A TRANSFER OF FAITH
Quote from Forum Archives on October 19, 2009, 11:46 amPosted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
A TRANSFER OF FAITH
October 18, 2009
Text: Matthew 8:5-13
It was a privilege to have Jason and Andrea Morrison with us last Sunday. They both serve as missionaries in Czechoslovakia. Their testimony of and witness to the Spirit of God at work in that part of the world is both amazing and encouraging. I praised God for all the insights that He gave me as Jason preached last week.
One of the wonders that both Jason and Andrea spoke about was the change of attitude among the Czechoslovakian people toward the Christian faith. Czechoslovakia was one of the many nations that fell under Russian control and was part of the Soviet Union. As a result, Czechoslovakia was officially an atheist nation. Religion was closely monitored. A few official churches were allowed to exist, but they had to follow strict regulations concerning their style and form of worship, their ministry, and their outreach. Active evangelical ministries were not allowed. In general, it was a crime to share the message of Jesus with others in the community who did not choose to attend church. Fellowships that organized and met outside of the official state churches were outlawed. Throughout the Soviet Union, Christians were arrested and imprisoned and interrogated for their violations.
As you can easily imagine, it could become rather routine for the common citizen of any of these countries to ignore God. That would be the safer route. After all, it was against the law anyway. Why fight the state? So generations of Soviets grew up without much, if any, exposure to the Word of God. They were taught the official doctrines of communist humanism in their school systems. Life without God was their worldview.
As a result, Jason, Andrea, and many other Christian missionaries serving in former Soviet nations tell of how the Christian faith was still scorned and treated with a great deal of suspicion about a decade or more ago. Christians passing out Bibles and other literature were ignored or abused. Schools would not hear of allowing Christian testimonies into their classrooms. There remained an overall suspicion, skepticism, and/or apathy toward Christianity that was left over from the Soviet days.
During their visit to America this time, though, Jason and Andrea spoke of new attitudes toward the Christian faith. You heard some of their testimonies if you were here last Sunday; testimonies that included more interest as youth shared the Gospel on street corners; more interest as neighbors sought prayer for their needs and spiritual longings; more interest as schools invited missionaries into their classrooms with drug prevention material that included a spiritual message. The times have been changing, and the Spirit of God is becoming welcomed in a land that was once closed to the public mention of His name.
As I heard Jason speak of this experience, a sad reality dawned on me concerning the spiritual dynamics at work in our world at this time. After being a vital witness for Christ for more than two centuries, after commissioning and sending missionaries around the world to places in need of the saving Word of God, after sacrificially donating untold millions of dollars to places devastated by human and natural disasters, America is attempting to create a culture without God. Those who oppose the Christian faith are working overtime to keep testimonies out of schools, off of courthouse lawns, out of entertainment, and even out of stores during the Christmas season! If some people in our own nation have their way, they will make America into what the Soviet Union once was: an atheist culture. The strange, twisted irony is that those places where this has already been tried are now aware of the absence of God and are reaching out for His saving mercy. Its not a massive revival yet, but consider the receptivity that Jason and Andrea spoke about last week. And its not only in Czechoslovakia and other Iron Curtain nations; I was visited last week by two members of Gideons International Bible Society. One of the two gentlemen told me about having been on a mission trip to a South American country, I cant remember which one, where they distributed millions of Spanish version New Testaments throughout the country, including schools. About the only nations in the free world where Gideons and other Christian ministries cannot get into the schools is America and Great Britain, two nations that were founded primarily upon the principles of the Christian faith!
From the testimonies of Jason and Andrea and the men from Gideons International and our own American Baptist missionaries around the world, I cannot help but think that we are witnessing a transfer of faith. And I have been asking myself if there is a precedent for it. I believe that the answer is yes. The Bible has many accounts where God is being ignored and rejected in one area while, at the same time, His Spirit is being received and honored in another. The Old Testament account tells of Israels periods of faith and lack of faith and Gods activity in the midst of that. The New Testament tells, of course, of the life and testimony of Jesus who frequently confronted the religious leadership with Gods message of truth. Throughout both periods, we find times when there was a transfer of faith.
One such account is found in Matthew 8:5-15, which we read earlier. The centurion is not Jewish. He is a Gentile and, therefore, to be regarded as spiritually unclean according to Jewish righteousness. In fact, this man is not merely a Gentile; he is the enemy! He is a leader among the foreign occupiers of Israel. He wields foreign power upon Gods people in Gods land. No self-respecting Jewish leader or teacher would think of corrupting himself through contact with such a despicable person.
There was a problem with that line of thinking, though. The religious leaders who were trying to maintain this kind of righteous purity were the very ones rejecting the Living God they thought they served. Instead of growing in faithful relationship with the Father, they were rejecting the faith in the One living among them. And in their place came one of these unclean Gentile enemies who was so concerned about Jesus reputation that he told him to not even come to his house. Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, Go, and he goes; and that one, Come, and he comes. I say to my servant, Do this, and he does it. (Matthew 8:8-9) In response to this, Jesus exclaims, I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. (Matthew 8:10)
When it comes to the proper recognition of God and expression of faith, God does not express concern over who it comes from. All that we know is that God and the heavenly hosts rejoice when one who is lost is found. Three parables in Luke 15 adequately testify to that truth. Any nation in the world can turn to God and receive His blessings. Any nation in the world can reject God and turn His blessings away. Israel learned that lesson all too many times. It may be that some other nations in our own time are going to learn that lesson, too.
