Christian Living – Page 12 – Deeper Life Ministries

I’ve Had It!

May 25, 2011June 22, 2011 by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Church, Ministry, Theology

–September of 2006

I’ve Had It!

I’ve had it! I’ve had it with articles and poll results in religious and secular magazines needling the Church by claiming that Christians today are watching X-rated movies, are addicted to pornography, commit immorality, and lie and steal at the same rate as non-Christians. I’ve had it with these people who blame the Church for not accepting them with open arms and unconditional love so they can continue to practice their perverted lifestyles without any sense of shame, or worst yet, ordain them as ministers of the gospel. I’ve had it with these preachers who seek to be so accepting that when they finish a sermon, they have made the Christian life so broad and inclusive that your average pagan feels right at home. I’ve had it with all of this because this is not how the Bible portrays a Christian. The New Testament teaches that the behavior listed above falls below the line of authentic Christian faith and is clearly sub-Christian. Christians aren’t slaves to any sin nor do they entertain themselves with the very things the Bible condemns as sinful. A person who has experienced a true Biblical conversion has implanted within him a desire to do right and be morally good. If that is not the case, then any pretense of conversion is just that – a pretense.

I’ve had it! I’ve had it with Christian leaders who are determined to make the unconverted so comfortable in church that they have turned Sunday-morning worship into an experience that is no different from a trip to a local entertainment club. Sanctuaries look like theaters. The attendees are encouraged to “dress casual,” bring their favorite beverage, and rock to the same rhythms you would expect to hear at a university frat party. Sermons are preached from a lawn chair or a barstool. Surprisingly, some of them are good. What is not surprising is that few take them seriously. Why should they, when everything around them is screaming “do as you please”? Church bookstores, coffee shops, and restaurants do a thriving business before and after service as they violate the sanctity of the Lord’s Day. Why have I had it? Because the fundamental principles of Biblical worship are thrown out to create an atmosphere that satisfies the creature rather than glorifies the Creator.

I’ve had it! I’ve had it with this new gospel and its false prophets who constantly reassure their flock that they can have “peace with God and a home in heaven” without making any fundamental changes to the way they live and the values they hold. This “come in Savior and stay out Lord” brand of religion that ignores the claims of the Bible and remains plugged in to this present world is a false gospel. At the very heart of what it means to be Christian is that the Christian is a unique and special kind of person. He has experienced a radical change that separates him from those who are not Christian. It is a difference that makes him like Christ and can only be explained in terms of his relationship to Christ.

I’ve had it! I’ve had it with the fact that the only alternative that too many churches are offering to the above dilemma is just criticism. Far too few are preaching a biblically balanced message and providing a real worship experience for serious saints and hungry sinners. Too few congregants have lives that are marked by the presence of God and noted for their radical abandonment to Him.

I’ve had it! And that’s good! For it is often in these times of such desperation that God is able to sow in our hearts the seeds for renewal and revival. I long for His transforming power and life-giving presence to mark the lives of His children again.

Subtle Shifts

May 25, 2011June 22, 2011 by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Church, Ministry, Theology

–May of 2006

Subtle Shifts

In a recent revival meeting, a 50-year veteran of pastoral ministry asked me a question that is on the minds of a lot of older saints. He said, “Are people really being converted anymore?” This man is not just an elderly pastor asking questions with a nostalgic glance over his shoulder to the “good old days.” He is a well-loved, highly respected man of God whose ministry has been marked by hundreds of souls finding Christ. Frankly, his concern is valid. Yet the answer to his question is not just a simple yes or no, it is a rather complex yes and no.

There is a tendency for American Christians to interpret what is happening in the Church through local or western eyes. This bias has often skewed our view of what God is doing in His world particularly in the area of evangelism, revival and end-time events. The spiritual dearth in the western church is not a reflection of what is happening in the rest of the Church. Stories of radical, life-changing conversions are flowing out of the Orient, South America and Eastern Europe. GBSC Missions Professor, Dan Glick, spent six weeks last summer doing a study of conversions in the Ukraine. His report sounds like something taken right out of the pages of the book of Acts. People are responding to the Gospel and experiencing true conversion in every part of the world. I don’t mean to exclude America. I witness every year many whose life has been radically changed by saving grace. God’s kingdom is marching forward and all the armies of hell have not been able to withstand it.

