Syracuse Mission Trip to Christ Is King Baptist Church

What a tremendous week I was able to experience. I would like to say that it was an absolute joy to work with Jon Speed this week. He was gracious, kind, encouraging, and I am so thankful to know a brother who gets it. We hiked together, prayed together, shared the gospel together, open-air preached together, and worshiped the living God together. I would go anywhere with Jon to preach the gospel. He truly understands the necessity of taking the gospel to the world and beseeching sinners to repent and believe in Jesus.

I would also like to offer a word of praise to the men who went with me. These men left families, jobs, and responsibilities in order to walk alongside their pastor for the sake of the gospel. We laughed, passed out tracts, preached, did one-on-one soul winning, prayed, worshiped, and encouraged each other. These men carried my amplifier, brought me coffee, were attentive to my preaching, and were some of the greatest servants that I have ever worked with. We never had one negative issue amongst us and there was absolutely NO drama. It was like a little taste of heaven to simply walk with these brothers for the cause of Christ. I am one truly blest pastor.  

I am tired as I am sitting on this plane making my way home. What a week that I have experienced. I have seen tremendous sights in the mountains, enjoyed remarkably cool weather, enjoyed running up a mountain twice, ate good food, and met people from all over the world (shared with a man who spoke Arabic, a man who was from Greece and spoke Greek fluently, talked to people from Canada, and had a wonderful conversation with a lady from Madagascar).

However, I have also experienced the tension of shining the light into the darkness. I have been cussed, mocked, screamed at, made fun of, ignored, told that I was unloving, told that I was prideful, told that I should not use the Bible so much, told not to talk about other religions, and to a certain degree I was lightly assaulted (a lady grabbed by amplifier and turned it face down to try to make me quit preaching). I have also experienced the joy of seeing people encouraged by the gospel, open to the gospel, and thinking about the gospel that was shared. I also saw the extreme hatred of the abortionist (his name is Mark and I ask that you pray for his conversion) and was reminded of just how hardened people can be. I saw a church encouraged by the gospel and some who only tolerated the gospel. I preached eight times in four days, passed out numerous gospel tracts, and had countless conversations about the gospel. It was a privilege, an honor, and I am so thankful to be allowed to work for such a great King. “He is the King of the world and He has commanded me to preach and preaching is my business”. 

Focus on Christ

Being Transformed by Vision

“As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness” (Psalms 17:15 ESV).

            Years ago I was a fairly active motocross racer.  I raced numerous weekend amateur races here in my area.  I heard of a race that was going to held at Lake Whitney Raceway about 100 miles south of where I live.  I had always wanted to race on that track, but the races were always on Sunday so I never went.  They were putting on a race called the “Ironman” one weekend, and it was to be held on a Saturday.  The race was in the month of July and the format was to race for 1 hour non-stop (except for refueling).  July and Texas means hot and it was very hot.  I entered the race and gave it all I had and it was brutal.  The heat, the dust, the sweat, the fatigue, and the danger were challenging.  When all was said and done I had won the event.  I was so happy.  Well, I was happy until they gave out the awards.  I received a medal that they hang around a person’s neck that looks similar to the medals people receive in the Olympics.  The difference was, my medal was plastic and probably cost them $2 to make.  The medal did not equal the effort that it took for me to win the event.  I was disappointed!

            In Christianity I am racing for a different reward.  I am not looking for money, trophies, or fame.  I have set my life upon the obtaining of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The race may be long or short, filled with afflictions or joys, walked in valleys or on mountaintops, and the only way to win will be to endure to the end.  The motive for this race is to be able to see the face of the One whom my soul loves and to see His face in righteousness.  Surely, there is nothing greater than to experience the eternal joy of being in His presence.   

            The great thing about this Christian race is that the end prize is full satisfaction.  There will be no $2 trinkets given out, no $2 trophies, and no temporal fan-fare.  The great prize of Christianity will be 100% satisfaction in being like Him.  Oh, to be like Christ is the heartbeat of my Christianity.  A day is on the horizon in which I will no longer be affected by sin, deterioration, age, sorrow, or tears.  A day is coming in which I will experience eternal dwelling with fullness of joy.  

            People ask questions like the following: “What have you been up to lately?”, “What did you do today?”, “What is your plan of the day?”, and “What are you doing tomorrow?”  I have an answer for all of these.  I am pressing on for the upward prize.  I am pitching my moving tent one day’s march nearer home (Lloyd-Jones quote).  Today, I am being transformed a little more into the image of Christ.  I am moving closer to heaven and I will not be fully satisfied until I arrive home. Yes, to live for Christ is all gain! I can only be satisfied with Him!    

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (Psalms 73:25 ESV).

Evangelism 101 #non-cellular

Evangelism 101 #non-cellular

A great new way to do evangelism is to purposely travel without your phone.  We are told we need a phone in the case of emergencies.  We are told that the phone will allow people to help us if we have a problem.  I know this may sound offensive, but you do realize that the world functioned for around 8,000 years without phones.  

My son and I are working on a motorcycle project. It came time for the test drive. I was going to ride around the block (3.6 miles).  I am supposed to take my phone in case there is a problem.  I intentionally left the phone at home.  The motorcycle stopped running at 1.6 miles.  Stranded! Stuck on the side of the road! Oh no! I simply sat there for about 15 minutes counting the cars who would not stop and help me. I would hold my hand up like I was on a phone and motion for them to stop.  The 20^thcar stopped.  They let me use their phone, no one answered my call.  They gave me a ride home.  His name was Tommy.  I told them I was the pastor at the church up the road and I invited them to church on Sunday.  

If I had taken my phone the gospel opportunity would never have happened.  Leave you phone at home on purpose every now and again for a real emergency.  People are going to hell and unless someone points them to the Savior they will be eternally lost under the wrath of God.  

