nobrokenreed

Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? – Philippians 2

We’ve had a couple of meetings recently, both in stark contrast to each other. A week ago we were invited to a dinner with some people we knew. There was a small group of us who turned up, and we were anticipatory about sharing an evening with a group of fellow believers over food, to us it seemed so ‘church’ and it is something we love to do.

Let me put this into context, these were mature believers some of whom had been Christians all their lives, and one was a pastor. As we gathered around the table, and then while sitting around afterwards, we were slightly stunned that the person of Jesus Christ was never mentioned throughout. A couple of times we tried to bring the conversation around, but it never really stayed there. Soon, we drifted back into work issues, hobbies, family, children, schools – and on it went. Jesus was absent from the conversation and dare I suggest, absent from the lives of those gathered together. Church it certainly wasn’t, yet it had every opportunity to be so. We left early, walking home in silent disbelief.

A couple of days later I had a business lunch with a local young man, whom I had heard was also a passionate believer. Our meeting was to be about business, but the contrast couldn’t have been more extreme. Most of the lunch was spent discussing how business could be used most effectively to serve the Lord. Jesus was front and centre of the entire conversation, and it was not what I had expected at all. Two meetings, both with believers, yet so very different.

And the point being?

Open the book of Philippians, and count how many times the name of Jesus is mentioned throughout. Cover to cover, the letter is all about Jesus. Jesus was everything to Paul, is he to you and me?

Recently I had a discussion with someone about my views on church, and I expressed the concern that many sitting in the pew – far too many in fact, were perhaps in more grave danger than they thought, because they had never grasped what a relationship with Jesus was really about. That attending a church service, while the rest of our lives went largely unchanged, was a fairly clear sign that something was amiss in both their understanding of and practice of a relationship with God. The conversation by then too uncomfortable for him, descended into the dangers of errant theology in non-conventional church. While I didn’t agree with the theology of the young man I had lunch with, I couldn’t fault his devotion. Let me ask you, which do you think is more important to Christ?

A very wise woman once said, you can tell a person’s real faith by how much Jesus comes into their everyday conversation. They find it hard to leave him out. Is that the case with you, or me? Certainly for Paul it seems, Christ was never far from his lips. Surely the converse is true, that though we might go to church or wear any other religious facade, if we don’t know Jesus well, we are unlikely to ever speak of him.

As a simple example, this week while out to (yet another) dinner, this time to celebrate my son’s birthday, I managed to share the gospel in its entirety with a young girl sitting next to me. She was an agnostic or atheist, she wasn’t sure. A Gospel exposition is centred entirely on the person of Jesus, and it his power and his magic that is enough to draw the hard or confused of heart. All we need do is tell the story, he will do the rest. I am convinced that the seed has been sown, and change will come, and we pray expectantly.

Friends, the litmus test of all our faith is quite simply how much we talk of that which is important to us. If church, or religion, or whatever you want to call it, is little more than an opportunity to discuss politics, share business cards or even just assuage your own conscience, then I would suggest not only are you missing out, but you are also in danger.

If Jesus is missing from your conversation, he is likely missing from your life. Incidentally, if you have never shared him with someone else, I promise you it is the most fulfilling thing in the world, ever.

For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved, and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other, a fragrance from life to life. – 2 Cor 2

“Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself.”

– Charles Spurgeon

Yesterday I met with a young man over some business. In his mid-30’s his achievements were by any standards, impressive. He drove a Maclaren on the weekends, and had a choice of European cars for the week. He owned 17 properties and a successful business that, should he retire tomorrow, would deliver him a residual income of $50,000 a month for at least the next decade, possibly beyond. A failed serious relationship had kept him always on the hunt, and he was intimate with a string of different beauties almost continually.  He looked after himself, and drank (expensive) wine only modestly. He also played cricket to a near-professional standard and overall his day to day energy levels were quite extraordinary.

What was missing then? What do you say to someone who has everything they need, yet still seems to lack the missing ingredient? He knew about Christianity, considers himself to be an agnostic, and like many I hear, has a distorted view of the Father of the Heavenlies, and the relevance of Jesus Christ. What do you say, in the 5-minute pause in conversation, to bring things around to what is important?

In between mostly him talking, there was a pause, and I recounted a brief, simple Gospel. I must say, for 5 minutes, my guest was riveted to the conversation, and not because I was telling it. The Gospel story has enough power to stand on its own feet, with or without my delivery. How did it go?

