Thursday, December 20, 2012

The Gospel of Great Joy

The announcement to the shepherds from the angel was “…I bring you good news of great joy…” Joy is the first note of the gospel. Great Joy! So, what is so great about this joy?

First, it is great because this joy is good news for all the people, for everyone; no one is left out. Before the angel said that this good news was for them, he said it was for everyone, even them; even you!

Then, the angel said that this good news was a Person, the Son of David, a Savior, Christ the Lord. In saying that, the angel said it all. The long-awaited and promised, Deliverer, Anointed, Eternal God, Himself entered His creation as a baby boy. This was good news of great joy because of Who had come and what He would do. This is the key to experiencing the great joy of the gospel; knowing your Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord.

There are some who equate joy with happiness, which comes and goes, dependent upon the weather (conditions). The great joy of the gospel is not dependent upon conditions. That is why the book of James can say, “Count it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing….” You can experience the great joy of the gospel in a great trial, difficulty, or disaster if you know what you can know in the midst of it. Many Christians are not experiencing this great joy because they have not learned what they can know in every situation and so they do not know the first thing of the gospel, the great joy it has in it!

Some are only joyful if their prayers get answered, or people are nice to them, or they receive some blessing of some kind. But the great joy of the gospel is also when prayers go unanswered, when people are rude, crude, and down-right mean to you, and even when you are in a “blessing drought;” even then you can experience great joy, if you know the One who is with you and what He is doing in you, with you, through you, as you, in the world around you! Joy, Joy, Joy!

Jesus said in His prayer (He allowed John to listen in on it) in John 17:13, that He was praying so that His disciples could have His joy fulfilled in them. The great joy of the gospel is the answer to Jesus’ prayer. It is great because it is a great prayer request of Jesus and it if for everyone, who will receive it.

To summarize: The great joy of the gospel is a Person, knowing Jesus Christ the Lord as your Savior and the work that He is doing in you, regardless of the conditions. He is with you and is at work in you, with you, through you, as you, in the world around you; no matter what is happening around you. His joy is yours because of the work He is doing in you, with you….His work is bring out His life from within you for the glory of God the Father. He gets the glory and you get the Joy!

What a deal. What a God. What a Savior. What a season to celebrate.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Staying Un-Offended; Part 2

The first step to staying un-offended is to get rid of anything that has offended you. The word “offended” comes from the Greek word skandilidzo  (pronounced skandel-idzo). Sound like a word in English. That’s right, our English word “scandal” comes from this Greek word. It means to stumble.

 So, one of the ways to find out if you have been offended is to ask yourself what has tripped you up or has caused you to limp, maybe not physically, but in your soul. You get offended when your soul gets wounded. Receiving healing from the Holy Spirit is the only way to be made whole (healed). Until God heals your soul you will limp along, causing others to get tripped up.

If you go back to Matthew 11:1-6 to the story of the disciples of John the Baptist you will notice that Jesus sent them back to John with a word from Isaiah; actually, from three places in the book of Isaiah. This was John’s book. He knew it backwards and forwards. But this word was more for his disciples than for him. They needed to be following Jesus, not John. It was one of the clearest words on the identity of the Messiah in the Old Testament. Why would they return to John? I guess because he was their friend. They liked him a lot. Many people have gotten offended because they stayed with a friend instead of going on with Jesus!

This instructs us that God’s Word is essential in staying un-offended. But more than staying in the Word is to be looking for Jesus in the Word. The Scribes and Pharisees knew the Word, but missed Jesus because they were not looking for Him in it. The Magi (Gentile magicians) found Jesus by following a star and one verse of Scripture from Micah (Matthew 2:1-12) simply because they were seeking for the promised Messiah, the King of the Jews. Jesus is on every page of the Bible for those who are hungry for Him and for more of Him. Keep your eyes on Jesus and He will keep you un-offended.

 Then, you must be able to know the difference between being grieved and feeling pain and being offended. Jesus experienced grief and pain but never stumbled. He was never offended. A maturing believer living in our sin-filled and fallen world will be deeply grieved and pained over the condition of humanity.

How did Jesus handle this? He prayed. He taught. He wept. He went out doing good. He sent others out to preach and heal and drive out demons. He overcame evil with good. He drove back the darkness with the Light of everything He received from the Father, and He stayed faithfully obedient to the Father. So can you because by faith Christ lives in you, with you, through you, as you, in the world around you. Again, keeping your focus on Jesus and your ears tuned to the Word of God you can not only live in this fallen world, but rise above it for the glory of God.

So, staying un-offended means that you keep short accounts with the insults, the accusations, the sin-soaked world, by continually casting all of your burdens upon the Lord, knowing that He will sustain you, He loves you, He cares for you, He has forgiven you of every offense and so you can too forgive every offense. Let it go. Look ahead. Keep your eyes on Jesus…on your knees, in the Word, and out into the world for Him!