Those living with Jesus witnessed the beginning of a transfer of faith. Actually, we could also call it an expansion of faith since the work of Christ sent Gods love directly to Jews and Gentiles. Still, Gods divine will was not going to be thwarted by Jews or Gentiles. Since the Jewish religious leaders were rejecting the Messiah, then Gentiles would receive him. God made that plain enough when the prophet Isaiah, as recorded in Isaiah 55:6-11, proclaimed, Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
God is not going to have His precious Word fall on deaf ears. He is going to receive men, women, and children into the new, everlasting life that He has made available to us in Jesus Christ. Those going through the Book of Acts in Bible study see that clearly in the earliest years of the Christian Church. When men attempted to extinguish the light of Christ in Jerusalem and throughout Israel, it took root and flourished in other places throughout the Roman Empire. When Paul was rejected from the Jewish synagogues in Ephesus and Corinth and Thessalonica, he went to the Gentile meeting places and preached the word of God and there often found receptive hearers who allowed the Spirit to enter their lives. They believed and were saved. Both an expansion and transfer of faith was evident in Pauls day.
It may be evident in our day. Even if it is, we are hardly without hope. First, many knees across America will never kneel to Baal. That is, there will be many Christians who will remain faithful to the Lord no matter what changes transpire. And, as much as we are able, we will continue to pray for and support all of our missionary endeavors. Indeed, if there is a transfer of faith occurring, we can rejoice that we have been a part in keeping the light and love of God alive in the hearts of men, women, and children even if they live in a land not our own. In fact, I heard just a few days ago that Franklin Graham was able to meet with leaders in North Korea, marking the first encounter between that nation a Christian relief agency in months. Imagine how the embers of Gods love are waiting to burst into flames in that dark land! And they will, when given the chance. Who knows what twists in the future might lead to North Korean Christians coming to evangelize America someday?
Our call, then, remains essentially the same as it has for centuries: remain faithful to the living God. As long as we are able, keep praying for and supporting our missionaries in all their areas of service. Keep serving the Lord in every area that He has placed us. As we do that, we will hear the Lord say, I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
Rev. Charles A. Layne
First Baptist Church
PO Box 515
179 W. Broadway
Bunker Hill, IN 46914
765-689-7987
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Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
A TRANSFER OF FAITH
October 18, 2009
Text: Matthew 8:5-13
It was a privilege to have Jason and Andrea Morrison with us last Sunday. They both serve as missionaries in Czechoslovakia. Their testimony of and witness to the Spirit of God at work in that part of the world is both amazing and encouraging. I praised God for all the insights that He gave me as Jason preached last week.
One of the wonders that both Jason and Andrea spoke about was the change of attitude among the Czechoslovakian people toward the Christian faith. Czechoslovakia was one of the many nations that fell under Russian control and was part of the Soviet Union. As a result, Czechoslovakia was officially an atheist nation. Religion was closely monitored. A few official churches were allowed to exist, but they had to follow strict regulations concerning their style and form of worship, their ministry, and their outreach. Active evangelical ministries were not allowed. In general, it was a crime to share the message of Jesus with others in the community who did not choose to attend church. Fellowships that organized and met outside of the official state churches were outlawed. Throughout the Soviet Union, Christians were arrested and imprisoned and interrogated for their violations.
As you can easily imagine, it could become rather routine for the common citizen of any of these countries to ignore God. That would be the safer route. After all, it was against the law anyway. Why fight the state? So generations of Soviets grew up without much, if any, exposure to the Word of God. They were taught the official doctrines of communist humanism in their school systems. Life without God was their worldview.
As a result, Jason, Andrea, and many other Christian missionaries serving in former Soviet nations tell of how the Christian faith was still scorned and treated with a great deal of suspicion about a decade or more ago. Christians passing out Bibles and other literature were ignored or abused. Schools would not hear of allowing Christian testimonies into their classrooms. There remained an overall suspicion, skepticism, and/or apathy toward Christianity that was left over from the Soviet days.
During their visit to America this time, though, Jason and Andrea spoke of new attitudes toward the Christian faith. You heard some of their testimonies if you were here last Sunday; testimonies that included more interest as youth shared the Gospel on street corners; more interest as neighbors sought prayer for their needs and spiritual longings; more interest as schools invited missionaries into their classrooms with drug prevention material that included a spiritual message. The times have been changing, and the Spirit of God is becoming welcomed in a land that was once closed to the public mention of His name.
