Monthly Archives: April 2016

It is not uncommon for me to counsel with men and women who believe that God is not able to use them because of their youth—either their physical age or their time walking with the Lord. The Bible, however, tells us this belief is not true. We are never too young to be used by God.

Consider the prophet Jeremiah; he frankly acknowledged his sense of inadequacy:

“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

(Jeremiah 1:6-8)

Jeremiah was a young man who did not feel up to the task of speaking for his God. This is a common ailment among many of our youth today. Satan loves to convince young people that God is not ready to use them because of their age. This is one of the sharpest tools in Satan’s tool box. And yet God says, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’” Why? Because wherever God sends us to speak on His behalf, He goes with us. What any of our youth lack in age, God makes up for in “almighty assurance” that we go in the strength of our God.

If you read the passage from Jeremiah closely you will notice two things: Jeremiah did not have to find an audience to serve or create a message to speak; God chose the audience for Jeremiah and determined the words he would speak. And what was true for the prophet Jeremiah more than 2,600 years ago is just as true for all of us today—especially for young people. Everyone we meet is a divine appointment. There are no accidents in life and we never randomly “bump into people.” God arranges the meeting and creates the message. We simply must be faithful to answer the call.

This is just as true for those who are young in the faith. Far too many tell me that they need more training and education to serve God. NOT TRUE! Education and training are certainly good things, and as Christians we become students for life. But our service to God is to begin the moment we are saved. And our service begins by telling others what God has done for us in raising us from death to life.

Listen: God knows the numbers of hairs on your head and He knows your age, both chronologically and how long you have been walking with Jesus. He knows exactly what you know and will equip you for everything He calls you to.

You and I will never approach the level of wisdom that God gave Solomon. But fear not! God knows exactly what He is doing in calling you at your current age today. My years as a pastor have taught me that God calls the equipped by equipping the called, and victory is assured because God is with us!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Did you know that God knows EVERYTHING about you—every secret you would not want to share with anybody—and yet He still loves you UNCONDITIONALLY? As I have said before, If that doesn’t light the fire of your faith . . . your wood’s wet!

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” He told her, “Go call your husband and come back.” I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

(John 4:15-18)

This is John’s account of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. It is one of the most beautiful pictures of God’s grace in all of sacred Scripture. Here is a woman scorned by everyone who knew her. She would not come to the well when all the other women were there because of their disdain and her shame. She came at the hottest time of the day, hoping to see no one while she drew her water. She had no idea that she was right on time for her divine appointment with Jesus, who was waiting to shower His grace upon her shame-filled life.

The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”

(John 4:25-26)

The woman ran back to town, completely forgetting her water jar, running right into the midst of all those she had been so careful to avoid, and told them all, “Come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” John 4:39 reports that this Samaritan woman evangelized her town and many came to faith in Jesus because of her testimony! For the very first time in her life, she was “naked and unashamed” as she stood before the Holy One of God.

What was true for this Samaritan woman is true for me and you today. We are all “naked” before God. Remember, Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking and frequently commented on it (Matthew 9:4, Mark 2:8, Luke 5:22). Yet we are still loved unconditionally. Jesus knows our every thought, word, deed, and desire, and He still loves us!

This kind of “Almighty awareness” should be a source of tremendous comfort to us. To be fully known and completely loved is the desire of every heart; only in Christ can we find this kind of love. Jesus was in a habit of showering down his love on the lowest in society—outcasts like the Samaritan woman—and it drove the religious establishment absolutely mad. They could not bring themselves to associate with “sinners,” because they simply could not see the sin in their own lives. The log in their eyes blinded them to this truth.

