Running to Jesus

When I was thirteen years old, I once ran a mile in 6:15. That may sound fast, and it was fast for me, but there are plenty who are much faster. Yesterday, I decided that I needed to get back in shape. It wasn't raining, so I decided to go for a run. I ran a mile in 9:20! I was ashamed of my time. Granted when I was running at 13 I was about 5'11" and 140lbs (that's 10st), now I am 6'3" and 240lbs (17st 2lb). That's 4 inches extra and 100lbs extra!

Today I decided to go for another run. My time today was 8:19! Why was my time so drastically different? I am no authority on running, but here's what I think. Yesterday, I didn't know how far I was going to run. I figured I would run for a bit. When I hit a mile I was absolutely done. I thought maybe I would run anywhere from one to two miles. Today I had determined to run the one mile. The difference was over one minute improvement in my time.

This time my goal was set and my course was clear. I knew where I was running and what my goal was. I began to consider Hebrews 12:1-2 which says:

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

There are a number of things that could be brought out of this passage which, as a runner would improve your running time, but more importantly, as a Christian, strengthen your pursuit of Jesus. Let's briefly look at five things.

1. Laying aside every weight - a weight is something that slows you down. It isn't necessarily something that is not allowed, but rather not helpful. A runner in a race is free to run wearing wet blue jeans and combat boots along with a winter parka. However, he will find himself quickly exhausted because all his stamina is diverted to carrying these weights. As a Christian there are things that are not necessarily sin, but are also not helpful in my walk with God (1 Corinthians 6:12).

2. Laying aside the sin - distinct from mere weights, these are things that the Bible reveals as sin and are not just unhelpful, but rather detrimental. These are those things that trip us up in the race and can keep us from ever finishing (Galatians 5:1).

3. Run with endurance - the Christian life is not a short sprint, but rather a lifelong marathon. To endure means to push through the pain. We are not to quit just because we are running up hill or over rocky terrain. We are to continue our course (Matthew 10:24).

4. Run the race that is set before us - there are many other courses in life that one can run, but only Jesus is the Way (John 14:6). We need to run where God has directed us to run and allow His Word to be a light to our feet and a lamp to our path (Psalm 119:105).

5. Looking unto Jesus - we keep our eyes on the goal and the goal is Jesus. There are many things that want to distract our gaze, but we need to keep our eyes on the reason we run. We run to Him. The way I ran yesterday, I was uncertain as to what my goal was and this made my race more difficult than it needed to be. It was exhausting either way, but with our eyes on the goal, we run better. It was because Paul had his mind fixed on Jesus who was his goal that he said, that this race of life was a momentary light affliction compared with the glory of the eternal goal (2 Corinthians 4:17). At the end of his life he could say that he finished the race (Acts 20:24; 2 Timothy 4:7).

Let's pursue Jesus!

photo courtesy of Brad Peters Photography.

Are You Known in Hell?

I was meditating this morning in Acts 19. Paul is in Ephesus preaching Jesus and some Jewish exorcists show up on the scene.

Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirits answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" (Acts 19:13-15)

As I was reading the passage I remembered a book I read a while back by Leonard Ravenhill called Why Revival Tarries. In this book he has chapter called Known In Hell where he references this passage.

These exorcists attempt to cast out a demonic spirit from a man by the "Jesus whom Paul preaches". The demon then replies "Jesus I know, and PAUL I KNOW, but who are you?". The point that Ravenhill makes is Paul as a soldier of Jesus Christ was a threat to hell and thus was known in hell. Does the devil view you as a threat to his schemes? Ravenhill says, "Paul no longer wrestled with flesh (neither his own nor any other man's); he wrestled 'against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world.' Does that shed any light on why this demon said, 'And Paul I know'?"

It's good to be a nuisance and a threat to hell. It's good to storm its gates, giving those who are lost the everlasting Gospel. I desire to be known in hell.

Real Help

I was reading this morning in Acts 16, and I thought I'd share something that stood out to me in the text.

9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. (Acts 16:9-10)

What does it mean to help someone? There are many ways in which we can offer help (or even things that we perceive as helpful that are actually unhelpful). What caught my eye here was a view into the biblical theology of real help. To really help someone is to tend to their 'realest' need. For example, we can help someone who has a headache by giving them paracetamol. But whether that actually is helping them is not immediately clear. If their headache is simply a symptom of a much greater problem, and the paracetamol only relieves the symptom but ignores the true need so that the person being helped can ignore the urgency of their real need, and thus we haven't actually helped them. In fact, we have given them a drug with which to escape the reality of a pressing need.

