How Many People Does God Need?

by John Wills

King Saul was very superstitious. He was at war with the Philistines. The Philistines were camped on top of a steep hill. Saul’s camp was in the valley. Saul wanted to attack but was afraid to do it without an explicit command of God. Meanwhile his army was doing nothing.  Jonathan was Saul’s son. He was not superstitious, he just trusted God completely. Jonathan was tired of doing nothing. He turned to his servant and said, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those fellows. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few” (1 Samuel 14:6).

Jonathan and his servant went to the bottom of the hill and started making faces at the Philistines. The enemy called, “Come up here and we’ll teach you a lesson.” Jonathan took that as an invitation from God and the two started climbing the hill. The Philistines didn’t wait. They started running down the hill to catch those two wise guys.  Have you ever started running down a steep hill and tried to stop again?  The running is easy. The stopping is the hard part. Jonathan made a quick battle plan, “Get behind me. I’ll trip ‘em, you croak ‘em.” It worked great! Soon there were dead bodies all over the slope. The rest of the army, not sure what had happened, decided that this was a full-fledged attack by the Jewish army. They turned and ran in all directions.

When Saul saw the enemy fleeing for their lives he set his army following them and they won a great victory; a victory that all started with two men who trusted God.  Do you have a challenge in front of you that you know God wants you to take on? Are you waiting for a special sign from God? Some people say, “I’m praying about it,” but that’s really only an excuse. That was what Saul was doing. It didn’t help much. The people God uses are the people who do what needs to be done no matter how big the job looks. God is bigger than any task and any problem. He doesn’t need a crowd in order to win.  He just needs a few good men who will trust Him and get moving.  Do you see a job that needs doing?  Will you be a Saul or a Jonathan?

 

The Further Adventures of Gideon

by John Wills

Gideon and his band of 300 soldiers blew their trumpets, broke their pitchers, help up their lamps, and shouted “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.”

Mass confusion struck the Midianite camp and in a panic they began to slaughter one another.  That is where we usually end the story of Gideon, but there is more to the story than that.  The survivors among the Midianites began running for home with Gideon’s 300 men chasing them.  As they chased the Midianites, Gideon’s army began to grow as other Jewish tribes joined the chase.  By the time the Midianites were chased across the Jordan River they were over 50 miles from where the battle began.

Gideon and his men were exhausted but were determined to keep chasing and keep fighting.  They begged one Jewish city for food and water, but the city was afraid of the Midianites and refused to help.  “When I return victorious I’ll have you all flogged with thorn bush branches,” Gideon promised.

Another Jewish fortress would not come out of their defensive tower to help.  Gideon said, “When I return victorious I’ll tear down your tower!”

God was with Gideon and he was victorious.  On his way home he kept his two promises.  He whipped the men of one city and tore down the tower of the other.

What did these people do wrong to be punished like that?  When they saw what God was doing through others, they refused to do their part.  In essence they had been betting that Gideon (and God) would lose the battle.  Their help was needed, but they refused to give it.  As a consequence they lost the very thing they prized the most.  Betting against God is always a bad idea.

God is doing great things through our church, and we need to encourage others to join with us to make these things happen.  Sitting on the sidelines is not a part of the Christian’s job description.  God wants His people involved in the work of the ministry.  Those who refuse may miss far more than the privilege of serving God.  God may take away the very things they love the most—the very things that keep them from serving the Lord.  Serve the Lord and encourage others to serve the Lord with you.  It’s that important!

 

Counting Like God

by John Wills

If I were to ask you who wrote the Psalms you might answer, “David,” and that would be a good answer; he wrote a lot of them. Even more were written by that bestselling author, Anonymous. Others were written by Asaph and Solomon. Perhaps the oldest of the Psalms is Psalm 90. It was written by Moses.

Moses must have been looking at the mountains one day and realized how old and unchanging they seemed to be. He then thought of God and realized how much older God was. He wrote, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”

Have you ever heard the phrase, “older than the hills?” God is. God never had a beginning and he will never have an ending. Such an eternal perspective makes God see time in a way that is very different than we see it. 1000 years ago to God feels the way yesterday does to us.

