THE FOUNDATIONAL PROMISE

BLUEPRINT FOR A SUCCESSFUL CHURCH

ACTS CHAPTER 1 AND 2

THE FOUNDATIONAL PROMISE

Stop me if you’ve heard this one.  “I am just looking for the right church for myself and my family”, or “I’ve tried several churches but just can’t seem to find one that fits our needs” or surely you’ve heard “I’m not going to church because it’s full of hypocrites”. 

It is the desire of every pastor, every board member, every deacon, every faithful church “go-er” and probably every person who even casually attends a church of any kind, that “their church” becomes a successful church.

If you browse through the Christian book store or “Google” the topic on line, you will find scores of books, pamphlets and lessons on church growth.  However, in spite of that, how many churches could you point to or identify as a successful church?

As I mentioned last week, the church wasn’t the decision of a committee or the brain storm of some college professor.  It was conceived by God and it was He who put the wheels in motion.  The church was God’s desire, directed by Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit. 

Why then are we seeing more people turn away from the church than we are being drawn to the church?  Why do we see the majority of our churches either, totally collapsing, struggling to stand or continuing to exist without any progress at all?

It is my belief that the reason for this is simply because we have deviated from the original blueprint laid out by God and /or that we are trying to use faulty materials to build God’s “building”.

In the next few lessons I’d like for us to take a good honest look at “the church” and “our church” and evaluate them in light of God’s blueprint to determine how to get back on track and be the successful church that God designed. 

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After the death and resurrection of Jesus, Luke tells us that He remained on the earth, walked with, talked with and instructed His disciples for 40 days.  He, through the Holy Ghost, “had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen” and had spoken to them “things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3)

I’m sure He felt just like I do when I’m about to leave home for a short while.  I try to tell Keva a whole bunch of stuff that I feel is important and that I think she might overlook or forget. I’ll make “a list”, I’ll do a lot of “Oh, by the ways” and I’ll remind her of things I know she already knows but that I just want to emphasize.

Jesus had been with His disciples for 3 years.  Surely He had told them and taught them all the things they needed to know but He just wanted to “remind them” before He left to go home.

We are not privileged to what most of these things were that He shared with them during that 40 days crash course in “How to promote the Kingdom of God” but I believe by observing and listening to the things that have been shared with us in The Word we will have the necessary ingredients, the necessary blueprint, for a successful church.     

1.  WAIT FOR THE PROMISE: (Acts 1: 4-5)

I’ve encouraged you often to study and know the promises of God.  I’ve tried to express to you the vital importance of knowing the things that God has promised to those who believe in His name and follow His teaching. 

I have also tried to teach and explain and live before you a life of Holiness.  Not because this is a doctrine of the Church of The Nazarene but because it is a vital truth of the Bible and a command of God.  But I’m not sure that I have ever expressed it to you in the way we will discuss tonight.   

Being filled with God’s Spirit is NOT a doctrine.  Receiving the Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit as modern day people like to phrase it) is not a new era idea, an alternative or an option. 

IT IS A PROMISE OF GOD HIMSELF, DELIVERED TO US BY JESUS CHRIST AND BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE IN-FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Notice what The Word says (v-4) “Wait for the Promise of the Father, which ye have heard of me”.

I’m afraid that many modern day Christians see the condition of Holiness as an option.  Because they haven’t been taught it, had it preached to them, understood it or seen it lived out in before them, they think it is just a nice condition that some people can get some day before they die. 

I heard this story that illustrates my point.  A young boy and his father were walking through their little town one afternoon and having some extra time on their hands while Mom was doing some shopping, happened to stop by the new car dealership.  They walked onto the dealership lot and walked around looking at the cars.  They walked into the showroom and were captivated by the beautiful new Buick sitting there in all its splendor.  It had been washed and waxed and “detailed” to perfection.  It had all the latest gadgets and extras.  They circled the car and admired its new lines from every angle.  They looked under the hood and were fascinated by the powerful engine.  They stuck their heads inside the car and smelled the “new car” smell.  Finally the young boy could stand it now longer.

“Wow Dad, what a great car” the young boy said. 

“Yes, it certainly is a fine car” the father replied.

