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Disciple Magazine, Vol. 4, #10, 5/28/2012—Printer-Friendly Version
Table of Contents:
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Disciple Magazine, Vol. 4, #10, 5/28/2012—Printer-Friendly Version
Fear of Dying? Not Allowed!------1
How Well Do You Know Jesus?------2
On the Peril of Professionalism ------3
Exegetically Speaking------4
Living out the Living Word------6
Points to Ponder------7
The Story behindthe Song------ 8
Church Builders ------9
Counselor’s Corner------10
Book Reviews------11
News Update------11
Sermon Helps ------13
Puzzles and ‘Toons------15
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Disciple Magazine, Vol. 4, #10, 5/28/2012—Printer-Friendly Version
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Fear of Dying? Not Allowed!
ByJoe Mckeever
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Disciple Magazine, Vol. 4, #10, 5/28/2012—Printer-Friendly Version
I’m sorry, followers of Jesus Christ. The one thing you are not allowed in this life—and certainly not the next—is fear of death. It’s verboten, off limits, taboo.Fearing death ranks first as the ultimate insult to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is unbelief of the first order.
Death was the biggest gun in Satan’s arsenal when the enemy’s forces trotted it out on that Passover Eve on a hill outside Jerusalem’s walls. This Jesus would be dispensed with once and for all. For a few awful hours, it appeared the diabolical plan had succeeded. Jesus was dead—really dead.
Then, on that never-to-be-forgotten Lord’s Day morning, the tomb was found to be empty and reports began popping up that Jesus was appearing to His followers. The disciples, who had been ready to give up and go home and deal with their dashed hopes and the Galilean’s embarrassing claims, suddenly were energized and “shot from cannons” as they blanketed the world with the news: Jesus is alive!
If He was alive, everything else had changed for all time.That was the point. Opponents and critics, eager to find holes and loopholes and potholes in the Christian message, rush to inform us that one man’s death and even His resurrection, if indeed there was one, changes little.
They miss the point. In those three days that changed everything, the Lord Jesus absorbed death by His death on Calvary and defeated it by His resurrection the following Sunday morning.
The disciples of a long-discredited Indian guru once scoffed at my question, “What do you do with the resurrection of Jesus?” They looked down at me as though from their throne on high and said condescendingly, “Sir, we do not believe anything that happened 2,000 years ago has any possible meaning for us today.” They missed it too.
The death of Jesus was all about His payment for our sins; His resurrection was all about God’s confirmation of what He had done, everything He had claimed, all He had taught, and the Lord He had personified.
If Jesus is alive, everything has changed for all time. This is why serious seekers and honest questioners will want to look into the resurrection, called one of the most dependable historical realities by countless historians and millions of disciples. As Paul told King Agrippa, “This (the death and resurrection of Jesus) was not done in a corner” (Acts 26:26). Check it out. Seekers have nothing to lose and believers have nothing to fear.
They call fear “false evidence appearing real.” Until something better comes along, that definition will serve us well. For 2,000 years, believers have delighted in the characterization of death by the Apostle Paul. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:55-57). Paul scoffs at death. He taunts it. He rubs its nose in its defeat. He laughs, he brags, he overflows with joy.
When facing his own approaching death, Paul said, “In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8). Sounds pretty confident, doesn’t he? Oh, yeah.
Earlier in the same letter, he had dealt with the matter of fear: “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of love, of power, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7). Think of that triplet in this way: 1) no fear of people, but a spirit of love; 2) no fear of the devil (and all his forces, including death), but a spirit of power; 3) no fear of the unknown, but a spirit of a sound mind.
Why fear a defeated, cowering, bully of an enemy?
As I write this, my mother is approaching her 96th birthday, although if she makes that milestone, she’ll never know. Her mind and body are gradually shutting down after nearly a century of strong and active service for her God and her family. We count the days good when she recognizes us. And, though we will grieve and miss her something awful, we will count as a very good day when the Father takes her to Heaven.
