Fellowship Of Christian Athletes: 50th Anniversary Celebration
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
FEBRUARY 22, 2004
JESUS CHRIST said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13: 5.
Our beloved Lord has been and is creatively at work in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Our every attainment enabled by Him gives us cause to – – – –
I. CHERISH THE PAST (VERSE 6)
“The Lord is my helper.”
It is He who has blessed and honored this organization in the past.
Years ago a commitment was made by those who held in trust this organization.
The commitment was to affect the community not reflect it.
Knowing that divine operation often waits on human cooperation persons committed themselves to that end.
Across America dynamic persons aglow with zeal have faithfully served our Lord under the banner of FCA in arenas where the church is barred. Marching in cadence with the heartbeat of Calvary they have won many victories. The legion of loyalists who have ministered faithfully have given us an admirable legacy.
Jesus who spoke the Universe into existence and then walked across a bit of real estate in Asia Minor with a cross on His back has enabled our every victory. The praiseworthy past He has enabled is prologue to a promising future.
Our past should well be encapsulated in I Chronicles 29:11:
“Yours, O Lord is the greatness, the power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, And you reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.”
Our theme for summer camps this year is a dramatic statement made by Jesus Christ.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
If we believe that and proclaim it we will be among the most criticized non-PC people in America. We should not marvel that there is only one way. We should rejoice there is a way. In order to have the courage of our convictions we need to know who said that. Who was Jesus? John 1: 1 states: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Logos was the Greek term translated “Word” and is a reference to Jesus Christ. To know the meaning of a word it helps to know how it was used at the time employed. About the time of the writing of the gospels the philosopher Philo used it to mean “all that is known or knowable about God.” That is Jesus, He is all that is known or knowable about God because He was God.
In the Greek text “In the beginning” literally means, “Before time began to begin the Word was.” He is eternal. There never was a time He wasn’t and there will never be a time He isn’t.
Skeptics scoff at the idea of Him being God and being with God the Father. Positionally He was with the God the Father. In essence, that is, His nature was God. Muslims ridicule Christians as having three gods. They quote, “Hear O Israel your God is one God.” Indeed, the tri-unity is one. As H2O in a liquid state is water, in a gaseous form is vapor, and in a solid form ice. In all three-forms it still is H2O.
One God can be illustrated by there being one bunch of grapes consisting of three grapes. There is one bunch consisting of three. Place three matches together and strike them. There are three matches but one flame. So the Godhead, the tri-unity, is three in one.
The Trinity should never be spoken of as God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The name “Son of God” confuses some who question who was Mrs. God? The title is not used in the sense of progeny. In a good big unabridged dictionary you will find one definition of “son” to mean “one identified with a cause.” For example, there is an organization named “Sons of the American Revolution.” They are descendants of those associated with the revolution. Jesus was the “Son of God” in the sense He was associated with God the Father positionally and in essence, that is, His nature.
He who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me” was God. Again the structure of the Greek text is important. It means, “I, and I only, always am the only way….”
Scripture identifies Him as God. Of Him it is said, “Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God” (Romans 9:5). Colossians 2:9 reveals “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” I Timothy 3:16 magnifies this fact: “Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified by the Spirit, seen of angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up in glory.”
Who was? God was. When and how was all this accomplished? In the person of Jesus Christ. Who according to this was Jesus Christ? God!
If you are to defend the statement: “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except through Me” you need to know by whom and with what authority it was said. Download these texts on the mainframe of your mind and never delete them.
That gives us cause to – – – – –
II. CELEBRATE THE PRESENT (VERSE 5)
Christ furthermore said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5.)
His abiding presence gives us cause to celebrate the present. He has proven Himself to be a faithful and true companion God. He has shown the ministry of FCA His divine good pleasure. All we celebrate has been made possible by His grace working through His faithful servants. That is what we celebrate.
He who has been with us said: “I will never leave you…”
That is a forever never with no exceptions ever. The statement in the Greek text consists of five compounding negatives. These are synergistic negatives. That means these negatives are not just added to one another but they are multiplied by each other. That is very strong. It means: “I will never, no not ever, no never.” Linked with the little Greek word “leave,” aniemi, means: “I will never, no not ever, no never leave you behind, abandon you, give up on you, or send you back.”
He further stated: “Nor forsake you…” Forsake comes from the Greek word encatalipo meaning “never cause you not to survive, or leave you helpless.”
Combined that means, “I will never, no not ever, no never leave you behind, abandon you, give up on you, send you back, nor cause you not to survive, or leave you helpless.”
The statement begins with “I,” meaning Christ, and ends with “you.” This is an I/thou relationship. It is a promissory note that can be cashed innumerable times. Notice who said that: “He Himself said…” Jesus said it. Who is He? Romans 9:5 says, “He is over all, the eternally blessed God.”
Appropriately we call Him Emmanuel, meaning “God with us.”
Titus 2: 13 urges us to be “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
A rule of Greek grammar confirms “our great God” and “Savior Jesus Christ” is a reference to one person. Thus, our great God is our Savior Jesus Christ. Acts 20: 28 further confirms this by referring to “the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
Whose church is it? God’s.
