Charismatic

P 3389 It’s always Personal.

/ DVH

I believe the Lord treats each one of us as individuals. Especially when it comes to salvation. Many people make a strong personal decision that they want to follow Christ, and then they start going to church. For others baptism is a catalyst. And some hear something preached that strikes them in the heart and they are convicted and convinced of their need for a Saviour. An even smaller group are simply pole-axed when Jesus sovereignly makes Himself real to them.

We only know about the 12 men Jesus called —- but others also followed Him around — 72 went out on a mission trip, and there were 120 in the room at Pentecost. We don’t know their stories. These are all legitimate ways to get to know Christ. Ananias and Sapphira were followers of Jesus until they decided what Jesus didn’t know wouldn’t hurt Him. It’s what we do about stuff next, that matters.

The place many of us stumble is in the area of commitment. Total commitment. Those people all have one thing in common – the Lord Jesus means everything to us. Whatever He wants us to do, we do. In contrast, loving Jesus, and going to heaven seems to be more than enough for others. And many of us think that total dedication belongs to people like pastors, evangelists, missionaries, prophets etc. Today I want to talk about the importance of moving from … Getting to Know Christ — into deliberately choosing to follow Him, day by day.

The bible shows many examples of this, I have chosen two. In Matthew 19:21 it says: “Jesus answered him, “If you wish to be perfect [that is, have the spiritual maturity that accompanies godly character with no moral or ethical deficiencies], go and sell what you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].

The guy in this story walked away, sad because He was too attached to material things. This is why I want to differentiate between knowing about Jesus and deliberately following Him. This choice is every individual human being’s responsibility. We choose for ourselves to change the direction of our lives, get rid of the things the Lord says to get rid of, and then walk in this world the way He walked in it. It is not enough to agree with Him, or even like His principles. “A disciple, when He is fully trained, will be just like His Master.” Luke 6:40.

Let’s read John 6:60. This comes up as Jesus talks about eating His flesh and drinking His blood:  “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.”  

We can often be offended by the bible, because it jumps on the things we think are OK. Why did these people quit? Because what the Lord Himself said offended them. These people judged Him, they said; “That’s just wrong. I’m not doing that.” It would have been better for them to simply ask what the Lord meant by what He said, but they took it literally and left. People leave churches and Christianity itself for even sillier reasons. There is a deeper meaning in what the Lord said here, and the people who walked away didn’t press in to find out what that was.

He will test each one of us. He knows what is in the heart of man and He tests us, because He is preparing us. Love does that! It sees what is coming next. We prepare our children for school, when they are tiny because we know they will have to go. God’s love for us means He does not want us unprepared for what comes next. We learn to train our mind, body and spirit into obedience to Christ – and like James says, the hard bit is to teach our tongue not to flap about saying anything and everything!

I wish I could tackle the problem here, of the Charismatic bent to feel something when we follow Jesus. The truth is, more than half of us feel nothing. We set out to do what He says to do, acting in obedience, not on feelings. I personally feel nothing most-of-the-time. The bad feelings however, can sometimes assault me all over the place! I’ve had to learn to choose to believe the Lord, no matter what else is going on – in season and out! For years I struggled with the ‘feeling stuff people” who seemed to fall down or laugh or cry at the drop of a hat. I was jealous (!)—  now I’ve learnt that Father God values our obedience no matter how we feel. John 20:29.

Following Jesus is personal. Just like being a Christian isn’t an inherited thing, every single one of us needs to choose for ourselves Whom we will serve. Sometimes daily. I cannot blame you, or others if they are making my life difficult – my response comes from me. It is very hard to grow the fruit of self-control. Taking what we read in the bible every single day seriously is personal. When I read about others in the bible I ask the Lord: “Do I do that?” If it is a bad thing, then I repent on the  spot. If it is a good thing, then I thank God for giving me the Grace to prevail under difficult circumstances. Bye 👋. 

P 2967 God knows how to choose a leader.

/ DVH

The Lord chooses someone who is honest, loves Jesus and knows that they truly need redemption!! Someone who will acknowledge their own mistakes readily and repent. God does not choose perfect people. Almighty God loves the person who has learnt to rely upon the Holy Spirit. Human beings, on the other hand, often look for the charismatic, the shiny people, the one who we think has His ear. Hmmm…

Think about this: John was supposedly the Lord Jesus’ favourite disciple. Why didn’t Jesus pick John to be their leader? The Apostle John is recorded as being “the one Jesus loved…” … so why didn’t the Lord put John in charge?? That man had plenty of faith, he did not mess up like Peter. Why did God pick Peter?? Peter was a man of action – he dared to believe – he knew how to take a rebuke!

The reality was, the person Jesus chose to be the leader was the guy who messed up publicly, the most! Peter fell over his big mouth all the time. He constantly, and consistently said inappropriate things – even in deeply spiritual situations. There were other times when he tried to save face, as well as his neck. After all, he nearly drowned himself with his own ambition!

By the way it was Peter who objected to having his feet washed, but later agreed. (John 13:6-10). It was Peter who cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. (John 18:10). Peter noticed the withered fig tree. (Mark 11:21). And Peter was one of the three who witnessed the transfiguration of Christ. (Mark 9:2-6). Plus it was Peter who denied Christ under pressure, despite his sincere vows to the contrary.

Maybe Peter is an object lesson to show us that our mistakes aren’t forever and the Holy Spirit’s help and transformation in a life makes all the difference. However, Peter’s mistakes highlight the kindness, forgiveness, compassion, and the ongoing willingness of our God to understand our humanity.  Perhaps the Lord has a different criteria when HE looks for a leader. 

Here is another interesting thing to note about Peter – he didn’t defend himself, or make excuses. Not once. Instead he was the willing beneficiary of the Lord’s undeserved Grace. He was prepared to learn. However, when it seems Jesus gave this man a chance to repent, he responded with hurt feelings.  

John 21:15-17.“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?”“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”Jesus said, “Feed My lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love Me? He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of My sheep.” The third time He said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Peter’s response to the Lord’s questions here are surprising. He seems blissfully unaware of what he has previously done. It seems he did not feel that he had to re-affirm his loyalty. The thing is he had already repented for what he did… ON THE SPOT! (Matthew 26:69-75.) His faith is in their established relationship.

I think that’s why he climbed out of a perfectly good boat in a storm! Fear only hit that man when he saw the wind and the waves. It seems that he had already comprehended the Lord’s faithfulness to forgive, because he had experienced it. I think he understood that God allows us to learn and he clearly shows us the difference the Holy Spirit makes in one man’s life! The Lord showed us all of that, through Peter.

The scriptures show us that leaders are best chosen by God, not by people. Saul is a perfect example of this thought, he was a bad choice by the people based on looks, not character. However God hand picked David, yet he sinned with Bathsheba and murdered, Uriah;  Moses was a murderer too;  Abraham left his parents behind, and put his wife in moral danger twice; Gideon and Elijah were both found to be cowards on occasion;  and Jonah was just plain wilful and petulant! 

The person who knows and will admit they are wrong, and learn from their error, has a distinct advantage over the person who covers up, or ignores it. I don’t actually think that people fall into sin all that easily – I think they step into it one bad decision at a time. God knows how to choose a leader, and it isn’t always who we think it should be. Bye.👋