Finishing The Great Commission

Imagine for a moment that you are in a room filled with people who are, you included, starving to death. Suddenly, by no merit of your own, you are chosen out of the crowd, given food to eat and then commanded to begin distributing food to all the others who are starving. Immediately, you go to work. You take a basket filled with bread and you go to the first row of people and give them bread, some take it, some refuse it. You keep distributing the bread regardless of the response. After some time, you have offered bread to the first ten rows of people and yet ten rows of people remain. So, you get more bread and instead of going to the back ten rows, you return to the first ten rows and begin to distribute bread again. After you have completed a second distribution of the first ten rows, you do it again. You begin to think of what a great job you have done in distributing bread to the first ten rows and how you have been faithful to offer the bread even when refused. Yet, what you are missing is that among the back ten rows, there are people dying of starvation, and as the bread distributor, you have neglected the commander’s orders to distribute bread to all of the people.

Prior to our Lord’s ascension, he said that we are to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). He said that we are to make disciples of ALL nations (Matthew 28:19). That means we are to spread the gospel here in our town and state, but we are also to spread this gospel to the ends of the earth, that the glory of God may be known among all the nations of the world.

Our International Mission Board has identified 3800 people groups remaining in the world that have been classified as untouched and unreached, meaning they have never heard the name of Christ, have no current access to the Gospel, and there is no current strategy to reach them. Left alone they will die in their sins apart from Christ. I don’t know about you, but I cannot be satisfied with continuing to give bread to the first ten rows while neglecting the back ten who are starving. And the reality is, this is a problem for which we cannot hire enough missionaries. This will take every church getting involved. As the pastor of Walker Baptist Church, I do not plan to stand around and do nothing. My plan is for our church to be involved. The goal of the Southern Baptist Convention is to have at least 3800 churches adopt one of these people groups. I am asking you to join me now in prayer as we seek God’s plan for our involvement. I will also be attending a conference on September 7 in Marietta. I would invite as many of you as would like to go with me. The conference will better inform us of ways we can be involved in this global effort. Let me know as soon as possible if you will join me for this event. The cost is $20.

Brothers and sisters, this is a very serious matter. We have been commanded by our Lord to spread the gospel. Will you join me and the rest of our fellow SBC churches as we together embrace the ends of the earth and do our part to finish the Great Commission. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt 24:14, ESV). I love you all.

Love Your Enemies

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made a very challenging statement. He said, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:43-45a ESV). Let those words sink in for a moment. Read it again.

For the most part, we do not have a problem loving our family, friends, and our neighbors who are kind to us. But, what about the folks who are not kind to us? What about folks who choose to be rude and even malicious? Jesus gives us two things here that we are to do. Let’s take a moment and examine those things.

First of all, He says that we are to love them. We are to love even those who are unloving to us. That act is essentially living out the Gospel. God loved us, even while we were sinners, enemies of God. Thus Christ essentially tells us to live out the Gospel toward our enemies. This is not a suggestion. It is a mandate. As followers of Christ, we are to live out the love that was demonstrated at the cross and is extravagantly poured out on us every moment by our Loving Father. It is not easy. In fact, sometimes it is very hard. But, by His grace we love anyway.

Secondly, Jesus said that we are to pray for them. Prayer is powerful. One of the powerful outcomes of prayer is the work that is done in your own heart as you pray for those who are not being loving towards you. It is hard to hold hard feelings toward someone you are honestly taking before the throne of grace in prayer.

Jesus modeled both of these great principles ultimately at the cross. He loved His enemies so much that he died for them (us) at the cross. Furthermore, on the cross he prayed for those persecuting Him as He cried out, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!” While He was on the cross they were mocking and ridiculing Him (imagine if they had had a facebook)....and yet He loved and prayed for them.

But the most challenging words of Christ come after those two challenging actions. Notice that after He commanded us to love our enemies and pray for our persecutors He said, ‘so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.’ The fact is, those who have been saved by grace will also be those who demonstrate forgiveness and grace toward others. How can one who has been the recipient of so great a love, be himself unforgiving and unloving? It is unheard of in Scripture. John MacArthur wrote, “If love is the greatest thing, then loving your enemies is the greatest thing that love can do.” I love you ALL.

