A Savior for the Nobodies

“It is true! The Lord has risen.” – Luke 24:32

Tomorrow we celebrate Easter – the day when those first followers of Jesus Christ witnessed the greatest event in human history.

 

Jesus was dead … or so everyone thought. But the women who came to anoint Jesus’ body that first Easter found an empty tomb – and a living Jesus. Soon afterward, Jesus appeared to His disciples. Most of us remember those stories. But today, let’s look at one of Jesus’ less-talked-about appearances following His resurrection: His appearance to two men on the road to Emmaus.

 

We know almost nothing about these men, except that they were followers of Jesus, and that they were walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus (Luke 24:13). Why spend so much time on Jesus’ appearance to these two nobodies?

 

Only two verses in Matthew are dedicated to Jesus’ appearance to the women at the tomb. Just seven verses in John are spent on Jesus’ appearance to 10 disciples in the upper room that evening. But a whopping 23 verses are devoted to Jesus’ appearance to two unknown Christians on the road to Emmaus. Why?

 

Scripture doesn’t really tell us, but here are three several life lessons that I believe help us get closer understanding the reason.

 

Life Lesson #1: Jesus doesn’t only care about celebrities. He’s a living Savior for nobodies as well. I’m no Apostle Peter, Martin Luther or Billy Graham. And I am SO grateful that Jesus wasn’t born just for the great saints. He was also born for you and me. He died for you, and He conquered death on Easter morning … for YOU. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

 

Life Lesson #2: Jesus is drawn to those who are humble and teachable. In verse 25, Jesus told the two men, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!” That is NOT a compliment. But these two Christians didn’t get offended. They remained humble and teachable. And as a result, their lives were forever changed.

 

Life Lesson #3: Jesus is looking for dedicated followers who will go and tell others the Good News. During his three-year ministry, Jesus often told the people he healed not to blab about it to anyone. But after His resurrection, Jesus urged His followers to tell everyone about Him. And that’s just what these two men from Emmaus did. They rushed to tell the others that Jesus is risen, just as He said.

 

These two men knew the Good News was worth sharing right away. Because Jesus Christ conquered sin on Good Friday and conquered death on Easter Sunday, you and I can live forever. You can’t keep that good news to yourself. Tell a family member. Tell a friend. Tell EVERYONE! And bring them with you to church tomorrow to find out more.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us for  our Easter service tomorrow at 9 a.m. with an Easter Egg Hunt afterward for the kids. Impact meets at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

5 More Ways to Show God’s Love

“[Love] is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”

– 1 Corinthians 13:5-6 

God’s kind of love – “agape” – isn’t easy. It’s hard … REALLY hard.

 

But Jesus Christ has called us to love as He loves: with an unconditional, others-centered, agape love. It’s far and away the best kind of love. So, as Christians, we must stay determined to love God and people with agape.

 

Picking up from last week’s article, I’d like to share five more ways that God’s love behaves:

 

Love is not self-seeking (v. 5). It’s impossible for agape love to be self-absorbed and self-seeking, because agape is all about putting the needs of others above itself. The online BibleRef.com commentary on 1 Corinthians 13:5 makes this excellent point: “Much of the Corinthian church’s problems would have disappeared if they focused on looking for ways to meet each other’s needs before satisfying their own.” If you want to squander your life and be quickly forgotten after you die, here’s the secret: Just live for yourself.

 

Love is not easily angered (v. 5). The CSB and ESV translate Paul’s words this way: Love “is not irritable.” Love does not lose its cool over small irritants. We all know that Jesus got angry at times. When his 12 disciples were chasing off the children who were coming to Jesus, Jesus got angry. When Jesus drove out the money changers and venders from the temple courts, He was really angry. But Jesus never got angry for selfish reasons. He got angry for righteous reasons. He got angry for the glory of God and the good of those around Him.

 

Love keeps no record of wrongs (v. 5). Paul uses an interesting Greek word here: “logizesthai.” In Paul’s day, this was a word accountants used to describe writing down a transaction on a ledger and reckoning it to someone. So, Paul is saying that agape doesn’t keep a mental note of everything someone did that was mean or hurtful. Agape doesn’t hold grudges, and it “keeps no record of wrongs.”

