Representing...

As Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene continues in its fifty-first year of ministry, we who worship here are called to be a representation of God’s holiness in the city.

In Sunday’s sermon we were reminded that there are many churches in our city. As our pastor noted, there are some areas in the Bronx where you can pass by three churches on the same block! In spite of these many churches in the Bronx, though, we still can walk through our neighborhoods and see that there is a dearth of people that concern themselves with living a life of holiness.

Sadly, some of the people who eschew holiness claim to be Christians. And perhaps the greatest indictment of Christendom is that we have kept a tradition of service while failing to heed the word of the Lord. In fact, it is the indictment that Jesus Himself will address. We see it explained by our Lord in Matthew chapter 7:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. (Matthew 7:21-29, New American Standard Bible)

If the litmus test of kingdom fitness is not signs and wonders, but rather obedience to God (“he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven”), then let us pray for the will of God to be made manifest in us. This is God, our King, who has instructed us to care for widows, orphans, the poor, and the strangers within our gates. This is God, who has instructed us to be holy because He is holy. This is God, who has instructed us to love one another, to bless those who curse us, and to pray for those who despitefully use us (see Matthew 5:44). This is the only true God, whose words will never pass away.

So, a question for today: are you an authentic representative of the kingdom of God?

“God is our foundation; the Word of God is our standing. We are here to glorify God.” (Smith Wigglesworth)

Starving To Death

On Sunday, Pastor Martha made an observation (paraphrased here) that we as Christians must wrestle with: We have become accustomed to the absence of the presence of God.

Our pastor noted that we live in a time and season where Christians permit themselves to be absorbed in media, technology, entertainment, and labor. However, the attention to a consistent, regular devotional practice is typically nonexistent. The standard response of the overworked (or overbooked) is "I don't have time for devotions." But Pastor Martha countered this excuse with these realities:

We have time to log in to social media.
We have time to take showers and baths.
We have time to choose clothing and get dressed.
We have time to purchase, prepare, and eat food.
We have made time for other things: some necessary, some frivolous.
There are some basics that we have decided will not be absent from our daily lives.
Why is it that we have absented the basics of our faith?

Our pastor shared that if we don't eat spiritual food, we are going to die. Our souls must be nourished... and perhaps that is a key reason why many believers never move into the realm of discipleship. Their souls are famished, and have been famished for so long that they've grown comfortable with the emptiness. In the light of Christ, who has modeled for us the importance of being connected to God through meaningful spiritual disciplines, the response "I'm too busy" is a demonic mantric that no Christian should be comfortable saying.

But, there is hope: we can be filled with the presence of God today! We can draw closer to Him today! My hope, my prayer, is that the Lord will renew in all of us a deep desire to eat at His table and drink from His well. Pastor Martha noted that Jesus first called His disciples to be with Him-- to follow Him and to observe His consistent devotion in ministry and in prayer, so that they might be empowered to model His example. If we long to be disciples of Christ, then let us model His example. Love God. Love spending time in God's word. Love communing with God in prayer.

Can we pour out God's love if we're spiritually empty?

Lord, cause us to hunger and thirst for You. Give us grace and courage to make whatever changes are necessary in our schedules, and in our mindsets, so that we might be nourished by Your word every day and transformed by Your presence every day. We thank You for helping us. Amen.

Matthew 7:24-27

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

When Working Hard Is Hardly Working.

“I don’t want to be doing ‘church work’. I want to be doing the work of the church.” (Reverend Ronald Benjamin)

“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)

As we read in the Matthew 7 passage above, there is the warning that many people who are doing church work will not enter into heaven. Pastor Ronald Benjamin noted that people sometimes make the error of doing church work (working very hard at self-appointed tasks) rather than doing the work of the church (seeking God’s counsel on what He wants them to do, so that His name will be glorified in and through His church). Today, let us consider two questions.

1. How do we fall into such error?

We respond to what we see instead of relying on what God has said. Joshua learned a hard lesson in his encounter with the Gibeonites. As Joshua’s colleagues focused on the feigned poverty and distress of the Gibeonite representatives, they took what they saw at face value and failed to ask God for guidance. As a result, the Israelites became bound by their own words and were unable to destroy their enemies. (See Joshua chapter 9)

We side-step necessary conflict and seek comfort. Scripture tells us that in the season where kings were expected to engage in warfare, King David sent others to battle in his stead while he stayed at home. As a result, David became entangled in adultery and murder. In David’s later years, his home became a battlefield as his children fought with each other and schemed to take his throne. (See Second Samuel 11, Second Samuel 13, Second Samuel 15, and FirstKings 1)

2. What is the work of the church?

The work of the church is to express the love of God. First Corinthians 13, in the original Greek, indicates that this love is akin to the love God intended for marital relationships. It is intimate. It seeks the good of the other. It is consistent. It seeks nothing in return. When the love of God is expressed through us with the intensity and intimacy God modeled for us, then our daily tasks will bring glory to His name.

