Broadway Baptist Church

WHEN GOD SHOWS UP, WILL YOU?

Can you imagine what it was like? People were talking about everywhere. Jesus was not in that tomb anymore. He was alive! But did they truly understand what that meant? After the Crucifixion, even after the Resurrection, some of Jesus’ disciples were half-believing and not totally convinced that He was the Messiah.

Luke 24:14-16 tells that on Resurrection Sunday, two forlorn disciples left for Emmaus, a small village about seven miles from Jerusalem. Walking wearily away from where Jesus had been crucified, buried, and raised, they were discouraged and burdened. They had expected Jesus to be the political Messiah who would deliver Israel like the angels proclaimed. They’d been looking for a King, but they thought His mission had been cut short.

That misunderstanding led to disappointment. Disappointment led to doubt. Doubt led to discouragement.

That can happen to us when we don’t understand the Word of God. So many Christians get discouraged because they don’t fully understand the Scriptures or believe that all the prophets have spoken. The Lord must open two things for us when we’re confused and disillusioned: the Scriptures and our eyes. Both are absolutely necessary.

Light without sight is no good, and sight without light is no good. It takes both.

I believe God kept back Jesus’ identity from them for a while on purpose. He was soon to leave Earth and return to the Father and would no longer physically be with them. What He is doing on the road to Emmaus is transferring their dependence on His physical presence and moving it to the Word of God. As He opens the Law and the Prophets, He is opening their eyes to see Him now, not after the flesh but revealed by the Holy Spirit in the Word of God.

During this journey of about two hours, He’s opening the Scriptures to them. Jesus holds a two-hour Bible Conference! How would you like to have a recording of Jesus, starting in the book of Genesis going through the Old Testament saying, “Now here’s Jesus, here’s the Messiah. Here’s the Messiah in this passage, and here’s another one.” It is extremely significant that it was the Word and not the physical sense that made Him real to them. They didn’t say, “Oh yes, we recognized Him.” No, they said, We knew Him because He opened the Word to us.

Do you understand why He did this? He’s going back to Heaven but He’s leaving the Word. Today we need the same thing. We don’t have Jesus before us in physical form but we do have the Word of God. The written Word is what we have today to bring Jesus Christ to us and make Him real. If you read the Bible and don’t find Jesus, you missed it. Go back and you’ll find Him. He’ll be in prophecy, in parable, and in poetry. Whether it’s the Old Testament or the New Testament, you’ll find Jesus everywhere as John 5:39 says, The Bible becomes a wonderful book to you when you find Jesus in it. Many persons know the truth inside and out. They can cross every “T” of truth and dot every “I” in doctrine, but they can’t spell “victory.”

I want you to have a burning passionate love for Jesus Christ. There’s no lasting joy without Him. He’s the one you need. God has engineered it that you’re not going to have joy without Jesus. And you’re not going to know Jesus apart from Scripture. May you no longer see with the eyes of the flesh but with spiritual eyes as the Scriptures and your hearts are open to His truth. And may He continue to show us the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. Our hearts need to be set aflame. We need a living faith! He is risen indeed.

Why did Jesus use the metaphor “salt” in Matthew 5:13 to describe those who would be His followers. We need to look at the significance of salt in Jesus time to understand. Pure salt was often more valuable than gold. As a matter fact, salt was a rare delicacy and often a medium of exchange. We get our word “salary” from “salt.” It literally means salt=money, hence the expression “a man is worth his salt.” Salt was valuable because of what it did.

• Salt seasons. Salt causes flavor to come alive. (Job 6:6) Most people are simply living bland, flavorless lives. That’s the reason so many are striving to find some kind of a high. There’s no excitement, no thrill. Their lives are tasteless. It’s the bland leading the bland. Christians must be different. We should give flavor and zest to life. (Colossians 4:6)
• Salt preserves. Salt is also valuable because it preserves. Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee, teaching what we know as the Sermon on the Mount. Many in His audience were fishermen. When He spoke of being “the salt of the earth,” because of their occupation they knew He was talking about the preserving power of salt. In that day, salt prevented decay and restrained corruption. It was necessary to salt fish to keep them edible. If ever there was a day when we need the preserving power of Gospel salt, it is this day of corruption and deadly decay.
• Salt heals. Salt seasons and preserves, and it also heals. In 2 Kings 2:20-22, we read that Elisha put salt into deadly, polluted waters. Those waters were healed, and out of barrenness and bitterness there came blessedness. Salt has antiseptic and healing properties to it. As a matter fact, in Bible times when little babies were born, they would give the baby a salt bath to hold down infection.
• Salt irritates. Have you ever cut your hand and then got salt in it? Salt definitely burned and irritates. Jesus said in Mark 9:49, Everyone will be salted with fire. His figure of speech indicated that fire and salt have something in common: salt burns like fire. Be aware that the truth of God’s Word, when rubbed into this diseased world, will sting. There are many people who prefer a nonirritating brand of the Gospel. But true Gospel, when presented, will irritate the sinful world. No offense, no effect.
• Salt penetrates. Salt has such powerful properties that just a pinch will permeate an entire gallon of water. In fact, it’s one of the few major compounds that dissolve equally well in either hot or cold water. We must get the salt to the source, where it can penetrate, activate, and change society. We need to guard ourselves from being a salt warehouse. We need to be salt shakers. As one author wrote, “Out of the salt shaker into the world.”