Like many, this young man suggested that all Gods are the same, and we are highly unlikely to be held to account, after all what sort of a God would put together a world like this, when he knew we were going to fail? Frankly, a simple ‘well that’s okay God loves you’ patsy, wasn’t going to cut through. Let’s start with our sin and God’s holiness.

In our self-centred, self-righteous culture, the concept of how far we really have fallen is anathema, even to most believers. Sin, how bad can it really be we joke? We spoke of the fact that our lives are on a constant record setting, and one day we will be confronted by the reality of what we have actually done; in fact, if any of us were to take the very worst of that video of ourselves, and play it back on say, Facebook, we would likely be deeply distressed. Imagine then, how it looks before a Holy God. He seemed to get the point.

Yet then, if it is so bad and we deserve the fury of God, where does the love of God show up? The answer is in Jesus Christ and in him alone. God would not create a world where the only option was doom, a point my friend readily agreed to. Yet, we both agreed that what we had done meant that we rightly had it coming to us – and not just us.

What Jesus provides is precisely what the world misses, he is our payment or as the Bible so neatly puts it, our atonement. As we stand in the dock before God, he writes the cheque that pays the required penalty. The simple story is complete, and I hope, relevant. After that the conversation moved to more worldly things, but I didn’t mind; he was clearly disturbed.

Friends, it is all we have to do. Learn a simple Gospel presentation that can hit the mark. Don’t be put off by all these ‘do-gooder’ Christians who say we should never talk about sin, it is a complete nonsense. Sin, my sin and yours, is an intrinsic part of the story, in fact it allows God’s magnificent salvation to be set in the light. We should talk more of people’s sin, in many cases it is extremely cathartic.

And to my guest? I have done my part, now it is up to the Holy Spirit to work in ways that I cannot, and then the next person. Who knows, the next person the Spirit brings into this young man’s life might be you? If it is, make sure you share the Gospel with him.

For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. – 1 Corinthians 3

I have a new Sales Director working for me, Vincent. He is exceptionally talented, not like the Sales Director most would imagine. A natural leader, he warmly and softly encourages people to accomplish their very best, and firmly gets the stragglers to rise to the occasion. A joy to behold for both me and our clients, Vincent gets outstanding performance.

Recently we were talking about a client, and Vincent and I joked about ‘ABS.’ You see, the client had set themselves up to sell with every tool imaginable; technology, platforms, processes, methods, job descriptions and on it went. But nobody was actually doing any ‘selling.’ All bar the selling, all they need is someone to remove the excuses. The relevance?

Last weekend we went out on the streets, a small group of us and we had such a time. We prayed before we went, and God led people up to us; an American aetheist couple who stumbled over some of their answers to our questions (but we gave them a warm hug anyway); a Jewish man who talked openly about persecution and the coming Messiah; a Colombian couple, who welcomed our prayers over their children and whom we left with the encouragement to discover Jesus in their Bible reading.

Finally, we met Darlin and Sam. A young couple who hooked up while they were travelling, Darlin revealed to us that her mum is a believer, and she once was, but has since wandered. Darlin was deeply distressed with work here, and was overwhelmed with tears as we talked and prayed in to her life. Meanwhile, I brushed up some rusty French with Sam her travelling companion. We hope to meet up with them again this weekend or in the next few, and continue on the God conversation.

It’s been a while since we’ve been on the streets, which is why I haven’t often had much to write about. There is this unsaid agreement, the more I go out, the more God puts on my heart to write about.  One of those with us, was so animated at our short encounters, he admonished us that we need to get out ‘all the time.’ I couldn’t agree more. Which brings me nicely to what I have had on my heart all week.

It never ceases to amaze me how “the church” embraces the ‘All bar the Selling’ concept so readily. Take for example, the simple task of Disciple Making. Such a simple idea commanded by Jesus, I have been slightly amazed at the plethora of entities, books, resources, methods and gatherings based around this ‘new’ concept. We know more than a few who flit between one training and the next, discussing which is the right way, or the right teacher to follow. Then there are the cottage industries that have sprung up, which seem to me more about cashing in on this new idea. Really?