“Do you like this car, Dad” the boy asked.

“Oh, I certainly do.  It’s about the finest car I’ve ever seen” the father said, not taking his eyes off the vehicle.

“Then Dad, why don’t we get it”? The boy asked honestly.

The father looked longingly at the new Buick, the shiny chrome made sparkling reflections in his eyes.

“Son, I doubt that we will ever be able to have anything like that”, he said and they walked from the dealership.

There are folk who have attended old fashion camp meetings, revivals and heard Sunday morning messages.  There are people who have listened to hundreds of holiness sermons.  They have read books, studied lessons.  They have sat through classes and read pamphlets on the topic. They admire the principle of the doctrine of holiness.  They desire the cleanness of heart that holiness promises.  They long for the freedom from the chains of sin that is taught by the advocates of this doctrine.  They can see why one would want to possess this kind of experience. They can smell the “new life” smell when they are around people who possess this “life in Christ”.  When you talk about it or teach about it you can see the sparkle in their eyes.  But like the little boy’s father, as much as they admire it, as much as they  hold this experience in high regard, as much as they even long for this experience, “they just don’t think they will ever be able to possess anything like that”.

Can I tell you that Holiness is NOT something devised by wise theologians?  Holiness is not the product of a Nazarene board meeting.  Holiness is not the invention of a committee of church leaders.  Holiness is not some “wives tale” or something that only “old folks” of days gone by could experience. 

Hol;iness is the promise of God Himself, declared and delivered by Jesus Christ, and brought about by the baptizing, soaking and filling of the Holy Spirit of God.  It’s something that God planned and God promised and Jesus bought with His blood on that killing field outside of Jerusalem one Friday evening.  It’s something that is provided by God’s Holy Spirit for every believer who will seek for and accept it.  It worked for the men and women of the first church, it worked for the men and women of your grandfather and grandmothers times and it will work for us and for our children and grandchildren who come behind us.

Acts 2:39 gives us the words of Peter as he addressed the people on the day of Pentecost.  In explaining what had just happened to the 120 folks in the Upper Room he said that “the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (That’s you and me).

Holiness is the plan of God, it is the provision of God and it is the promise of God.

In verse 8 of Acts 1 Luke tells the church what Jesus expressed to them as His expectations for a successful church.  He expected a successful church to “be witnesses”, in Jerusalem (their home town) Judaea (their state), Samaria (places where no self respecting Jew would go) and to the uttermost parts of the earth (places they didn’t even know about yet). Here was “Commands intent”.  Here is what the church was to do.  They (we) were challenged, or can we say ordered, to do this task.  And we understand that this command was not for those people only.  It is the command issued to you and I. It is a command for our day and time.  It is the task, the commission, the assignment and the duty of each person who calls themselves Christians.   

When we read this verse or when we read the “great commission” (Matt 28: 19-20) we can easily see this as our assignment.  But we seem to totally dismiss the preceding words of Acts 1:8.  You will be witnesses “AFTER” the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) has come upon you.  You will have power “AFTER” the Holy Spirit fills you.

Just as in following a blueprint when building a house, you wouldn’t consider building the roof before you laid the foundation.  You wouldn’t construct the walls and paint them and hang the pictures on them before you built the floors.  Yet we try to “go and tell” before we are equipped. 

No wonder we can’t be successful soul winners.  No wonder we can’t be successful in our Sunday schools, no wonder people are leaving the church is droves, no wonder over half of the churches on the South Alabama District are averaging less than 25 people on Sunday morning. No wonder your children and my children don’t want anything to do with the “religion” that we try to sell them.   We’ve got the cart before the horse.  We have tried to go out and preach and teach the Kingdom of God and we don’t have the pureness or the power.  

We must follow the blueprint in order to build a successful church.  Oh, it is a noble ambition to desire to build a large church building on this spot.  It is a righteous aspiration to want to see 100’s of children and teens learning and playing and worshiping on this spot of land. I can imagine a time when we will need to hire crossing guards so that the children from the schools across the road can safely come here after school to a fine Christian day care or after school facility.  My dream of seeing my children and grandchildren attending church here and serving the Lord here is a splendid objective.

·         Cristy, can you imagine your granddaughter standing before the congregation and singing songs of praise to God?  

