Grow Up!

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things.” – 1 Corinthians 13:11

Have you ever known someone who was really immature—someone who did NOT act their age? In an article in “Christianity Today,” Jen Wilkin tells about one of the most immature people she and her husband ever met. Her name was Charlotte.

 

Wilkins writes: “From the moment we stepped into her space, it was all about her. She demanded our full attention day and night. Forget rational arguments or the needs of others; it was The Charlotte Show, 24/7. She thought only of herself and demanded loudly and often that her needs be met. Our schedules bowed to her every whim. She uttered not a word of gratitude…. And we didn’t mind one bit. Because all 7 pounds and 15 ounces of her was doing exactly what she should.”

 

Then, Jen Wilkin adds: “What is appropriate in an infant is appalling in an adult.” And in 1 Corinthians 3, Paul has to call out the Corinthian Christians and tell them: “You’re acting like spoiled brats! Knock it off!”

 

Even after being saved for several years, the Corinthian Christians were still hanging out in the spiritual nursery. They were still immature. That was a tragedy in the church in Paul’s day, and it’s a tragedy in the Christian Church today.

 

So, Paul tells the Corinthian Christians in verses 1-3a: “I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly — mere infants in Christ.  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly.”

 

“Milk” in God’s Word includes the entry-level teaching that new Christians should be able to digest easily with the help of the Holy Spirit – for instance, the basic Gospel message about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, as well as the beloved Bible stories about Noah, Moses and Jonah. That’s all MILK! “Solid food” is the deeper doctrine that helps us to better understand God so that we can more effectively trust, love and obey Jesus Christ. Learning how Jesus uses the cross to transform you so that you can join Him in His great ministry here on earth—that’s solid food.

 

In these verses, Paul reveals the two main characteristics of immature Christians: #1) They refuse to dig deep into God’s Word (vs. 1-2). #2) Immature Christians’ thinking and behavior are indistinguishable from that of non-Christians (vs. 3-4). As theologian John MacArthur warns, “Spiritual truths that we ignore and neglect will become less and less remembered and meaningful…. Nothing causes us to ignore God’s truth more than not living it.”

 

Christians, use it or lose it! If you don’t want to lose what you’ve been learning in God’s Word recently, you’ve gotta live it out. If you don’t live it out, you will neglect it and will most likely forget it. Jesus Christ gave His life for you. So, how can you help but dive into the deep end and live your life for Him?

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, now meeting Sundays at 8:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

God’s Secret Wisdom

 “‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’ … these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit.” – 1 Corinthians 2:9

Is it REALLY so hard to believe the Gospel message – that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son? And is it REALLY so hard to believe that this same Jesus desires to live inside you and continue His great work through you?

 

For many people, the answer is … YES. In 1 Corinthians 2:7, Paul reveals the main reason so many smart people don’t believe the gospel message. They don’t believe it, because they don’t understand it. And they don’t understand it, because God has hidden its true wisdom from them. Why would He do that?

 

One reason is found in 1 Corinthians 1:29: “So that no one can boast before Him.” If there’s one thing that God hates, it’s pride. So, if someone comes to God proud, puffed up and full of himself, God will intentionally hide the wisdom of the cross from him. But if you come to God with a humble heart and a teachable spirit, the outcome will be very different. His Holy Spirit will reveal to you the wisdom that, because of your former arrogance, was once hidden from you.

 

When someone comes to God with a humble heart, sees the truth of the cross and accepts Jesus as Lord, wisdom begins. But it’s ONLY the beginning. The Word of God has been described as a river: Certain parts are very shallow, where even a little lamb can safely get a drink of water. Other parts of the river are deep enough for an elephant to disappear under the depths. As Christians, we shouldn’t spend our entire lives only sipping in the shallow end.