Pastor Jeff

This morning I was reading Psalm 138 and from that I would like to share an encouraging word with you. This is a Psalm of David, written when he was surrounded by enemies. Yet, in the midst of trouble he wrote, “6 Though the Lord is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar. 7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. 8 The Lord will fulfill [his purpose] for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever — do not abandon the works of your hands” (Ps 138:6-8).

David knew that God was the Almighty, Sovereign Ruler of the universe. He described God as being on high. And when he saw Himself in light of who God is, David saw himself as he really was, lowly. Yet, David knew that it is the lowly, to whom God looks upon and showers with grace. Therefore, in his trouble he had confidence, not in himself, but in God who promises to be our shelter in times of trouble.

David thus began to look at his trouble in light of his heavenly Father’s sovereign grace. Suddenly his trouble took on a new appearance. Once he began looking at his trouble in light of God’s omnipotence, he knew he had nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. So instead of despair, he erupted in worship! He began praising God for glorious reality that even though he walked in the midst of trouble, God would preserve his life. One definition of the Hebrew word that is translated “preserve” is to sustain life. Certainly David knew that God would sustain him through the trouble and would ultimately rescue Him. He was certain of this because he knew that God’s love endures forever.

For you, who are reading this, whatever is going on in your life, you can have this same confidence as David. If you have given your life to Jesus Christ, you can rest in the calm assurance that, though you walk in the midst of trouble, God will preserve you and will ultimately save you. It may not be in your timing, and it may not be the outcome you would ask for, but God will work in His perfect timing, and the result He brings about will be for your good and for His glory, as He even uses your trouble as part of the process of conforming you into the image of Jesus Christ. So, take heart and rest in His sovereign care. God bless you.

My Journey From Crazy to Pro-Life (and still a little crazy)

I will never forget that day in the Dr.’s office. It was the day I saw the first image of my son
on an ultrasound machine. There he was, as clear as could be, a baby. He was not a blob of tissue
nor some sub–human cluster of insignificant cells. The Dr. did not say, “There is the fetus.” Instead,
he said, “There’s the baby.” He then carefully showed us every possible angle.

The previous months had been life–changing. Kristie and I were both lost and in need of
Jesus Christ. We were unmarried and now she was pregnant. We were both young, misled, and
uninformed, me more so on the uninformed part. The thought of having a baby at that stage of my
life seemed quite inconvenient. I could think of a million reasons why it would not be a good thing. I was too young and so was Kristie. We both had our whole lives in front of us. We both had dreams and desires and plans. Add to this, according to the world, this was an “unplanned” or “unintended” pregnancy.

I approached Kristie one day and suggested that we should consider an alternative route. I
suggested we consider having an abortion. After all, this seemed to me, to be the most logical way to go. It seemed, to me, best for everyone involved. Kristie looked at me like I was absolutely nuts. Looking back she was right. Abortion was never an option for her, even though it had been suggested by more people than me. I conceded to Kristie’s adamant conclusion that abortion was not an option.

And so, there I was now looking at an ultrasound screen weeks later. It was a day that I can
pinpoint as a moment when God began to change my heart. I knew the moment I saw that image on the screen (Kristie even before then) that I loved that child with all of my heart. It was amazing how one image destroyed all of the lies I had believed about the status of a child in the womb.

That child was born on May 10, 1994. I will never forget the first time I heard that cry or
when Dr. Beckam said, “It’s a boy.” I will never forget refusing to cut the umbilical cord because,
though excited over the baby, I was extremely nauseous over the blood and stuff. I will never forget holding him the first time, after a cleaning, of course. I will never forget looking into those eyes and wondering how in the world I could have been so ignorant as to even think of an abortion.

A couple of years later Jesus Christ radically changed my life. He used that little boy to get
my attention and to point me to my need of a Savior. Yesterday, I watched that little boy, along with his friends and fellow DV8 folks, as they led our church in worship. I am completely overwhelmed by the goodness and grace of God. I am thankful for my son and I am thankful to God for capturing me by His sovereign grace. I am thankful that part of God’s gracious work in capturing me was an ultrasound image that allowed me to my son for the first time.