How did He get it? He purchased it.
With what did He purchase it? His own blood.
When did God shed blood? On the cross of Calvary in the person of Jesus Christ, God the Son.
An embryo does not get any blood from the mother or the father. It manufactures its own blood. The red blood that dripped on the gray stones of Calvary was the blood of God.
Christ said, “I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16: 18).
The gates of the city were where the elders of the city gathered to make plans. Thus, Jesus was saying, “Let the devil and all his demons plot and plan how to stop me but they can’t stop me from building my church.”
It is important that every Christian closely identify with a local church and serve the Lord therein. The FCA Mission Statement notes: “To present to athletes and coaches, and all whom they influence, the challenge and adventure of receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, serving Him in their relationships and in the fellowship of the church.”
Jesus loved the church enough to give Himself for it. We should love it enough to give ourselves to it.
Do you ever feel so weak you can’t carry on? Do you ever feel all alone? Do you ever feel you don’t know what to do? The next time you feel so weak you can’t go on remember He who is omnipotent, all powerful said, “I will never, no not ever, no never leave you behind, abandon you, give up on you, send you back, nor cause you not to survive, or leave you helpless.” The next time you feel all alone remember He who is omnipresent, all present said, “I will never, no not ever, no never leave you behind, abandon you, give up on you, send you back, nor cause you not to survive, or leave you helpless.”
When you feel you don’t know what to do, remember He who is omniscient, all knowing said, “I will never, no not ever, no never leave you behind, abandon you, give up on you, send you back, nor cause you not to survive, or leave you helpless.”
To those without knowledge of what to do: He Himself, the all knowing God said, “I will never, no not ever, no never….”
To those all alone He Himself, the all present God said, “I will never, no not ever, no never….”
To the weak He Himself, the all powerful God said, “I will never, no not ever, no never….”
That is a forever never with no exception ever. Never includes right now. Regardless of how you feel He is available right there with you.
Practice the presence behind the promise. Remember, He Himself who said it was Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us. There never is a time He isn’t with us and there never will be.
That will enable you to celebrate even when weak, all alone, and don’t know what to do.
As a result you can confidently – – – –
III. COMMIT TO THE FUTURE (VERSE 8)
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
We must so commit ourselves as to meet the challenges offered by our increasingly secular society. Today’s evangelists are secularists who preach immorality. Our decadent society has turned back to the gods of decadence.
We face a culture defined by:
Low commitment level
Pluralism
Improperly defined tolerance
A low moral base line.
As we face this challenge we must stay focused on our Master and the mission on which He has sent us. Constantly practice the presence behind the promise. Every blessing we have enjoyed has come from Him. He who has blessed us is – – – –
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever.”
Yesterday, He was the Redeemer on earth.
Today, He is the intercessor in heaven.
Forever, He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the eternal blessed God who is over all.
It is He Himself, the all knowing, all powerful, all present God who said, “I will never, no not ever, no never leave you nor forsake you.”
We must perennially practice the presence behind the promise.
He had the authoritative right to say, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Not my favorite theologian, Fredrich Nietzche, in his work “Beyond Good and Evil” wrote: “The essential thing “in heaven and earth’ is…that there should be a long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and always has resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth while.” That has and must define FCA, a long obedience in the same direction.
“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13: 20 – 21
Dr. Nelson L. Price
www.nelsonprice.com
Faith Overcomes The Fear Factor
HEBREWS 11: & 6
JESUS CHRIST has inspired faith and incited holy boldness in the lives of countless heroes of the faith. Today He invites you to join their ranks.
His invitation to “Take up your cross and follow Me” is an invitation to enter on the path of exciting service and walk it by faith and not by sight.
If you want exemption from boredom and immunity for a mundane life, then unreservedly accept His invitation. The Bible is replete with examples of individuals who took God at His word and obeyed. You see, whatever else faith is, it is obedience to the Word of God.
Hebrews 11 lists names of many who appropriately appear in the annals of faith. The personalities listed in Hebrews 11 are not fugitives from a wax museum. They are real life people like us who simply believed God and acted. They are our heroes of the faith. Those listed in this “Smithsonian of Faith” await contemporary heroes who will dare join them.
Perhaps the late Dean W. R. Inge put his finger of indictment on us when he wrote: “Christianity is a creed for heroes and we are harmless, good-natured little people who want everybody to have a good time.”
Only when we respond to this creed like our heroes before us with faith does Christianity become for us, and those who observe us, a mighty force which gives dynamic radiance to life.
Hebrews 11: 1 says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Then this theme is continued in verse 6, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him…”
Doubt is an attack on God’s character.
Faith is mere confidence in God’s character. It is simply belief that God means what He says and will do what He promises.
Belief and trust are two words used frequently in Scripture to identify how we should respond to the Lord.
One Hebrew word for “believe” is AMEN. It means “to use God as a foundation; to lean on Him.”
The word for “trust” is BATAK. It was originally a wrestling term meaning to “body-slam” an opponent. Applied to our faith life, it means to pick up your problems and body-slam them before the Lord.
