For almost twenty-five years I have been reading, watching, and listening to Chuck Swindoll. He has had a great impact on my life, so today I wanted to share an insightful video from Lightsource.com on him answering the question “Did Jesus Say He’s God?” “Did Jesus Say He’s God?” by Chuck Swindoll
"And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken..." (Acts 4.31a) ESV
In Acts 3:1-4.22, we see the story of Peter and John healing a man who had been crippled from birth. Leaping with joy and praising God, this man stood with the disciples as they proclaimed the truth of how Jesus had healed him. As the crowd gathered around, the Temple Police stepped in and arrested Peter and John. The next morning they were brought before the Sanhedrin. After hearing the disciples story, the rulers threatened them to never speak in the name of Jesus again or risk severe punishment.
After being let go, the disciples and their new convert went back and told the church everything that had happened. How God had used them to heal a man who had been crippled for forty years, preached to the crowd which led to 5,000 men being saved, were arrested, proclaimed Jesus to the Sanhedrin, were threatened by the religious leaders, and then set free.
This Sunday, we will look at the conclusion of this narrative in Acts 4:23-31 and examine the believers’ Seismic Prayer which shook the house in which they were meeting. I hope to see you at Living Oaks this Sunday at 10:45 a.m. as we worship God together.
On Tuesday of this week I posted an article “Benefits To Not Changing Churches.” It was written by Dr. Dean Shriver, Pastor of Intermountain Baptist Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. He gave us six benefits for staying in our current church.
Today, I want to post an article I found at Sermoncentral.com by Gregg Surratt entitled “When People Leave: 4 Lessons in Rejection from Jesus.” It is great advice for pastors, as well as church members, to keep in mind when your friends and family move on to another church.
I was reading John 6 the other day and the headline above verse 60 screamed out at me: “Many disciples desert Jesus.” I wondered how that made him feel. Seriously. Go with me there.
I know he was God. And I know he knew in advance who would be staying and who would be leaving. But I also know he was human like me, capable of human emotions even when he knew the outcome. Like when his friend Lazarus died. He knew that he was going to raise him from the dead, but the shortest verse in the Bible says that “Jesus wept” anyway. He cried. Like I cried when my best friend died in a car wreck. It makes me feel better to know that he was capable of feeling what I feel.
So how did he feel when disciples started bailing?
You get the feeling that these weren’t just faces in the crowd. By this time, the crowds had grown extremely large. He has just finished a miracle of feeding at least 4,000 people. That’s the second time he’d done that one. People were so desperate to see him that they literally chased him across a lake. When some of them misunderstood something he taught, they started grumbling about it. Some of the crowd decided that he was getting a little too full of himself, and they started to leave. The murmuring grew until many of those close to him, his disciples, decided to quit following. They weren’t just faces, and you get the feeling that they didn’t go quietly.
How did he feel? How did he process it?
At that point, he turned to the ones that he is closest to, the Twelve, and he asked, “Are you going to leave, too?” Hit the pause button. What are the emotions of those words? Words are never spoken in a vacuum. There is always texture and feeling and context. What were his? What was he thinking?
Honestly, we don’t know. He’s God, and we are not. But I think we can learn some things from Jesus about a healthy process when people leave.
There was never any doubt in Jesus’ mind about whether or not the Father loved him. I’ve got to believe that he knew his worth had nothing to do with how many were at the synagogue this Sabbath as compared to a year ago. The echo of the words of his baptism,“This is my son, and I am really pleased with him,” can’t be underestimated. A friend told me recently that our first thoughts every morning should focus on how much our Father loves us. Everyone else may think you are a jerk, but hey, what difference does it really make if God loves you?
Jesus says in verse 38, “I have come to do the will of God who sent me, not what I want.” There’s a lot of pressure in trying to please everyone. As the crowd grows, there will be more voices clamoring for your attention and potentially becoming offended if you don’t play their hand. One is a much less stressful number.
Even Jesus didn’t go at it alone. In response to his question, Peter says, “Where are we going to go? You have the words of life.” You need people like that. “I’ve got your back” type of people. Sure, you need some who will tell you when you’ve got spinach in your teeth, but you also need a few “I’m not going anywhere, boss” types for situations like these. Do you have people like that in your inner circle? Do you have an inner circle?
Jesus knew ahead of time who would leave and who would stay. You and I don’t. It would be a great gift to have. It would certainly save time and a lot of grief. You may not know, but God does. And according to Romans 8:28, he’ll weave it into the plan in a way that serves both his and your best interest.
The bottom line: When people leave for whatever reason, God’s got your back. What else do you really need?
Question for pastors: How does Jesus’ example help?
Question for church members: Does your pastor know you’ve got his/her back?
To read the article from the original site follow this link: “When People Leave”
I have heard a lot of people complain about the arrogance of Christians in thinking that Jesus is the only way to heaven. In His article “Living Like Jesus Is the Only Way” Dr. Thomas Schreiner, professor of New Testament interpretation and associate dean for Scripture and interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, shares a few insightful truths in regard to this matter.
I would ask you to take time to pray before reading Dr. Schreiner’s article. If Christians would share the gospel as instructed people would be more acceptable of the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
This article by Dr. Dean Shriver, Pastor of Intermountain Baptist Church in Salt Lake City, Utah, was writing with pastors in mind; however, I think it is something for every church member to keep in mind. Each one of his points can be applied to each individual church member.
To read this article click here “6 Benefits to Not Changing Churches.”
Bob Pittenger 