Why are Bible believing Christians mocked in today’s society? Why are we no longer respected? Because we have lost our saltiness. We’ve become good for nothing. Many Christians do not understand because they themselves are saltless Saints. What will it take to bring us to our knees? If there was a need for the salt to work, it is at this hour. Corruption and decay are emerging around us. They are part of God’s judgment. But salty saints and the power of God can make a difference. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

God taught us to pray

• to the Father (Matthew 6:9)
• through the Son (John 14:13)
• in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18)
• for the will of God (Matthew 6:10)
• in confession of our sins to God (Psalm 66:18)
• in repentance to one another (Mark 11:25-26)
• in faith (Matthew 21:22)

Beware of the wolves. (Matthew 7:15-16; Matthew 7:22-23)

Have you ever walked up to a house to knock on the door and saw a sign, “Beware of dog.” What do you do? You stop right away. Imagine a sign, “Beware of wolf.” I think you would do a double take. Jesus says, Beware-- wolves, false prophets within the church, have disguised themselves in sheep’s clothing.  Now when Jesus says, “Beware,” we ought to beware these wolves are both dangerous and deceptive. We cannot be wise and not beware.

We have warnings, but many times warnings have gone unheeded.

• The captain of the Titanic received a message that they were entering iceberg laden waters but he shoved the message into his pocket and 1490 people went to a watery grave.
• On December 7, 1941, Sgt. Joseph Lockhart sitting at the radr at Pearl Harbor, reported unidentified aircraft approaching. His commanding officer, said, “Forget it,” and 3000 of America’s best person that day.

If ever generation needed to be warned about false prophets, this is the one. False prophets have honeycombed this world with deceptive teaching as our Lord predicted in Matthew 24:24. Sometimes Satan comes against the Church by persecution, but when persecution won’t work, he has a better way--infiltration. A great danger today’s churches is the infiltration of false prophets wearing sheep’s clothing. The apostle Paul warned in 2 Corinthians 11:13-14. Satan is the captain of camouflage, the master of deceit. Repeatedly the Bible warns us of false prophets. All will be wearing sheepskin, appearing to be part of the flock. But pull back the sheepskin, and it will reveal the wolf beneath. Some will pervert the gospel, and those who pervert the Gospel are false prophets. Some will prostitute the Gospel. Like the prophet Balaam, they’re trying to serve God and rake off a few profits on the side. He didn’t pervert the gospel, but he was apostate. He was Orthodox but greedy. Many false prophets trim their messages for personal gain, popularity, or power. They spell prophet P-R-O-F-I-T.

Beware of the fruit they bear. You will know them by their fruits. How do you judge a preacher? Not merely by what he preaches, but by what he produces. The Devil cannot continue the deception forever because the fruit is going to emerge. What’s the mark of a man of God? People who know Jesus because of him.

Beware the Faith they share. Matthew 7:21 says, Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. They have spiritual activity without scriptural authority. In spite of their profession, preaching, power, or performance, they never knew the Lord Jesus Christ, and He never knew them. They haven’t lost their salvation, they never had it. What they do they do through the power of the great deceiver, Satan himself.

How do you recognize a false prophet? If what he says does not square with the Word of God, then he is a false prophet. Study the faith and you won’t be drawn into a false cult. Get a bulldog grip on the Word of God and let the Holy Spirit speak to you. Beware! Don’t put your faith in anyone else or you will be fodder for ravenous wolves.

Congratulations. You’ve been given a present. It’s guaranteed by the manufacturer to be without defect. But it requires proper use and maintenance for your full satisfaction, so it comes with an owner’s manual to ensure your success. In case you misuse or abuse it, you can contact the manufacturer direct.