Who have you been pleasing? Yourself? A peer group? I invite you to come on a venture with me and resolve no longer to be a marginal, rootless person.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for…”
In the fall of 1940 during World War II, the German Air Force, in an average of 200 planes per raid, bombed London for 57 consecutive nights. Many nights after the raids Prime Minister Winston Churchill could be seen in his suit and derby picking his way through the crowds, encouraging his countrymen.
Following VE day in 1945, Sir Winston was asked what he had done during those interminable nights of the bombing. He responded that he had retired to his bomb shelter below Piccadilly Square and there before a map of Europe planned the invasion of Germany.
That is faith: Making plans for victory while the enemy is at once building weapons for a siege by land and reigning terror from above. Maybe that is where you are now. Perhaps you have been driven into your bomb shelter in face of fearful circumstances that inspire doubt. What a wonderful time to plan for your spiritual victory!
The Lord finds great pleasure in His children who in faith dare valiantly and move to the farthest boundaries of their potential for Him, and absolutely refuse to live in the twilight of mediocrity. Such faith pleases God. Remember, without faith it is impossible to please God.
Hebrews 11: 30 refers to one of our heroes of the faith, Joshua. It says, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down…”
Faith is intangible. That is, it can’t be understood by the five senses. Faith is invisible.
Walls are tangible. That is, they can be seen and experienced. By the intangible force of faith, tangible formidable walls of a great city fell. Those people who followed Joshua had such faith that they even hoped the walls would fall and they did.
Turn to the Book of Joshua, chapter 1. Herein God is commissioning Joshua to take up the conquest of the land where Moses left off. He is challenging Joshua and the people to act in faith.I. FAITH SEES POTENTIAL Verse 8B
Starting in verse 6 the Lord reassures Joshua with truth that is applicable to us today. READ VERSES 6 – 8.
Knowing us to be slow learners, the Lord repeats the essence of the message three times in verses 6, 7, and 9, each time expanding the sphere of encouragement. The last time he adds the exhortation not to fear or be dismayed.
Fear has been our nemesis ever since Adam hid himself.
“Dismayed” means to lose heart and quit. Walter Chrysler observed: “To comfort a dismayed spirit is as difficult as raising the dead.” Well, our Lord did even that.
God says in essence, “Obey my word by faith and I will make your way prosperous, and you will have good success.'” The prosperity and success of which our God spoke was potential and conditional. It was dependent upon keeping His word and doing His will. Find His will and look neither to the left nor the right. Just do it!
When you look to the left or the right, fear takes over. Cervantes wrote: “Fear hath many eyes.” The Bible appeals to us to have a focused vision. Look away from everything that is not Jesus.
Dr. Smiley Blanton wrote: “Anxiety is the great modern plague. Thousands upon thousands of people either destroy their lives or frustrate them because of their preoccupation with anxiety, worry, or fear.”
Faith wasn’t oblivious to the walls of Jericho. Joshua saw them, but He understood God’s will and acted in faith.
We have tried to turn faith into a no-risk policy and it isn’t. The people who followed Joshua had no tangible proof that when they started walking around those walls of Jericho they would fall. By faith they put on their sandals and started walking. They became doers and not hearers only.
Faith has confidence in God’s character even when His actions seem strange or even more so when He seems not to act. The Psalmist affords us a matchless example of consistent faith. Before we read this passage, an explanation is needed. Some tend to think passages such as we are about to read are theory only. Actually these verses were birthed out of extreme adversity. This adversity may not be so different from that experienced by you now. The Psalmist wrote in 119:71:
“It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.”
He follows this theme in 119:75: “I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.”
That is faith where it hurts — when it helps. Faith sees the potential good that can come at the most difficult time.
II. FAITH MAKES PROVISIONS Verse 11A
Through Joshua God said to His people, “Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.”
This is Joshua’s way of saying the battle is the Lord’s and He will not fail us, but WE by faith must use all reasonable foresight in carrying on His work.
In addition to physical provisions for which they were responsible, there were spiritual responsibilities. Joshua 3: 5
notes the appeal: “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
III. FAITH TAKES POSSESSION Verse 11B “possess the land”
The chosen land was close at hand, but it had to be possessed.
An illustration of how active faith works is found in the way John used the Greek word for “believing” in his gospel and epistles. It occurs 98 times and with only one exception it is a verb. That means believing in Christ is an active trust and response.
God was “giving” them the land, but they had to “possess” it. They had to act. Doing so required faith. They had confidence in God’s character. That is, God meant what He said and had the capacity to provide what He promised.
Divine operation often waits on human cooperation. God honors us by allowing us to be in partnership with Him.
The initial and the ultimate acts of faith relate to our salvation. READ EPHESIANS 2: 8, 9.
Our salvation is predicated upon God granting us His favor without us meriting it. It begins with our simple knowledge of our need and Christ’s capacity.
The next step involves our willful intellectual acceptance of these facts.