·         Gene can you not see Paris as a young teen-ager bringing her friends from school here and leading them to Christ?

·         Buddy can’t you see your daughter teaching young foster children about Jesus here?

·         Others of you can fill in your own dreams in this space.

But we must not; we CAN NOT accomplish any of this without following the blueprint left with us by God.

There are other items in this blueprint.  We will study other aspects of church growth and success before we finish these lessons.  But this is not the time to address them.  Studying unity, fellowship, unselfishness and praise and all the other points are important and essential for church success but if we attempt to follow the plan and leave out the establishment of the foundation, we are doomed to fail. 

I know that you know this.  You could no doubt teach it, and I know that we have gone over it before but for the sake of some who may not have been able to put it in order yet let me walk you through the simple works of grace.

 

1.  We are put under conviction of our sins by The Holy Spirit.  We realize that we have sin in our lives that are un-confessed, (“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”).  We respond to that conviction by confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness and repenting or turning from our sins with the help of The Holy Spirit.  Our sins are forgiven and we are “saved”.  That is the first work of grace.

2.  Then later on, it may be years, months, days or hours later, The Holy Spirit will convict us again about living a pure life and being filled with His Spirit.  If we respond to that conviction as we did in the first step or first work of grace, then we come to God with a request to be filled with His Spirit.

We surrender our all to Him for time and eternity.  We place our all on the altar.  We ask that The Holy Spirit come into our lives and by His presence make us clean and pure and holy. We ask for that freedom for the chains of sin.  We asked that a Holy God take up residence in our being.  And just as He promised In Luke 11:13, God gives us that Spirit.  He accepts our offering.  He fills our hearts.  He soaks us with His Spirit. And that is Sanctification or the second work of grace.     

3.  Then, as you follow the leading and guidance of The Holy Spirit, you will begin to see other areas in your life that need “tweaking”.  You may be convicted about a loose tongue, a tight bill fold, a short temper or a tall opinion of yourself.  Don’t let others point these things out to you, listen to the Holy Spirit.  He will guide you and point out the places where you need to change. 

When He does, then ask Him to help you change and ask Him to help you grow.  This is “growth in grace” (and I know that in the Nazarene denomination we don’t preach or teach a third work of grace but if we did this would be it.)

This was the condition of the “church” after the Day of Pentecost when he Spirit filled their hearts. This is where they were in their Christian life at that point in time.  And this is why they could grow. NO THIS IS WHY THEY COULD EXPLODE. 

If you have already experienced this “work of grace” and if you are living a Holy life then wonderful, let’s move on to the next item on the blueprint. 

But if you feel you are not there yet, then search your heart this week.  Find that place this week; get hungry and thirsty for the filling of God’s Spirit this week.  Don’t put it off.  Don’t try to make excuses; don’t try to justify your actions or inactions.  “For to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is a sin”.  (James 4:17)

I’m not going to conduct an altar call.  I’m not going to stand here and tell you that you have God’s fullness or that you don’t.  I’m not going to judge your intents or your actions.  I’m simply going to ask you the question that Paul asked some disciples (church members) when he came to Ephesus (Acts 19:2) Have you receive the Holy Spirit (Ghost) since you believed?

I believe I know your hearts.  I don’t believe there is a person sitting here tonight who doesn’t desire the best that the Lord has for them.  I don’t believe there is a person here who doesn’t want God’s best for this church.  I don’t think there is anyone who will see what God has to offer and make a conscious decision to “leave it on the table”. 

Our cry at this time in the life of our church should be; “Let the building begin”, “Let the movement begin”, “Let the progress begin” and “Oh, Lord let it begin with me and in me”.

The first church followed the Blueprint and we are here today because they did.  It may very well be that the decisions that you and I make here and now will determine the outcome of the lives of those who come behind us. 

What if because of your actions or in-actions, the lives of your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be altered?  I want to follow the blueprint to the “T”.  I want every nut and bolt, every nail, every board to be in its right place.  I want to have ALL that God has for me.  I know you do as well. 

