Jonah's evangelistic success

Nineveh Repents - Nicolas Fontaine (1625-1709)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jonah 3:1-10

TO CHEW ON: "So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes." Jonah 3:5-6


Have you ever looked at a person or group of people and thought, They would never accept the gospel? Jonah's thoughts about the Ninevites probably ran along those lines. And yet no sooner did he start preaching than the people became filled with conviction and were visibly repentant. What was Jonah's secret?

Perhaps he was a really persuasive orator? Or maybe it was his appearance. I've heard it suggested that he was quite the sight, with bleached skin and white hair after three days of treading water in the fish's digestive juices. Perhaps his shocking appearance scared the people into paying attention?

It may have been a bit of both, but I believe there was something way bigger going on here—and that it was God the Spirit sending conviction to these hearts. He did something similar among the Jews when Ezra and Nehemiah read the Scripture scroll (Nehemiah 8:8-9) and in the crowd that Peter preached to on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:40-43).

And so Jonah's story can be an encouragement to us. For when God gives an assignment, we can be sure that He has and is working on the recipients of our mission, readying their ears and softening the soil of their hearts.  If our work meets with success it is due to this more than our strategies and efforts.

PRAYER: Dear God the Spirit, please help me to obey Your promptings so that Your work can be completed and I have the joy of being part of it. Amen.

MORE: Holy Spirit Rain Down (Hillsong Church)

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved

The Christian's job description

Image from Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Timothy 4:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching." 2 Timothy 4:2


"Preach the word [as an official messenger]; be ready when the time is right and even when it is not [keep your sense of urgency, whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether welcome or unwelcome]; correct [those who err in doctrine or behavior], warn [those who sin], exhort and encourage [those who are growing toward spiritual maturity], with inexhaustible patience and [faithful] teaching" - 2 Timothy 4:2 AMP


The job description Paul gives Timothy here is one we can all adopt. It addresses  three W questions and one H.

WHY?
When we look at the context we see the reason why the job Paul is about to describe is important. It's because someday he (Timothy) and all of us will appear before our King and Judge Jesus (2 Timothy 4:1).


WHAT?

• "Preach the word!"

The "word" here is logos the same word used in John 1:1, 14 etc. It's the message of Jesus and His incarnation as God's communication to us. It's the message of our sin penalty paid and our relationship with God renewed. It's the word that Jesus equates with truth in John 8:31,32.

"It's not their own notions and fancies that they are to preach, but the pure plain word of God" - Matthew Henry's Commentary.

It's the word that's becoming increasingly unpopular in our culture. Beth Moore, in her September 2015 simulcast, speaking of living as an audacious Christian acknowledged this:

"We need the audacity to live the tension that comes with loving in truth … I want to love like Jesus, but Jesus never loved but with truth. We are going to do the greatest disservice to our culture if we deny the truth. If we think we're better for the world without the word, we'll end up looking just like the world" - Beth Moore, from my notes.

• "Preach the word"

Preach (kerysso) means to proclaim publicly.

• "Convince..."

Convince (elencho) is to convict, confute, find fault with and correct by word or deed.

• "...rebuke ..."

Rebuke (epitimao) means to tax with a fault, chide, rebuke, reprove, censure severely.

"He must tell people their faults" - Matthew Henry's Commentary.

• "...exhort..."

Exhort (parakaleo) means to call to, call upon with entreaty, comfort, instruct, encourage. 

"He must direct, encourage, and quicken those who began well" - Matthew Henry's Commentary.

WHEN?

• "Be ready in season and out of season." The way the Amplified puts it is better than any commentary: "… be ready when the time is right and even when it is not [keep your sense of urgency, whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether welcome or unwelcome]…"

HOW?

• "…with all long-suffering and teaching"

That is with patience (makrothymia) - endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance, slowness in avenging wrongs.

and

teaching (didache) - doctrine.

"He must do it rationally, not with passion but with doctrine" - Matthew Henry's Commentary.

I ask myself does the way I live my life fulfill this assignment? What about you?



PRAYER: Dear God, if anything, this job is more challenging than ever. Help me to know how to carry it out in the moments of this day. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible,
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

The gospel in words

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 3:11-26


TO CHEW ON: "'Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.'" Acts 3:19

"Preach the gospel always, and if necessary use words"* is a saying sometimes used to defend living by gospel principles without explaining the who, what and why of the good news. Though our lives should be consistent with the gospel for sure, just living a certain way isn't enough to fulfill Jesus' final assignment to us (Acts 1:8) (and one senses that the above little saying may sometimes be an excuse for silence out of timidity or fear that one's words will offend).