Time is our boss. All day long we have things to do and deadlines to meet. Soon time is up but our work is not done. The things we like doing seem to fly by, while the things we hate just drag on and on. Duck, here comes another deadline!

When we come to God we expect Him to behave the same way. “Hurry, God, here’s a prayer. You have five minutes to answer it before you’re too late.” No, God does not behave like that. Sometimes He begins to answer your prayer before you start to pray it. Sometimes He uses your deadline as His starting point. It’s not that God doesn’t care what time it is; it is just that time is not God’s boss, God is time’s boss. God is always on time but He is the timekeeper.

Because of this Moses had one prayer for God, “So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Number our days? How do I do that? Tell you what, God, you tell me how many days I have left and I promise never to lose track.

No, God doesn’t do that. We number our days one at a time as we get them. We don’t get to schedule it all in advance—and that’s good! Do you remember that assignment you were given? The one that was due in three weeks but you didn’t do until the morning it was due? If God promised you 50 more years what would you put off for 49 of them? God knows us and gives us our days one at a time so that we can use them one at a time.

Be wise. Do something with today to make it glorifying to God. Then use tomorrow in the same way. One day you will look back at a lifetime spent glorifying God and it will have been a good life.

 

 

Grandpa’s Influence

by John Wills

King Manasseh reigned longer than any other king of Judah.  He was twelve when he became king and ruled for fifty-five years.  They were prosperous years, but not good years.  Manasseh did more evil in God’s eyes than any other king of Judah.

King Manasseh worshipped other gods.  He built idols and placed them all over the country.  He even built one in the temple of God.  One of these idols was named Molech.  Molech was a god made of metal.  He sat cross-legged and a fire was built in his lap.  His arms were held out in front of him over the fire.  Molech was worshipped by putting live babies in Molech’s arms and letting them roast to death there.  King Manasseh put one of his own sons in Molech’s arms and let him die there.

King Manasseh was so bad that God allowed the king of Assyria to conquer Jerusalem and capture Manasseh.  Manasseh was put in bronze handcuffs, a hook was poked through his nose, and he was led captive to Babylon.

This should have been the end of the story, but it was not.  Kings that had been captured never returned to their own countries, but Manasseh did.  Manasseh turned to God and repented of his sin.  God forgave him and restored him to his throne.

By now Manasseh was an old man but he set about trying to undo his life of sin.  The idols he built were destroyed.  He cleaned up the temple and encouraged the people of Judah to worship God.

Since Manasseh lived two different lifestyles he had two different kinds of influence.  His oldest son had grown up during Manasseh’s evil years.  When Manasseh died his son became king and worshipped idols just like his father had done.  Manasseh’s son reigned only two years and died in a palace revolution.  Manasseh’s grandson, Josiah, became king.

Josiah had grown up during the godly years of Grandpa Manasseh.  He imitated the good things Grandpa had done and he worshipped God with all of his might.  He became the most godly king Judah had ever had.

Manasseh had lived a wicked life for too long to influence his own son for good.  But Manasseh was given a second chance and he did influence his grandchild for good.  It often works that way for someone who comes to God later in life.

Grandparents, it might be that your early years were not godly years and due to your influence your children do not know God.  You have been given a second chance.  Love your grandchildren in the name of God.  Lead your grandchildren to Christ.  Use the influence that God has given you.

Perhaps you grew up in a home where your parents did not want to follow God but your grandparents did.  Tell your grandparents how much their example means to you and follow them as they follow God.  No one could ever pay them a higher compliment than that.

 

God’s Money

by John Wills

There was a famine in Judea, which drastically raised food prices in Jerusalem. There was also heavy persecution of the church in Jerusalem which meant that many Christians lost their jobs for Christ’s sake. The combination of these two problems made survival for Christians in Jerusalem extremely difficult. The apostle Paul heard of this and told the churches in Europe of the problem. Although these churches were also quite poor they collected a large offering to help the Jerusalem Christians. Paul and other trustworthy men escorted the offering to Jerusalem.