And if you will honestly read and study God’s word and follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit you will see that it is God’s will for you to be entirely sanctified. (Or if that phrase or that terminology seems too old fashion for you or too strange too you or too weird for you, then generate one of your own).  It is God’s will that you be “Christ-like”.  It is God’s will that you be Holy.  It is God’s will that you be clean.  It’s God’s will that you be like Jesus. 

Holiness is not about the length of your skirt or the length of your hair or the places you go or the things that you say.  (Although when you are in the center of God’s will, those things will reflect the purity that He gives you)  Holiness is about having a clean heart that only God can provide.  It’s not something we can do but something we can and should request for God to do for us.      

A successful church will begin with people who have a hunger and thirst for holiness.  Plan and simple, it won’t work any other way.  To try and be a successful church without following the first step in the blueprint is a futile effort.

Next week we will go on to the second step in the blueprint.   I hope that when we get to that step we will have completed the first one.  It is the only way to a successful church or a successful life. 

GOING HOME

FIVE PLACES YOU’VE JUST GOT TO SEE

Luke 24: 50-53

GOING HOME

It has been so long ago that we begin this study that I called “5 places you’ve just got to see”, that I imagine you have forgotten the first 4 places.  Let me refresh your memory for just a moment.

·         First we visited Mount Olivet where Jesus told His disciples about the events of His second coming.  

·         Then we walked inside the city of Jerusalem and entered the Upper Room where Jesus gave the disciples something to remember Him by.

·         The third place we visited was a beautiful place which became a horrible place for Jesus, the Garden of Gethsemane.

·         We followed Jesus to the forth spot which was the Place of the Skull or Golgotha

It was while there on Golgotha that we kind of got side tracked and went into a study of the seven statements of Jesus from the cross.  For me that was not a bad side track.  I really learned a lot during that study.

But now we are back to the final spot on the list of our 5 places.  It is a spot near where we have visited before.  It is a part of the mountain range called the Mount of Olives.  It is east of the City of Jerusalem and the Bible tells us it is about a Sabbath Day’s journey from Jerusalem. 

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Let’s clarify that “Sabbaths Day journey” statement here because it is mentioned several times in the Bible and it will be good for us to understand exactly what is meant by that statement.

According to the original Mosaic Law, no Israelite was allowed to travel at all on the Sabbath Day. (EX. 16:29) But the religious powers that be often have a tendency to change the rules to fit their perceived needs.  This was the case here.  The rule was changed to say that an Israelite could travel up to 2000 cubits, (which was the distance the Hebrew people were to follow behind the Ark of the Covenant) as long as that distance was within the city boundaries. 

 

A cubit was about 18 inches,(which was actually measured as the distance between a man’s elbow and the tip of his finger. So you can see that measurement was a bit flexable).

Later the rule was changed again to allow you to place food or some other item 2000 cubits away and that would also be considered your place of abode, thus extending your journey again.

Another change was made which stated that if you walked 2000 cubits you should be allowed to walk 2000 cubits back, which made the Sabbath Day’s journey 4000 cubits or about 6000 feet or about a mile and a half. 

So by this time in history a Sabbath Day’s journey was about 1 ½ miles and that is about the distance that the Mount of Olives is from the Eastern gate of the City of Jerusalem and thought to be near the place where the little city of Bethany was located.

Jesus had visited this little city of Bethany many times.  If you will recall it was there that His friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived. We are told that He ate with them and visited with them there in their home. 

Bethany is a little spot, about 1 ½ miles East of Jerusalem, on the Southern slope of the Mount of Olives.  It is here that the resurrected Jesus led his little band of men.  It was 40 days after His resurrection.  It was a very special day.  It was the day of Jesus’ “home-going” or what we know as the ascension. 

Not only is this event mentioned in our text but we are also told more about it in the first chapter of Acts verses 1-12.  Jesus was in His resurrected body.  This body was very similar to His earthly body with a few exceptions. He could eat, He could be felt, you could touch Him, (remember His offer to Thomas?) He could speak and hear and see and He could walk around like other men.  He looked like Himself yet perhaps a little different because some failed to recognize Him.  Yet He could pass through solid objects and to use a “Star Trek” word He could “teleport” Himself to other locations.   

Let’s just stand here a moment and watch the events as they unfold. 