It is consummated by our faith, resulting in a wholehearted commitment to Christ. It is glad consent for Christ to cleanse you of all sin by His shed blood of Calvary. When by faith you trust Him and repentantly receive Him as Savior, you are born again. Christ is in that instant present in your life. Thereafter He must daily be allowed to be president of your life, that is, allowed to govern your life.
Once you are saved you must never by force or neglect allow Him to be dormant in your life. Rather than dormant, He must be dominant. Any area of your life not occupied by Christ can become a bridgehead for Satan. Any area of your life not under His control is a danger point.
He saves us by grace through faith. If you have trusted Him for the biggest thing in your life — salvation, surely you can have faith enough to trust Him for all else.
Romans 8: 32 reminds us: “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things.”
He will give you salvation, but you must possess it by faith.
Everything I Needed To Know About Jesus…
·”Jesus Christ Is The Same Yesterday, Today And Forever” Hebrews 13:8
·Jesus Christ Is The Foundation For Life. If There Is Not A Proper Understanding Of Who He Was And What He Did One’s Theology Is Wrong.
·If One’s Theology Is Wrong It Is Impossible To Have A Right Philosophy Because There Would Be A Wrong Outlook On Life.
·If One’s Theology Is Wrong It Is Impossible To Have A Right Sociology Because There Would Be An Improper Concept Of Man.
·If One’s Theology Is Wrong It Is Impossible To Have A Right Self-Worth Because There Is An Improper Self-Image.
·Who Jesus Is Means Everything To A Person.
·I Learned Everything I Need To Know About Jesus As A Child In A Christian Home And In My Little Home Town Church. What We Need To Know Is So Simple A Child Can Comprehend It And Yet So Profound A Theologian Can Spend A Lifetime And Never Fully Comprehend It. Things I Needed To Know Are:
Virgin Birth
·”Behold A Virgin Shall Conceive And Bear A Son, And You Shall Call His Name Emmanuel, For He Shall Save His People From Their Sins” (Matthew 1: 23).
·”God Was Manifest In The Flesh…” (Titus 3:16).
·”Our Great God And Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
·Granville Sharps Law
Virtuous Life
·”He Himself Has Suffered, Being Tempted, He Is Able To Aid Those Who Are Tempted” (Hebrews 2: 18).
·”Tempted In All Points, Even As We” (Hebrews 4:15).
Vicarious Death
·”The Church Of God, Which He Purchased With His Own Blood” (Acts 20:28).
·Whose Church? The Church Of God.
·Who Purchased It? God.
·With What Did He Purchase It? His Own Blood.
·When Did God Shed Blood? On Calvary.
·Who Died On The Cross Of Calvary? God.
·Neither A Father Or Mother Contributes Any Blood To A Fetus. The Fetus Develops Its Own Blood. The Blood Of Christ Was The Blood Of God Because He Was God.
·”He Made Him Who Knew No Sin To B Sin For Us, That We Might Become The Righteousness Of God In Him” (Ii Corinthians 5:21).
·Being Born Of A Virgin He Had No Old Adamic Nature Like Every Human Being. He Lived A Perfect Life And Had No Personal Sin. He Was The Only Perfect Sacrifice To Die For Our Old Sin Nature And Personal Sins. That Explains Why Infants Go To Heaven. He Died For The Old Sin Nature And They Have No Personal Sin So His Blood Atoned For Them.
Victorious Resurrection
·”But Christ Is Risen From The Dead, And Has Become The First Fruits Of Those Who Have Fallen Asleep” (I Corinthians 15:20).
·The First Fruit Of The Crop Was Harvested As Assurance There Was More To Come.
Vindicating Ascension
·”It Is Christ Who Died, And Furthermore Is Also Risen, Who Is Ever At The Right Hand Of God, Who Also Makes Intercession For Us” (Romans 8:34).
·”There Is One Mediator Between God And Men, The Man Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:5).
·President Kennedy’s Chief Labor Mediator Said: “A Mediator Is One Who Is Equal To Or Superior To Both Parties.
·At The Right And Left Hands Of The High Priest Sat A Priest. When A Person Was Guilty The High Priest Would Instruct The Priest On His Left To Write A Bill Of Condemnation. When Innocent He Turned To The Priest On His Right And Instructed Him To Write A Bill Of Acquittal. Jesus Is At The Right Hand Of The Father.
Valedictory Return
·”I Will Come Again…” (John 14: 3).
·”For The Lord Himself Will Descent From Heaven With A Shout, With The Voice Of An Archangel, And With The Trumpet Of God, And The Dead In Christ Will Rise First. Then We Who Are Alive And Remain Shall Be Caught Up Together With Them In The Clouds To Meet The Lord In The Air. And Thus We Shall Always Be With The Lord” (I Thessalonians 5: 16, 17)
That Brings Us Back To Titus 2:13. We Should Live —-
“Looking For The Blessed Hope And Glorious Appearing Of Our Great God And Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13)
Encouragement
JOHN 14: 16
Jesus Christ was the most encouraging person to ever live. Should not those of us who follow Him be encouragers? Give it!