Once in Jerusalem Paul’s enemies had him arrested. They had planned to have him killed but that part of the plan fell through. Several weeks later Paul’s case came up for trial before Governor Felix. Felix knew that Paul was innocent but he had heard about this large offering. He could almost smell all that money.  He thought that if he kept Paul in prison long enough Paul would try to bribe him to let him out. Paul knew that the offering money was not his own, nor did it belong to Governor Felix.  It was God’s money and Paul would not use God’s money to buy his own freedom.

Sometimes we get confused about whom our money belongs to. Paul could have figured that since he got in trouble doing God’s work, he could use God’s money to buy his way out; but Paul knew better and he would not do that.

Do you have any of God’s money in your pocket?  You might. God tells us to bring His tithe to God’s house (Malachi 3:10).  If you haven’t given God His tithe you still have God’s money in your pocket. If you keep this money or spend it on something else you’re robbing God.

Paul would not spend God’s money on himself so he stayed in jail. Later his case was transferred to Rome, so he was shipped there and put in a Roman jail. God honored Paul’s honesty. Paul talked to his jailers about Jesus and many of them believed in Him and were saved. These guards also did guard duty in the Emperor’s palace and they told their friends there about Jesus.  Soon many of the people in Caesar’s palace were Christians.

All of this happened because Paul would not abuse God’s money.  God used an honest apostle and a dishonest governor to bring the gospel right into the Emperor’s household.  If God needed an honest person to do a job for Him today, could he use you?  What have you done with God’s money in your pocket?

You can find more of the story of Paul and Felix in Acts 24.

 

 

The Making of a Fool

by John Wills

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” (Proverbs 1:7).

The Book of Proverbs spends much time contrasting the wise man with the fool.  Perhaps “fool” is a poor choice of words because it paints in our minds a picture of someone whose mental outlook on life is “Well, duh!”  This is not the picture Proverbs wants to paint.  A fool may be brilliant but he is a man who always begins his thinking in the wrong place.  As King David put it, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1).  Fools despise wisdom and discipline (instruction, correction) because the fool has no respect for God and God’s power.

The key to success in solving any problem is starting in the right place. A doctor who successfully removes an appendix is a failure if the problem was a broken leg.  You will have great trouble finding yourself on a map of Chicago if you happen to be in Pittsburgh.

The key to successful planning in solving any problem is to start with God. Scientists who begin by assuming God does not exist come up with beautifully complicated theories that explain all kinds of things but are dead wrong.  Philosophers come up with many meanings of life that exclude God.  They’re brilliant, but wrong.  Ordinary people trying to live their lives without God will find that they have ruined their lives.

Proverbs tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.  Fearing the Lord does not mean that we ought to be afraid of God but that we ought to hold Him in awesome respect.  We respect God when we take God’s opinion into account and follow His advice every time we are asked to make a decision.  When God has given us a clear command we must follow it in every detail.

God has given us His commandments for good reason.  They are to keep us from doing foolish and destructive things.  When we break God’s laws we will be faced with the natural consequences of our actions.  Beyond that we will be faced with the judgment of God for our disobedience.  If we refuse to fear God perhaps it is time to be afraid of Him.

Whether in science, philosophy, religion or life the fool always begins in the wrong place.  The fool has no regard for the advice of others who have previously made the same mistake he is making.  The fool is motivated by what he wants to do, but seldom by what he ought to do.  Someday in Hell the fool will be able to boast, “I did it my way!”  Hell on your own terms—now there’s a bargain any fool would jump at.

 

 

Cloud-Watching With Jesus

by John Wills

It had been forty days since Jesus had risen from the dead.  During that time he had made nine appearances (that we know of) to individuals and groups. One of those groups consisted of over 500 people.  Some of those visits had been spontaneous, others by appointment.  Some were in Jerusalem, others in Galilee.

Now Jesus met with His disciples one last time.  This time they all took a walk.  They left Jerusalem, went down into the Kidron Valley, and climbed the Mount of Olives.  The disciples still did not understand what Jesus was doing.  Was He going to usher in the Kingdom of God right then?