 

Love does not delight in evil (v. 6). Sadly, our culture finds sin entertaining. Horror movies make hundreds of millions of dollars every year, and we have a $15 billion pornography industry in America. Why? Because we find bloody murder and illicit sex entertaining. Now, many Christians would say, “That doesn’t apply to ME!” But what about gossip? One of the most common ways that Christians delight in evil is by listening to gossip. Do you realize that gossips wouldn’t do much harm if you weren’t so eagerly listening to them? Agape love never delights in evil. Agape love never rejoices in wrongdoing or in gossip.

Love rejoices with the truth (v. 5). Remember that in John 14:6, Jesus told His disciples, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Therefore, agape love rejoices in Jesus. Jesus Christ IS love’s delight. 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us for Good Friday tomorrow night at 6pm, and for our Easter service this Sunday at 9 a.m. with an Easter Egg Hunt afterward for the kids. Impact meets at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

What God’s Love Looks Like

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
– 1 Corinthians 13:4

How does God love? And how can we love the way Jesus loves?

As I mentioned last week, there are very clear differences between God’s kind of love – “Agape” in Greek – and all other kinds of love.

 

First is “Eros” love: the romantic, sensual love we hear so much about in our songs and movies. But “Eros” is a love that tends to be selfish. “Eros” love says, “I love you because you have something desirable that I want.”

 

Second is “Phileo” love: a mutual love between family members or friends. “Phileo” love says, “I love you, knowing that you also love me.”

 

Third is “Agape” – God’s kind of love. It’s a selfless, unconditional love that has no strings attached. Agape love says, “I love you so much that I will put your needs above my needs – even if you spit in my face and put me through hell.”

 

In 1 Corinthians 13, The Apostle Paul describes how agape behaves. In verse 4, he lays out the first five qualities of God’s love: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”

 

You and I desperately need to behave more like Jesus. We need to be more patient—taking anything from others—and more kind—giving generously to others, even to our enemies. When Jesus commanded us to love one another, He wasn’t just commanding us to THINK kind thoughts and FEEL kind feelings about one another. He was commanding us to actually BE kind one to another.

 

Not to envy means that agape love always wants the very BEST for the other person – even if it’s at your own expense. And boasting – bragging about the things we have, or our accomplishments – is the total opposite of God’s love. Pastor John MacArthur writes: “Jesus, who had everything to boast of, never boasted. In total contrast, we who have nothing to boast of are prone to boast. Only the love that comes from Jesus Christ can save us from flaunting our knowledge, our abilities, our gifts, or our accomplishments.”

 

And just as envy and boasting can’t coexist with agape love, neither can arrogance. You can either have a big arrogant head, or you can have a big loving heart. You can’t have both. Which will it be for you?

 

Here are 3 Life Lessons we can take from this verse:

 

Lesson #1: If you’re going to love, don’t love the way our culture loves – love the way Christ loves.

 

Lesson #2: In our culture, where impatience and unkindness are all around us, Christ’s followers must swim against the tide. Our patience with impatient people and our kindness to unkind people should be unmatched.

 

Lesson #3: If we truly love God and people, we will work with the Holy Spirit to root out pride, jealousy and bragging from our lives. We must, in humility, value others above ourselves (Philippians 2:3).

 

Christians, since most people around us have no clue what “agape” love looks like in the real world, let’s show them. Let’s show them real patience and kindness, without even a hint of jealousy, bragging or arrogance.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person or online at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

What the Church Needs Now

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” – 1 Corinthians 13:1

In the spring of 1965, Jackie DeShannon released a song that rocketed into Billboard’s Top 10 hits. The song was titled, “What the World Needs Now Is Love.”

Those words are just as true today as they were 61 years ago: “What the world needs now is love, sweet love.” And in the first three verses of 1 Corinthians 13, we can almost hear the Apostle Paul saying, “What the church needs now is love, sweet love.”

 

Many Christians, if they were asked to name their favorite chapter in the Bible, would answer: “1 Corinthians 13 … the love chapter.” This beautiful chapter is often read at weddings. But Paul didn’t write this chapter with weddings in mind. He wrote it as a vital part of his teaching about spiritual gifts.