This precious lady—Lois Jane Kilgore McKeever—did not struggle with faith as some of us have. Throughout her life, from infancy on, hers was the simple, pure trust of a child. She read her Bible and believed it. She listened to sermons and obeyed them. She prayed and trusted the Lord to answer however He chose. Hers was a hard life, particularly in the early decades of her nearly 74-year marriage to our dad. But she never wavered.
Mom hardly noticed as the years piled up and she grew elderly. She and my dad, who lived into his 96th year also, would joke that they just never thought about getting old. Yet they did it with a flourish. She will die soon. But fear will have no role in her homegoing.
Why fear leaving a body that is shutting down and inheriting a glorious one not subject to pain and grief (1 Cor. 15:42-44)? Why fear leaving this humble earthly abode for “a kingdom prepared for [us] from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34)? Why fear departing from a life of decay to receive one which is “glorious beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:16-17)? Why fear dwelling “in the House of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6)? Why fear the absence of tears and mourning and pain, an enchanted land where “the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4)? Why fear “beholding [His] face in righteousness” and “being satisfied with [His] likenesswhen [we] awaken?” (Psalm 17:15).
I have a suggestion. Let’s decide not to fear death. Let’s make up our minds that when the fear of dying begins to creep up on us, we will laugh at it and call it the impostor it is, then rejoice in the Lord. Let’s decide to live boldly and to make no decisions from fear. Let us laugh and dance and sing while we stake our claims for the reality of the risen Christ with everything that involves.
I think about my own dying. Just last night when my wife and I were discussing some decisions regarding expensive dental work, which was one of the choices I was facing, she put it all into perspective. “Joe, you’re 72 years old. Why spend all that money for something you’re just going to leave in the ground?” (How’s that for perspective!)
If I have a choice, my family will be gathered in the house at my homegoing. Some will filter in and out of my room. Tears will be all right, although I will love one of my sons telling me a joke or something funny they heard. And to a grandchild whose tears are flowing, I want to say, “Honey, it’s just fine. After all,five minutes after they close my eyes here, I will be laughing up there.” I want her to believe that, but not because I said it. It’s the proper attitude of all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. No fear allowed—just laughter.
Joe McKeever is a retired Southern Baptist pastor from New Orleans, Louisiana. He blogs regularly at
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How Well Do You Know Jesus?
ByTedKyle
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Disciple Magazine, Vol. 4, #10, 5/28/2012—Printer-Friendly Version
“Not every one that saith unto me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?’ And then will I profess unto them, ‘I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity’” (Matt. 7:21-23).
Many a church wears the motto: “To know Christ and make Him known.” The question for us is “How well are we doing?” Often exhortations on this theme focus on the second part, rightly emphasizing the need to reach the lost with the good news of the Gospel. I want us to take the time to look inward, however, and ask “How well do you know Jesus?”
1) If you are a Christian, you no doubt know Him as the Lamb of God (John 1:29). And in this sense it is fitting to think of Him as “the gentle Jesus, meek and mild,” as lambs are. But, of course, He is a uniquely special Lamb, for He is God’s sacrificial Lamb—the one, the only perfect sacrifice, who alone could take away the sins of the world, because only He lived and died without sin.
2) Assuming you know Him, then, as Savior, do you also accept that He is Lord of your life? Have you given Him the right to direct your path through life? And if you have done this initially, do you seek for His divine guidance in the hurry-scurry of everyday living?
3) Do you know Him as Your heavenly Bridegroom? Do you look forward to the grand consummation of that spiritual union? For some it will come at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. For many others, it is my belief that this will take place for each individual child of God after he or she has passed through the dark portal into life everlasting. For some the call to meet the Bridegroom will come at midnight—in other words, at an unexpected time. Are you ready?
4) Do you know Jesus as a mighty blood-stained Warrior, His garments imbrued with the lifeblood of countless sinners? Check the following dialog from Isaiah 63:1-6—this is about Jesus, though He was as yet unknown to the Old Testament prophet:
“Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.”