They have walked the 1 ½ miles from Jerusalem.  They must understand by now that Jesus is up to something.  Jesus was and is always up to something.  Jesus doesn’t just do things for “drills”.  He has a purpose and a plan for everything that He does, whether it seems good to us or bad to us or insignificant to us, Jesus has a purpose for it and He is up to something.  Wouldn’t it make your day go much better, wouldn’t it make your life go much better, if you knew that in all that happened to you that Jesus loved you and that He was up to something in your life? 

Somewhere along that walk Jesus realizes that this is the time and place when He can go home.  Have you ever been there?  Oh, I have several times.  I’ve been stationed in various places, lived in several places and been on assignments in many places and really didn’t want to be there.  I really would rather have been home.  There is just something about “home” that you can’t describe. Even if you know you are doing good, even if you know your time there is useful and purposeful, you just can’t wait to get home.

Many times it is a mixed feeling.  Sort of like “sweet and sour” sauce.  I have felt the sadness of leaving people I have grown to know and love.  I have felt the glum of knowing that I probably will not ever return to a certain place.  I have felt the finality that this time and place in my life is completed and the job is over. But along with those feelings I feel the anticipation of seeing my loved ones.  I can sense the eagerness of being in familiar surroundings.  I anticipate the experience of walking on ground that I know and returning to the loving arms of people who care for me and have missed me while we were separated.  (And just as a side bar, I believe that is the feelings we will have at death, what do you think?)

I’m sure Jesus felt those feelings too. Can’t you just feel the anticipation that Jesus had walking along that road knowing that in just a short time He would be back in Heaven with The Father?

Suddenly He stops. Can you see Him as He turns and looks into the eyes of His men?  Oh, how He loved those men.  Even though He wanted to go home, He hated to leave them.  He knew what they were going to have to go through.

Luke 24: 50 gives us this simple statement, “He lifted up His hands and He blessed them”.  These are simple words but what a great meaning and experience they hold. 

 Pronouncing blessing on children, loved ones or people in general is something that we have left by the wayside but something that was quite common in those days.  To express a blessing or to bless someone is like bestowing a wish on someone.  You are stating that he/she will experience a specific favor of God.

Probably one of the most familiar blessings comes from Numbers 6:24-26.  This blessing is said in many churches as the minister completes his sermon and dismisses the people.  It is called the Priestly Blessing.

 May the Lord bless thee, and keep thee;

 The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious to thee;

 The Lord lift His countenance upon thee and give thee peace..

There are many places in the Bible where men gave and received blessings.  We won’t take the time here to go over them but that would be a good personal Bible study to research the blessings of the Bible. 

Even today in many Jewish families the father will bless his children on a regular basis.  Sometimes it will be at birthdays, or weddings or special occasions and in some families the father will bless his children as they gather every Friday evening. 

Can you imagine how it would feel to have your father place his hands on you and “bless” you, calling on God to give you some special gift or grace?  Can you see the importance of doing the same for your children?  I’m sure it might feel awkward at first but I think it is something I’d like to experience.  I sort of wish we would reinstate this tradition in our society today. 

Can you see the risen Lord raising His hands in a symbolic act of wrapping His arms around His beloved men and pronouncing God’s blessing on them?  Wow, what a moment that must have been. 

Now look what’s happening!  While Jesus is blessing His disciples, He is separated from them, He is carried up into the heavens and while they watched He went up into the clouds.  Jesus has left the building.

By now I would have been completely blown away.  But the show is not over.  Luke tells us in Acts chapter one that while they stood there (he doesn’t say it but I think it fits here, DUMBFOUNDED) “behold two men stood by them in white apparel”.

I want us to look at 4 things that Jesus left for us when He went home.

First, when Jesus left HE LEFT A PROMISE

“Ye men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking up into the heavens?  THIS SAME JESUS, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall come back in like manner as you have seen Him go”

Notice what the angels said.  THIS SAME JESUS.

·         This same Jesus.  The Jesus born to Mary, born in a dirty old cow pen. 

·        This same Jesus. The Jesus who had so much compassion on the hurting folk of His day and worked so many miracles for them

·     This same Jesus.  The 33 year old Galilean who clawed the ground and sweat blood for me in Gethsemane.