I am often told I overemphasise “going out on the streets” but I am not unduly concerned, after all look at who it affects. Firstly, sharing your faith with another pleases Christ Jesus immensely. We sense his pleasure when we are obedient to his calling. Secondly, those we meet are often visibly transformed by the words, Scriptures and prayers we speak into their lives. Some, just a few, respond to that call to follow him – the Holy Spirit has something to grasp hold of in their lives. Lastly, we feel unbelievably fulfilled in doing the work of the Lord, it defies description. Sometimes we feel like skipping home after an afternoon of meeting and talking with people.

I know there are different ways to define the streets, but most know what is meant. The example of Jesus is undeniably of a man who was in the marketplace more often than he was in church.

Let me leave you with a challenge. Of late we have come across numerous people who casually mentioned that the JWs had been there before us, which has me worried. So few of us, so many of them who are active. Will you leave your neighbour to the mercy of a false gospel?

Isn’t it time all of us accepted that we already have the tools and the mandate, to pray and cross the street and begin to lay the foundation of Jesus Christ into another’s life. No more excuses, let’s get on with the business in hand.

When’s the world’s blocked away, And if you’re looking for a rainy day, friend, Well, grab a rope, pull me in; lean on me

Grab a rope and pull me in, But lean on me, Everyday, you’ll have a friend, But lean on me  – Housemartins, 1986

Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. – Mark 10

Paul Heaton wrote a beautiful song I grew up with called Lean on Me; he was the frontman for the Housemartins in the 1980’s. In fact, he wrote many beautiful songs, and as well as being outspokenly political, he was also a Christian. I heard the song the other day, so I thought I’d look him up and see what he was doing these days. To my not so utter surprise, his politics had superseded his Jesus in importance. It made me ask, why do people who know Jesus, leave him for something or someone else? What could possibly be more important?

It’s a question I’ve grown up with in a Christian family; back in the day, we excused it away by saying, ‘oh they never really had a relationship with Jesus in the first place’ but that is simply not right. Others contend, ‘they never really experienced Jesus’ but that too can’t be right. The rich young ruler and many others in Scripture experienced the Son of God first hand, and still rejected him. Judas walked with Jesus for 3 years, saw everything and yet still walked away, in fact it is possibly the great tragedy of all humanity. Unimaginable.

Out on the streets, we come across a surprising number who are in the same boat. We knew Jesus once, but now, well, other things have simply taken over. Why is it that many walk away, and more importantly as a Disciple Maker, what can you do to prevent that happening?

Firstly, I walked away from God in my early teens. Baptised and committed, for some reason God and I parted company for many years. Those around me must have wondered if I would ever come back, but whoever was praying for me, I’m overjoyed I did. I am deeply saddened by those I know who are distant from God, when they were once close, even fervent. What happened?

A close look at the lives of those around Christ who believed, and then walked away reveals one important trait it seems. It is this, we come to God looking for what we can get out of him. The rich young ruler in the story above, Judas, those throughout the New Testament as well as those around us today all seem to want to know what God is going to give them. If we’ve had a normal conversion, then perhaps that is natural – we arrive at God’s feet in a state of disarray, often desperate for him to fix us up, which he usually obliges us with. Then, like the 9 lepers, we go merrily on our way ‘fixed’ and think no more of him.

But, somewhere along the process there must be a transition in our hearts that gratefully extends upwards. Our attitude changes to that of, ‘what he has done to me means my desire is so great, I ask now what can I do for him.’ No longer is it about what I can get from God, he has already given me everything he had to give in Christ, but a recognition through the Holy Spirit that he wants us to love him for who he is. Now we come to him with our heads bowed and offer ourselves as a ‘living sacrifice’ willingly laying down our lives.

For those who seek only to serve God, who have reached that point in their faith where they are so overwhelmed by what he has done for us, it seems our relationship changes. Somehow, if I can be a little irreverent, we become soul mates, inseparable by anything in this world. For those who go through life continually on the look out for what God will do for them though, the relationship seems unsettled. It is the tune of most big church evangelists in our day, preaching the prosperity Gospel – look what God will do for you if you will only put your money in the slot. Not fully understanding what he has already done, we will tire quickly of a God who stops giving us what we want, just as Judas did.

It is why, when we preach on the streets we always try to include the full Gospel; let us understand truly what we have done and how he responded, before we decide to commit. Tozer said, “it is unlikely God can really bless a man until he has really hurt him deeply.”

Such an affront to our modern selfish thinking, yet surely an antidote to our shallow tendencies with an Almighty God. Meantime, let us keep praying for those we know who are still away from God.