5) Are you aware that Jesus, the Son, along with Jehovah, the Father, will not only be the Temple in the eternal heaven-on-earth city of New Jerusalem, but they will also replace the sun and moon as illumination for the earth? “And I saw no temple therein, for the LORD God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof” (Rev. 21:22-23).
6) Do you recognize Jesus as the Overseer of Hell, the final destination of all humans who never acknowledge that they need saving? Does this shock you? Read Revelation 14:10: “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.”
Truly, our Lord is a Being of many faces: Born in a stable to a humble godly Jewish couple—though He was conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit, not by Joseph, to whom she was engaged—and thus Jesus was and is truly the Son of God, God with God (John 1:1). He proved Himself as God with God, the fulfillment of Isaiah 9:6, to the Jewish nation by unnumbered miracles (also called “signs”). But the understanding of most was veiled and encumbered by their devotion to the tradition of the Law of Moses—a veil that yet blinds the eyes of most of the Jewish people, and only a relative handful joyfully realized that the Messiah they sought was with them in the flesh.
Sad to say, a similar veil hides the glorious truth about who Jesus is to most of today’s Gentile world also. And sadder yet, the Savior-King is treated casually by a host of churchgoers, who acknowledge Him with their lips on Sunday, but ignore Him as their weekday Lord and Master—much as the Jews of Malachi’s day ignored the Father: “A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? And if I be a master, where is my fear? Saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name….” (Malachi 1;6).
May none of us be caught without oil for our lamps at the midnight call!
Ted Kyle served as managing editor of Pulpit Helps Magazine (Disciple’s predecessor) from 1993 until his retirement in 2008. He lives in Newberg, Oregon with his wife, Marga.
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On the Peril of Professionalism
ByWilliamYoungman
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Disciple Magazine, Vol. 4, #10, 5/28/2012—Printer-Friendly Version
“Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: ‘The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them’”(Matt. 23:1-3).
All pastors have a ministry timeline; an outline of those events that brought them towhere they are now. Mine is similar to most.
First, there was my call to ministry. Then there was my preparation for ministry. Next, there was my formal installation into ministry. And, at last, there was my practice of ministry.These are the mile markers on that lengthy journey into the pastorate. They are calendarevents identifiable by time and place.
And what a rush it was to finally drive up to that small, cement block church in that smallsouthwestern Kansas town and realize that this was mine. I was now the senior pastor, theshepherd of the sheep, the coach of the team, the CEO.
I had met all of my denominational requirements and so, armed with my ordinationcertificate and my seminary diploma, I paraded into the sanctuary. Not quite St. Paul’s cathedral,but it was mine. I was now a professional pastor.
I knew that many more events would be added to my ministry timeline. Some I could anticipate; others would come as a complete surprise. But as I now review that timeline, I see an event that was not planned, not even recognized at the time. It just silently and subtly evolved. This event, however, did not add to my ministry practice or effectiveness. It subtracted from it.
A second glance in the rear view mirror of my ministry revealed what that event really was: the peril of professionalism.
Now we really do need professionals, people who know what they are doing. But occasionally a professional might betray the trust he or she has earned. They might allow their knowledge and expertise to fool them into thinking that they are superior to the less learned folk.
If the general public doesn’t know as much as I do, then the general public will not know the difference between my doing this or doing that. This is professionalism out of control.
It happens all around us. It is found in the military, the financial world, in law enforcement, in the attitudes of some celebrities, and, once in a while in the ministry. Maybe in some cases this bad professionalism is the natural expression of bad people, but I suspect that more often it is a matter of good people succumbing to the perils lurking in the shadows of professionalism.
For instance the power residing in the position of pastor can be very persuasive; but also difficult to use wisely. Here is God’s minister preaching God’s word to God’s people. The pulpit, therefore, could be seen as the final court of authority. The good people in the pews might confuse the words of the pastor for the voice of God. They need to hear both, but they might not always be the same.