are not our greatest need.  The greatest need in the church today is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

If we were to hear a description of the church that was birthed in Acts 2 (Acts 2:42-47), and compare that with many of the churches today, we would see that there are some similarities.  We would see that there are some differences.  But we would also see that something, rather Someone, is missing.

Dr. Ray H. Hughes, in his book Who Is the Holy Ghost?, put it this way:

“The church has been so leavened with the spirit of the world that few Christians know what it means to pray in the Holy Ghost and live a deep, full, all-conquering experience.  They simply exist spiritually.  They know nothing of life more abundant and the abounding, all-victorious participation in the life of a resurrected Christ…They are powerless in the presence of temptation because their low level of Christian living.  Many church members have begun to ask if there isn’t something more than this up-and-down, now-conquering and then-defeated, now-repenting and then-sinning kind of religion.  Too many are lacking victory.”

That pretty much nails it on the head, but that’s not the way God desires it to be.  It is His desire that we have life and have it more abundantly.  It is His desire that we live victorious, Spirit-filled lives.  Think about the words of Jesus in…

• John 7:38 He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.

Does that describe the kind of life that so many in the church are living today?  Not so far as I can tell.  But it doesn’t have to be this way.  God has given us promise after promise in His Word that He has all that we need, and so much more.  So much of what we are lacking is provided for by the Holy Spirit:  love, joy, peace, power, effective ministry, etc. 

Let me quote Dr. Hughes once again:

“Having received the infilling of spiritual power, we joyously and gladly share this out-flowing spiritual life with others.  Many Christians today are like shallow well-pumps that must be primed in order to give forth water.  To get a little water from a Christian like that is a major task; and when the water does come, it comes with gurgling, grumbling protests.”

There is a huge difference between the two, and once again the glaring difference is the Holy Spirit.

We need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit as individuals and as a church.  I pray that we will begin to cry out once again, “let the fire fall, let the wind blow, let Your glory come down.”  Jesus said we don’t have because we don’t ask.  Well, I’m asking!  How about you?

The Koinonia of the Ekklesia, Part III

In this trilogy of blogs, this third and final installment deals with the importance of not only knowing what it means to be in fellowship, but also the importance of protecting it. 

As I was teaching this I couldn’t help thinking of another trilogy, a trilogy of movies, that came out between 2001-2003.  The trilogy that I’m referring to is, The Lord of the Rings.  The Lord of the Rings movies were based on a three-volume book written by J.R.R. Tolkien about a young hobbit by the name of Frodo Baggins and his journey to a place called “Mount Doom,” in the land of Mordor, to destroy a ring that has been the cause of much death, destruction, greed and evil in the world he lives in called “Middle Earth.” 

This difficult journey is made a little easier because Frodo has not been left to take it on his own.  He is joined by eight companions consisting of three hobbits, one Maia, an elf, a dwarf and two men.  These nine companions form “The Fellowship of the Ring,” and together they embark on the journey with a common purpose—destroy the ring at Mount Doom, as well as the ring’s creator, the Dark Lord Sauron. 

In the first movie, it doesn’t take long before we realize that there are many dangers looming for the fellowship.  First, there is the presence of outside evil forces that will do anything to get possession of the ring.  Secondly, there are many opportunities for their fellowship to be destroyed from within. 

May I say it is no different with the fellowship of the Church.  This fellowship that we have with one another in the church is something that is very special.  Here are a couple of the reasons why:

1. The fellowship that we have is God’s idea.  He has always longed to have fellowship with us.  Just look at Adam and Eve, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, David, and the people of Israel, and you will quickly begin to see how important this is to Him.  He also longs for us to have fellowship with one another.  Jesus prayed for this fellowship in John 17.
2. This is a fellowship of “light.”  In 1 John 1:5-7, the apostle John wrote, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all…But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.”  The apostle Paul shares this same message with the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 6:14) when he says, “…what fellowship hath righteousness and unrighteousness and what communion hath light with darkness?”

You see, the fellowship of the church is very special.  Together we make a difference in a world that seems to be steadily headed in the wrong direction.  The devil knows this and that is why he would love nothing more than to destroy the church. And he will attempt to do so by any means necessary. 