Christ is spoken of as our encourager in II Thessalonians 2: 16, 17: “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation [encouragement] and good hope by grace, comfort [encourage] your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.” If He does it for us we should do it for others.
Encouragement doesn’t have to be earned. Praise does.
Encouragement energizes us. Give it and keep on giving it.
There is a special bamboo in China that serves as an example. Once planted the bamboo does not grow for four years. All during those four years it has to be watered and cultivated, but it doesn’t grow. The fifth year it does. It often reaches a height of 90 feet. If neglected during the first 4 years it never grows.
Encouragement is needed at all times. If you have been giving it without any apparent results don’t stop cultivating.I. A DEFINITION OF ENCOURAGEMENT
The word is a compound of the prefix EN, meaning to put in or into; and the word courage, meaning confidence, strength. To “encourage,” then, literally means to put courage into someone.
The prefix DIS negates or reverses the word it is attached to. “Dissatisfied” means “not satisfied.” So, to discourage a person is to take courage away from him.
An encouraging person is pleasant to be around because he or she makes you feel built up, strengthened, IN-couraged by his or her presence and words. An encouraging person supports and strengthens, rather than weakening or tearing down.
The origin of our word courage comes from the Latin COUR which refers to the condition of the heart. King Richard was so bold that it earned him the name “Richard de Lion,” literally, “Richard the Lion Hearted.” That is, King Richard the man with the heart of a lion.
We, as babies, are born with courage. There is no one more courageous than an infant. He demands what he wants when he wants it. No adult is too busy to be summonsed to do what the infant wants when the infant wants it. Parents are on standby 24 hours a day. There is no guest so important as to cause the infant not to demand what is wanted when it is wanted.
Gradually circumstances of life begin to discourage the child. That little prefix “dis” is the work of the devil. God has a great big eraser. He not only comes along to erase the prefix “dis,” but to replace it with another prefix, “en.” God wants to encourage us. Should not we aspire to encourage one another?
The most common word for encouragement in the Bible is the word PARAKAELO, PARA, meaning “beside, near, with, alongside,” and KALEO, meaning “to call or summon.” A paraclete is one called to the side of another to encourage. It may be to bring comfort. The Septuagint often gives this rendering of the word. God is often pictured as the One coming to the side of the needy and encouraging them. “Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). “When the cares of my soul are many, thy consolations cheer my soul” (Psalm 94:18, 19). “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God, Speak tenderly to Jerusalem” (Isaiah 40:1, 2). “As one whom his mother other comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem” (Isaiah 66:13).
But the word has a broader meaning than just comfort. When John uses it of the Spirit, it is translated in a variety of ways because its scope is difficult to limit. John saw the Spirit bringing the very presence of the risen Christ to the church. This is what Jesus had promised: “I will not leave you comfortless (encourage-less); I will come to you” (John 14:18, KJV). He does come to us, through the Spirit.
PARAKLETOS has many renderings: “one who pleads our cause,” “comforter,” “advocate,” “helper,” “someone to stand by you,” “he who is to befriend you.” When we think of all Jesus is, we understand why translators have difficulty pinning down the meaning of the word.
The disciples discouraged the women who brought the alabaster jar of ointment; Jesus encouraged her. He gave her the kind of praise that immortalized her gift to Jesus.
When the frightened disciples mourned the death of Jesus and their forsaking of Him, Jesus came to them, not to condemn, but to strengthen them with the encouraging words, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21).
He came to the side and the aid of the woman caught in adultery and forgave her. He came to the side of many who were sick, sometimes resisting the discouraging words of crowds – even His own disciples. He was beside His disciples as the hour of darkness drew near and the sorrow of Jesus spoke to them of impending doom. He said “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1).
William Barclay points out that in secular Greek, the most characteristic usage of PARAKLETOS is in connection with help given a legal trial. The one called in would speak in support of his character; he was a friend of the accused, and would try to influence the judge in his favor.
A paraclete – encourager – then, helps us when we are in trouble, when we are in a situation with which we cannot cope. Jesus, in I John 2:1, is called our paraclete – advocate, defense attorney, helper – with the Father. Romans 8 says that what Christ does at the right hand of the Father, the Spirit does within us, helping us in our weakness, interceding for us, freeing us from condemnation so we are encouraged to claim our inheritance as children of God.
But there is still another facet of this tremendous word. It also means “to urge on or exhort.” A person needing help may not require comfort as much as challenge. Barclay says that the word is often used in Classical Greek, regarding exhorting troops about to go to battle. It not only empathizes; it motivates. It not only gives comfort; it gives courage.
PARAKLETOS is the word used of speeches by leaders, and of soldiers who beckon each other on to victory in the midst of conflict. It sends hesitant soldiers into war, and fearful sailors into the storm. This use of the word is common in the Epistles.
Paul uses this word when telling the Thessalonians to “encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (I Thessalonians 5:11). He calls them to action three verses later: “And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak…” (I Thessalonians 5:14).
The writer to the Hebrews commands, “Exhort one another daily” (Hebrews 3:13). That means more than comfort. We are to challenge one another, and “stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24).