Statistics show that a woman (and a man) who sees an ultrasound of her baby is most likely
to be convinced of the personhood of her child, and not follow through with an abortion. I can
certainly understand why. It is the same change of heart I had, along with Abby Johnson, a former director of a Planned Parenthood clinic, who walked away from her career as an abortion provider after witnessing an ultrasound guided abortion (http://www.abbyjohnson.org).

Last week, Yvone Genest of the Pregnancy Resource Center of Walton was here with us.
She told about the clinic’s current process of being converted from a resources center to a medical clinic which will provide free ultrasounds to expecting mothers. I believe this will further aid the center in its goal to help save lives for the glory of God. Will you join me in praying for and financially supporting this great work. Many of you picked up a baby bottle for the “Baby Bottle Boomerang.” Please prayerfully consider the amount God would have you to give and return those to the church. Also, you can visit the center’s website at prcwalton.com to make a contribution and to see other ways to be involved. God bless each of you.

Sharing The Love of Jesus at Christmas

The Christmas tree was beautiful with the multi–colored lights and ornaments. It was countdown time. The big day was approaching. But underneath the tree there were only a few gifts. They were gifts the children (me and my little sister) had wrapped up, planning to give some of our personal items as presents.

Dad was out of work. It was becoming clear that purchasing Christmas gifts was to be a very difficult task. Like most children, we had a list of things we desired. But, as the clock ticked toward Christmas, the tree remained bare.

One day a car drove up. A young couple got out of the car and knocked on the door. They told us they were from First Baptist Church (Greenville, MS). I thought it sort of odd they were at our house. We did not attend FBC. In fact, we didn’t attend church at all. They told us they had some gifts for us. I am not sure how they knew of our situation. They may have told my parents how they learned of us, but all I heard was the word gifts.

They began unloading the car and bringing packages into the house. I do not remember the couple’s names. I do remember the man’s name was Jeff (hard one to forget). I remember as he brought gifts into the house, he made it a point to show me my name on some of those gifts. Once all of the gifts were in the house and under the tree, there were more gifts than I had ever seen under our tree. I remember wondering what could be in all of those packages. I also remember the couple talking about God and telling us those gifts were to let us know that Jesus loves us and cares for us.

Several years later I gave my life to Jesus Christ. It did not happen at FBC Greenville, but I never forgot that act of kindness. In fact, those people showing up at our door with gifts was permanently etched into my mind. It was one piece of a beautiful collage of events God used to draw me to Himself and save me by His grace.

I do not remember seeing that couple again. But, I have thought about them through the years. In fact, I thought about them today as my wife and I were delivering gifts from our church to a poor family who lost everything they had in a house fire. I am thankful God is allowing me to be a part of blessing families as I was blessed as a child.

Today, my wife and I were the couple who drove up with gifts. There was a little boy who reminded me of myself. I handed him a gift bag full of stuff. It was cold outside, so I told him there was a warm shirt in the bag. He immediately pulled it out and put it on, along with the beanie. I told him to keep looking. Inside the bag was a game like the one he had lost in the fire. When he saw it, he was shocked. He sat the bag back down (without pulling the gift out) and in amazement said, “No way! No Way!” His mom had some joyful tears in her eyes. Then the young man said, “I thought this was going to be a crummy Christmas. But, this is awesome!”

As we unloaded all of the gifts, food, and clothes provided by God through his faithful servants at Walker Baptist Church, I kept looking over at that young man digging through his gift bag. He had a joyful look in his eye. It was a look that I must have had that day the couple from FBC brought gifts to my family. I do not know if that young man will grow up and become a preacher. But, I do know this, he will never forget the day that couple from the church drove up and helped his family in their time of need. And perhaps he will look back one day and see that event as one of the many things God used in a great collage of events that led to surrendering his life to Jesus Christ. And perhaps, one day, as he is driving over to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ to a family in need, he will remember the day he put on that warm shirt and received that game, all as an expression of the marvelous love of Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas everybody.

Plastic Baby Jesus

1629 Bay Street in Greenville, MS. That was my grandparents address for much of my childhood. I remember that address because we lived at 1631, right next door. This gave me one gigantic yard to play in. Grandma’s yard was my yard too.