So . . . regardless of where this finds you today, whether you are climbing to the summit or crushed under the waves of challenge, the Almighty is aware of every aspect of your life and is absolutely, 100% for you. And if Jesus is for you, it really doesn’t matter what comes up against you . . . even thoughts of past mistakes!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

At first glance, you might think that with a title like this on a day like today—April 1st—there must be a joke lurking in here somewhere. I promise you, this is no April Fools’ prank! Death is indeed life when we are dying for our Savior. In calling us to die, Jesus is giving us true life and rescuing us from certain death.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

(Luke 9:23-26)

The serpent in the Garden of Eden promised life to Adam and Eve if they would simply turn away from God. What they actually got was death. Death masqueraded as life, but no life was to be found; instead Adam and Eve found themselves on the run away from the One who had given them life.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

(Proverbs 14:12)

Not trusting in God seemed right to Adam and Eve, but in the end it delivered only death. You and I often find ourselves in the very same place. When we trust in ourselves rather than our God, it seems right to us at the time. When God appears to be slow in responding to our plans, it seems right to bypass God and make our own way. But in the end, it leads to death. Oh, we won’t drop dead on the spot! But we become dead inside; we die spiritually, just as our first parents did. It’s likely that all of you reading this have experienced this very thing on more than one occasion.

When Jesus said, “Deny yourself,” He was giving us the key to real life on this side of the grave. Death to self is life to the Savior. Death to our agenda is life to God’s agenda. Death to our goals is life to God’s goals. Death to our will is life to God’s will. When we say NO to ourselves, we are saying YES to God, and that is the only place we will find life. Death to self keeps us from the all-too-common condition of spiritual suicide.

Remember, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it,” and we try saving our lives when we insist on sitting on the throne of our lives. We miss out on the life Jesus is calling us to live. But “whoever loses his life for me will save it” is the result of keeping our Savior on the throne of our lives.

So . . . when is death life? Death is life when we are laying our lives down for the One who laid His life down for us. Living for the One who is the way, the truth, and the life is the key to finding and experiencing the life Jesus died to set us free to live!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

There is nothing sillier and more sinful than for the creature to attempt to rise above the Creator, an act which we clearly see in the sin of self-sufficiency. To forget God and flatter man is a scourge among the saints today.

But this is not for you! I pray today’s message will encourage the slaying of self-sufficiency, a sin with which you and I must deal daily.

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

(John 15:4-5)

The sin of self-sufficiency is an attempt to rob God of His glory. It seeks to exalt man and cast down our glorious Savior. Make no mistake, it is a fool’s errand. Both the Bible and personal experience impart the same truth: apart from Jesus we can do nothing! And this is not only true of unbelievers who are outside of the faith; this is just as true for the saints of God who have put their trust in Jesus Christ but slip into the sin of self-sufficiency. That’s you . . . and me . . . and all of us!

Notice what our Lord not say; He did not say:

• Apart from me you can do some things
• Apart from me you can do little things
• Apart from me you can do virtually nothing

John’s gospel lays the axe at the root of our self-righteousness and self-sufficiency. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing . . . that is, we can do nothing that pleases our God. To be sure, there is much we can do in this world: we can work, we can play, we can serve. But it is as the chaff is to the wheat. It adds nothing to God’s economy because it was not done for His glory. As Isaiah 64:6 declares, “All our righteous acts are filthy rags.”

The spiritual life is beyond both the natural man and the spiritual man who works in his natural strength. By ourselves, we are sufficient for absolutely nothing. It is only when we remain connected to Christ that we can do things that matter and bring glory to God.

So . . . what have you been depending on lately? Have you been trusting in your Savior and His strength? Or have you been caught in the snare of self-sufficiency? Jesus would not have sent His Holy Spirit if we could do what God wanted us to do in our own strength. It is the ministry of the Spirit of God to give us all the strength we need to do all God is calling us to do. We are to work in the power of the Holy Spirit; we are to play in the power of the Holy Spirit; we are to serve in the power of the Holy Spirit. Never are we to depend upon ourselves for the forward progress we desire to make in this life.

Why is this so? Because apart from Jesus . . . WE CAN DO NOTHING!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!