I'm not implying paracetamol is bad, but I say this to illustrate a point. Sometimes we think people's greatest needs are comfort, health, or some social or emotional need. If we make our primary occupation meeting these needs in an effort to be helpful, we can miss the great need.

The great need is the gospel, and the realest help for that need is for the gospel to be preached to them. The Apostle Paul understood this. The man appeared in the vision and said 'help us'. Paul and his companions concluded that the best help was to preach the gospel to them. The gospel addresses the core of every problem that people face. If we are consumed with medicating, then we never come around to the healing that only the gospel can bring (Isaiah 53:5).

I do not discount the reality that the preaching of the gospel is often partnered with meeting needs socially/physically. However, if we think we are helping anyone with what we do, and what we are doing does not involve the gospel, then at best we have given the one we are trying to help a false security. Should we help people socially/physically? Absolutely, however the core must be the cross of Jesus and the message must be the cross of Jesus and our 'help' is then only a shadow of the real help that only Jesus can give.

Jericho in Archaeology (Living Hope Ministries)

This video is about 33 minutes in length, but worth watching. It establishes much of the archaeological evidence for Jericho. If you would like to buy this DVD, click here or you can watch in here online.

Sharing Your Testimony

The Christian’s testimony is a hugely effective tool to open doors to share the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus with nonChristians. Essentially a testimony is an account of your personal experience with Jesus. The reality is, every Christian has a testimony. Many do not believe they have a testimony because they grew up in a Christian home. Yet, if Jesus is your Lord and Saviour, then you have experienced Him in your life and therefore you have a testimony. That testimony is a powerful tool of which we need to avail ourselves. A great example of this is in the book of Acts chapters 22-26, the Apostle Paul shares his testimony three times!

As Christians we know the Bible tells us very clearly to share our faith. One of our struggles is finding a bridge to bring the Gospel into the conversation. It can prove difficult to transition from the secular to the spiritual. As your testimony is an account of how you went from a life without God (secular) to a life hidden in God (spiritual), it carries with it a natural shift to talking about spiritual things. Since a testimony is an account of personal experience, it brings the Gospel from the realm of the abstract (from which one can distance himself personally) to the tangible (showing that the Gospel is applicable in a personal life). It is also easier for a person to relate to a personal story than it is cold truths. I say ‘cold truths’ because if they do not see how those truths relate, they simply do not warm up to them.

However, when your life is a result of a relationship with the Truth, then that truth is perceived as a living truth and they can see the power it has had in your life. This can bypass intellectual defences that a nonChristian may hide behind. Another interesting fact about your testimony is that it is a unique account of God’s work. Every Christian experiences the same truths, but the contexts in which those truths are revealed is variable.

It is also important to remember that our witness (testimony) is not to be in our own power. Acts 1:8 says that “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be witnesses unto me.” That means that God’s Spirit will enable your witness. If you consider this in legal terms, a witness takes the stand and responds to the prompting of the lawyer (i.e. the lawyer asks a question and the witness responds with giving an account of their experience). It is not for the witness to convince the jury. It is for the witness to give an account. It is the job of the lawyer to convince the jury. In a sense, the Holy Spirit is the lawyer and as we rely on Him, we relay those experiences that He can then use to convince the hearer.

Since we understand that our testimony has great value, how do we relay share our testimony? We can draw some wisdom for the Apostle Paul. Acts 26 is a good example to consider when sharing our testimonies. Paul’s testimony here can be broken up into three sections:

1. Before: What his life was like before Christ (Acts 26:4-11).
2. How: How Paul became a Christian (Acts 26:12-20).
3. After: What difference Christ made in his life (Acts 26:21-23).
4. Follow Up: Moving from his personal experience to their personal need (Acts 26:24-29).

1. Before

As you think about the work God was doing in your own life, what were some of the things that revealed your need for God?

• Inner unrest
• Emptiness
• Life seemed without meaning
• Loneliness
• Lack of security
• Lack of purpose
• Fear of death
• Futility of religion

It is important to share only a few of these experiences. It is better to focus more on one or two points than to vaguely mention many. It is also important to always be honest. Never try to embellish your testimony (that would be bearing false witness and thus cannot be true witness).

Many without Christ are struggling with a huge sense of lack. The Alpha Course has caught onto this with their slogan “Is there more to life than this?” As you share about the need that you sensed you can then share about some of the pursuits you tried to fulfil that need with. Here are some examples.