 

The Corinthian Christians were very gifted Christians. In 1 Corinthians 1:7 Paul wrote, “You do not lack any spiritual gift.” The problem was, they were carrying out their gifts in a self-centered, competitive way. In other words, they were using their gifts without “agape” – God’s kind of love. And as a result, the exercise of their spiritual gifts did more harm than good.

 

Agape love is the highest and hardest kind of love, because it’s a love that continues no matter how badly it’s treated. It’s a selfless, unconditional love that perseveres even when it’s not reciprocated. Agape love says, “I love you so much that I will lay down my life for you even if you spit in my face and put me through hell.”

 

Jesus Christ wants us to understand that THIS the kind of love is the secret sauce that makes our gifts truly effective. Our serving MUST be fueled by a Christlike love that is humble, selfless and doesn’t expect anything in return – a love that puts your needs above my needs.

 

As you serve the Lord, remember these 3 lessons:

 

Lesson #1: Instead of desiring spiritual gifts you haven’t been given, desire to lovingly use the spiritual gifts you HAVE been given. When the Holy Spirit handed out spiritual gifts, He gave you just what you needed to do just what He’s called you to do. So, accept your gift. Thank God for your gift. And use your spiritual gift to serve others in love.  

 

Lesson #2: Don’t cheapen your spiritual gifts by using them without agape love. It’s much easier to be religious than it is to be loving. It’s much easier to condemn sinners than it is to love them. But God in heaven, and your church family here on earth, deserve nothing less than your very best love: agape love.

 

Lesson #3: Never forget: Everything Minus Love = NOTHING. In 1 Cor. 13:1-3, Paul is saying, “I don’t CARE how great your spiritual gift is, it’s ‘nothing’ without agape love! You could be the world’s best Bible teacher. It doesn’t matter! You could be a better prophet than Daniel. Who cares? It’s all useless if agape love isn’t flowing through your service to God’s children.”

 

If you REALLY love God and REALLY love your church family, whatever spiritual gift you have, it’s that love that will REALLY fuel your ministry.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person or online at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Get Those Kids in Church!

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.” - Hebrews 10:24-25

 

For years, historians and researchers have warned us that Christianity is dying in America.

Study after study has confirmed that belief in God, church attendance, and commitment to biblical values are ALL on the decline. In 2019, the year before the Covid-19 lockdowns, 3,000 new churches opened in America. That sounds great until you realize that 4,500 existing churches closed. And during the pandemic, the situation went from bad to worse.

 

Why? Researchers agree that the biggest reason is the growing number of “nones” in our country. In recent years, researchers have started using this term as a label for people who don’t claim any religion. Some “nones” are atheists; others are agnostics; still others say they’re religious but don’t identify with any specific religion.

 

Since the year 2000, the number of “nones” in America has grown dramatically across all age groups—but especially the younger generations. According to a 2021 Barna Group study, about half of Generation Z (those between ages 14 and 29) claim to be Christians … but around 30% of them claim no religion at all. Some studies show that number over 40%.

 

And here’s an even scarier number. According to Barna’s research, only 4% of those 14-to-29-year-olds have a biblical worldview. In other words, although over 50% of Generation Z claim to be Christians, only 4 out of every 100 actually believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God and that Jesus is the only path to salvation.

 

It didn’t have to be this way. Parents, to a very large extent, it’s our own darn fault. Not only have we failed to teach our kids God’s Word every day in our homes, we have failed to surround our kids with other Christians who are ready and willing to teach them God’s Word at church.

 

We haven’t maintained our commitment to the Church – the Bride of Christ – and we haven’t taught our kids about commitment to church. And if you’re worried that “dragging them to church” will chase them away from God, believe me: There’s a much higher likelihood of them walking away from God if they’re not in church at all.

 

God’s Word in Hebrews 10:24 is clear: “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” And that begins at home. You’ve taught your kids to persevere in school work, in their chores and in brushing their teeth. Now, teach them to persevere in the most important way: Teach them to persevere with the Church to bring honor and glory to God. 

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person or online at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Are You the Church’s Missing Body Part?

