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How to Regain Purpose and Hope

4/29/2019

Our mission agency, Christ For the City Int’l, spent a day serving during our bi-annual board meetings. During lunch, I sat down next to a man eating alone. I asked, “How’s your day going?”

After an awkward pause, he opened up. I sensed a melancholy spirit. He said his wife of 34 years died in his arms four years ago. She was the love of his life with a “beautiful spirit inside and out.”

This man turned to alcohol and his life spiraled out of control. He remarried, but temporarily lost touch with his second wife. I prayed out loud. Tears seeped out of his eyes. This man once had been a deacon in an evangelical church, but now seemed to have lost all hope.

How do we lose purpose and hope? How do we regain it?

We find a clue in Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness, mentioned three times (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-12). He was led by the Spirit and tempted by the devil. The first was self-gratification (lust of the flesh). If you’re the Son of God, meet the physical need by turning stones into bread. Jesus, like us, need God’s word to withstand the temptation (Matthew 4:1-4).

The second temptation was self-promotion (lust of the eyes). The devil had Jesus stand on the highest point of the temple and throw Himself down. The devil twisted Scripture. Jesus said not to put God to the test (Matthew 4:5-7).

The third temptation was self-exaltation (boastful pride of life). The devil showed all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor so Jesus would worship him. Jesus said to worship and serve God only (Matthew 4:8-11).

Before the temptations, Jesus had a mountain top experience--heaven was opened, saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and heard an affirming voice of unconditional love from heaven (Matthew 3:16-17). When things go well and you feel blessed, beware the devil will blast you with chaos, confusion, and criticism.

After the temptations, Jesus preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Jesus told Peter. Andrew, James, and John to follow Him to become fishers of men. (Matthew 4:17-22). The devil doesn’t want you to share the gospel or disciple others.

On the encouraging side, angels, ministering spirits to serve believers, helped Jesus and will attend to you (Mark 1:12-13; Hebrews 1:14).

If we resist temptation, share our faith and begin discipling others, evil forces will come against us. We must walk in Christ’s authority and drive out evil spirits (Mark 1:21-28).

Because we’re in a spiritual battle, we must fight with the spiritual weapons of prayer and God’s word.

It’s important we follow the example of Jesus and pray, preferably early in the morning (Mark 1:35).

The devil is crafty and leaves us until an opportune time. He knows our weaknesses. In Jesus’ case, everyone praised Him as the word got around (Luke 4:13-15). Seeking the praise of others may prevent us from sharing the gospel and discipling others.

Don’t love the world, which include the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and boastful pride of life. Those who do God’s will live forever (1 John 2:15-17).

The greatest purpose and hope we have in life are to follow Jesus in catching men for Him.

To read past blogs, go to https://www.markpomeroy.com/

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Do You Have Good Soil?

4/23/2019

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I nervously walked up to the door. I knocked several times. A lady opened the door. Her facial expression communicated, “What do you want?” I asked, “How could I pray for you and your family on this beautiful day?” I transitioned into my story of faith and shared the “Three Circles.” She trusted Christ as Savior.

During my next visit, I gave her a Bible. In a return visit, I saw her Bible sitting on a shelf. She said, “I haven’t read it yet.” I encouraged her that her house could be a place to share Christ with her friends. The next week, I called and asked when we could meet again. “I don’t want to meet with you. You lied!” Before I could explain, she hung up.

A different outcome came with someone else. He experienced one trial after another, but persevered and grew in Christ. Why do we see these different levels of receptivity?

Jesus’ parable of the soils, also known as the parable of the sower, is found in three places (Matthew 13:1-9; Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-8). A farmer sows seed along a path, rocky places, thorns, and good soil.

On the path, birds came and ate up the seed. On the rocky places, plants sprang up quickly but withered without roots in shallow soil. The thorns in the third soil choked the plants so they didn’t bear grain. The fourth soil bore abundant fruit.

Jesus introduced his interpretation of this parable by quoting Isaiah 6:9-10. People’s hardened hearts prevented them from embracing spiritual truth for healing (Matthew 13:14-15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10).

Let’s combine Jesus’ interpretation in these three accounts
(Matthew 13:18-23; Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8:11-15). For seed sown on the path, the evil one snatched it away so they couldn’t believe and be saved. For the rocky soil, the man heard the word and received it with joy for a short time until trouble or persecution came. Worries of this life, deceitfulness of wealth, desires for other things, and pleasures choked the word, which made the thorny soil unfruitful (Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:18-19; Luke 8:14).

What about the good soil?

Let’s first look at the preceding context of Matthew 13:

We are in a spiritual battle. A heart filled by the Holy Spirit can drive out demons. “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:22-37; see vs. 34)
Even though we aren’t perfect, a spiritual life filled with Jesus equips us to share His word. Even though he sought worldly comfort, Jonah repented of his sin and preached the word in Nineveh (Matthew 12:38-41a; book of Jonah). Jesus is greater than Jonah (Matthew 12:41b-42).
Jesus relates with those who do God’s will (Matthew 12:46-50).