As I heard Jason speak of this experience, a sad reality dawned on me concerning the spiritual dynamics at work in our world at this time. After being a vital witness for Christ for more than two centuries, after commissioning and sending missionaries around the world to places in need of the saving Word of God, after sacrificially donating untold millions of dollars to places devastated by human and natural disasters, America is attempting to create a culture without God. Those who oppose the Christian faith are working overtime to keep testimonies out of schools, off of courthouse lawns, out of entertainment, and even out of stores during the Christmas season! If some people in our own nation have their way, they will make America into what the Soviet Union once was: an atheist culture. The strange, twisted irony is that those places where this has already been tried are now aware of the absence of God and are reaching out for His saving mercy. Its not a massive revival yet, but consider the receptivity that Jason and Andrea spoke about last week. And its not only in Czechoslovakia and other Iron Curtain nations; I was visited last week by two members of Gideons International Bible Society. One of the two gentlemen told me about having been on a mission trip to a South American country, I cant remember which one, where they distributed millions of Spanish version New Testaments throughout the country, including schools. About the only nations in the free world where Gideons and other Christian ministries cannot get into the schools is America and Great Britain, two nations that were founded primarily upon the principles of the Christian faith!
From the testimonies of Jason and Andrea and the men from Gideons International and our own American Baptist missionaries around the world, I cannot help but think that we are witnessing a transfer of faith. And I have been asking myself if there is a precedent for it. I believe that the answer is yes. The Bible has many accounts where God is being ignored and rejected in one area while, at the same time, His Spirit is being received and honored in another. The Old Testament account tells of Israels periods of faith and lack of faith and Gods activity in the midst of that. The New Testament tells, of course, of the life and testimony of Jesus who frequently confronted the religious leadership with Gods message of truth. Throughout both periods, we find times when there was a transfer of faith.
One such account is found in Matthew 8:5-15, which we read earlier. The centurion is not Jewish. He is a Gentile and, therefore, to be regarded as spiritually unclean according to Jewish righteousness. In fact, this man is not merely a Gentile; he is the enemy! He is a leader among the foreign occupiers of Israel. He wields foreign power upon Gods people in Gods land. No self-respecting Jewish leader or teacher would think of corrupting himself through contact with such a despicable person.
There was a problem with that line of thinking, though. The religious leaders who were trying to maintain this kind of righteous purity were the very ones rejecting the Living God they thought they served. Instead of growing in faithful relationship with the Father, they were rejecting the faith in the One living among them. And in their place came one of these unclean Gentile enemies who was so concerned about Jesus reputation that he told him to not even come to his house. Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, Go, and he goes; and that one, Come, and he comes. I say to my servant, Do this, and he does it. (Matthew 8:8-9) In response to this, Jesus exclaims, I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. (Matthew 8:10)
When it comes to the proper recognition of God and expression of faith, God does not express concern over who it comes from. All that we know is that God and the heavenly hosts rejoice when one who is lost is found. Three parables in Luke 15 adequately testify to that truth. Any nation in the world can turn to God and receive His blessings. Any nation in the world can reject God and turn His blessings away. Israel learned that lesson all too many times. It may be that some other nations in our own time are going to learn that lesson, too.
Those living with Jesus witnessed the beginning of a transfer of faith. Actually, we could also call it an expansion of faith since the work of Christ sent Gods love directly to Jews and Gentiles. Still, Gods divine will was not going to be thwarted by Jews or Gentiles. Since the Jewish religious leaders were rejecting the Messiah, then Gentiles would receive him. God made that plain enough when the prophet Isaiah, as recorded in Isaiah 55:6-11, proclaimed, Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
God is not going to have His precious Word fall on deaf ears. He is going to receive men, women, and children into the new, everlasting life that He has made available to us in Jesus Christ. Those going through the Book of Acts in Bible study see that clearly in the earliest years of the Christian Church. When men attempted to extinguish the light of Christ in Jerusalem and throughout Israel, it took root and flourished in other places throughout the Roman Empire. When Paul was rejected from the Jewish synagogues in Ephesus and Corinth and Thessalonica, he went to the Gentile meeting places and preached the word of God and there often found receptive hearers who allowed the Spirit to enter their lives. They believed and were saved. Both an expansion and transfer of faith was evident in Pauls day.
It may be evident in our day. Even if it is, we are hardly without hope. First, many knees across America will never kneel to Baal. That is, there will be many Christians who will remain faithful to the Lord no matter what changes transpire. And, as much as we are able, we will continue to pray for and support all of our missionary endeavors. Indeed, if there is a transfer of faith occurring, we can rejoice that we have been a part in keeping the light and love of God alive in the hearts of men, women, and children even if they live in a land not our own. In fact, I heard just a few days ago that Franklin Graham was able to meet with leaders in North Korea, marking the first encounter between that nation a Christian relief agency in months. Imagine how the embers of Gods love are waiting to burst into flames in that dark land! And they will, when given the chance. Who knows what twists in the future might lead to North Korean Christians coming to evangelize America someday?
Our call, then, remains essentially the same as it has for centuries: remain faithful to the living God. As long as we are able, keep praying for and supporting our missionaries in all their areas of service. Keep serving the Lord in every area that He has placed us. As we do that, we will hear the Lord say, I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
Rev. Charles A. Layne
First Baptist Church
PO Box 515
179 W. Broadway
Bunker Hill, IN 46914
765-689-7987
-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: abesermons-unsubscribe@welovegod.org