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The church must UNITE in the focus of mission and the Gospel. This is an incredible priority of Jesus Himself (the Head of the Church) in His prayer found in John 17. I can’t get this prayer out of my mind – so I’m praying it with Him. And I’m praying more boldly and more loudly for this than ever before. And you should be, as well.
Why? Well, look around you. I don’t know where you live and worship, but as a church – none of us are the same as we were 10 years ago. We’re not the same leaders, we’re not the same church, we’re not in the same community. Truthfully, we’re not even in the same country. Everything has changed around us. Our culture is more divided, more racist, more hostile and more hate-filled than at any other time in recent memory. And the church? For the most part, we’re still fooling around. If we’re just as broken and fragmented as the world, do we really think anyone cares what our message is? Or that we can make a difference? So Jesus prays, “…that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that you sent Me, and loved them…” John 17:22-23 Stop. Read those words again! Read that prayer one more time. HE wants US to be as united as GOD is. As a friend of mine once said, “Is there any disagreement among the Godhead?” Jesus prays for us to be one in that same way. Rick Renner says that, “…unity comes when people are united in action and in passion for a common cause. Their shared goal is so strong that it removes hostilities, puts away disagreements, and gives previously divided people a reason to take their place alongside each other. When this occurs, different gifts, talents, and anointings become connected together, and the result is an amazing river of divine power that achieves the supernatural and accomplishes the impossible.” I agree. Pentecost is proof of this. So much diversity, so much lack of focus and confusion – all brought together by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the Gospel. Those two things were happening at Pentecost. The Spirit and the Gospel. How does this happen today? 1) God’s people learn to walk in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. 2) We learn to focus on the Gospel. That’s it. Those two huge divine priorities will take over the rest of our little agendas, but it will require a deep level of prayer, discipline and sacrifice. I love the fact that I am called to pastor a church that is increasingly and incredibly diverse! I love looking around us and seeing people of every background, race, language (some 40 nationalities represented every week) at First Euless. It’s powerful to see how we put teams together for ministry, for the Gospel, for prayer – and they are as diverse as our community is. God is up to something huge. But it counts for nothing if we’re not filled with the Spirit and focused on the Gospel. And if we are filled and focused? That is the church united that Jesus is praying for. That is the church the world needs.
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I’ve ENJOYED working in 2014 to help our church learn to share their faith personally and practically. I LOVE that more than 500 people have come to gain a new confidence and boldness in this area, and I’m praying for about 1000 more to come through “Can We Talk?” in 2015 in our church alone.
But what’s the “end game” of “Can We Talk?” It’s this – that you share the Gospel in your everyday life. That you become a Gospel-centered person who thinks about the amazing message they’ve first experienced and then been equipped to share. It’s that you become a witness in the hands of the Holy Spirit, moved about by Sovereignty to step into a conversation that is so seldom had – a conversation about Christ. Witnessing is not just saying a good word about the Lord. It’s not just bringing Jesus’ Name up in conversation, although that can be be both difficult and powerful. It is not just saying, “well, I believe this stuff.” Witnessing is sharing a clear and complete picture of the Gospel – that Jesus died on the cross, rose again – and why He did that. So, you’re trained. Now what? What do you do with it? Three things: 1) Intercede like never before. Pray for your family, your friends and co-workers, and those “random” people who come through life daily. 2) Invest in them. Have a conversation with them about…well, them! Spend a little time getting to know them, or getting updated on their lives. 3) Invite them to a spiritual conversation. “Can we talk about spiritual things?” That’s a great question, and few turn me down when I ask it. And when they allow me, I make sure I never turn down the open door. I’m ready – and so are you. Do it! Invite them to your home. Invite them to church. Invite them into your LIFE – all all time remembering you’re trained to be an effective witness for Christ. When we do this – we are literally (literally!) obeying the first steps of the Great Commission. And when we do, the power of the Holy Spirit is upon us! Have you looked around you lately? This nation is falling apart. Literally. We’re experiencing massive upheaval in our culture. The plates are shifting. Morals are under deliberate and steadfast attack and the enemy of the grace of Jesus Christ is emboldened.
And, for the most part, churches stand idly by and watch. Christians sit back in their chairs and think of something else to dwell on. Our forefathers in the faith would cringe at our inaction. Three things must happen immediately: 1. We must pray for revival and spiritual awakening. We must corporately and personally cry out to God for victory. He alone can change things. 2. We must unashamedly and intentionally share the Gospel with our communities – on the porches and doorsteps of our cities. We must do this by equipping people to share it – mobilizing the largest under-utilized missionary force in the world. The Gospel alone can change lives. 3. We must stop making Christianity about our comfort, our desires, our traditions. It’s like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The church alone is given the mission – let’s stop diluting it . Get under the umbrella of prayer for spiritual awakening and sharing the Gospel. Do these two things well. It is these two things that were present when Paul reached all of Asia Minor in two years. (Acts 19:10) It’ll be these things we do that change our world. My story is recurring, like a dream that never ends.