II. A DESIRABLE EXAMPLE FROM THE BIBLE
Nehemiah possessed the gift of exhortation. He is a classic Old Testament example of an exhorter. He saw the need of the people in Jerusalem; he surveyed the damage thoroughly before speaking to the people. When he finally called them together, he was able to encourage their weak hearts so that they said, “Let us arise and build.” With each potential setback, Nehemiah decisively dealt with the problem while exhorting the people to new courage.
David was a hero but became a fugitive because of Saul’s jealousy. He often had to fight discouragement. Jonathan’s friendship brought needed strength to his spirit.
Three times God spoke from heaven on behalf of Jesus. At Jesus’ baptism, He proclaimed, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). The same words came at the transfiguration. Shortly before Christ’s death God responded to Jesus’ prayer by assuring that He had glorified His name and would continue to do so.
Our Father is called “The God of all encouragement.” “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…who comforts (PARAKLETOS – encourages, motivates) us…” (II Corinthians 1:4) so that we are able to do the same for others. Certainly, our best examples for encouraging others come from the Trinity. No one encourages His children like God our Father does. No one knows just the right word to bring hope and faith in the face of adversity like Jesus. He praises a centurion for remarkable faith, He comforts and challenges the sisters of Lazarus to greater faith. He encourages the little children by receiving them. His work of encouragement is now being continued in His body through the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s letters, especially in the first paragraphs, are often good examples to us of the way God wants us to build up one another. He liberally praised his fellow laborers. Paul was not a person who stood around waiting for people to compliment him. He was full of encouragement and exhortation.
III. A DUBIOUS EXAMPLE FROM THE BIBLE
While Caleb and Joshua attempted to encourage the people to take the promise land, ten spies brought back discouraging reports. How easily people respond to discouraging news! We don’t need anymore people with the gift of discouragement. A part of our character has been distorted by the fall, and we are prone to listen to a bad report before a good one. If we do not abide in Christ, we are conditioned pessimists. We complain about the weather, we expect bad luck, we hang onto bad news as if it were gospel.
Moses didn’t send the spies to discover WHETHER OR NOT, but HOW. He wanted a report, not an evaluation. Shame on us when we discourage God’s people by our negativism. Shame on us when we are careless with words that eventually keep others from the promised land of their inheritance. Shame on us when we relay negative news and multiply discouragement among the people of God.
God was angry with those spies – so angry that they died in the wilderness. That is where people who persist in discouraging others will always die. They will never expect to receive God’s best, and they never will.
God looks for people who are God-centered optimists and can share that attitude with others. God’s news is GOOD NEWS, not bad news, Jesus came proclaiming a message of liberty, joy, release, hope, and comfort. If your message does not match that, swallow it, don’t share it. Or you may find yourself eating dust instead of grapes.
King Rehoboam should have listened to the elders. They advised him to lower taxes so that the people of God would be encouraged. He instead listened to some of his contemporaries and made the citizens’ burden heavier. Rather than strengthening the kingdom, he did what discouragement always does – divides.
The real prodigal in the story of the prodigal son is the elder brother. What a discouragement he must have been to his father. The father encouraged him: “All that is mine is yours.” But he would not receive it, nor would he receive his brother. There will always be those who in, the midst of merriment, choose law over grace. For them, life is not a gift to be enjoyed by a duty to be performed. They find it hard to encourage anyone. They demand everything from themselves and others – and never get it.
IV. DEVELOPING ENCOURAGEMENT IN MY OWN LIFE
As times get tough we need more encouragement. There are so many reasons why we could be discouraged. We need to remind one another of the many more reasons to be encouraged. When the situation looms so large that our vision is clouded, we need to help one another look upward.
People are growing increasingly discontented, disillusioned, and discouraged. Satan is striving to wear down the saints. We need an immunity to discouragement. We must “exhort one another daily.” We must become skilled at “stirring one another up to love and good works.”
Our hearts easily grow cold and tired. We are busy. We are bombarded by propaganda, little of which is really good news. God’s people must accept the challenge to encourage. Some Christians are being lost by extreme discouragement. Some are casualties through the bad reports of others. We must not fail to be builders rather than destroyers.
Albert Sweitzer said “For every one negative input it takes eleven positive ones to overcome it.”
It is easier for one negative person to pull five positive people down than for five positive people to pick up one negative person.
Surround yourself with positive people as an encouragement.
V. SELF EVALUATION
A. Do my words of encouragement easily outweigh words of correction or criticism?
B. Do people become more cheerful around me?
C. Would my family consider me an encouraging person?
D. Is it easy for me to praise others?
E. Am I careful to ask forgiveness of others when I have given a negative report or discouraging word?
F. Have I been diligent to encourage those I associate with – children, students, employees, husband/wife, brothers, sisters, fellow church members?
G. Have I been diligent to encourage those God has placed over me – teachers, employers, elders, pastors, church leaders, civil servants, government leaders?