·         This same Jesus.  The young man who was beaten and tortured on Calvary for my sins.

·         This same Jesus.  The man who would rather to go to hell for me than to go to heaven without me.

·        This same Jesus.  Who fulfilled all prophesies spoken about Him and was thus able to cry Tetelestai from the cross. 

·         This same Jesus.  Look for Him folks.  Don’t be mistaken.  Don’t let other things distract you.  Don’t become too tied up with all of your affairs because “this same Jesus is coming back in like manner”. 

And notice something else here.  When He left they saw Him in physical form.  When He returns we will not see a ghost or spirit, we will see a man.

When He left they saw Him with amazement.  When He returns we will be blown out of our boots by His splendor.

When He left they worshiped Him. When He returns we will worship Him forever more. . 

“Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that “this same Jesus” is King of Kings and Lord of Lords”.   He left us with a promise that He will return. 

“I go to prepare a place for you and if I go, I will come again to receive you unto myself that where I am, ye may be also.  John 14: 3. 

 WHAT A DAY THAT WILL BE!

Before I get too carried away let me tell you some of the other things that He left behind when He went home that day.

 HE LEFT HIS SPIRIT.  Verse 49 “I send you the promise of my Father upon you”:  Jesus had been WITH them, now He would be IN them. 

I’ve often heard people say that they longed to see Jesus.  Often we long to just sit at His feet and listen to Him talk to us and teach us and comfort us.  But don’t miss what He has given us.  He gave us Himself, His Spirit, His Holy Spirit, to comfort us, to teach us, to be our guide.

John 14: 26-27.  “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send In My name (Did you get that?  The Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost) He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said.  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you”.

That is the promise of the Holy Spirit.  That is the Spirit that He promised when He said, “If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, HOW MUCH MORE, shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him”? 

HE LEFT A JOB.  Matthew 28:19-20.  Go, teach, baptize.  Spread the Word.

Luke 24: 47:  “…that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem”. 

I’ve said it a million times.  I know you are tired of hearing it by now.  God did not leave you here to sit on the curb and wait for your chariot.  He left you with a job to do.  We are not here to wait.  We are here to work.  We must be about our Father’s business. 

HE LEFT A GROUP.  In Acts 1:13 we are told that when the disciples returned from that little mountain outside of Jerusalem that they went back to the Upper Room and waited, together,120 of them and joined forces, “In one mind and one accord”. 

It wasn’t people who developed “the church” or the “body of Christ”, it was Jesus.  The church wasn’t the idea of some Pope or prophet but the initiative and inspiration of the Holy Son of God. 

Man has tried to “tweak” it and caused it to stray far away, I’m afraid, from its original purpose but it’s still the church and it’s still His plan for accomplishing the Job that He left for us to do.

It makes me sort of proud to be a part, a continuation of such a wonderful heavenly plan. 

So, to finish up, we are told that Jesus went home.  And now He sits on the right hand of God and “intercedes” for us.  That word means:  Intervenes, pleads, negotiates and acts as a mediator for us. 

What a job He did while here on earth.  What preparations He made for us. What do we have waiting on us there in His home?  We can only imagine. 

THE SECRET OF RELINQUISHMENT

SEVEN STATEMENTS FROM THE CROSS

LUKE 23:46

THE SECRET OF RELINQUISHMENT

To say that there are three things that trouble us all would be a terrible understatement.  Each of us have seemingly thousands of things that cause us concern and worry.  However I believe that as Christians most if not all of our worries can be summed up in three categories.

Weakness…Fear…Failure

·          How often have you thought I am just not strong enough to make this happen?  I don’t have the strength to complete this task.  This thing that I’m facing is simply too big for me to accomplish.  I am weak.

·         How many nights have you tossed and turned in your bed, walked the floors, drove around aimlessly trying to “figure out” in your mind how to handle the things that frighten you and cause you to fear?  How many times have you tried to arrange things differently so that you would not have to face the thing that frightens you the most?

·         As Christians we read, study and understand the requirements that God has made on our lives and yet feel helpless to accomplish those requirements.  

We are weak, fearful and incapable of being all that God wants us to be.