The Incomprehensible Gospel

The Incomprehensible Gospel

            It was about the year 2002 when I stumbled into a conversation with a lady in our church.  The conversation took a turn towards the gospel and the response that she said has stuck with me until this day.  Right there before me was a woman who had only been on planet earth around 80 years and she told me, with a straight face, that she already knew the gospel. In the context of the conversation she was actually saying that she ‘knew’ the gospel.  It was like she knew all there was to know about the gospel.  I am not saying the lady was not saved and I am not judging her standing with God, but I am sure my facial expressions communicated a lot.  I honestly do not remember what I said in response to her statement, but I do remember what I was thinking.  

            The reason I was taken back and held speechless was that I simply could not believe her audacity.  There before my very eyes was a lady who had figured out the eternal gospel in about eighty years. Not only had she figured it out, but she wanted to move on to something else.  I on the other hand felt that everything that I had learned about the gospel made me realize how much I did not know.  

The following words are all words that give an aspect of the gospel and each word I am about to list have books written about them.  When looking from different angels of the gospel we use words like atonement, expiation, propitiation, reconciliation, redemption, regeneration, justification, sanctification, glorification, imputation, repentance, faith, adoption, perseverance, born from above, substitution, appeasement, righteousness, and etc.  I assure you that I do not know all that there is to know about any of these words individually and I certainly do not know the depth of all of them together.  The gospel is wider than the Grand Canyon, deeper than the Mariana Trench (36,070 to 36,201 feet deep), and higher than the heavens.  

            A man can spend the rest of eternity studying the gospel and never find the edges of it, the bottom of it, nor the height of it.  Looking at the gospel is more intimidating than standing at the foot of the Swiss Alps and looking towards the top.  The gospel is robust, authoritative, piercing, good news, freeing, pure, eternal, the source of praise, the reason of living, and it is the only hope for lost humanity.  The gospel is so good and right, that it is the only solution for the entire world.  The gospel is sufficient for those who are red, yellow, black, or white (as the old children song says).  It is sufficient for Jew, Greek, Barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free (as Paul says).  The gospel is the theme of my song, the content of my preaching, the reason for my life, the joy of my heart, the food for my soul, and the drink that quenches my thirst.  I am 100% satisfied with the gospel and yet I hunger and thirst every day.  What does that mean?  I am not looking anywhere else for satisfaction and the more I receive of the gospel the more I want.  What about you?  

Optimism Resulting from Meditation

Optimism Resulting from Meditation

Every Christian battles against some type of sin. There is something in the life of the Christian that continually makes them aware of their deficiencies and their great need of grace.  I am a person who has battled with pessimism and negativity.  It is a strange thing for me and for years I just accepted that that is just the way the Lord made me.  However, as I was studying this summer through a few different studies, I made a discovery.  Pessimism and negativity are fruit sins in my life and the root of the problem is unbelief and selfishness.  I noticed that my unbelief caused me to have a low view of others, because at the heart of the matter I did not believe that God could accomplish certain things in some people’s lives.  I would then embrace the thought that it did not matter what I said or did that those people would not listen anyway.  I now see that my view was a fruit of unbelief.  I do not know whether a person will listen or not, but I know that God can make them listen and He can change their life through the means of His Word. Secondly, much of my complaining at home, church, and anywhere else was a result of me not getting my way.  The root of this sin is selfishness and now I see that I need to die to self and seek for God to get His way.  Lastly, instead of submitting to the thought that this is the way God made me, I decided to try something.  I decided to memorize and meditate upon the Word of God and ask Him to cut the root of my sins in order that the bad fruit would stop being produced. 

I put my mind and heart to Psalm 145:1-21 over the past month and the following are my abbreviated conclusions.

Here is what I am commanded to do:

1)   Extol and bless God

2)   Every day I must bless and praise God  

3)   I must search out the unsearchableness of God

4)   I must make known the acts of God to the next generation

5)   I must meditate on His character and works

6)   I must declare His greatness

7)   I must bless Him

8)   I must speak of His kingdom and tell of His power

9)   I must make known His deeds and the glorious splendor of His kingdom

10)I must look to Him (meaning trust Him fully)

11)I must call on Him in truth

12)I must fear Him

13)I must love Him

14)I must speak His praise

Here is the reason that I should continually do the above:

1)   He is worthy

2)   He is eternal

3)   He is BIG

4)   He is worthy (yes, this is twice)

5)   He is worthy (yes, this is three times)

6)   He is great

7)   He is famous, good, and righteous

8)   He is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love

9)   He is good to all and His mercy is over all

10)He is glorious

11)He is omnipotent

12)He acts and He possesses an eternal kingdom

13)He is eternal

14)He is compassionate

15)He is the God of providence

16)He is the God of providence (yes, 2^ndtime)

17)He is perfect

18)He is attentive 

19)He is accessible

20)He protects and He is just

21)He is holy!

The actions/deeds/works of God are mentioned in Psalm 145:4 (2x), 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 (2x), 15, 16, 17, 19, and 20.

A month of meditation and memorization have had a profound affect upon my heart.  I do not know that I will be called an optimist anytime soon, but I know that my heart has been affected.  I feel that God has been chopping at the root of my sin and that bad fruit is falling off of the tree.  I am going to continue this process until I am convinced of victory. 

Whatever your sins may be.  Find a text that give clear revelation of the character of God and a text that speaks to the root of your sin and invest much time in meditation and memorization.  I know from experience now, that to complain while meditating on God’s Word that says, “Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever”, is very difficult to do.  The Psalmist says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). I think he is right.  Put it to the test and see if he is speaking the truth.