H. Do I pass along only good news and swallow gossip, or do I delight in sharing bad news?
I. Does my conversation with friends generally build people up?
J. Do I think more about giving praise than receiving it?
K. Do I desire to become “encourager?”
L. Am I able to encourage those who have hurt me? Can I “bless those who persecute” me as Jesus commands?
M. Have I recognized how encouraging God is to His whole creation? To me?
N. Do patient people bother me?
O. Do I avoid jobs that will test my patience?
P. Has my impatience caused me to be unpopular?
Q. Am I patient enough in my personal prayer time so that God has a chance to communicate with me?
The Easter Effect
MATTHEW 28: 1- 7A
JESUS CHRIST died a quivering corpse on a cruel cross.
Heaven was in danger of embarrassment.
Earth was in danger of enslavement.
Deity was in danger of being disgraced.
Devotion was in danger of being disillusioned.
Then an angelic messenger brought the best news since the angels in Bethlehem announced His birth. It was a message that brought joy to the world — HE IS RISEN.
JESUS CHRIST triumphant bodily resurrection has a daily effect on the lives of millions.
He Who overcame the ultimate enables individuals daily to achieve the optimum.
Those dying with faith in Christ do so confidently knowing their Lord also walked this path and turned around to come back and say, “It’s OK! What is ahead is worth the trip.”
See the broken hearted bereft by the death of a loved one. They grieve, but not as those who have no hope. Knowing their deceased beloved is more alive than they ambition regarding ultimate reunion inspires hope in them daily.
Observe the youth in a minority position beleaguered by moral bullies standing firm in the faith enabled by the support of their living Lord.
The stressed and distressed person in business is enabled to maintain moral equilibrium because of an awareness of the compelling presence of the resurrected Christ.
The wife/mother/domestic engineer puzzled by the perplexities of life is encouraged knowing she is the object of the love of the living Lord.
The elderly, alone, knowing in reality they are not alone because of their compassionate companion, the resurrected Lord.
Listen to the hope expressed by the person who has to surrender to the awfulness of what is happening to them when they are wrapped in suffering like the cloth around a mummy. Hear their hope springing from an awareness that He ever lives to comfort.
Easter has a daily effect on all of us.
Journey with me back to that first resurrection morning. The light of dawn is but slight as the Creator turns up His daily rheostat on the scene. If we had come uninformed, like the women who were the tomb’s first visitors, we would have been coming to visit a dead man.
A brilliant young jurist who had been a party to the crucifixion as a disbeliever was later converted to faith in Christ by the fact of the resurrection. His name was Saul. He was from Tarsus. After the rumor of the resurrection spread he was empowered with legal documents entitling him to search out, torture, and if necessary kill those professing belief in the resurrection. In the course of the events that followed he to became a believer in the Lord of the resurrection and wrote:
“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen …(I Corinthians 15: 3 – 5a).I. HE DIED
To understand the resurrection we must accept His death.
Critics of the resurrection have consistently concocted lies to try to discredit it. Facts won’t allow it. He died according to the Scripture. That is, on the day of His death approximately 30 prophecies regarding Him were fulfilled. They occurred just like the prophets said they would.
Persons who profess He didn’t actually die don’t understand to what He was subjected in the last hours of life. One reason Pilate wanted to scourge Him was that it alone often resulted in death. This coupled with the hours of torment by His detractors depleted the best of men. Asphyxiation killed most who were crucified. Blood loss drained any remaining life. Then there was the coup de grace. The Roman soldier’s spear thrust opened a wound in His side, pierced the pericardium, and punctured the heart allowing blood and water to freely flow out.
His death had a purpose. According to the Scripture He died for our sins. This is a reduction of the gospel to its essence. Our salvation is based on a historical event. Our salvation is dependent upon the happenings in two moments in time. One is the moment of His resurrection and the other is the moment of our faith response to Him. He has done His part and awaits our response.
II. HE ROSE AGAIN
The women came to the grave to complete the internment process which was aborted by the sundown which brought the Sabbath day. They walked as they talked about who would remove the stone. Such stones weighed between one and three tons.
Engage your intellect to learn a beautiful principle. The Scripture says the stone was “rolled away.” The Greek word for “rolled” is KULIO.
Mark uses a prepositional prefix “ANA”. Thus, the word ANAKULIO. With the prefix added the word means to roll up an incline.
Luke uses a different prefix, “APO”, which when added renders APOKULIO which means to roll a great distance.
Combined we get a picture of how the angel moved this one to three ton stone. He moved it up hill a great distance away.
That is how our Lord works. He didn’t just tilt the stone He MOVED it.
Colleagues and critics alike agree the tomb was empty that Easter morning. The expected dead man wasn’t there. The angel messenger said it clearly, “He is not here, for He is risen…”
One of the most prominent critics of the resurrection recently stated that the appearances of Christ after burial can’t be attributed to hallucinations. That is obviously true because there has never been such a thing as group hallucination.
Note these observances: “and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen of James, then all the apostles, Then last of all He was seen by me…” (I Cor. 15: 5 – 9a).
Did you catch that? He was seen of Peter. Of all the people who didn’t expect to or want to see Jesus it was Peter who just a few days before had refused to even acknowledge knowing Him. He lived to write of what the resurrection meant to all of us in the opening verses of his first letter:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice…” (I Peter 1: 3 – 6a).