What on earth has that got to do with the last statement that our Lord made from the cross that Friday afternoon so long ago?  I believe that in His time of torment and suffering on that killing field outside the Jerusalem walls, He experienced and addressed all of the things that you and I will have to face in our lives. I believe the Word when it says that “He was in all ways tempted as we are yet without sin”.  And I believe that in His last statement He was showing us how to address the three massive categories of problems that you and I will inevitably face in our lives.

I believe that with His last statement, “Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit” Jesus was showing us the way to the things that we need the most.

Power… Peace… Purity

By placing His Spirit into His Father’s hands Jesus was “relinquishing” some things that were troubling Him and if we follow His lead, we can do the same.

Let’s look at some synonyms of the word relinquish or relinquishment.

Give up…abandon…put aside…let go…release. 

1.  RELINQUISHMENT PROVIDES POWER.  That doesn’t sound right does it?  If I give up, if I abandon how can I possibly retain power?

Let me give you an example.  Those of you who have ever been or known someone who has been through a military “boot camp” will understand what I say when I tell you that in establishing a company in a military boot camp the government takes 70 or 80 individuals with all their various individual strengths, weaknesses and idiosyncrasies and forms a company that is a compilation of those things.  But until they place those individuals in a situation in which they give up or relinquish their “individualism” the company will not be strong. 

The individual powers or skills or abilities that those young men possess will actually do the military no good at all until they are “relinquished” into the hands of the officers and utilized for the good of the company.  In relinquishing their strengths, they become stronger.  In giving up and abandoning their perceived supremacy they achieve a much greater power. 

Does that make sense to you?  

But oh, that’s not an easy task in boot camp. How many push-ups, how many laps, how many inspections and hours of standing in line and marching in formation it takes to break these young men down and form them into a strong, powerful company of men that the government can utilize?

It’s not easy for us to achieve in our Christian lives either is it?  The perceived strength and power that we “think” we have as an individual is nothing until we “give it up” to God and let Him use it as He sees fit.  All of our skills, knowledge and power is useless in light of eternity until we “abandon” it and put it in God’s hands.

When Jesus relinquished His Spirit into the hands of His loving Father He become the possessor of all the power of the universe.  If while being slapped and whipped and beaten and spit upon and laughed at, He ever doubted the power that He possessed, He did not doubt it now.  His life and being was totally in the hands of an all powerful, ever present, all knowing, ever loving God, and that is ultimate power. 

Relinquishment takes away our weakness.  There is POWER in RELINQUISHMENT.   

2.  RELINQUISHMENT PROVIDES PEACE. The job that I do sometimes requires me to take on a lot of responsibility.  I think I told you that several years ago someone gave me a little coffee cup that says, “Around here I have a very responsible position.  Whenever anything goes wrong, I’m responsible”. 

I say that jokingly but I feel the pressure of that responsibility from time to time.  As I have aged in the emergency services I have somehow become the senior Paramedic in the county.  Most of the people who are paramedics now were my students in years past.  As Director of the Emergency Management Agency the safety and well being of the general public and the emergency responders somehow become my responsibility. 

 In weather situations like we have gone through in the last month or so, I sit in the EOC and watch the approaching storm systems and wonder, dare I say “worry”.

“Have we done enough?  Are there enough sirens?  Are the sirens working properly?  Have we built enough shelters?  Do the people have enough time to get to those shelters?  Have I taught it enough, have I reminded them enough, have I pushed enough so that when and if theses storms hit us like they did Tuscaloosa, or Pleasant Grove or some of these other little towns, will we loose lives? 

I must say that one day, soon I hope, when I am able to give up that responsibility I believe it will give me great peace.

I am sure you too feel the pressure and fear of responsibility.  Whether it is from your job, your spouse, your children, jobs at church or caring for an elderly parent, we all have responsibilities that cause us concern.  Wouldn’t it be peaceful to simply release those concerns? 

I believe in Jesus’ case from the cross, just as we studied last week when He yelled out, “Tetelestai, It is finished” that He was saying to His Father,” I’ve done all that I can do.  It’s all in your hands now” And I believe that relinquishment gave Him peace.