• He will use outside forces.  Just pay attention to the different media outlets today and it won’t take long before you can see evidence of this.
• He will also try to destroy the church from within.  Some of the tactics he will use are…(1) differences of opinion (Acts 15:36-41), (2) differences of operation (Galatians 2:11-21) and (3) differences as a result of offenses (the New Testament book of Philemon).  

If this fellowship is so important to God that He initiated it, to Jesus that He prayed for it, and to the devil that he will do anything to try to destroy it, then it should also be important enough to us that we will stand together to protect it.  There will be tests along the way, but by the grace of God, we will stay together.

The Koinonia of the Ekklesia, Part II

In my last blog I wrote part one of “The Koinonia of the Ekklesia.”  In it I talked about the last word of that phrase, ekklesia, and what it really means to be a part of the church.  To be a part of the church is to be a part of “the called-out ones.”  It means to be a person who has been called out of darkness (sin/the world’s system) into the marvelous Light (a relationship with Jesus Christ).

In this blog I want to focus on the koinonia or, the fellowship, of the church.  The fellowship of the church is much more important than we give it credit for because we often fail to truly understand what fellowship is. 

The fellowship in the church is “the joint participation of individuals for a common cause or purpose.”  The word fellowship means so much more than the typical, “let’s all get together and have a fellowship dinner in the church’s fellowship hall” sort of thing.

When I think of true fellowship I think of the words that were penned by Luke in Acts 2:42-47.  The people of the early church were people who were in joint participation for a common cause.  They were in fellowship with Christ.  They were in fellowship with His sufferings.  They were in the fellowship of the “mystery” of God’s grace.  They were in the fellowship of ministry.  And they were in fellowship with one another.

Those who were a part of the early church are described this way:

• They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching
• They devoted themselves to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer
• Everyone was filled with awe, and many miraculous signs were done by the apostles
• All the believers were together and had everything in common
• Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone who had need
• Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts
• They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people
• The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved

What an awesome picture of what, I believe, God intended the koinonia of the ekklesia to look like.  This shows what an impact the church can make when we are in true fellowship, not only with Christ, but with one another. 

In my final installment on this topic I will share the importance of not only having this true fellowship, but also the importance of protecting it at all costs (with a little help from The Lord of the Rings).  Make sure to check it out!

The Koinonia of the Ekklesia: Part 1

Are you a Christian?  Are you a part of the Body of Christ?  What exactly does that mean?  There are many people in the world today who make the claim that they are Christians, but are Christians by name, only. The “fruit” that they bear says something completely different than the words that they say, and as we’ve probably all heard at one time or another, “actions speak louder than words.”

Last night I began a study dealing with what it really means to be a part of the “fellowship of the church,” or the “koinonia of the ekklesia.”  I’ll get to the koinonia part of this later, but first I want to deal with the ekklesia part of it.  What does it really mean to be a part of the church?  What does it mean to be a Christian?

The Greek word for church, ekklesia, says a lot.  Ekklesia is a word that means “the called-out ones.”  So, by definition, the church is not a building in any given city, suburb, or rural area.  The church is made up of the people of God.  They are “the called-out ones.”  But what does it mean to be a part of those who are called-out?  Here are some Scriptures that may make this a little clearer:

• 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;…
• John 17:11, 16 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world,…They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
• 1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
• Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…

The ekklesia are those who have been born-again (John 3:5-7).  The ekklesia are those who have walked out of darkness into His marvelous light, and are living in that Light.  This doesn’t mean that any of us are perfect, but that we have made the decision to flee from the shadows of the world and to live our lives in light rather than darkness.  For the person who has made the decision live for Christ (the Christian), we cannot say that we are living for Him and continue to live according to the world’s system.  Look at what the apostle, John, says in 1 John 1:3, 6-7:

• “…that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ…If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

There it is!  To be a Christian; to be counted among the “called-out ones;” to be a part of the ekklesia, means that we are living every day in the Light. 

I know what it’s like to live in darkness.  But I also know what it’s like to live in the Light. And can I just tell you, there is nothing like living in the Light of God.  I don’t claim to have it all figured out.  I don’t claim to be perfect.  I don’t claim to be better than anyone else.  But I do claim to have accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord.  I do claim that I strive to live “in the light of His glory and grace” each and every day of my life, and there is no better place to be.

