The Christmas Story….Completed

In just a few days we will celebrate Easter Sunday, more than 2,000 years since the first Easter Sunday was observed by the disciples and more than 500 other witnesses. It is this event, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior that is the pinnacle of the Christian faith. It is also this event that makes the birth of the Savior significant for without the resurrection His birth, life, ministry, and death are all rendered meaningless. In fact, the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that “if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty…we are of all men the most pitiable.”

Perhaps no truer words of the significance of the resurrection were ever spoken. Even the harshest critics of the resurrection of Christ have to admit that if He did indeed rise than death truly holds no power for those that put their faith and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. In fact, no other world religion offers a Living God. All of their gods are dead in their graves with no power to help their followers either here on earth or in the life to come.

Not too long ago I saw a television program on the rise of the Muslim religion across the world. At one point, they interviewed a Muslim man about the difference between his religion and Christianity. The man said that the two religions are very different not so much in their practice but in their belief regarding salvation. He said that Islam does not offer a personal Savior like Christianity that forgives men for their sins with no effort on their part. He said it is on this basis alone (human achievement vs. grace of God) that the two religions differ greatly. And I would also add that it is this fact that elevates the work of Christ above everyone else.

The Bible tells us the God loved us and died for us, “while we were yet sinners.” (Romans 5:8) Did you catch that? God loved us while we were sinners and at enmity toward Him. I often think that the first question I will ask God when I see Him is, “Why did you love us so much?” It is this very love that compelled him to take off His God-hood (Philippians 2:5-8) and become man in order to provide redemption for mankind – something we could not do on our own.

So, as we approach Easter Sunday and contemplate the resurrection of Jesus, let’s make it a point to share this Good News with others. I just heard the other day that there is talk of changing the name of “Easter” to something else because it is too Christian sounding. Very sad indeed, but not surprising given the state of our nation these days. But no matter the name, we as believers in the One who resurrected know its significance, so go out and proclaim it boldly, always sharing it with others in love.

Sacrifice Not Success

Last Monday I began taking a Revivalism college course that is being held onsite at my church. During the class, my professor showed a YouTube video called “Agony” that contained an excerpt from one of Leonard Ravenhill’s sermons entitled "The Cost of Discipleship." Ravenhill was a 19th century English Christian evangelist and author who focused on the subjects of prayer and revival. He is best known for challenging the modern church to compare itself to the early Christian Church as chronicled in the Book of Acts. His most notable book is Why Revival Tarries, which has sold more than a million copies worldwide.

At one point during his sermon, Ravenhill says Christianity is not measured in success but in sacrifice. This point really caught my attention because I believe that part of the reason the Church today is not as effective as the early Christian Church is because we are a results driven society. We are constantly bombarded in our daily lives with statistics and metrics to measure how we are performing at work, at school, at home. It is no wonder that this mindset has crept into the church.

Jesus never focused on success when it came to the ministry. If anything, He continually admonished us to go and preach the gospel and let the Father worry about the increase (I Corinthians 1:6-7). He told us to love others, even our enemies, but perhaps due to our human nature and pride, we just can’t leave it at that, can we? We need something to achieve. We need a barometer to justify and validate our efforts.

One of the most quoted verses from the Old Testament is Isaiah 55:11, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” I think when most people read this verse and see the word “prosper” they assume it means a person is saved as a result of hearing the Word of God. But the Word of God also prospers unto judgment too. I think of Noah and all that time he spent building the ark and warning his contemporaries of God’s pending judgment and no one got into the ark except for Noah and his family – eight souls total. Most would view that “result” and conclude that Noah failed in his mission because so few were saved; but in God’s view, Noah was a complete success because the Word of God he spoke and lived as he tirelessly built that ark was unto judgment.

My life and your life if you are a Christian, will not only be examples unto salvation but also unto judgment as God will use our words and lives to exact His justice upon those who have refused His salvation. This is why his Word is always prospering when it goes out because its purpose is two-fold – to save and to judge.

The key I believe for those of us walking with the Lord is to understand God’s gauge for success and it has nothing to do with pie charts, bar graphs, or flow charts. God’s measurement for success is simple – how much do you love Me? When Peter first saw Jesus after He resurrected in the Gospel of John, He asked Peter three times if he loved Him, and three times Peter said yes, and three times Jesus told him to “feed His sheep.” Jesus is always measuring our heart never our actions or results. He looks upon the heart to see the love for Him and how it is manifested toward others. And to be honest, when the love of Jesus has captured your heart, all else fades away, doesn’t it? When we are truly ministering to the Lord than the response of others no longer matters as our “success” is found in Him alone.

“Five minutes inside of eternity I believe everyone one of us will have wished we had sacrificed more, prayed more, loved more, sweated more, grieved more, wept more.” – Leonard Ravenhill