I will never forget Christmas time in that neighborhood. Some of my greatest Christmas memories with my family took place on good ‘ole Bay Street. We would all meet at Grandma’s house on Christmas Eve. There would be so many people that the house would get really crowded. It was fun, but sometimes you just had to walk outside for fresh air, or to escape the crowd for a moment.

One of my favorite places of escape was to Grandma’s nativity set on the front lawn. We were not allowed to touch it. But when everyone was crowded in the house, it made for a great time to sneak out there and pick up that plastic baby, with a light bulb stuck in his back.

I was sure that plastic baby represented something great. The only thing I knew about him was that his name was Jesus, and he came to save us from something, and he obviously wasn’t born at Delta Regional Medical Center. One of my cousins told me once that we probably shouldn’t pick him up and play with him anymore because she had heard he was God. That was a scary thought. I certainly didn’t want to get God mad at me.

Over time, I began to learn the truth that this little plastic baby represented God’s love. God the Son physically came to earth and took the form of a man. He came because God is holy and man is not, because of sin. He came because sin had separated man from God. He came because sin had to be punished. He came to take our punishment for us on a cross. And even greater than being able to touch a plastic baby image of Him, He desired to touch me and hold me and call me His. This Jesus wanted to not simply be a figure on our lawn for one season each year, but to be the very real constant companion of our lives. He desires to save us by His grace and to walk with us and talk with us and to declare that we belong to Him.

One day all of that penetrated my heart. I repented of my sin and put my trust in Jesus Christ, not the plastic figure, but the real life Savior. He saved me by His grace and transformed my entire outlook on life. Suddenly, I was no longer Jeff Box, living a meaningless existence. In one saving act, I was now Jeff Box, redeemed and treasured son of the Most High God.

Christmas is wonderful!! It’s not wonderful because of extravagant gifts that eventually end up in the trash. It’s not wonderful because of decorations that all go back in storage shortly after Dec 25, including plastic baby Jesus figures. Christmas is wonderful because that plastic baby Jesus figure represents a real baby Jesus who came to be the Savior of the world. John said, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

The Health Care Distraction

Congress recently passed a very controversial health care bill that President Obama signed into law. As with many of you, I have very strong feelings about this issue. However, we must avoid the temptation of losing perspective. It is so easy to get distracted by such events and lose sight of what really matters, eternal things. I know, because I have been guilty many times.

Let me preface by saying that I am not suggesting we disengage from the political process. We should be involved. However, Christians must remain focused on the main issue, the Gospel. As Christians, we know God is Sovereign and that we have victory in Jesus. With that knowledge, we must not walk around as defeated and frightened American citizens.....but as Citizens of Heaven, eagerly awaiting our Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who possesses the omnipotent power to bring everything under His control (Philippians 3:20-21).

As Christians, we are to be the most optimistic people in the world. We know how all of this ends. Our mission, in the meantime, is to be Gospel busy. Multitudes of people are in need of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the only hope for America and the world. Imagine if all of us were as willing to share our faith as we are to share our disgust over health care. Imagine if we used even the same amount of energy lifting up Christ as we do voicing our disagreement with politicians.

The things we see shaping America are not the real problem. Abortion is not the problem! Homosexuality is not the problem! Pornography is not the problem! Socialism is not the problem! Should we take a stand and speak the truth about these things? Yes! But let us remember, as someone once said, "The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart!" The things I just listed, as well as multitudes of others, are merely the symptoms of the real issue. The real issue is sin! The only cure is Jesus Christ! If we spend all of our energy fighting the symptoms, while ignoring the real issue, we accomplish little. As Dr. Adrian Rogers once said, at best we make the world a better place from which to go to hell.

In the opening chapters of Romans, Paul painted a very accurate and vivid picture of the world. In his description, he listed many of the symptoms of a sinful society. It is a picture that clearly resembles modern day America (Romans 1:18-31). Paul went on in the following two chapters making it clear that all of humanity suffers from the same disease...sin. Then in 3:21-26, he pointed to the only hope, Jesus Christ. My friends, that is the same task you and I have been commissioned by our Lord to fulfill, the proclamation of the Gospel to all people. Without Christ, our neighbors are going to hell even if they agree with us over health care.

My prayer is that each of us see the real issue, and that all of our worldly frustrations would become burdened hearts for the lost in need of the Gospel. Don't miss the opportunities all around you.