 

In 1 Corinthians 2:9, Paul writes: “As it is written: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’ … these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit.” In Old Testament times, no one was able to see, hear or even imagine the cross of Jesus and what it would mean to hopeless sinners like you and me. But with the help of the Holy Spirit, we have been blessed with insight and understanding. We can experience God’s love in a way that no one in ages past could.

 

Jesus Christ has blessed every Christian with the gift of His Holy Spirit for many reasons, including THIS reason in verse 12: “that we may understand what God has freely given us.” The Holy Spirit has access to all of God’s wisdom and understands every bit of it. So, if you’re a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is your COUNSELOR, giving you the best advice; your REMINDER, reminding you of what Jesus has taught you in Scripture; and your TEACHER, teaching you about who God is and what He requires of you. The Holy Spirit gives you insight and wisdom you could never have had on your own. To God be the glory!

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, now meeting Sundays at 8:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Get Out of the Spotlight!

 “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom…. I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

– 1 Corinthians 2:1-2

 

Scottish pastor John Hutton shared the story of a man who was known as a drunkard and a lowlife. But to everyone’s surprise, one day he gave his life to Christ.

 

His drinking buddies thought he had lost his mind. They said, “Surely you can’t believe in the miracles that the Bible talks about. You don’t actually believe that Jesus turned water into wine!” The new Christian responded, “I don’t know if he turned water into wine. But in my own house, I have seen Him turn beer into furniture.”

 

The new Christian didn’t waste his time arguing with his unbelieving friends. He just pointed to his own transformed life.

 

And in the First Century, the Apostle Paul took a similar approach. The unbelievers in Corinth didn’t get saved because Paul was a stronger debater than all their intellectuals and philosophers. They got saved through the simple, foolish-sounding gospel message about Jesus Christ dying on the cross for their sins. Paul knew that people don’t get saved because you can out-debate them.

 

Paul makes it clear that when he was in Corinth, he did not preach the gospel “with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17). If Paul had let his high I.Q. and oratory skills take center stage, Paul would have gotten the glory, not Jesus. And that, my friends, is a sin. As we do ministry, Jesus alone must be in the spotlight.

 

In chapter 2, Paul continues: “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 1-2).

 

The Corinthians had seen plenty of professional speakers and philosophers who would “wow” audiences with their amazing speeches. But Paul refused to be an entertainer or a showman who took the spotlight for himself. Instead, he consistently shined the spotlight on Jesus Christ, basically saying, “Look at Him, not at me! Look at what Christ has done! Look at HIM!”

 

Paul writes, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (vs. 4-5). And how did Paul’s preaching demonstrate the Spirit’s power? Here’s the answer in two words: CHANGED LIVES.

 

A transformed life is the greatest evidence of the true wisdom and power of the gospel. When Jesus Christ takes hold of a hard human heart and turns beer into furniture, there’s no evidence more convincing than that. The world’s most inspiring sermons will not persuade your family and friends to accept Jesus Christ as much as your changed life will.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, now meeting Sundays at 8:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc

How to Correct a Christian

“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you.” – 1 Corinthians 1:10

The Corinthian church was messed up and needed fixing.

 

So in the apostle Paul’s first letter to the Christians in Corinth, he has his work cut out for him. But before he starts digging into their problems, he spends several verses letting his Corinthian church family know how much he thanks God for them.

 

Paul’s approach in 1 Corinthians 1 reveals this beautiful principle: Before you rebuke or correct a Christian brother or sister, you should reach out to them in love, as Paul does in verse 4: “I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.”

 

Then, before Paul lowers the boom with his first rebuke, he writes: “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful” (vs. 8-9). Paul lets his readers know that their current failures are NOT permanent failures, because God is at work! He won’t let them become eternal failures. Because “God … is faithful.”

 

Only then does Paul move on to the Corinthians’ first big problem: disunity. Schisms and quarrels were taking place within the church, breaking it up into had no fewer than four factions. They were becoming “groupies” for their favorite church leader. Warren Wiersbe says it so well: “Instead of emphasizing the message … the Corinthians emphasized the messenger.” These divisions had brought the church to the brink of a spiritual divorce.