Now back to the modern critic who concedes the appearances can’t be attributed to hallucination or any of the other normal attempts to explain it away. He has a new theory. Are you ready?
Jesus had a twin brother.
Sure, He did! And all of His life no one knew? You have got to be kidding. Such would have been exploited long before.
After the resurrection and reports of His appearing great persecution broke out.
Imagine Mary seeing Jesus’ twin and the resulting confusion. Can’t you just her saying to him: “Buford, what do you mean showing up here now, Bubba, causing this confusion!”
When the pressure and persecution built on the disciples don’t you know they would have hunted up Buford and exposed him to stop the persecution. “Buford, if you keep up this charade you are going to get us all killed, Bubba.”
A contemporary of Christ was medical doctor Luke. He examined the evidence for the resurrection and concluded it consists of “many infallible proofs” (Acts 1: 3). Observe, there were “many…proofs” and they were “infallible.” The statement was made by a man of science based on first person observation at the time of the event. It didn’t come from a dreamer with a vivid imagination two thousand years after the event.
Every argument against the resurrection is philosophic.
Every argument for the crucifixion is historical.
Our philosophy should help us explain the events of life not explain them away.
As the appointee of the highest court of the day to investigate reports of a crucifixion, Paul heard more reports of the resurrection than anyone. In the court of Festus with King
Agrippa present Paul testified: “For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner.” (Acts 26:26)
Had not the fact of the resurrection been common knowledge someone in the court would have disputed the claim.
The resurrection redefines for us hope. It happened when there was no hope of it happening. The idea of Christ coming back from the grave was alien to anything His followers thought. Despair dominated during those initial days after His execution. Their hope was given birth. The best news the world ever heard came from a grave yard just outside Jerusalem: “He is risen.” With that announcement hope arose.
There are many nihilistic, fatalistic, and pessimistic philosophies alive in the world today. Summarily they generally fall under one of three headings.
Rene Descartes opened the door for a naturalist point of view with his statement: “I think; therefore, I am.”
This was the intellectual steppingstone to the conclusion that God made the universe and removed Himself from any other association with His creation. This philosophy assumes nature has its own set of laws and dynamics which govern the universe without any overriding reason or purpose.
A second philosophy, existentialism as defined by Jean-Paul Sartre, declares, “Every living thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness and dies by chance.” What a downer! Many people live with that attitude without knowing it as a formal philosophy.
Later the German philosopher Fredrich Nietzsche simplified it with the expression, “God is dead.”
The third philosophy of life is defined for us by the resurrected Christ. Christ fortifies His followers with tangible
hope as expressed from the other side of the grave in this His immortal inaugural:
“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore …” (Rev 1:18.)
Because of His resurrection Christ made life user-friendly. He gives hope, purpose, meaning, and direction to life. Our hope is not tied to success, security, wealth, or power, but to Christ. His future is our future.
This is illustrated by this dialogue:
“Are you a believer?” asked Caligular.
“Yes,” responded the man.
“Then I shall kill you too.”
Then the man started laughing.
“If you don’t renounce the faith I will kill you.”
The man laughed even more.
“What is your name demanded?” Caligular.
Finally controlling his laughter the man threatened with death said, “My name is Lazarus.”
The resurrection made death a laughing matter.
There are 20,000 new words being added annually to our language, and still there isn’t one adequate to express the meaning of our eternal hope in Christ Jesus.
One of Christ’s last appearances was on the Mount of Olives where a large crowd watched Him ascend into heaven. Then an angel appeared “who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.'” (Acts 1:11.)
III. HE IS COMING AGAIN
We should know it. He left us a vital clue in the grave. John 20: 7 notes it. The napkin used as part of the burial cloth is described by John as being left folded in a place by itself.
In the orient in that era napkins were used by noblemen in dining. Servants stood by to attend their master. If the master crumpled the napkin and left the table the servant knew he was finished and was not coming back.
If the master folded the napkin and left it on the table it signaled he was not through and was coming back.
That folded napkin and the angels message coincide, “He is coming again.”
You want proof of His coming. The many infallible proofs of His resurrection confirm it.
Legal minds today concur in the uncommon common belief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
John Singleton Copley, one of the great legal minds in British history and three times High Chancellor of England wrote, “I know pretty well what evidence is, and I tell you, such evidence as that for the resurrection has never broken down yet.”
Two brilliant American jurists, James E. Bennett of New York, and Irwin H. Linton of Washington D.C. have come to the conclusion that it is absolutely impossible for any man with a legal mind, and accustomed to sifting evidence to sit down and thoroughly investigate the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ and come to any conclusion other than that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
Dr. Thomas Arnold, touted by his colleagues, as a man of intellectual integrity and legal excellence wrote: “I know no fact in the history of humankind which is proven by better and fuller evidence of every sort, to the mind of fair inquirer, that the great sign which God has given us, that Christ died and rose again.”
Therefore we are “to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10).
We wait and live with HOPE. We wait and live OBEDIENTLY.