What happens when we decide that we know better than God’s Word? Genesis 3 is a testimony of the results . . . SIN . . . regret . . . SIN . . . Consequences.
How humanity deals with our sin problem . . .
How God deals with our sin problem . . .
Consequences can hurt–but I still prefer God’s way!
“I can’t”
those are the words my Dad spoke to me not more than 2 1/2 years ago. That was his response to a question I had asked him, “Dad will you do a Bible study with one of our contacts?”
“I can’t”
Let me tell you a little about my Dad, almost all of his adult life he has been a teacher. He taught in Adventist academies for about 6 years and then at Pacific Union College, Loma Linda University, & Andrews University Dayton, OH campus, & University of the Pacific. He has a degree in Education, Physical Therapy, and it seems like there may be something else. He has a Master’s degree, two in fact, and an earned Doctorate. He started a Master’s Physical Therapy program from scratch and was the director of it for 10+ years.
“I can’t”
Seemed like a pretty ridiculous answer!
And even more importantly than all the above, and really all that mattered, he was constantly telling me how much he loved Jesus and how much Jesus was blessing his life.
“I can’t”
Was then an even more unbelievable answer!
“I can’t”
Is the answer I hear a lot when I talk to folk about giving Bible studies to another individual.
I used to accept this answer as legit.
“I can’t”
I believed some people really couldn’t, I no longer believe that.
Why?
Because–
“I can’t”
Doesn’t fit at all with the promises of scripture–
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. –Matthew 28:19, 20.
“I can’t”
Really doesn’t go with, “I am with you always”
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” –Acts 1:8
“I can’t”
Doesn’t work with, “you shall receive power”
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” –John 14:12-14
“I can’t”
Does not correlate with, “greater works than these he will do” “whatever you ask” “If you ask anything…I will do.”
“I can’t”
Does not work with John 14:26 either,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
So even if my Dad had zero degrees and zero teaching experience, it would seem quite silly for a man that says he loves Jesus and is blessed by Jesus to say…
“I can’t”
“I can’t”
is foolish for any of us to say.
“But it is not my gift which is why…”
“I can’t”
Knowing the Bible and sharing what you know with another person has nothing to do with gifts. Because even if you are nervous, you can have word for word what you want to say right in front of you…and yes people
“CAN”
come to Jesus this way…and they DO!
So the only way
“I can’t”
works is if that is the answer to one question, “Are you capable of caring about the eternal salvation of another human being?”
If you can say…
“I can’t”
to that, okay you’re off the hook.
But that wouldn’t go with,
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven;” –Matthew 5:44, 45
In other words if you’re a Christian…a Jesus follower…
“I can’t”
NEVER works when it comes to sharing the truths of scripture with another human being.
So let’s be real and admit…
“I can’t”
is really
“I won’t”
and after we admit that, let’s repent of it…
And trust Jesus to help us move from…
“I can’t”
Which is…
“I won’t”
To
“I can!”
My Dad did and praise Jesus I have baptized several he has studied the Bible with.
Dr. Jack Haskins a professor at the University of Tennessee did s study to determine the effects of a five minute radio program that was filled with negative news stories: children blown up, earthquakes, riots, etc. One group listened to these types of stories JUST 5 minutes a day, the other group, the control group listened to positive news stories for the same 5 minutes.
Haskins in evaluating the subjects at the end of the study found that those who listened to just 5 minutes of negative radio reports daily were: (1) more depressed than before; (2) they believed the world was a negative place; (3) they were less likely to help others; and (4) they began to believe that the negative things they heard would soon happen to them.
How could this be? Could 5 minutes of negativity really have that much impact on someone?
What happens with a life of negativity?
Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he,”
Like it or not we are in part products of what we “THINK.” If we think negative all the time, more than likely our lives will be somewhat negative. Now I am not a “name it and claim it” preacher. I don’t believe in prosperity theology or the idea that bad things never happen to people who are positive. But I do believe that life for many is miserable because they think “half-empty” thoughts 99% of the time rather than “half-full” thoughts.
I know this because negativity was my life. In high-school and even early in college I had a VERY negative thought pattern. I could always find the negative in a situation: I complained about my job, I complained about school, I complained about relationships, I complained about the government, I complained about the church, I complained about my sports teams, I complained about…well you name it I am sure I complained about it. I was consistently negative. Christina, my girlfriend (now wife) at the time, wanted to introduce me to her friends, I hadn’t even met them and I was already being negative towards them. I remember Christina asking me if I liked anyone? I told her, “I like you and I like my friends. But that is about it.” I was negative!!!
