Everyone is Welcome

It has been a while since I have gotten on my blog to share something.  The opportunity presented itself today as I reflected on the message that I gave to a group of middle school students this past Sunday.  We started a new series entitled, Family Matters.  During this series, we are going to take a look at the family we were born into, our Spiritual family (if saved), those people that God has surrounded us with, and those that we should surround ourselves with.  This past Sunday, we looked at a passage that just reading the words that Jesus said sound like He has lost His mind.  After you really dig into what  He has said, you realize that He is proving a point and making a statement that should be reproduced.  The passage that I am referring to comes from Matthew 12:46-50.  To set the scene, Jesus is speaking to a crowd of people inside of a house.  While He is speaking, Mary and his half-brothers have come and they want to talk to Jesus.  A man goes inside to tell Jesus that His family is outside and that they want to speak to Him.  This is where it gets kinda strange.  Jesus replies to the man, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"  Of course Jesus knows who the man was referring to.  Mary, his mother that had given birth to Him and his brothers-James and Jude.  An odd statement, but He was about to point out something that is very important to believers.  Verse 49, says that Jesus stretched out His hands towards His disciples and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!"  What He was saying to all that were listening, these men were His Spiritual family.  Then, in verse 50, He gives the crowd the evidence of His family when He says, whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven is my family. 

We see how the family or community started back in Genesis 1:26, when God said "Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness....  The Creator of the heavens and the earth wasn't alone in the beginning.  God was referring to what we know as the Trinity-God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  God made us to be in relationships with others.  Just look at Adam, God saw that he was lonely and made him a wife to live life together.  God created family but sin destroyed it.  In Matthew 12, we see that Jesus has recreated family, a community of men that is doing the will of God.  God has made each and every one of us to be extraordinary, but we cannot be extraordinary outside of a spiritual family. 
I began to think about all of the different groups or cliques in today's society.  Republicans flock together, Democrats flock together, the wealthy stay together, popular stay together.  I could go on and on about the different groups that clique up in society today.  There is only one person that has an open door policy and everyone is welcome, that is Jesus.  Jesus didn't die on the cross for only certain groups, He died on the cross for everyone.  Jesus didn't come to seek and to save those that are good people.  He came to seek and to save those who are lost.  Everyone in the world today is in some kind on exclusive group or club, but only Jesus is inclusive and everyone has been invited to come into the family of God.

The great thing about being in the family of God and be surrounded by people that are doing the will of God, you have a support system that can not be matched.  You have a family that loves you no matter what your past is and no matter your shortcomings.  You have people that are your prayer warriors, and people that are there to keep you accountable.  You can have that in a small group, a group of people that come together and live life together.  I reflected back to several years ago, when my life was in shambles, my marriage was almost in ruin, and I was running from God.  My son was about the age of 5, my wife was determined to get back into church, because that was where we went growing up.  It was important to her and to be truthful with you, I agreed just to get her to shut up.  We began to shop around for a church that our son would enjoy going to.  We began going to Eastside, we had signed my son up to play Upward basketball.  So we decided to check it out.  After a while, God had began working on my wife to get involved in a small group at Eastside.  Of course, I wanted nothing to do with it.  Years had passed, I can remember talking to my wife about that time in my life where I was fighting God.  She talked about how much the people in her small group prayed for me.  The amazing part of it, was several in my wife's group didn't even know me but they prayed for me anyway.  Looking out our small group now, I see the exact same thing that my wife experienced several years ago.  A group that is living life together.  I don't know how many times a week the people in our group call or text.  We look for ways to get together and hang out.  Just this past Sunday, I got all the guys in our small group to come over to the house to watch the football game.  We enjoy the walk that we are taking with our spiritual family. 

Billy Edwards

Gospel of John-Part 5

This past Sunday, we looked at John 2:12-25, during the Fusion service.  The passage starts with Jesus going to Jerusalem for the Passover.  This week was the most important week on the Jewish calendar.  Even though the Passover was one day, the rest of the week was the Feast of the Unleavened Bread.  As you can imagine, Jerusalem was a circus.  People coming to Jerusalem to pay their temple tax and make their animal sacrifices.  Jesus wasn't happy when He got to the temple.  Men had set up shop and turned the temple into a place of profit.  So Jesus makes a whip, drives out everything, and turns over the tables.  Jesus actions were one a righteous anger.  They had defiled the very place where people came to be in the presence of God.  That was the past.  After Jesus died on the cross for the sins for everyone, we no longer have to go to a building to be in the presence of God.  If we except His free gift of salvation, Christ lives within us.  We do not have to make a blood sacrifice for our sins, the blood of Jesus Christ paid our sin debt. In 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul writes,
Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  That's good news, we don't have to go to a place to be in the presence of God, His presence is with us.

We see from this passage three things that Jesus showed.