The work of the church is to obey God. It sounds simple, and it should be simple, but sometimes we are reluctant to do the simple things. God tells us something, and we ask Him to qualify His word with explanations and reassurances. We tell Him we’re not ready to move. We point at graphs, charts, and reports to support our choice to disobey. However, we have been warned: if our initiatives have not been born from the heart of God, then all of our hard work will be in vain.

It’s an interesting time to consider these things. Jews all over the world are now in their high holy days, moving from the celebratory Rosh Hashanah to the contemplative Yom Kippur. Perhaps we at Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene can take a page from their notebook. As we are celebrating our fiftieth anniversary, it would also be useful for us to contemplate our role in the work of the church.

What have we been doing?

What would God have us do in the months and years to come?

Are there areas of disobedience that God is calling us to repudiate, with repentant hearts?

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Watch Your Wait!

In Sunday's sermon, Reverend Ronald Benjamin shared a point I'd like us to reflect on today: We know that in Communion we remember Christ Jesus, but we often forget the entire phrasing of First Corinthians 11:23-26. It says: “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

The Lord who instituted communion is the Lord who will one day come back for His people.

I think the challenge we have is that, as Scripture asserts, there are many people who believe they qualify as "His people" (see Matthew 7:21-23)-- but we would do well to remind ourselves of a few passages in which God shows us what sorts of people are not qualified to join Him in glory. As we wait for the Lord "until He comes", let us not approach the process with pride, nor shame, nor confusion, but with a heart to experience the grace of God.

What happens to people who, as they wait for the Lord’s coming, fail to remember Jesus?

1. They attempt to siphon faith from stronger Christians instead of seeking to develop their own faith-walk with the Lord. We see an example of this in Jesus’s parable of the wise and foolish virgins. The wise ones carried extra oil (a metaphor for the presence of God’s Spirit), while the foolish had no reserves. In the face of the lack which was exacerbated by the length of their wait, the foolish virgins sought to take from the resources of their colleagues. “The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’” (Matthew 25:8) But we are instructed to receive our resources from the Lord. Jesus says, “I am the vine… apart from me you can do nothing.” (see John15:5)

2. They forget that the forgiveness of God, extended towards them, models the way in which they are to forgive others. In the parable of the unforgiving servant (see Matthew 18:21-35), Jesus tells us that the one who is forgiven is expected to have compassionate mercy on those who are in need of forgiveness. The parable ends with the rescinding of mercy, because the man who was forgiven of massive debt had refused to forgive another man of a very small debt. We must remember what our Lord has said: “But if you do not forgive others their sins, Your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:15)

3. They assume that the Lord’s delayed appearance grants them license to disobey. Jesus shared with His disciples a brief narrative about an unjust manager. The manager was a man who knew the desires of the owner, but who opted to do wrong in light of the owner’s extended absence. In the narrative, Jesus said: “But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.” (Luke 12:45-47)

Let us remember the Lord's death. Let us remember the Lord's imminent return. Let us watch our wait.

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Let's Get It Together!

One of the drawbacks of blogging is that it's easy to think of each post as a stand-alone commentary, rather than as being a small part of a larger work.

In that context, let us remember that this past Sunday's sermon was actually the second in a series of sermons about Pentecost. Below are links to a few Scripture passages from the first two installments. Thoughts shared by Pastor Sam are in italics (paraphrase mine). I encourage all of us to take time to read and reflect on the verses and statements below.

I. The Promise-Fulfillment of Pentecost (May 4, 2014)

If the promise of Pentecost has been fulfilled, then it ought be fulfilled in us.
First Corinthians 6:19-20

Sometimes, what God is doing requires a prophetic interpreter.
Acts 2:14-18

To what extent are we fulfilling our experience of this promise?


II. Embracing The Promises of Pentecost, Part 1 (June 1, 2014)

The promise is to "as many as the Lord shall call"... but what is the promise of Jesus?
Acts 1:8

Witnesses have had a transformation of character: not in their own strength, but because of the power of God.
Second Peter 1:3-4

The Spirit-empowered Christian witness has an observable character profile.
Matthew 7:15-20

Lord God, please help us to tell others about the power and love of Jesus that radically transforms human hearts.

Fruit Dupes.

Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit. (Matthew 7:15-16b)

In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus shares with His disciples an important key to ministry assessment: Check the fruit. It is the fruit that demonstrates the heart. It is the fruit that reveals the true motives and character of men and women.

In Sunday's sermon Pastor Sam noted that our experience of the Christian faith is not simply an internal, private devotion to God. Our faith influences our day-to-day living. If we are filled with the love of God, then that love will flow out of us and cause us to express God's love to others.

We live in a world where the prophetic is easily counterfeited. And, this is nothing new: in ancient times, the magicians of Egypt were able to perform several of the wonders that Moses and Aaron did (see Exodus 7:8-11). We must take heed to this age-old reality. If our assessment of the prophetic is limited to the observance of signs and wonders, then we will place ourselves in a position to be deceived. God, through Jesus Christ, has pointed out the one distinctive we can count on: character.

If someone were to assess your character today, what would they say?