 

As he pleads with the church for unity (v. 10) , Paul reminds the Corinthians that there is only one Christ in Christianity (v. 13). There is only one Savior who was crucified for you. And He is the ONLY one into whose name believers are baptized.

 

Here are three lessons we can draw from this passage: 

 

Lesson #1: Before you rebuke or correct a Christian brother or sister, share your heart with them and let them know how much you thank God for them. Every Christian needs a rebuke or correction at one time or another. So, never forget this important principle. 

 

Lesson #2: By Christ’s grace, your current failures aren’t permanent failures. The God who was faithful to save you is also faithful to sustain you. You are a work in progress – and so is your Christian brother or sister. God’s still working on you, and God’s still working on them. And God WILL be faithful to finish His work.

 

Lesson #3: Refuse to be a church leader’s “groupie.” Just be a committed follower of Christ and a unifying servant in His Church. Don’t follow men. Follow Jesus. And don’t put servants of Jesus up on a pedestal where only Jesus deserves to be.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, now meeting Sundays at 8:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

What Should a Church Look Like?

 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” – Acts 2:42

There’s no doubt: The 1st Century Jerusalem Church was one of the impactful churches in history. Without it, Christianity as we know it today would not exist.

 

In Acts 2, at the start of the Day of Pentecost, there were only around 120 Christians in Jerusalem. But by the end of the day, there were 3,120. God’s Word is clear that the cause of this explosive growth was the Holy Spirit, who descended on the church just as Jesus had promised. Acts 2:41 tells us that 3,000 people got saved that day – and that was just the beginning.

 

In Acts 2:42-47, we discover this impactful church’s top five priorities. These priorities helped this once-tiny group of believers change the world.

 

Priority #1: Learning God’s Word together. Jesus’ apostles had sat under His teaching for at least three years, and Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would remind them of all that He taught. Learning the Old Testament scriptures AND Jesus’ teachings was a top priority for the Jerusalem Christians.

 

Priority #2: Sharing with and caring for each other. The second priority of the Christian Church in Jerusalem was fellowship. Take another look at verse 44: “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” Theologian John Stott writes: “Christian fellowship is Christian caring, and Christian caring is Christian sharing…. That we have hundreds of thousands of [poverty-stricken] brothers and sisters is a standing rebuke to us who are more affluent.” The early Christians took care of each other.

 

Priority #3: Worshipping Jesus Christ together. The Jerusalem Christians devoted themselves to “the breaking of bread” – that is, communion. But verses 43, 46 and 47 describe something beyond the ritual of communion. They ate together “with glad and sincere hearts, praising God.” Regardless of whether they were in a home or in the temple courts, whether they were taking communion or just sharing a meal, they lived lives of Christ-centered worship.

 

Priority #4: Praying together. Many Christians don’t see the importance of praying together. Many think it’s perfectly fine if 100% of our praying is done on our own. But Jesus disagrees. Private prayer is biblical and necessary, but so is praying together. In Acts 1:14, Luke tells us that the Christians “all joined together constantly in prayer.”

 

Priority #5: Evangelizing together. The fifth priority of the early Church is evident in verse 47, which shows the Christians “praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” There’s no doubt: The Jerusalem Christians prioritized evangelism. They reached out in compassion and love to those who didn’t know Christ, and they continued to boldly preach the Gospel message. As a result, more people got saved every day.

 

May we never be so preoccupied with learning, sharing, worshiping and praying that we forget to share Christ. The Holy Spirit is a missionary Spirit. And you and I must be missionaries both inside and outside the four walls of the church.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:30 and 10 a.m. at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

No More Guessing Games!

“We know that we are children of God…. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true.”
– 1 John 5:19-20

 

Aren't you grateful that God doesn't make us play a guessing game when it comes to the most important questions in life? 