Adoration (12-17)  Jesus was angry for the defilement of His Fathers House. 
Authority (18-22)  Jesus establishes His authority, by giving prophecy of His resurrection
Authenticity (23-25) Jesus sees man's heart.  We are to be genuine, place our faith in Him.  Jesus know who will follow Him and those that will turn away. 


 

Gospel of John-Part 4

If you walk outside and look around, unless your in the middle of nowhere, you are going to see at least one sign.  It could be a road sign, a sign of a business or restaurant, or an advertisement.  On thing that is very clear, there are signs almost everywhere.  When you go on vacation, you usually follow road signs to get to where you are going.  When you see the golden arches, you know exactly what the restaurant serves.   You know where you are because of the sign. 

  John gives us his purpose statement in 20:30-31, "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;  but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name." 
John writes about only seven signs (miracles), each one point us to who Jesus is and that believing we may life in His name.  The first sign is at the beginning of chapter 2:1-11, the wedding in Cana.  Let me set the scene for you, Jesus, His disciples (at least 5 at this point), and His mother, have been invited to a wedding.  During the wedding celebration, the wine runs out.  Mary, Jesus' mother, must have been like the wedding planner.  She comes to Jesus and says, "They have no wine."  Mary must believe that Jesus can fix the problem.  It was a serious problem, in the First Century, weddings lasted a week or more; it was important to have plenty of food and beverages.  To run out of either was a disgrace and embarrassment for the groom and his family.  Jesus response seems a bit harsh: " Woman, what does that have to do with me?  My hour has not come."  When we looked at this passage this past Sunday, I told the students, do not try this on your Mom, your time may come sooner than you expected.  Jesus reference to His mother as "Woman" was a common term in First Century and it wasn't disrespectful, and it wasn't a term of endearment.
Jesus was redefining their relationship.  For many years, Mary raised Jesus as her son.  Jesus is establishing distance between them.  He is beginning His public ministry.  He is starting His journey that will end on Calvary's cross.  Just as every human being, Mary must respond to Jesus in saving faith.  She must embrace Him as her personal Savior and Lord.  With Jesus' statement, He seems to be reminding Mary that He is controlled by obedience to His Father and not by human wants and desires.  Mary seems to understands at some level, she instructs the servants to do what Jesus says.
He points to 6 stone water pots and tell them to fill them to the brim.  After doing so, Jesus tells the servants to get some and take it to the chief waiter.  The Bible states, the water had become wine.  The chief waiter is shocked about how good the wine tasted.  He accused the groom of breaking a custom and serving the best wine last.  From all indications, only the disciples and servants know what happened.

From this sign, we see Jesus' glory revealed and the disciples believed in Him.  Remember John's 2-fold purpose?  He wants to tell us who Jesus is and to create belief.   Three things that we see from this passage:
           1.  Trust His provision.  The text reminds us that Jesus Christ provides for our needs.
           2.  Believe His plan.  The text shows us that Jesus was living in obedience to God's plan
           3.  See the power.  We trust His provision and believe His plan, He allows us to witness His power.

This passage is not about the wine or to justify the consumption of alcohol beverages.  The Bible is clear about abstaining from strong drink.  to justify drinking alcohol from this text distorts and twists the intended meaning of this passage.

Gospel of John-Part 3

I am on the continuing journey through the Gospel of John.  Yesterday, during our student service, we finished the first chapter with verses 35-51.  These verses cover a topic that Christians fear, sharing our faith with someone.  We fear doing it so much, that we make excuses. Here are just a few excuses that we all have made:
"I don't know what to say to someone"
"I am afraid that they will ask me a question that I don't have the answer"
"I might fail"
"I am not gifted in evangelism"
"I don't know much Bible"
As you read through these verses, you see three very simple but powerful principles.  I encourage you to read through this passage and see the urgency in which these men pointed others to Jesus.

1.  Recognize a Prospect
If you are a believer, you should have a prospect.  For John the Baptist, it was his disciples.  For Andrew, it was his brother.  For Philip, it was Nathaniel.  For you, it is someone different.  It may be a family member, a friend, a co-worker.  There is someone for everyone.  Think about who God is placing on your heart right now.

2.  Refer a Person (who should they see)
After you identify your prospect, your task is to point them to Jesus.  Many people are searching, many are skeptical, but our responsibility is simple:  point them to Jesus.
     John the Baptist did it: Behold the Lamb of God
     Andrew did it:  We have found the Messiah
     Philip did it:  We have found Him of whom Moses and the prophets wrote.
     And you can do it:  Point them to Jesus

3.  Remember a purpose
When you have recognized the prospect, referred them to a person, then, you have to remember the purpose.  The purpose is, Jesus is the only way.  He is the Way, Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ.  It is important to point people to Jesus because there is no hope of eternal life outside of Him. 

We are on the continuing journey through the Gospel of John.  This past Sunday, we looked at verses 19-34 of John 1.  We get to read about the ministry of an odd character, John the Baptist.  He hung out in the desert, wearing animal skin, and had a diet of locusts and wild honey.  That wasn't what attracted people to him, it was his message.  If you read this passage, you see that high priests in Jerusalem wanted some answers to why everyone was leaving their cities to go out into the desert to hear this odd man.  So they send delegates to find out some answers.    Three things that we can learn from this passage as it pertains to us being a witness for Jesus.