A wordless gospel was certainly not Peter's philosophy. He grabbed the opportunity here, with the eyes of the whole crowd on him after healing the lame man, to not only explain the gospel but to challenge his hearers to close the deal: "Repent, therefore, and be converted."

It is interesting to notice how Peter, Paul, and other apostles frequently turned miracles and other life happenings into mini-pulpits:

• After a night in custody, Peter and John were hauled in front of the high priest and his family where they again challenged their hearers with the gospel (Acts 4:5-12).

• Stephen preached the gospel when he was brought before the Jewish counsel to defend against false accusations (Acts 7).

• Philip explained the gospel to an Ethiopian eunuch who was reading Isaiah (Acts 8:30-35).

• After healing a man, Paul and Barnabas restrained a pagan crowd from worshiping them as Hermes and Zeus, instead explaining the gospel (and getting into a lot of trouble for it ) (Acts 14).

• Paul and Silas explained the gospel to their jailer after an earthquake sprung them from a Philippian prison (Acts 16:30-34).

• Paul used the words of an inscription on a city monument as an opening for the gospel in Athens (Acts 17:22-32).

• Paul turned an appearance before Roman rulers Festus, Agrippa, and Bernice into an opportunity to present the gospel (Acts 26).

I ask myself, am I as quick as these early Christians to recognize and take openings to explain the gospel in words? Peter's advice in this regard is more appropriate than ever:

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone tho asks you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." - 1 Peter 3:15

PRAYER: Dear God, what an example of ready speakers were these early Christians. Help me to recognize openings for the gospel and to have Holy Spirit boldness to take them. Amen.


*This saying is often attributed to St. Francis of Assissi.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Preaching—in power and demonstration

Paul Raises Dorcas - by Eustache Le Sueur

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Corinthians 2:1-9

TO CHEW ON: "And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." 1 Corinthians 2:4,5

One person who comes to mind when I read these verses is Billy Graham. As a youth I remember watching his crusades—even attended one in person—and thinking,  Surely tonight will be different and no one will respond. His words were so simple, his message so basic, his appeal straightforward and unemotional. Yet every night when the choir began singing "Just As I Am" people would leave their seats, stream forward, clog the aisles, fill up the front-of-stage area with a milling crowd.

That is one "demonstration" but I believe Paul was speaking of even more. Remember Jesus' instructions to the first believers to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Why were they to wait? To receive "power" - Acts 1:8.

What did that power look like. The book of Acts shows us:
- There was powerful preaching that led to conviction and mass conversions (Acts 2:37,41).
- The disciples became uncharacteristically bold  (Acts 4:31).
- There were instantaneous healings (Acts 3:1-10; 9;33,34 and many more).
- There was an 'impossible' conversion (Acts 9:1-9).
- There were death resusitations (Acts 9:41).
- There were miraculous escapes (Acts 5:19; 12:6-9; 16:25,26).
- There was exquisite sensitivity to sin (Acts 19:18-20).
- and more… The book of Acts is full of "power."

Can we still ask God for such power signs to accompany modern-day preaching? Many would say "No," that this kind of power was to affirm the apostles who penned the scriptures. Now that we have those, they are all we need.

Though I would agree that the scriptures are complete and all we need of God's revelation, I disagree that God has stopped confirming His word with power signs and miracles. Let me tell you a story.

Mike and Laura began a church plant in Victoria B.C. a few years back. They teach that God has power to do modern-day miracles. Some time ago a member of their congregation was on a flight to Edmonton. In conversation with her seat mate, she discovered that the woman had a blistering migraine. Her thought: Someone should pray for her; I wish Will were here. He would pray and something would happen.

On arriving in Edmonton, passengers were delayed from exiting the plane by a frozen door. As they waited for the door to open, the young woman couldn't shake the impression that she should at least ask her seat mate if she would like prayer for her headache.

"Sure," the woman replied.

A simple prayer ended with the woman looking shocked and puzzled, pressing her head, and then exclaiming "My headache's gone! My back is sore too. Would you pray for it as well?"

When the young woman prayed and it too was instantly better, the woman who had been healed got loud in amazement and thanks—loud enough for a woman in the seat behind them to ask for prayer. The young woman from the Victoria church then suggested the woman she'd first prayed for do the praying… and the second woman too experienced instantaneous relief from her symptoms.

"Before the door opened, eight people had experienced a divine touch—a healing service on a West Jet plane," Mike told us. (Listen to his sermon: "Don't Forget to Remember".)

You can believe that after experiencing God's power firsthand, these folks will be softened and all ears to hear the powerful message of the gospel.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to be open to the working of Your Spirit with Your persuasive word in tandem with Your power over the natural world. Amen.



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.