Would You have Followed?

Our Pastor preached a sermon recently on Zacharia's prophecy in Gospel of Luke. He also began to trace these prophecies throughout the OT. I couldn't help but be amazed at what these prophecies said about the coming Messiah.

I have to say I have been awfully critical of those who turned away from Christ after seeing Him perform so many miracles and proclaim who He said He was. How would it be possible to turn and not give your life to such a man (God)? Well, setting aside (as if that is possible) the obvious sovereignty of God and Him calling whom He wills, I think I might understand a little more.

In many of these prophecies throughout the Bible, the coming Messiah would be a King with a Kingdom, He would come in power, He would rescue us from our enemies, He would have authority to rule. The Jews were clearly looking for a deliverer from the Romans. Why? because so many of the prophecies that they had grown up with spoke of Him as such. When a child was born in a shed and raised as a carpenter with no money, it must have been a bit much to accept that He was their new "deliverer."

I am aware that there were many other prophecies about Christ that did line up and come true. My concern is that I may have been one of the ones who saw a man who claimed to be the Messiah and King, but was a little too poor, possibly too short, and didn't seem to be killing any of the Romans.

Would I have followed? Would I have believed? Would You?

Daughtry Finally Takes the Stage

For all of you American Idol fans out there, my boy Chris Daughtry (who was robbed of the title) has just come out with his debut album. Not bad if I may say so. Check it out on itunes.

The Lonely People

I was doing some "culturally relevant" music listening today and came across the song I love, Eleanor Rigby, by the Beatles. I always have liked songs like this because of their cultural accuracy. These artists sing about the scenes around them. They sing about their lives. Another more modern song I like is In the End by Linkin Park. Both of these songs show the people of our world lost and lonely. Read the words to Eleanor Rigby:

Eleanor Rigby

Ah, look at all the lonely people.
Ah, look at all the lonely people.
Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been,
Lives in a dream.
Waits at the window, wearing a face she keeps in a jar by the door,
Who is it for?
All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie, writing the words of a sermon that no-one will hear,
No-one comes near
Look at him working, darning his socks in the night when there’s nobody there,
What does he care?
All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?
Ah, look at all the lonely people.
Ah, look at all the lonely people.
Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name.
Nobody came.
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave.
No-one was saved.
All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?

Isn't it amazing that the people we work with, the people we shop with, the people we drive past every day have nothing! They have nothing inside. They are lost and lonely people and will die lost and lonely people unless we reach out! The Linking Park song In the End, I spoke about earlier states,

I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn’t even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter

I just feel so compelled to talk to the lonely people. I feel compelled to help make their life matter in the end. Jesus tells us to go out and take the good news to them.

Luke 10:1-3

The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. 2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. 3 Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.

Help me find the "Eleanor Rigby's" and give them Christ! As Casting Crowns puts it.....

Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?

Kingdom Giving = Kingdom Living

2 of.... many??

As I continue to study the topic of Kingdom Giving, I am taken back time and time again to the opposite if giving.... getting! How can I expect to give to those in need when I am constantly concerned with getting for myself?

I have attempted to understand the relationship between Matthew 6:1-4 and Matthew 6:19-34. Christ tells his listeners to not be worried about today or tomorrow - not to be worried with food or clothes - not to be worried about money. I was thinking Christ had giving in mind and that the reason they were not to worry was because others would meet their needs through Kingdom giving. Well, upon further study it seems I was right about Christ having giving in mind, but not in the way I was thinking. Piper helped give me some direction out of Luke 12:13-34. The story is of the man who stores up for himself barns of plenty. His attitude is one of self and gaining what he can to live comfortably (clearly he was an American). Christ tells his disciples that they are to not follow this model, but live for the Kingdom. He tells them not be worried about today or tomorrow - not to be worried with food or clothes - not to be worried about money, but seek the Kingdom. What is the aspect of the Kingdom that is so opposite of gaining, gaining, and gaining for one's self? "But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." To sum up the message...Give, give, and give to others. What are they not to be afraid of? Loosing everything through giving. The fear is that they might give too much and not have food, clothes, money, or security.

Do I give enough to the Kingdom that I fear not having enough for myself when I am done. Do you give that much? Christ is making the connection to giving in Matthew 6:19-34. You are not to fear because you have given so much. Christ takes care of the birds, that grass and creation...He will take care of you! Final thought: The American dream is to get - The Kingdom life is to give!

Read this message from Piper: http://www.desiringgod.org - Loved Flock, Do not be affraid to give it away.

Kingdom Friends

I want to say thank you to a group of men at BBC that assisted me this past week. My car's battery decided that it was time to pass from this life into the next. We attempted to resuscitate it by shocking it with thousands of volts, but instead of coming back to life, it decided to catch on fire (or just start filling the car with smoke). A group of men (Tom, Dave, James, Scott, and Jeremy) helped in the cold rain, take the old battery out and replace it with a new. I am so thankful for Kingdom men that served their King by helping me out that night. I love each of you and thank God for you and your ministry to my wife and I. (Also a special thanks to the two friends who bought us the battery. Thank you so much!)

Holiday Books

Just a thought for all of you book buyers...

My wife came to me a while ago with a proposition. (It seemed she was either a bit overwhelmed with the amount of books I had been buying at the time or just wanting me to secure more books in a more organized and systematic way.) This proposition was for me to buy one book, every holiday. I was not to buy any other books except for a specific Bible study or other pertinent situation. So you ask, how far is she willing to take this thing? What holidays are counted? Well, the specifics are still being worked through, but let's just say that I have a very creative mind!

If you are the type of book buyer that buys many more books in a year than there are holidays, this is not for you. Keep this to yourself and do not share with your wife. Keep things the way they are! If you are like me, this works out pretty good!

(One more thought... To help pay for holiday books, I keep a change jar that helps pay for the books. You'd be surprised to see where I find change and dollar bills. If you’re wondering where, it's probably your house!)

Piper Gets The Big Picture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2xyaUnkkZg

Kingdom Giving = Kingdom Living

1 of ...many?
Christ, preaching about what Kingdom living would look like, enters into the discussion of giving. In Matthew 6:1 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Christ knew that there many in the crowd fulfilling their Kingdom responsibility of giving, but doing it for the wrong reason. Many were giving to be seen; giving so that others would believe they were spiritual people.
It is interesting that Christ begins his discussion on the heart of giving, not giving itself. It is assumed that Kingdom people will give to their brother or sister in Christ, but it is not assumed that the heart behind the gift will be right. In this particular case the heart of those giving was wrong. They were giving for themselves. When giving so that others will see, you are really giving a gift to yourself. (We will look at another case study of this "giving with the wrong heart again in Acts 4 soon.)
As I am studying through this truth of Kingdom giving, I am vexed over my own life. I give to my brothers and sisters in Christ all the time. I give to my brothers and sisters in Christ with the wrong heart all the time. (Those sentences were different!) I give little gifts to myself by giving so that others can see my gift. I may hide that part of the gift way down deep inside and no one else may know about, but it is still there. It is also interesting that when I give, I find a way to bring it up somehow. If I may cut myself some slack that I have love for my brothers and sister in Christ and I give out of that love, but the truth be told I also love myself and I give to me as well.
Dear friends, will you join me on this journey of Kingdom living? Will you joing me on this journey of Kingdom giving? I will be writing much more to come on this subject, but I felt it necessary to deal with the heart of the matter before tackling anything else. (It seemed Christ had the same idea!)
Final Thought: Give to your brothers and sisters in need. Give to them and not to yourself!