I often find myself in crowded places, like airports, sporting events, and on the extremely rare occasion – a mall. I drive on crowded highways next to people who are rushing in the same general physical direction I’m headed. Problem is…most are headed in a very different direction spiritually. Most are lost, and I can’t tell them about life. I can’t stop the car next to me to share Christ on the side of the highway. I can’t interrupt people rushing toward their gate in the airport. I can’t stand on a stool in the mall and preach to crowds that run quickly the other way when someone actually does that. (I once experienced a subway ride in NYC, where a smelly man in a trench coat pulled out his Bible and started preaching loudly as the car emptied. That didn’t work out well.) In my recurring story, the answer to the dilemma of how to share with the world who is unaware of a loving, saving Christ comes to me every time. For years, I had no answer to my burden. I just shared with those who’d let me share. But now I know the answer. In fact, this answer burns within me. The answer is under our noses. It’s obvious if we’ll stop to look. It’s recorded in the Bible. It’s DOABLE. The answer is: Train every person in our churches to share the Gospel confidently. Not just a few. Not just leaders. Everyone. My story has a better ending today. That car next to me in a rush hour traffic jam? That guy will one day have a neighbor who is trained to share the Gospel, and who loves him enough to do it. Those people rushing to their gates in the airport? One day some co-worker or friend who has been equipped to share will lovingly tell them about Christ. The mall? Even they can have someone in their lives who has been equipped and challenged to share their faith. “Can We Talk?” is not just about you. It’s not about church growth. It’s about the world – and our central mission in this world. Want to know more? Go to www.firsteuless.com/canwetalk or click on the Resource button of this website. Baptism is both awesome and awkward. It’s an interesting thing!
Why would someone want to stand in a tank of water in front of a crowd of people, hold their nose, and allow themselves to be lowered backward into the water to be fully immersed, and then be pulled up and out again? To some, that seems awkward. And I can tell you some funny baptism stories that are hard to believe. It sounds…different. Because it is! No one else but Jesus (and His church) asks us to do symbolically what really, truly happens literally at salvation. Here’s where it’s awesome. Jesus promises new life that takes place when the old life is buried, and the new “resurrected life” is initiated by salvation. When you are baptized you are symbolizing death and burial to the old life (being lowered into the water), full immersion (being surrounded and filled with the Holy Spirit) and being raised up out of that water (resurrection to new life). It’s an awesome picture of what happens when you come to faith in Christ. It’s an awesome experience to feel that happening, knowing what it means! It’s awesome that the church and friends who gather celebrate this supernatural new life that’s occurred in you. It’s an awesome way for you to preach the Gospel to those who see it. It’s an awesome way to say, “I am not ashamed of Jesus!” Ask those who’ve been baptized – they’ll say, “It was awesome!” Who needs to be baptized? 1. Those who have placed their faith in Christ for salvation – prayed for Him to save them from their sins – but who have not been immersed since then. 2. This may mean those who were baptized as a young child, but had a genuine salvation experience later – and were never baptized since that experience. 3. Those who were baptized as infants, but realize now that baptism symbolizes YOUR faith in Christ, not your parents or grandparents. 4. Those who suddenly realize that they were in a process of learning to believe, but never have had that moment of full trust, and want it now! 5. Those who were baptized after their salvation by some method other than immersion, which is the only biblical method of baptism. Please don’t miss our awesome day of baptism at First Euless on July 24. It’s an incredible time of celebration and joy! If you’re interested in being baptized, let us know by e-mailing us at [email protected] or register online from this page: http://www.firsteuless.com/notashamed/ (this article was originally written in 2014, and updated) My mind is in India today. Over the last 12 years, I’ve been many times. Last January, while preaching in India, I had a different experience. I felt a compelling call to focus on our Unreached and Unengaged People Group for the next few years and I felt a need to call other pastors to go with me.
We have the chance to impact millions – and there are hundreds (even thousands) of Indian pastors who are working together with us to do this. These are some of the most dedicated pastors on the planet, by the way. Our next trip to that particular region takes place in mid-January of 2015, and I need a few good pastors to take this on with me. You may want to take a businessman from your church with you. God has graciously provided key leaders in our cities we stay in. He has also provided spacious, modern guest houses that are our “home away from home.” We have transportation, people on the ground and villages where work is being done. What we need is more U.S. pastors to join us. You must: a) Want to change the world. This is too big for sight-seers. b) Lead a church that wants to make a difference and is willing to join your lead. c) Be able to come see India for yourself – and be willing for God to speak with you and He did with me. You’ll preach, meet pastors, tour villages and pray the biggest prayers you’ve prayed in your life. You’ll meet amazingly courageous pastors who willingly suffer hardship for the sake of the Gospel. I want to see the Gospel take root with a thousand pastors in India who are willing to go to new villages every year with the message. I want to see the Lord raise up businessmen and visionaries to go with us to “dream” about how to impact millions there – from here! I want to know that there are hundreds of thousands who will meet Jesus because of the willingness of people HERE to go THERE. I want to see a few American churches impacted by their investment. You need to read the article about India – find it here. Ask God to give you direction. Then contact me. Let’s go to India. The Lord’s Prayer should be known as the Disciples’ Prayer. Jesus gave it to us so we’d know how to pray!
Do you know what He emphasized more than anything else? FORGIVENESS. One line in the prayer itself in Matthew 6, but two entire sentences explaining this one element of that prayer. There’s a reason Jesus is so adamant about forgiveness. He is going to go to the cross and GIVE HIS LIFE to make it possible – so there’s no way He’s going to be happy if what we freely get from His death, we withhold from others. It’s hard. I know. Releasing people who’ve not even repented, or said, “I’m sorry.” Forgiving people who don’t care one whit about you. Or people who do care, but not enough to treat you right. People who seem to make messes in your life – you’re to forgive. There’s a lot to say about this, and I’ll say it soon, but here are some things that happen when we do NOT forgive others…found in random study. 1. Our fellowship with God is blocked. 2. We grieve the Holy Spirit 3. Our prayers are hindered. 4. We face life’s problems on our own. 5. Satan can gain a foothold of bitterness in your life. 6. You can lose the blessing of God. 7. You live wounded. 8. You are enslaved to those you are bitter against. No one wants this stuff. Forgive! |
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