What is the gift? Your life is a gift, and as the owner, the most important thing you can do for skilled operation is to know the manual and learn all you can from the Maker. There is only one you. Your life is an irreplaceable treasure, and God has called you for His purposes. But what Creator would complete such a unique work then launch it without instructions? Our God has not done that.

The gift of life and a fresh new day to invest it in arrives unstained each morning with the opportunity to bring your Creator glory. Thankfully God’s wisdom is available every moment of the day. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

We receive Wisdom from God’s Word inferred by Psalm 119:105. Wisdom is not an emotional feeling. Wisdom is sanctified common sense, a judicial use of your mind, guided by the Word of God. As people seek answers in a world gone mad, how can you find God’s way to live your life to the fullest? In the Owners Manual the Bible, read Isaiah 58:11, Psalm 32:8, and James 1:5.

If you’re a child of God, you have

• God the Father above you, overseeing things.
• God the Son beside you directing your steps.
• God the Spirit within you impressing your heart and leading you.

According to Jeremiah 29:11, God has a plan for your individual life. The wisdom you need is revealed in His Word by His Spirit and through prayer. Your assignment is to find, follow, and finish the plan. Spend time every day meditating in His Word. (Psalm 1:3)  As you are guided by the Word of God--God’s objective truth, the witness of God–the Holy Spirit impressing your heart and the works of God–His providential opening and closing doors, you will have God’s wisdom for your every need.

This world is a dangerous place. We face an enemy far more insidious than terrorism–-the X-rated culture in which we live. To combat it, we need our own Department of Homeland Security to protect the innocence of our children and secure the borders of our homes. We must engage head-on in spiritual warfare against Satan. For that we need the ammunition of knowledge, truth, conviction, and boldness. A tsunami of sludge has hit the shores of America. Although you think your family is safe indoors, it’s seeping under the threshold. Material once sold only in back alleys is now on display in magazine racks and video stores, piped into the home through the major networks, and, most dangerous of all, through the Internet. The battle is critical. Satan wants to pollute our minds and those of our children, stealing away their future marital happiness.

The relationship God intended to bond husband and wife is being distorted and dehumanized by an invasion of pornography that permeates every area of media and communications. It’s at the corner market, the mall, the theater, and on TV. Satan has dipped arrows into deadly poison and aimed them at the hearts of innocent kids, bringing perverted pleasure and slow death.We are at war! Satan is not playing games, nor should we. We can have victory if we’re willing to counterattack. Do you have what it takes? There is a serious shortage today real-life heroes willing to stand above the crowd, to protect their homes, and teach by word and example with God’s grace. It’s a winnable fight. The spoils of victory are great. The sign reads, “Heroes wanted.”

Here are some practical strategies if you’re ready for the battle.

• Install software for the heart. Before putting any external solutions in place, start with the heart. Help your children and grandchildren come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Without Him there will be no heart change, and today’s society will overtake them.
• Be aware of Satan’s lies. He will attack with the lie that unbridled sex gives joy, pleasure, and fulfillment. Satan wants to kill not just the body, but happiness, joy, families, and purity. Numerous studies have shown a direct link between pornography and violent crime. It is a mental and moral virus that corrupts everywhere it goes.
• Cover your family with prayer. Satan wants to sabotage your home. The dynamite is in place, the fuses lit, and the matches struck. Pray God’s covering and protection over yourself, your children, your grandchildren, and your home every day.
• Be a positive example. Don’t let your children get their ideas of sex from the twisted values of media entertainment. Children need to see the joy and passion of a faithful marriage modeled before them.
• Build guardrails (Deuteronomy 22:8). You cannot guarantee your kids will never see pornography because God gave them a will. But you can remove temptations from your home. 
• (1) Guard the computer. Don’t let a child have a computer in their bedroom. Keep it in a public area of the house.
• (2) Tame the television. As television sinks deeper into the slime pit, the American family is being killed by degrees. Don’t use the TV as a babysitter. Cancel or block channels known for racy material.
• (3) Get rid of questionable CDs, videos and magazines. What if Jesus were coming to your house for a week? He would be in one of the bedrooms and could browse through your CDs and videos. How would you clean up before He comes? Collect the garbage and take it to the curb.
• (4) Screen movies carefully. Many websites review movies for families based on content. Be certain you review before you view.
• (5) Don’t be home alone. Give your home a positive atmosphere that attracts your kids’ friends. Plan wholesome entertainment. Make it “the place to be.” Let it ring with laughter and be a welcoming place.
• (6) Help your children choose friends carefully. When friends hang out at your house, look them over. With discernment, help your kids choose quality friends.
• (7) Remember Proverbs 13:20.