However, there is some cause for concern as it relates to the American church. I honestly believe that because of a number of subtle shifts in the presentation of today’s gospel message, there are many people who have undergone a religious transaction rather than experiencing a radical transformation. The first of these shifts took place at the beginning of the 20^th Century when the 19^th Century emphasis on pursuing holiness shifted to a desire for uplifting ecstatic experiences. The second shift took place following World War II as prosperity fueled the American economy and spilled over into the church. There was a shift from a call to total surrender to a more general call to commitment. (The difference is more than subtle. Surrender tells God that I belong to Him and He can dispose of me any way He pleases. In commitment there is no transfer of ownership. One may or may not do what God has asked, depending on the level he wishes to be committed.) The third shift came in the late 60s and early 70s when we started “deciding for Christ.” Salvation was simplified to little more than signing a card. These shifts had brought so many unconverted people into the church, that by 1980 a new battle began among religious leaders as to what it really meant to be a Christian. At the heart of this war was the controversy over Lordship salvation.

As the 20^th Century began to wind down, the church shifted again and became consumer oriented. The gospel was stripped of its biblical vocabulary and was offered in the language of the culture. The concepts of repentance, dying to self, and submission were abandoned and the gospel was cast in terms of benefits. This ushered in a new round of self-help seminars and made the major selling point of the gospel what it could do for those who tried it.

Sadly, many churches have been left with what C.S. Lewis called a “truncated gospel.” Simple assent to the gospel divorced from repentance, surrender, and a supernatural eagerness to obey is by biblical standards less than saving. To illicit only a sense of this kind would be to secure only false conversions. And a false conversion, even by the most sincere, is still sincerely wrong.

WWJD?

May 25, 2011June 22, 2011 by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living

–November of 2005

WWJD?

Charles Sheldon popularized the question, “What would Jesus do?” in his famous book, In His Steps. The question implies that by asking and answering “What would Jesus do?” one could then imitate the behavior or response of Jesus in any given situation. The only problem is that this approach doesn’t work. Trying to answer what Jesus would do is highly subjective, differs from person to person, and can be implemented (and most often is) without any biblical data. The end result is a superficiality that fails to transform character to any measure of real Christlikeness.

The Bible leads us toward another question. That question is “What did Jesus do?” This is a question that forces us to search the scriptures to see how Jesus lived his life, responded to others, and revealed the character of His heavenly father. The Gospels offer a front row seat to watch and learn from the words and works of the Master Teacher. When one reads the story of the woman taken in adultery and carefully studies Jesus’ response to her, one has to draw the conclusion that to be like Jesus one must treat every human being with dignity and respect as well as with an overall response that is redemptive. But even this approach lacks what is needed for the development of true Christlike character.

Christlikeness cannot be produced by imitation (Sheldon’s approach) or solely by revelation (gaining insights from the study of scripture). True Christlikeness can only be produced by inhabitation. We must allow Christ to live His life through us. So how does this happen in real life? First, by the miracle of regeneration and entire-sanctification (things Christ does for us and in us). Second, by the choices we make and the disciplines we embrace. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:22-24 that we must: get rid of our old ways of living, let the Spirit and Word change the way we think, and develop new godly habits. As we cooperate with the Holy Spirit, He can bring about character change that allows us to manifest the true image of Christ.

The real question isn’t what would Jesus do or what did Jesus do but what can he do with a fully surrendered soul who is cooperating with the Holy Spirit and applying the principles of God’s Word? The answer to that question will be transformational.

Finding God in a Barber Shop

May 25, 2011June 22, 2011 by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Ministry

–September of 2005

Finding God in a Barber Shop

We have a knack of looking for God in the wrong places. The Wise Men searched for the Christ child in the plush palaces of the capitol city of Jerusalem, only to find him in a humble home in lowly Bethlehem. The mighty Roman legions looked for God in the glory of Rome and its Caesar, but one soldier found him hanging on a cruel cross and acknowledged that “truly this was the Son of God.” Pilgrims have traversed the globe seeking Him everywhere from the Vatican City to Mecca. Even holiness people ramble about the country looking for Him in the wind, fire, and earthquakes of camp meetings and conventions, while more often than not, they find Him in the still small voice of a silent moment or the sermon of an unpretentious, unknown pastor back home.

I forget this lesson occasionally, and God has to remind me that if I don’t pay close attention, I too will miss a sacred opportunity to see Him. He used my good friend, Oscar, to teach me this lesson again.

