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Rescuing Christmas

Philippians 2:5-16 ESV

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

I want to begin with a story that is found in the prophet Zechariah:

Zechariah 7:1-3 NLT “On December 7 of the fourth year of King Darius’s reign, another message came to Zechariah from the LORD. The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech, along with their attendants, to seek the LORD’s favor. They were to ask this question of the prophets and the priests at the Temple of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: “Should we continue to mourn and fast each summer on the anniversary of the Temple’s destruction, as we have done for so many years?””

This was an important question. We should ask ourselves this questions about all the traditions that we are following.

This was God’s reply: Zechariah 7:4-7 NLT “The LORD of Heaven’s Armies sent me this message in reply: “Say to all your people and your priests, ‘During these seventy years of exile, when you fasted and mourned in the summer and in early autumn, was it really for me that you were fasting? And even now in your holy festivals, aren’t you eating and drinking just to please yourselves? Isn’t this the same message the LORD proclaimed through the prophets in years past when Jerusalem and the towns of Judah were bustling with people, and the Negev and the foothills of Judah were well populated?’ “”

God reminded his people that those traditions were part of the problem, not the solution, because they were being followed for selfish reasons.

God’s prescription for the problem was this:

Zechariah 7:8-10 NLT “Then this message came to Zechariah from the LORD: “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.”

God said if they really want to follow a tradition, they should make a tradition of being good to others. They could rescue the fasts by showing mercy and kindness to one another.

Christmas is a tradition that needs to be rescued as well.

Until Christ returns, there will always be two Christmases. There will be the Christmas of this “crooked and twisted generation.” That is a Christmas that people celebrate for celebration’s sake. The world will continue to pile tradition upon tradition on top of that Christmas, because they do not know about the true Christmas. They will enjoy the show, then pack it up until next year.

But for us believers, there is another Christmas. It is a story that we cannot pack away, and we cannot afford to forget. It is a story of a loving God who gave his only son so that we might have everlasting life.

Paul’s words to the Philippian Christians are about authentic Christian living. It is by authentic Christian living that we can rescue Christmas.

Paul said that Jesus was in the form of God, so he deserved a crown in heaven. Instead, he took upon himself the form of a man, and chose to serve. He served us as no other being could ever do. He served us by being obedient to God’s will and going to the cross. His service meant dying as our substitute in order to pay the price that we owed. The wages of sin is death, so Jesus had to die for us or we would all die in Gehenna hell.

God probably will not ask you to die for someone. But he does ask us as believers to humble ourselves like Christ did and serve others. Having the mind of Christ means wanting to serve others in Christ’s name. Wouldn’t Christmas be different if every believer went out of his way to serve others during this season?

Paul said that God is working in the Philippians to make them desire and do that which pleases him. He encouraged the Philippians to cooperate with God by working out their salvation with fear and trembling.

These verses have been adopted by those on either side of the sovereignty/ free will debate. But Paul was urging believers to live up to what God had begun in them. Here we see both sovereignty of God in giving us new life and our responsibility to cooperate with him and work out the details of that new life.

How does this relate to Christmas? Christmas is one time of year where everyone tends to socialize. This is a time when the real us is probably more visible because there is more stress. That makes it especially important that we live up to the Christian principles we profess.

Paul said that believers are to shine as lights in the world. What better time to shine than when the world is claiming to celebrate the birth of our Lord?

In many places this time of year neighbourhoods will have competitions to see if they can outshine each other. What would happen if we Christians would make a concerted effort to outshine each other in the sense that Paul uses the word?

What does Paul mean by encouraging the Philippians to shine?

Listen again to verses 14-16.

• 14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning. Wouldn’t it be a brighter Christmas for everybody if we decided to go about our business cheerfully instead of turning into Ebenezer Scrooge?

•15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation. Wouldn’t it be a brighter Christmas if we decided to act with integrity. It is not the Grinch who stole Christmas. It is the Devil. This Christmas, let’s shine by doing the right thing.

•16 holding fast to the word of life. Wouldn’t it be a brighter Christmas if we used this holiday as an opportunity to share the Gospel?

One of my favourite Christmas traditions is “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in which Linus told Charlie Brown about the true meaning of Christmas.