• 

  Relationships
• Sex
• Power/Influence
• Sports
• Entertainment
• Money
• Substance abuse

2. How

What was taking place that helped you realize that your pursuits could not satisfy your need? What was the event (or sequence of events) that led to your conversion? Was there a crisis involved? What were some of the biblical truths that became clear to you at that time? This is a good place to share the Gospel in your testimony. The Gospel is fundamentally:

• Everyone has broken God’s good and holy law (Romans 3:23)
• The just penalty for breaking His law is hell (Romans 6:23).
• Jesus lived a perfect (lawful) life so He could pay our penalty (2 Corinthians 5:21).
• Those who trust in Jesus’ work and receive Jesus as their Lord have eternal life (Romans 10:9-10).

3. After

How has Jesus been working in your life? How has He changed you and filled your great spiritual need? How is the reality of your spiritual need being met seen in your life? i.e. the sense of significance I lacked which I tried to fulfil through being a workaholic, is fulfilled; my significance is in the fact that God loves me and gave Himself for me.

It is important when sharing this not to lead your listener to assume that your life is now easy and without difficulty. Christianity is not an escape from hardships.

Different people have different testimonies

If you grew up in a strong Christian home, your testimony may seem a bit different from the person who was a prostitute or a drug abuser. However the Gospel is the same for all people. For example, you may have grown up in a Christian home, but maybe you thought religion or morality was going to save you. Your testimony may be about needing to repent of self-righteousness. If you remember receiving Christ as a child and have always walked with Him, your testimony may have less “before” content, however there is always a before.

4. Follow Up

After telling your story

This is often a good opportunity to invite the person to whom you are testifying to talk about spiritual things. You can ask questions such as:

• Has anything like that ever happened to you?
• Would you be interested in talking about what the Bible says?
• What do you think happens when you die?

If they respond with a lack of interest, you can leave the door open for future discussion by saying something like, “These are important things. If you ever want to talk about the Bible or spiritual things, let me know, I’d love to talk about this with you.”

Some last notes

Try to make sure that you avoid the foreign language of “Christian-ese”. Here are some terms that we Christians are familiar with but nonChristians may not understand. Along with these words are some possible substitute phrases.

• Believe/Accept -> Trusted in, Relied upon
• Sin -> Breaking God’s law, Disobedience
• Saved/Born-again -> Became a real Christian
• Christian -> Committed Christian, Real Christian
• Righteousness -> Having a right relationship

It may also be helpful to write down your testimony and to memorize it as well as any Scriptures you use in connection with it. This doesn’t imply that you read your testimony to people. Our testimony should not simply be a mechanical exercise. I often find that the details that I share with one individual may be different from the details I share with another individual. Pray and ask the Lord to lead you as you share your testimony. Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you the words to say and that the Holy Spirit would open up the hearer’s heart to receive.

If you are interested in hearing some testimonies, a good place to go is iamsecond.com. Many of these are well worth watching.

A Parable on Salvation

This short 3min video is well worth your time to watch. Why is Jesus different from every other religious leader? Watch and see.

Answers...

We have just finished a four week series of events called "Answers on the Green". So often people hold the notion that Christians follow a blind faith that doesn't provide answers. Ironically, they usually arrive at this view not because they have researched the answers and or asked questions of thoughtful Christians. Rather they have heard the question posed and not being able to answer it themselves, assume there is no valid answer. Others claim that the Christian just uses circular reasoning and never adequately give intelligible answers. It then becomes easy to dismiss Christianity because an inaccurate stereotype has been applied to it.

This stereotype is most unfortunate for there are some extremely compelling rebuttals for many of the questions posed to Christians. We chose to hold these open air meetings to public allow anyone who had asked some of these questions to take some time to listen to a biblical Christian response. This does not imply that everyone will be satisfied with every answer, but hopefully it will help those asking the questions to see that though they may have trouble giving ascent to the answers given, they may acknowledge that the Christian faith isn't simply a bunch of unthoughtful simpletons who blindly follow a piper. But rather the Christian faith is for thinking people and that the answers given do contain logic and reasonableness. In our meetings we tackled four of the questions that are commonly asked of Christians. Those questions were:

1. Can there be only one true religion? (mp3)
2. How can a good God allow suffering? (mp3)
3. How can a loving God send people to hell? (mp3)
4. Doesn't science disprove the Bible? (mp3)

Of course, these were only four of the questions that are often asked. There are others, however in each case the Bible gives sufficient answers for them.

As those who do not have a blind faith but rather a faith that is both informed and rational, we desire as best as we can, to give answers to your questions as the Bible says in 1 Peter 3:15. If you have a genuine question, please contact us and we will do our best to give an answer.