Which Came First

We sometimes hear the old question, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" If you belive the Bible, the answer is easy and the question is silly. God created chickens and gave them the ability to reproduce through eggs.

I woke up today thinking about "which came first for a Christian," baptism in water or Holy Spirit? Actually, there is a process, but many who think they are born again Chrisitans were either "still born" or lack the fullness of the Spirit that produces overcoming strength, maturity to "be fruitful and multiply," and a Christian life-style described as "the fruit of the Spirit" in Galatians 5.

Still born "christians" have attempted to become Christians (or be produced) without the work of the Creator. Jesus says we cannot even come to Him unless the Father draws us (John 6:44), which is the work of the Holy Spirit. He does it through conviction of sin (John 16:8). Unfortunately, many have "accepted Christ as their personal Savior" because someone scared them enough or simply told them it was the right thing to do. Both of these are example of "works" (of men) and not the gift of God by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) [conviction of Holy Spirit].

When Peter preached in Acts 2, the people were convicted and asked what to do. He said, "Repent, .... be baptized .... and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." This gift is the Helper who will teach us, remind us, guide us into truth (that will set us free), speak to us and glorify Christ (John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-14). Without this Gift one remains immature (weak), impotent (fruitless) and deformed (lacking the "fruit of the Spirit").

Many people are told that the Holy Spirit is only part of the birth process, not the process that matures one into being able to walk in the "fruit of the Spirit" and be prolific producers of more disciples. These people have experienced the cleansing water of baptism, but not the maturing gift of Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit came first to convict and last to mature. He is part of the whole process and works until we go home to be with the Lord.

An Ineffective Witness

Yesterday I preached a sermon that stirred a lot of things in me. It was titled "An Ineffective Witness" and was based on Acts 9 after Saul/Paul had been filled with Holy Spirit and begun preaching Jesus as the Christ. In other places in Acts when Jesus was preached, signs and wonders happened and it was recored that the Lord added to the Church. But not so with Paul at this time in his walk with the Lord. He simply confounded the Jews. When he made it to Jerusalem, the Apostles didn't even think he was a disciple. Ah....therein lies the problem.

Becoming a disciple is a process that takes time and daily effort. In fact, until Barnabas stepped in and took the role of a disciple maker, Paul probably would have remained pretty immature in his discipleship a lot longer. In Galatians he tells us it was more than a decade anyway.

How seriously do we take Jesus commission to "make disciples.....teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you?"

While I think I take disciple making pretty seriously, I don't have a plan to follow. It is not a rigid plan with check marks that we need, but we certainly need to define process and know when we are making progress. I'm meeting today to talk with our Eldership about our lack of a process for disciple making. It could be a revolutionary change in the church and turn us from being pretty ineffective to a powerful force for the Lord in our territory.

Give 'em a hand

"Give em' a hand" is what I declared to the congregation last Sunday morning. My text was in Acts 3 where Peter and John encountered the lame man on the way to daily prayer in the Temple. He was healed when they extended a hand to him, not just when they spoke the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. They had done much more than giving healing to a man lame from birth. They gave him the Name, they gave him a hand, and they gave him the Gospel.

They were doing evangelism. On Monday I had the opportunity to practice what I preached, when I encountered a young man to whom I had ministered in the past. He had a question for me about truly letting go of the past. After talking a while I asked him if I could pray, and then took him by the hand. Something took place, as we stood in the entrance to WalMart, hand-in-hand, praying. He asked if he could come back to church and get back on track with his Christian walk. Of course, I encouraged him to worship with us and truly walk with the Lord. It was part of the process of evangelism.

I believe we are in a day when the Lord is reaching a hand out through His people. It is not a hand out, just a hand. Too often we are quick to give a "hand out" of money, advise, opinion, even "preaching," when God may be wanting to touch people without a word. As hard as it is, I try to listen to Him before I act or speak.