Linus Van Pelt (Lucy’s brother) just quoted the story of Christ’s birth from Luke 2, King James Version. But something magical happened. Suddenly Christmas was not about putting on a show. It was about Christ.

The Vann family wishes you and your family the happiest of times this Christmas. God bless you.

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LORD, help us this year to tell the world around us about the Christmas that we know. Help us to confess the name of Christ, who is no longer a babe in a manger, but is now the Lord of the universe. Every tongue will soon confess his name. Help us to confess his name now.

God’s mouse

gift of life #19

God’s mouse

It’s a story I heard many times while a missionary in the Philippines. It goes like this: There was a visiting preacher who did not understand the Cebuano language of Mindanao, so he had to have an interpreter with him when he preached. But the interpreter could not understand his English very well, since he had a heavy accent. One night while he was preaching, the preacher mentioned the wrath of God. But the interpreter did not quite hear him correctly. So, the interpreter confidently belted out the phrase ilaga sa dios. Laughter ensued, and the legend of God’s mouse was born!

While the story is funny, the reality of God’s wrath is not. It is a horrible reality. Jesus taught that everyone deserves that wrath, and that everyone will experience it except those who put their faith in him. He said “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath remains on him” John 3:36. So, according to scripture, the wrath of God is not a form of eternal life. It is the opposite. God’s wrath puts an end to life.

The apostle Paul said that those who refuse to obey the truth are actually storing up wrath which they will experience on judgment day. He said “because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! He will reward each one according to his works: eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness” Romans 2:5-8. So, according to scripture, the wrath of God is a sentence of judicial punishment which keeps getting worse and worse as long as you live in rebellion against God without repenting of that rebellion. Those who have repented are free to seek glory and honor and immortality, and the end result of that perseverance will be eternal life. Once again, the wrath of God as a punishment is contrasted with eternal life. The wrath is not a form of eternal life.

The Bible teaches that there will come a day when all of this wrath will be fully poured out on unbelievers. It says “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened–the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death–the lake of fire. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire” Revelation 20:12-15. So, according to scripture, the wrath of God is not experienced at death. It will be experienced on judgment day. It will not be a process of perpetual torment, but an event which will end in the second death, eternal death, from which there will be no resurrection.

No, it’s not funny. But it is a terrible reality. If you are an unbeliever, escape the coming wrath by repenting of your sins and trusting in Christ today!

If you have any questions about this teaching, you can ask me at jeffersonvann@yahoo.com. Join me for this entire series as we search the scriptures to learn about the gift of life.

(audio file available at Afterlife)

Four Passions of a Committed Discipler

Colossians 1:24-29 ESV

²⁴ Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, ²⁵ of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, ²⁶the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. ²⁷ To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. ²⁸ Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. ²⁹ For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

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When people truly encounter and respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ, a number of transformations happen:

First, they become aware that they are sinners, totally incapable of solving their sin problem.

Secondly, they realize that the only person who can do anything about their sin problem is Jesus, and that he has already solved their problem by dying on the cross.

Thirdly, a profound gratitude emerges in their lives. They are so grateful for having been set free from the penalty of sin, that they naturally seek to worship their Savior forever.

Fourthly, they have a strong desire to please Christ, and be transformed into his image as it is reflected in their daily walk. This is the desire to be discipled.

Fifthly, their hope is now firmly placed not in this age, but in the age to come. They now have the blessed hope: the hope of the glorious appearing of Christ – the expectation of his second coming.

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All of these transformations are the natural result of the atoning work of Christ on the cross, and the Holy Spirit who indwells believers. Yet, for some people that is not enough. The apostle Paul was one of those who wanted more, and God called him to be and do more. He was not content to be a mere disciple. The LORD called him to be a committed discipler.

I want to be that kind of a believer too. I want my life to make a difference in the lives of others, helping them to come to Christ, grow in Christ, and be more than conquerors for Christ. I do not think that this kind of life will require a second blessing, or second touch of the Holy Spirit. I think it comes to those who are willing to make discipling a priority in their lives. It comes when people embrace the passions that governed the lives of the great apostles and evangelists. Today’s passage reflects some of those passions.

proclaiming Christ

Let me draw your attention to today’s text, and three words which are found in verse 28: “Him we proclaim.” A committed discipler makes witnessing a priority. It does not say “ourselves we proclaim.” The gospel is not about us, our church, our denomination, our goals, our families, our programs, our methods, or even our doctrines or our choices or our lifestyles. The gospel is about him. Him we proclaim.