 

In his first letter to the early Christian church, the Apostle John shares six certainties to give us great confidence as we follow Jesus Christ. Last week I shared the first two of those certainties. Today I’d like to share the last four:

 

Certainty #3: God hears and answers prayer (1 John 5:14-17). John writes, “If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (vs. 14-15). Now, notice that John DIDN’T say that God hears and answers ALL prayer. We read in the Old Testament of times when God turned away from the prayers of His children when they were disobeying His will. God makes it clear: If you are rebelling against Him and refusing to repent, He makes no promises about listening to or answering your prayers. But we CAN be confident that God hears and answers our prayers when our hearts are right before Him. And our hearts are right before God when we obey His commands, do what pleases Him and ask according to His will.

 

Certainty #4: God’s Children Don’t Keep Sinning. Verse 18 says, “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them” (v. 18). Does that mean God’s children never sin? No. Earlier in his letter, John writes, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). But, he continues in the next verse, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” You see, John isn’t talking about occasional sins, when Christians let their guard down and give into temptation. He’s talking about ongoing lifestyle sins—LIVING in sin. When we follow Jesus, the One born of God (Jesus) keeps us safe from perpetual sin.

 

Certainty #5: God’s children are free from Satan’s control. John writes, “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (v. 19). According to John, either you are a child of God who is safe in your Heavenly Father’s hand, or you’re in the grip of the devil. There’s no middle ground. So if you are a born-again believer and follower of Jesus Christ, you can be sure that as a child of God, you are free from Satan’s control.

 

Certainty #6: God’s Children Know the One True God. As John tells us, “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true” (v. 20). As we follow Christ and obey His Word, we can be sure that God doesn’t make us play the guessing game. We can know the one true God.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us tomorrow for a special service at our office facility: 8:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

How Can I Be Sure?

“This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” – 1 John 5:11

God hasn’t just called us to walk HUMBLY. He has also called us to walk CONFIDENTLY.

 

In 1 John 5, John shares six Christian certainties on which we can build our lives with confidence. Today I’m going to talk about the first two.

 

First, we can be certain that Jesus the Son of God. In verses 7 and 8, John tells us that “there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.”

When Jesus was baptized in water, God confirmed that Jesus was the Son of God by speaking from heaven: “This is My beloved Son, with Him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). At that time, God sent His Spirit down to remain on Jesus. Then, once again, God spoke from heaven a few days before Jesus was crucified. Jesus cried out, “’Father, save Me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name!’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again’” (John 12:27-28).

 

In short, the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ baptism and Jesus’ crucifixion ALL testify that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God. And these three testimonies are in complete agreement.

 

Second, we can be certain that believers in Christ have eternal life. In verse 13, John assures us: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” In other words, John wrote this letter, at least in part, so that believers and followers of Jesus Christ would have certainty that they are saved and walk in confidence—knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is saving a spot for them in heaven.

 

Here are two Life Lessons we can draw from this passage:

 

Life Lesson #1: You can be certain that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God, and that certainty should give you great confidence to live your life all-out for Jesus. God’s Word makes it crystal clear that Jesus IS the Christ and the Son of the living God, and that He deserves nothing less than your absolute best. He gave you HIS best, so you must give Him YOUR best.

 

Life Lesson #2: If you have put your faith in Christ, you can be certain that you’ll make it to heaven. You don’t just THINK it or HOPE it. You KNOW it. The world around us will try to get you to doubt Jesus Christ and His promises. But you and I must hold strong in our faith. “He who has the Son has life.” Believe it! “You may KNOW that you have eternal life.” Believe it!

According to John 14:2-4, Jesus has gone to the Father’s house to prepare a place for every one of His followers—and that includes YOU. He has promised to come back for you so that you may be in heaven with Him. Believe it, church! Believe it, Christian!

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:30 and 10 a.m. at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.