 

3.  RELINQUISHMENT PROVIDES PURITY: 

I will be the first to admit that I have struggled with this matter of being pure and holy.  I understand God’s requirement that “without holiness no man will see the Lord”.  I have read and studied the words “Be ye holy for I am holy”.  I have taught and preached and written about the provisions from God for the believers who seek His Holy Spirit.  But I have struggled with the concept that I can actually be pure and holy.

Did the Bible really mean that a good ole redneck boy from Alabama can have a pure heart?  Did God really intend for a common everyday person to live a holy life?  How is that possible? 

I believe that in His act of relinquishment on the cross, when Jesus spoke to His Father and commended or committed His Spirit to Him, He was showing us the way, the only way to Holiness of heart.

Do you understand that as long as I try to hold on to the controls of my life, as long as I try to steer my ship and as long as I try to command my vessel, it is doomed to fail.  But when I relinquish the controls to the “Captain” it is in “good hands” and it’s not All State. 

Not only do I have the power of an almighty God in me, and the peace of relinquishing my problems and responsibilities to Him, it now becomes “God that worketh in me both to will (want to) and do, His good pleasure”.  Isn’t that powerful?  Isn’t that peaceful?  And you know what?  That’s purity as well.

In the Coast Guard I was what they called a “snipe”.  That means I was supposed to run the engines and make sure they worked properly, keep the pumps and generators and emergency equipment ready to go, and only come above board to the light of day to perform the rescue stuff as needed.  It was certainly NOT my job to maneuver the ship. 

But when I was not on duty I was at liberty to walk around the ship and visit other areas where I usually didn’t go.  I loved to go to the “bridge” where those who were in charge “driving” the ship were located. 

It appeared to be a very big responsibility.  I have known cases in which the person in command of the ship did not do a good job and it cost the lives of many men.   Much of the time the ship was at the command of lower ranked officers.  The Ensigns, and Lt. JG’s, and Warrant Officers would command the vessel.  However in tight situations, when things got really intense, the “old man” or Captain of the ship would make his way to the bridge. 

It was a unique method that was used to transfer command from one officer to the other.  When it came time to transfer command the officer in charge would say loudly so that everyone on the bridge could hear, “Mr. Smith has the Con”, or “Ensign Jones has the Con” and Mr. Smith or Ensign Jones would respond “I have the Con”.  This simple little exercise meant that the control of the ship was transferred from one person to the other and everyone knew who was in control

 When the Captain would take over on the bridge the statement would be ”The Captain has the Con”.   And then the Captain would simply respond “I have the Con” and the responsibility for the operation of the boat was transferred.

I can just imagine how relieved the young Ensigns and J.G’s felt in a stressful situation when the “old man” walked up to the bridge and that transfer was made.  What a peace must have come over them.  The ship was in the right hands.

Can I tell you what a peace came over me when I released the “con”  of my life to the “Old Man”?  When I came to the conclusion that there was no way I could make my life perfect and pure by anything that I could do.  When I realized that it was not by my holiness that I would ever reach Heaven but only by the holiness and purity of God.  I was able to say, “God has the Con” and hear His powerful, peaceful, pure response, “I have the Con”. 

If we make it to heaven, and I believe we will, it will not be by our own holiness or purity but it will only be when we transfer that power, relinquish that control to the Captain.  It takes two acts. 

·         My relinquishment of command

·         God’s willingness to take command

When you are willing to give up command and control of our life, God is willing and more than able to take the “con”. 

That is when RELINQUISHMENT PROVIDES PURITY.                            

It is my determination that I can hold on to what little power I think I have and remain weak.  I can hold on to the responsibilities that I think I have and remain fearful and I can hold on to the command and control I think I have and remain worldly and carnal. 

But Jesus showed us the way to POWER, PEACE AND PURITY by demonstrating to us the secret of RELINQUISHMENT. 

It must have felt good for The Mighty Lion of Judah, The Prince of Peace, Captain of the Lord’s Host, The Lord Mighty in Battle, The King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to have finally relinquished Himself and His Spirit into the hands of a loving Father. 

It’s something you and I can do as well.  Let’s learn the lesson from the final words of Jesus from the cross.  Think about this in the week to come. 

Who has the con in your life?