One Eye on the Headlines & the Other on the Eastern Sky

A few weeks ago, I went into my seven-year-old son Logan’s room to wake him up.  Normally, Logan is quick to open his eyes and smile at me first thing in the morning (quite unlike his oldest brother, Braxton).  But on this particular morning, Logan had no desire to be bothered.  As I tried to wake him up he did his best to ignore me.  Once again, I attempted to get him to wake up, but this time he stuck his head under his pillow and did his best to pretend that no one was there and nothing was going on.  Eventually, he uncovered his head, opened his eyes, and gave me the beautiful, heart-warming smile that always seems to brighten even the dreariest of days.

Later, as I was in the middle of preaching on a Sunday morning, I was reminded of this story.  This story reminds me of a passage of Scripture that I taught on recently.  It is taken from Romans 13:11-14.

In Romans 13:11-12, the apostle Paul tells us, “And do this, understanding the present time.  The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.  The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.  So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”

There are a few things that we need to make careful application of:

1. We need to understand the present time.  Whether we realize it or not, according to the Word of God, we are living in the last days.
2. We need to “Wake Up!” from our slumber.
3. We must realize that our salvation (the return of the Lord) is nearer now than when we first believed.
4. Understanding that the “night is nearly over,” and “the day is almost here,” we need to “put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”  We need to prepare ourselves for the Lord’s return.  He is coming for a spotless, sinless bride.

“The world has had an endless series of wake-up calls over the past decade or so.” Even today, things seem to be going from bad to worse, yet many Christians seem to be asleep. Seemingly unaware of “the present time,” they do their best, like Logan, to bury their heads under a pillow as if nothing is going on.  How tragic?  Now is not the time to be sleeping.  Now is the time to “Wake Up!”  Now is the time to make certain that we are ready should He come today. Now is the time for us to lift up our eyes, because our redemption is drawing ever nearer each passing day.

The good news is that not every believer is asleep.  Many have already been stirred and realize the “day is almost here.”

Dr. David Jeremiah puts it this way:  “Christians all over the world are wide awake and more aware of the times than we’ve ever been.  As followers of Christ, we must be alert, watchful, and vigilant, with one eye on the headlines and the other on the eastern skies.” 

Walking in Victory

Many Christians today are living day after day in quiet defeat. Maybe we are among those who would say, “My days are a series of small defeats and clusters of sin that I just can’t seem to overcome.”  That may be true, but it doesn’t have to be that way. God has given us what we need to live every day in victory.  First, we receive the strength that we need from the Holy Spirit who resides in us.  Second, we receive a detailed strategy for victorious living in the pages of the Word of God.    If we have these keys to walking in victory, why aren’t we?  The answer is…US. We have the Holy Spirit.  We have the Word of God.  But you can have the Holy Spirit within you and read the Bible every day and still live a defeated life because you choose to ignore them both and follow after the flesh.

In Romans 13:14 we are given a genuine, hands-on strategy to live the kind of life we’d like to be living when Christ returns.  This verse has two calls to action:

1. Put on Christ
2. Make no provision for the flesh

What do these mean?  Let’s look at them one at a time.

1. What does it mean to “put on Christ?”  Ray Stedman suggests this approach:  “When I get up in the morning, I put on my clothes, intending them to be a part of me all day, to go where I go and do what I do.  They cover me and make me presentable to others.  That is the purpose of clothes.  In the same way, the apostle is saying to us, ‘Put on Jesus Christ when you get up in the morning.  Make Him a part of your life that day.  intend that He go with you everywhere you go, and that He act through you in everything you do…”
2. What does it mean to “make no provision for the flesh?”  The Bible tells us that we are to flee from four things: Idolatry, Youthful lusts, Materialism and Sexual immorality. 

The enemy of your soul has a broad arsenal of weapons that he will use to try to steal from you, kill you, and destroy you.  But you are not helpless.  You have been given what you need to walk in victory. 

The next time you are faced with temptation, remember to listen to the Holy Spirit, hold firmly to the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God), and remember the price that was paid to purchase your salvation (Jesus’ death on the cross).  You’ve been given the keys to walk in victory.  Now it’s time to use them. 

(adapted from Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World by Dr. David Jeremiah)