Oscar Johnson has been a barber in the Cincinnati area for over forty years. He is a quiet, gentle, and unassuming man who is liked by everyone. He has enjoyed perfect health, not missing a day of work for sickness in 43 years. However, this May a few sharp pains in his back led to a diagnosis of stage-four cancer. It was so advanced that immediate surgery had to be performed to stabilize the lower vertebrae so his back would not collapse. It was all so sudden that it left everyone breathless and bewildered —everyone but Oscar. After six hours of extremely dangerous surgery, he told his family, “This has been a wonderful day. My family and all those I love have been here together today.”

My wife and I visited him the day after surgery. I was praying on the way to the hospital that I would say the right things to encourage him. But when I walked into the room there was no depressed mood or sad face. Oscar was beaming – literally smiling from ear to ear! He said, “Oh, Brother Avery, the insurance policy I took out with God forty years ago works! Every promise is true. He is working out every detail. I’m in a win-win situation.”

The outpouring of concern was overwhelming. His customers span the religious scale from Catholics to Buddhists and Muslims to Protestants. They wrote over two hundred cards and made at least a thousand phone calls. Why? Because Oscar left a clear witness to Christ to everyone who sat in his chair. A Muslim medical doctor was so impacted by Oscar’s life that he asked Oscar the secret to his happiness. This was a chance for Oscar to gently point him to Jesus. The doctor brought his father from Iran to meet Oscar so he could see “the happiest man in the world.”

I could tell you of college students, professors, lawyers, business leaders, and even a Hell’s Angel-type rebel, all who were drawn to Oscar’s bedside to stand for a few moments in the presence of a man who showed them Christ by the very life he lived.

My family visited Oscar last Saturday. With tear-filled eyes we listened to his closing words, “Brother Avery, whatever way it goes I’m still a winner. God has wonderful things in store for me!”

So many people in the world long to see Jesus, and God is always faithful to reveal Himself. I caught a glimpse of Him last Saturday in a hospital bed. And I can tell you about a lot of men who saw Him and found Him in a barber shop, cutting hair.

You Can Know You Are Saved

May 25, 2011June 22, 2011 by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Theology

–April of 2005

You Can Know You Are Saved

The Reformers contended that a man can know that he is justified by grace through faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Samuel Wesley’s dying words to his sons John and Charles were “the witness, son, the witness; that is the proof of Christianity.” Wesley’s own heartwarming experience at Aldersgate convinced him that a man can have a clear knowledge of the salvation experience. In his sermon, “The Witness of the Spirit,” Wesley defines the testimony of the Spirit as “An inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God directly witnesses to my spirit that I am a child of God, that Jesus Christ hath loved me and given himself for me, and that all my sins are blotted out and I, even I, am reconciled to God. “Wesley later in life, after many years of developing thought on the subject, made it clear that the objective witness of the Spirit may dim or fade in relation to a person’s mood, emotions or physical condition. However, he contended to the very end that a many can know that he is saved, and that justifying faith will bring a sweet calm to the heart, enabling the believer to rest in the arms of Jesus. Hence, historic Methodism still has at its heart the truth that “all men can know they are saved.”

On one occasion, when Wesley was visiting Bristol, the bishop of Bristol, Joseph Butler, endeavored to stop Wesley from preaching. Their dispute centered around the doctrine of assurance. The bishop contended such a doctrine was not true to the Scripture of the teachings of the church. This happened sometime in the late 1730s. Thirteen years later, as the bishop lay dying, he approached his death without the assurance of salvation. He called for his chaplain and told him that he was afraid to die. The chaplain encouraged him with the thought that Christ is our Savior, but the bishop plaintively asked, “How can I know that Christ is my Savior?” Some forty years later as Wesley lay dying, the words that fell from his lips were these, “The best of all is, God is with us.”

Bishop Kern notes the startling contrast between these two dying men. There is the “sun-lit certainty of Wesley’s experience and the shadowed insecurity of a bishop’s soul.” The bishop “could prove the existence of God by analogies from nature but did not know Him in the peace of an inward mystical and redeeming fellowship.”

I’m so grateful that I can sing with Wesley, “My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear, He owns me for His child, I can no longer fear; With confidence I now draw nigh, and ‘Father, Abba Father’ cry.” Can you sing that verse with me?