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” – 1 Corinthians 12:27

You’ve probably heard the Church referred to as the body of believers. There’s a good reason for that.

 

Ever since Jesus ascended into heaven, the Church has been His continuing incarnation – the Body of Christ – on earth. In 1 Corinthians 12:12, the Apostle Paul emphasizes this important truth: Just as in a human body there are many individual parts, in the Church there are many individual parts that form one Body.

 

So it isn’t surprising that Paul uses body parts as an illustration for spiritual gifts: “There are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” … On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (vs. 20-22).

 

God’s word makes it clear that all spiritual gifts are equally important, and every Christian is given at least one when they are saved and the Holy Spirit enters them. But parts of Christ’s body are asleep on the job, because not all members of the Body exercise their spiritual gifts.

 

In verses 14-26, Paul tackles the two most common reasons Christians give when they don’t use their spiritual gifts in a ministry:

 

Reason #1 (vs. 14-20): Some Christians feel they have nothing worthwhile to contribute. They believe their gift is expendable. Many Christians have a spiritual gift inferiority complex. One of Satan’s greatest schemes, especially since Covid, is to convince Christians that the church will get along just fine without them. But according to verse 22, your contribution to the Body of Christ is “indispensable.” Can the Body of Christ function without you? Yes, but it will only function as well as your body could function with only one foot or one arm. The Body of Christ will always be a bit handicapped—falling short of its true potential—when Christians sit on the sidelines.

 

Reason #2 (vs. 21-26): Some Christians feel they are so gifted that they don’t need the help of other Christians to do great ministry. Instead of a spiritual gift inferiority complex, the Christians Paul talks about in verses 21-26 have a superiority complex. Far too many Christians think that when it comes to using their spiritual gift, the rest of the Church is expendable.

 

Back when the Son of God walked this earth in the flesh, He was the whole spiritual gifts package. He had EVERY spiritual gift. But in verses 29-30, Paul makes it clear that no one Christian has EVERY gift. And that is by design. God doesn’t want ME to be a one-man band. Jesus doesn’t want YOU to be a member of a one-person church. You need the Church, and the Church needs you.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person or online at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Can I Trade in my Spiritual Gift?

“A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other…. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts.” – 1 Corinthians 12:7 & 11

If you’re a Christian, you have at least one spiritual gift. You weren’t born with it. You didn’t inherit it from your parents. And no one taught it to you in high school.

 

So, where did it come from? According to Pastor John MacArthur, spiritual gifts are “supernatural endowments” given to Christians by God’s “Holy Spirit.” Pastor MacArthur also highlights the PURPOSE of spiritual gifts: “They are God’s supernatural provision for the edification of the church and the evangelization of the world.”

 

Going back to God’s Word, the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12: “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other…. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have” (vs. 7 & 11, New Living Translation).

 

Before we can delve into the types of spiritual gifts, we need to look at a couple of important truths from these verses:

 

Truth #1: The Holy Spirit alone decides which Christian gets which gift, and the Holy Spirit is never wrong. You don’t get to choose your spiritual gift – and it’s a good thing. I guarantee you, the Holy Spirit did a better job of picking your gift than you would. One of my spiritual gifts is pastoring. And honestly, there have been times over the years, when things were tough, that I wished I could trade in that spiritual gift for a different one! But I know now that God has always had me right where He wanted me to be, equipped with just the right gifts to do what He called me to do. The same is true of you.

 

Truth #2: Your spiritual gift isn’t for YOU; it’s for the other Christians around you. I love to teach God’s Word. But the enjoyment I get from using my spiritual gift of teaching is simply an added bonus. Our spiritual gifts are, first and foremost, for our Christian brothers and sisters in the church. However, as you faithfully use your spiritual gifts for the good of other Christians, God will bless you with an indescribable joy. It’s a thrill to do effective, life-changing ministry right where the Holy Spirit has put you and equipped you to serve.

 

Regardless of what your specific spiritual gift is, remember, it’s a gift given to you for the good of those around you. If you’re willing to accept this truth and humbly use your gift in love for the good of your church family, the Holy Spirit will see to it that your ministry is fruitful. And, as an added bonus, He will give you joy.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person or online at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.