You can do a lot of things for your church that do not by themselves proclaim Christ. You can do a lot of religious things that never convey the fact of Christ’s existence. You can even say a lot of religious things without communicating the reality of Jesus Christ. A committed discipler understands that it’s not about me, it’s about him. When the apostle Paul entered a new mission field, he brought the message of Christ with him. Committed disciplers do that.

In order to capture the passion of proclaiming Christ, we need to really believe in the sufficiency of Christ. I think this is the reason there are so many Christians who fail to live up to this standard. They trust Christ for their eternal salvation, but they trust the doctors to heal them, and the lawyers to take care of their interpersonal problems, and the politicians to change their society. Those who have a passion for proclaiming Christ understand that he is not just one of the answers, he is the answer.

making God’s word known

Another passion we see reflected in Paul’s words here is in verse 25. A committed discipler sees his ministry as a “stewardship from God.” The purpose of the stewardship is “to make the word of God fully known.” I like that translation which uses the word “stewardship” because it implies that the word of God is a valuable treasure.

But there is a difference between the stewardship from God and other kinds of stewardship. Usually stewards are hired to protect a treasure, but stewards of God’s word are called to give it away.

Also, notice that Paul’s passion was not just to preach some of God’s word, but to make it “fully known.” Lots of preachers today are experts at proclaiming some of God’s word – usually the positive parts. But Paul made it his ambition to give people the whole message. His confidence was in the whole word, not just the parts that are easily digested.

The full word of God is not a simple message, and it defies our attempts to put it in a nutshell. Read your Bible. Read the whole Bible. Some parts you will cheer and proclaim with confidence. Other parts will confuse you. Some might even anger you. But if you are really going to make a difference in the lives of others, you will have to embrace and declare those parts too. The word of God is not a buffet table where people are free to pick and choose what appeals to them. It is a full meal, because it is a balanced meal.

laboring to produce mature Christians

A third passion revealed in this passage is seen in verses 28-29. Paul says “warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” He worked hard to produce mature Christians. He was not just about bodies in the pews. He wanted to prepare disciples of Christ.

One of the means that Paul used to make mature believers was the systematic instruction in the word of God. In some of the places where he planted churches, he spend long periods of time training them. In others, he send other missionaries like Timothy and Titus to do that. But he never dunked people and dropped them. He was a believer in intensive systematic training in the word of God. My challenge to you is that if you are serious about producing mature Christians, get all the training you can get, from whatever source you can get it.

suffering to build the church

My last inference from this passage is perhaps going to be the hardest to accept. I am convinced that there is a missing element in much discipling today. Paul says in verse 24 “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” I think that in some way suffering has a role to play in the process of disciple-making.

Now, I do not think that Paul is saying that it is necessary for disciplers to suffer for the same reason that Christ suffered. He suffered and died on the cross to atone for the sins of the world. There is not a one of us who is qualified to do that. Besides, Jesus has already paid the price for every sin of every sinner. When he said “it is finished” on the cross, God stamped the bill with the words “paid in full.”

So, what could Paul have been implying when he spoke of “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions”? I think the key to interpreting this challenging text is seeing it in the light of the question we have been asking in this message. Just as Christ suffered in order to save us, he calls disciplers to suffer in order to build up the body.

If that is the right way to read his words here, it means that if we want to make a difference in people’s lives, we need to be prepared to put ourselves in uncomfortable situations for their sake. We need to cross boundaries that exist outside our comfort zones. Discipling is a messy business. Nobody comes gift wrapped in appropriate clothes, proper attitudes, and in complete agreement with our theology. If you are looking for people like that to disciple, you will never be a discipler.

In fact, I think it can get worse. Discipling means daring to represent Christ. As such the discipler will be praised by those who praised him, and quite possibly crucified by those who crucified him. Disciplers suffer at the hands of unbelievers because we represent a message that unbelievers reject, and a master that unbelievers have rebelled against. In one of Jesus’ parables, a master sent his servants among his people to collect his tribute, and they beat them, wounded them, and sent them away empty-handed.