Description of good soil

The good soil yields both quantity and character.

Quantity: Matthew 13:18 said the good soil bore 100, 60, 30 times what was sown. Mark 4:8 said the crop multiplied 30, 60, 100 times. Luke 8:8 said the crop yielded 100 times more than was sown.
Character: Hear, understand, accept, and retain the word by persevering with a noble and good heart (Matthew 13:23; Mark 4:20; Luke 8:15

To share God’s word with everyone, the quality of our spiritual life is key.

Grow spiritually in God’s word to share it with others.

To read past blogs, go to https://www.markpomeroy.com/

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Relate and Keep it Simple in Evangelism

4/14/2019

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I asked a church intern to go prayer knocking with me in a low-income area of Lincoln. At our third residence, my partner and I looked up and saw a guy smoking. Frank stared at us from the top floor of an apartment complex. We asked, “Would you like to hear good news?” He said yes.

After walking up the stairs and following him to his apartment, he invited us to come inside. We met his wife and infant son. After small talk, he said his story was complicated. It would take hours to explain. He handed me a movie on DVD and told me to watch it. Frank said the movie depicted his life.

We will look at three examples of Jesus using common terms from creation in sharing truth in evangelism.

Rock
Jesus gave Simon a new identity and destiny. Because Simon was an unstable and emotional person, Jesus used “rock” to express his new name as Peter. It anticipated his future leadership role in the church (John 1:42). Everyone saw a “rock” in the countryside. Christ used “rock” to express Peter’s later revelation of Jesus as Son of the living God. Christ would build His church and the gates of Hades would not overcome it (Matthew 16:18).

Wind
Nicodemus, a self-righteous and well-connected religious leader, came to Jesus at night. When he misunderstood “born again,” Jesus used “wind” to illustrate that one can’t know where the Spirit comes or where it goes (John 3:1-21). The area had strong winds causing sandstorms. Nicodemus, used to being in control, later allowed the Spirit to guide Him by standing up for Jesus and caring for His body after the crucifixion (John 7:50-51; 19:38-40).

Water
Jesus met an immoral Samaritan woman at a well. As the opposite of Nicodemus, Jesus used the term, water, to connect with her. He and the woman were both thirsty. It was noon. The weather was hot. Jesus began the conversation, “Give me a drink.” She was also spiritually thirsty. Five husbands and living with someone hadn’t quenched her spiritual thirst. Many Samaritans believed in Christ because of her testimony
(John 4:1-42).

Get to Know
We won’t know what term to use in evangelism until we understand someone’s story. Skeptical Nathanael asked if anything good could come out of Nazareth. Jesus said he was a true Israelite with integrity. He said later that Nathanael believed because of Jesus telling that He saw him under the fig tree (John 1:45-51).

How did Jesus get the woman at the well’s attention? John says the woman left her water jar, went to the town, and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (John 4:28-29).

In summary, get to know the person and you will develop credibility and trust. Ask the Spirit for the simple, understandable words as a vehicle to express spiritual truth in evangelism. Then watch God at work!

By the way, I’m in the process of getting to know Frank! I’m praying for the right terms to use.

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Christ is Enough

4/4/2019

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My wife and I met a lady at the funeral of a co-worker. She observed the fall of Communism in Romania. As people waited in long lines for food, 1000s of Gospel tracks were distributed. People wanted them more than food. Not one track was left on the ground. A newspaper reporter introduced their group to governmental authorities. They desired to replace Communism with Christian values in their public schools. Soon, it happened all over the former Soviet Union.

The gospel of John has seven “I Am” statements.

For spiritually thirsty people--Christ spiritually sustains us as the Bread of Life: Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)
For discouraged and worried people--We gain spiritual wisdom and understanding through Christ as the Light of the World: When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
For burdened and self-righteous people--We have unlimited access and freedom through Christ as the Gate: I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. (John 10:9)
For guilty and unforgiven people--Christ’s death on the cross provides forgiveness of sin as our Good Shepherd: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
For purposeless people--Christ’s resurrection provides eternal life beginning now as the Resurrection and the Life: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)
For deceived people--Christ is the only one who can provide the Way, the Truth, and the Life: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
For exhausted and achievement-oriented people--Christ as the Vine provides the power to serve Him: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

In my last blog, I mentioned the Three Circles gospel presentation. The bold text above represents one aspect of brokenness.

The underlined text represents one attribute of Christ to meet a particular need of the person you are sharing with.

Will you be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit to share the Gospel? To learn how, read Colossians 4:2-6.

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How to Regain Purpose and Hope

Do You Have Good Soil?

Relate and Keep it Simple in Evangelism

Christ is Enough

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