You know what is weird all those years of being negative, I found myself obsessed with death! My best friend Scott regularly used to tell me how morbid I was and that I didn’t need to constantly talk about dying. But I couldn’t help it, my negativity was effecting everything about the way I thought.
Then I went to Africa…many stories here to share but I’ll save them for another time…but while in Africa I daily did two things: I served others daily and I spent an abundant amount of time in prayer & Bible study.
My day would consist of rising around 5:30 or 6 in the morning spending at least an hour in prayer and Bible study. The rest of my morning would be spent in preparation to share the Gospel, then in the afternoon I would go out and visit locals, walk around the streets, appreciate the simplicity of things. Then in the evening I would preach. I would end each night studying the Bible more, reading The Great Controversy, and praying–then I would chat with my roommate Ben Martin ’till I fell asleep.
After just about a month of this I found my outlook on life completely changed. I didn’t even fully realize just how much ’till folk back home began to comment on how different I was. My parents, my friends, Christina. They all will testify that since that time in Africa I have never been the same.
I went from extremely negative to extremely positive.
Daily I meet people and speak with people that are just like I was. If I say something positive, they find the negative. If I try to encourage they retort with a complaint or negative remark. I have come to see negativity as a great pandemic within our society…a pandemic that is spreading with the help of media and even our own peers who speak negativity around us and so we get sucked in and join the negative dialogue.
So how do we break it? I believe my Africa experience is key!
Does that mean you have to go to Africa to become a positive person? NO! Because what ultimately changed me can be experienced right here in the U.S. of A..
Two things:
(1.) Daily time with the Lord in Bible study and prayer
(2.) Daily looking for opportunities to serve others
1.) When our lives are void of the presence of God we will be negative, yes if you are not spending time in prayer and Bible study your life is void of the presence of God. God is not impacting our lives simply b/c we hope for it, we must connect. Just like I can’t impact my kids lives if I never spend time with them. It doesn’t matter how much I love them from a distance if I am not around them, I have no influence. In like manner, if God is not around us, by us allowing Him to speak to us through prayer and Bible study, we are not influenced by Him.
2.) And when we are not serving others and only living for ourselves, we’ll find that negativity takes deep root! Self-centered living is negative living. Whenever I spend too much time worrying about me, I find that I tend to become consumed with what is happening in my life and when I become consumned with anything other than God I tend to become negative. I have noticed that as I have grown as a pastor I have lost negativity. Why? Because I have a passion to reach people! And being consumned with the desire keeps me positive. Also being a parent has forced me to become more and more positive. What my kids do, even when they frustrate me, isn’t ultimately about me! My free time is about my two boys! And therefore I don’t have a lot of time to think about maybe what is wrong in me, but rather I am living in service to my wife, my sons, my church, my community. This outward focus builds my positivity.
The verse I quoted earlier said “as we think we are!” I guess I am basically saying, if you think about God and you think about others honestly and sincerely by doing actions of service for them, I promise you your negativity will disappear. You will be happier and so will everyone else around you!
(Stay tuned for more “Pandemic” posts this week)
I recently received a new Andrews Study Bible. I actually have owned one for some time, but recently the Pacific Union Conference along with the assistance of some other generous donors provided the Andrews Study Bible w/ the Premium Leather cover to all the pastors in the Pacific Union (the one I purchased for myself is a bonded leather cover). I decided this would be the Bible that I am going to read out of and study out of for the next year at least.
I am excited about this…Why?
Well I have never read through the New King James Version of the Bible. In fact I kinda avoided doing much with the NKJV because I found it difficult to read, well for the past 2 plus months I have been preaching from the NKJV, and suddenly the reading of the New King James doesn’t seem so awkward to me. So now that I am comfortable with this version I am looking forward to reading through it.
I am also excited b/c I am looking forward to reading some of the study notes provided in this Bible. You see I am a Seventh-day Adventist, and the study notes in this Bible are written by Adventist scholars (9 of them that were professors of mine in either undergrad or graduate studies). I am not one that is typically a fan of study notes, in major part b/c I worry that they can cause folk to become lazy Bible students, but I recognize study Bibles are popular and here to stay and so if I am going to read a study Bible myself or if I am going to recommend a study Bible to folk, the one I want folk to read is the Andrews Study Bible!
I think the feature I like the most in this Bible is the themed reference section. It is like a Bible Marking done right in the Bible already. Quick and easy for a person if they are doing a Bible study on a specific topic with someone!
I would recommend to ALL that they purchase the Andrews Study Bible, or just get baptized at our church we’ll give you an engraved one for free!
Oh and even though I am quite comfortable now with the NKJV, I look forward to when Andrews releases an edition in the New International Version!