Suffering, then, does not mean that we have failed at our job. It means that we are doing our job correctly. Fortunately, we do not always suffer. Sometimes by God’s grace, the rebellious repent and return to their master. But if we are serious about being disciplers, we will have to endure many hardships.

In fact, some of those hardships will be at the hands of those within the church, not outside it. Paul himself is an example of that fact. He wrote some of his epistles to churches which he had founded who were beginning to reject his ministry and criticize his methods. But some of the most profound and life-changing words in scripture are found in those epistles. By Paul’s suffering, the body was built.

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I want my life to make a difference in the lives of others, helping them to come to Christ, grow in Christ, and be more than conquerors for Christ. If you examine your heart closely, I think you will find that you want that too. Will you join me in praying that the Holy Spirit will make us more than just disciples? Will you dare to be a discipler?

Jefferson Vann

Maranatha Bible Church

Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines

Sunday, June 9^th, 2013.

India Journal–smiling faces

We went on a long road trip today. From Chennai south to Sankarapuram and back (304 miles). I saw lots of things that I was familiar with, because much of the terrain and buildings and traffic reminded me of travels during my years in the Philippines. The colorful Hindu shrines were an obvious difference, and I did not see one basketball court. So, no, it was not in the Philippines.

We stopped along the way for some traditional Indian coffee, and Immanuel showed me how it is cooled for drinking. It was surprisingly refreshing, considering the fact that it is served piping hot, in 80+ degree weather. I could definitely develop a habit on that stuff.

The highlight (and purpose) of our trip was a visit to Christ Special High School in Sankarapuram, a special school for disabled children and children from single-parent families. The campus is clean and simple, with not a lot of fancy adornment. But it is decorated with the smiling faces of (currently) about 100 wonderful kids. The atmosphere changed as soon as we saw those children. All those miles were worth it.

We had just arrived when some of the girls wanted to show us the craft projects they were working on. There was little shyness here. The kids wanted to get to know us, and they seemed genuinely happy that we had visited. It was hard not to fall in love with them.

There were smiles, songs, and dances as the kids put on a special program for us. We exchanged gifts, greeted one another, and prayed. We especially thanked God for the gifted teachers who have been giving of themselves to allow these kids to have a chance at a better life.

I appreciated meeting with pastor Paul Nilavan. It was impressive to see a man give so much of himself for the ministry, and sacrifice without complaining. Since 1993, this school has been making a difference in children’s’ lives, and providing a better future for the community. People like Paul and the other members of his team have been taking the hurting and helpless and putting smiles on their faces.

India journal – encouragement

We have had a long day of meetings, and a trip into the heart of the city of Chennai. I came to India to learn more about the missions, schools, orphanages and other such ministries my organization is currently helping to support. I also wanted to be an encouragement to the workers, many of whom are toiling long hours in difficult situations with little or no contact with the people who have been praying for them. I wanted to be a face to the “we’re praying for you” message that these good people have been hearing. Please pray that I fulfill that mission of encouragement.

Today I was given more encouragement than I gave. I saw first-hand some men of God who are pouring their lives into ministry and making a difference. Let me highlight two such men:

M. M. Immanuel is one of those people who is always doing something. He and his cellphone are constantly connected. He’s the man many of us come to for answers, particularly when the questions are hard. Immanuel does not always tell us what we want to hear, but he has the courage to tell us the truth we need to hear. We thank the LORD for him. Please hold this servant up in prayer.

Ravi Paul is one of the more enigmatic characters I have met today. He is an impressive lawyer with an analytical mind and a reserved composure. Yet underneath his calm is a man passionate about the gospel. When he told us about the ministry his church is doing among the slum residents in his area, you could hear that passion. They are helping to transform entire communities by giving young people a help out of the trap of poverty, not by just giving away food or money, but by assisting in their education. Their church provides a place for young people to study, and covenants with parents to keep distractions away so that the students can succeed. It is working. Already several of the youth have obtained good jobs and are on their way to a future that would have been much different if it weren’t for people like Ravi. Join me in thanking the LORD for Ravi, and pray that he continues to display integrity in a profession that is often type-casted for the lack of it.