1. To be a witness, you have to realize who we are not.  They delegates were looking for the Messiah, Elijah, the Prophet.  Each time, John said that is not who I am.  We have to realize as followers of Christ, that we are nothing without the love and grace of Christ.
2.  To be a witness, you have to know who you are.  After John had answered no to their questions, the delegates couldn't return home without answers.  So they ask him who he is.  He goes all the back to the prophet Isaiah with his response.  He tells them he is a voice.  Wow, what an opportunity John had.  He could have said, I am a prophet or a great preacher.  Look at how many people have gathered to hear me and watch me baptize.  I am awesome!  But John didn't flatter himself or build up his own name.  John knew who he was, I am a voice.  He knew his role was temporary but essential.  He knew that his days are numbered.  He knew that he was to prepare the way for the coming Messiah.
3.  To be a witness, you have to point people to Jesus.  Looking at this passage about John the Baptist, here are some things that we see from his life.  John's life tells us about Jesus' greatness.  We are told about Jesus' sacrifice.  We are told of Jesus' anointing.  In essence, John's life says, its not about me, it is all about Jesus.  To sum this up:

1.  Recognize who Jesus is and who I am not
2.  Recognize my role and who you are


A father and a small boy strolled down the street in Chicago past a place where a skyscraper was being constructed.  Glancing up, they saw the men working on a high story of the building.  "What are those little boys doing up there?" asked the son.  "Those are not boys, they are grown men," replied the father.  After a pause, the son pondered, "I guess when they reach heaven there won't be anything left of them."  The nearer we come to Christ, the less others see of us and the more they see of Christ.
3.  Point others to Jesus 

God Bless

The Gospel of John

We began the study of the Gospel of John this past Sunday during our Fusion Sunday morning service.  I am really excited to begin this journey with the students.  For almost 4 years, we have gone through series about a particular subjects, studied a section of Scripture, but never went through an entire book.  This journey began for me back a couple of weeks ago, when we took a group of middle school students to Fuge camp.  The camp pastor, Tim Bertram, used the Gospel of John each night during worship.  That week revealed some things to me that I had never picked up on in reading before.  So in the weeks ahead, we are going to look at John as he revealed two specific purposes for writing this Gospel-Who Jesus is and why we should believe in Him.

Some facts about John:

In Matthew, you read the words of a believer that loves Jesus
In Mark & Luke, you read the words of writers that used some eyewitness accounts.
In John, you read the words of one of Jesus' closest friends.
John, his brother James, and Peter were the inner three of Jesus.
John's Gospel was one of the last books written in the New Testament.  John was an old man that wrote this Gospel around 70A.D.  Theologians say that John wrote this in Ephesus after the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.
John didn't give a chronological history of Jesus: birth, life, death, resurrection.  John passionately wrote about the love of Jesus. 
  The theme for the entire Gospel of John is summed up in John 20:30-31.  John writes,

"Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;  but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name."

My prayer as we go through this Gospel is, that we will have a greater understanding of who Jesus is and that the students faith will increase, thanks to the words written in the Gospel of John.

Fabulous Life of a Teenager-A Commitment

 

When the pilot of a giant airline is speeding down the runway; there is a certain point where it staying on the ground is no longer an option.  When he crosses that line, he is committed to the air, he will take off or a disastrous crash is imminent.  The pilot can no longer change his mind he is committed.  This past Sunday, we continued the "Fabulous Life of a Teenager."  Our focus was on commitment, more importantly the commitment to Christ.  There is of course a difference between a decision and a commitment. 

The same can be said about people in the church today.  They made a decision about Christ, but have not made a commitment to Christ.  They have been sitting there gunning their engines, making noise but getting nowhere.  They have been planning on it, meaning to, wanting to, trying to, going to, aiming to, hoping to. But tragedy of tragedies, they have never got off the ground.  My last post, I ended it with Romans 12:1-2 where Paul writes,

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

It is impossible to be "sort of committed."  You are either committed or you are not committed.  To commit ourselves to God means that we are to yield ourselves to him, surrender to him, abandon ourselves to him, entrust ourselves to him and place ourselves at his disposal.

There are two clear calls to commitment that every believer has to face.

1.  Commitment to Personal Growth-we are called to commit ourselves as disciples.  Disciples are learners.  Make a commitment to continue to grow spiritually.  Start a Bible reading plan, set aside time each day to pray, read good Christian literature, and find yourself a small group or Bible study.  Never give up learning.

2.   Commitment to the Local Body-the local church gathers for worship, teaching, and fellowship to gain power to carry out the ministry as we scatter to the various places of responsibility in the world.  It is getting involved in the life of the church.  Get involved by serving somewhere in the church.

God Bless,

Billy