Gospel Journey: Part 4
Here are some thoughts from my April journey through the gospels. I'm navigating the gospel of Luke right now.
When I'm having a conversation with someone who is checking out Christianity I'll often affirm them my referencing Luke 1:3. Luke says that he "carefully investigated everything from the beginning." I think Luke models the only appropriate approach to the gospel. Anything less than a careful investigation doesn't do justice to God or us! I tell people that we have a saying around NCC: our most important decisions ought to be our most informed decisions. I think everybody owes it to themselves to follow Luke's example and "carefully investigate" the claims of Christ.
Remember when Zechariah questions the angel when he is told that he and Elizabeth will have a child? Zechariah says, "How can I be sure of this?" And the angel tells him he'll be silent until the promise is fulfilled. This is the first "quiet time out." I'm half-kidding. I just couldn't help but think of it in parental terms. Here's what I find fascinating about this story in Luke 1. There is a difference between praying and believing. Zechariah had been praying for precisely what the Angel promised would happen. Why didn't he rejoice? Why didn't he just accept what the angel said? Because he didn't really believe what he prayed. I'm afraid that many of us pray unbelieving prayers that accomplish nothing. Here's the difference between a believing prayer and an unbelieving prayer: when you're more surprised when a prayer isn't answer than you are when it is answered. We might as well not even pray unbelieving prayers. They waste our time and they waste God's time. What we need to do is pray more mountain-moving prayers. This story convicted me because I so often pray "perfunctory prayers" that don't make a difference. Lord, forgive me for praying things I don't believe!
In Luke 1:42, Elizabeth says to Mary, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why as I so favored, the the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Just a thought--does this make Elizabeth the first convert? She calls Mary the mother of her "Lord." Elizabeth accepted Jesus as her Lord before Jesus was even born. That's faith.
I love Simeon. Scripture says he was "waiting for the consolation of Israel." And it says, "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah." I think everyone needs a "revelation" like that--something to hang on to. I felt like the Lord gave me a promise to hang onto last summer. I believe I'll experience Acts 2:41 once in my lifetime. I don't know when or where or how, but I'm believing that I'll see three thousand people repent and be baptized in one day! It may not happen till I'm an old man. But I'm believing for it.
In Luke 5, Jesus teaches from a boat. I was thinking about it and I wonder if this was the first time anyone had ever taught like this? This was radical. This was innovative. This was cutting-edge. We've done some "on location" videos in the past and I'd like to do more "on location" videos where I don't preach "in church" but I preach from someplace else that has some significance to the message. I think Jesus models "on location" preaching.
One more thought. I wonder what the parlyzed man in Luke 5 did with his mat when he was healed. After Jesus healed him it says he "took what he had been lying on and went home praising God." What did he do with it? Did he throw it away? Did he use it as a door mat? Did he hang it on his wall? After this miracle, the people say "we have seem remarkable things today." That statement reminds me of Purple Cow. He says, "Businesses are either remarkable or invisible." I'm afraid most churches are invisible. But if we really experienced the supernatural the way Jesus did we'd be remarkable. Lord, make NCC remarkable!
When I'm having a conversation with someone who is checking out Christianity I'll often affirm them my referencing Luke 1:3. Luke says that he "carefully investigated everything from the beginning." I think Luke models the only appropriate approach to the gospel. Anything less than a careful investigation doesn't do justice to God or us! I tell people that we have a saying around NCC: our most important decisions ought to be our most informed decisions. I think everybody owes it to themselves to follow Luke's example and "carefully investigate" the claims of Christ.
Remember when Zechariah questions the angel when he is told that he and Elizabeth will have a child? Zechariah says, "How can I be sure of this?" And the angel tells him he'll be silent until the promise is fulfilled. This is the first "quiet time out." I'm half-kidding. I just couldn't help but think of it in parental terms. Here's what I find fascinating about this story in Luke 1. There is a difference between praying and believing. Zechariah had been praying for precisely what the Angel promised would happen. Why didn't he rejoice? Why didn't he just accept what the angel said? Because he didn't really believe what he prayed. I'm afraid that many of us pray unbelieving prayers that accomplish nothing. Here's the difference between a believing prayer and an unbelieving prayer: when you're more surprised when a prayer isn't answer than you are when it is answered. We might as well not even pray unbelieving prayers. They waste our time and they waste God's time. What we need to do is pray more mountain-moving prayers. This story convicted me because I so often pray "perfunctory prayers" that don't make a difference. Lord, forgive me for praying things I don't believe!
In Luke 1:42, Elizabeth says to Mary, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why as I so favored, the the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Just a thought--does this make Elizabeth the first convert? She calls Mary the mother of her "Lord." Elizabeth accepted Jesus as her Lord before Jesus was even born. That's faith.
I love Simeon. Scripture says he was "waiting for the consolation of Israel." And it says, "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah." I think everyone needs a "revelation" like that--something to hang on to. I felt like the Lord gave me a promise to hang onto last summer. I believe I'll experience Acts 2:41 once in my lifetime. I don't know when or where or how, but I'm believing that I'll see three thousand people repent and be baptized in one day! It may not happen till I'm an old man. But I'm believing for it.
In Luke 5, Jesus teaches from a boat. I was thinking about it and I wonder if this was the first time anyone had ever taught like this? This was radical. This was innovative. This was cutting-edge. We've done some "on location" videos in the past and I'd like to do more "on location" videos where I don't preach "in church" but I preach from someplace else that has some significance to the message. I think Jesus models "on location" preaching.
One more thought. I wonder what the parlyzed man in Luke 5 did with his mat when he was healed. After Jesus healed him it says he "took what he had been lying on and went home praising God." What did he do with it? Did he throw it away? Did he use it as a door mat? Did he hang it on his wall? After this miracle, the people say "we have seem remarkable things today." That statement reminds me of Purple Cow. He says, "Businesses are either remarkable or invisible." I'm afraid most churches are invisible. But if we really experienced the supernatural the way Jesus did we'd be remarkable. Lord, make NCC remarkable!
2 Comments:
Just one thought as I was reading the post. I read a quote from Jim Cymbala (Brooklyn Tabernacle) last night. He said "If we really believed that God heard and answered our prayers, we would pray a lot more than we do." That's one of the most convicting things I've read in a while.
My hang up with prayer is that I don't know what I'm "allowed" to pray for. I feel that if I pray for things I want/desire to happen either in my life or in someone else's life, that it is probably contrary to God's will and that my prayer is only an exercise of disobedience. For example, am I allowed to pray that I get married before I'm 30? Or am I trying to exercise my will over God's will? What do you think?
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