This is a question that many a Bible teacher has wrestled with.  When is Jesus coming back to reign?  Surely He must have left us some hint!  If I add the days of creation to the height of the temple and divide by the number of angels in Revelation can’t I come up with some formula that will tell me what I want to know?  Many a book has been sold because someone has come up with a new method of knowing when Jesus was coming back.  Save your money because Jesus has already answered that question, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7).  The answer is not buried or encoded in the Bible, nor will it be revealed to some enterprising Bible preacher.  This is reserved information.  We will know when it will happen when it does happen; and not before.

God does not want us focusing on the future; He wants us living for Him now.  The disciples were not to be waiting for the kingdom but for the power to serve God.  That power would come when the Holy Spirit came; and it would come soon.

When Jesus had finished talking He began to rise up off of the earth.  Before long He was hidden from their sight by a low cloud.  Not knowing what else to do the disciples just kept staring at that cloud hoping for another glimpse of Jesus.  It must have presented a rather comical look, eleven grown men staring up at a cloud.

God sent two angels to the disciples to poke fun at them and to give them something to hope for.  “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking into the sky?”  Cloud-watching for Jesus is not to be our job.

Some Christians still have their heads in the clouds.  Yes, Jesus is coming back and He has not told us when; but He has told us what to do while we are waiting.  Jesus has called us to be His witnesses and has given us the Holy Spirit to empower us in this work.

When Jesus does return will He find us cloud-watching or serving God the way He told us to?

A Sermon on Two Donkeys

by John Wills

As Jesus approached Jerusalem he told his disciples to go ahead of Him into the small town of Bethphage, find a mother donkey with her colt and bring them to him.  They did just what Jesus said; then spread their cloaks on the backs of both animals.

Jesus then apparently began one of the strangest donkey rides you could ever imagine.  It seems that He got on the donkey and rode it a ways, then he got off, got on the colt, and rode it for awhile.  The whole trip into Jerusalem he kept up this donkey swapping.  What was He doing?  He was declaring Himself to be the king.

Centuries earlier the prophet Zechariah had written, “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!  Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!  See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).  All good Jews knew their Bible and immediately recognized what Jesus was doing to be a fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy.  Why else would Jesus use such an odd method of transportation?  Jesus was preaching a sermon on two donkeys and He didn’t have to say a word.

The crowds of people who were traveling to Jerusalem heard the sermon Jesus was silently preaching and began shouting, “Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”  This is a quotation from another Messianic prophecy, Psalm 118:25,26.  What does hosanna mean?  It is a Hebrew word left untranslated in our English Bible.  Actually it is two Hebrew words.  “Yasha” means save or savior; “na” means now, or “we pray”.  Yasha na, when written in Greek becomes Hoshia-na, and in English, Hosanna.  As an interesting sidelight Jesus’ name in the Hebrew is Hoshia, meaning savior.  Thus the crowds were shouting both “Save us now”, and “Jesus now.”

Jesus could preach a silent sermon and so can we.  He preached His silent sermon by doing exactly what God’s Word said that He would do.  When we obey God’s Word, especially when obeying is hard, we also preach a sermon without words.  People see us obeying God when it would be more convenient not to, and they wonder why.  Someday they might ask why we behave the way we do.  Then we can tell them about Jesus.

Think about the way you live.  What kind of a wordless sermon are you preaching?  Is it saying what you want to say?  Obey Jesus in everything and preach the kind of wordless sermon that will bring glory to God.

 

 

A Second Chance to Sin

by John Wills

King Nebuchadnezzar built a huge statue and commanded all of his subjects to come and bow down to the statue. We know the names of three people who assembled in that crowd: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These three men were faithful Jews. They knew that one of God’s Ten Commandments said, “You shall not make yourselves any idols. You must never bow or worship it in any way” (Ex. 20:4-5).

Let me explain how to bow down the Babylonian way. Put your hands and your knees on the ground. Now fold your legs back until you are sitting on your heels. Finally, touch your forehead to the ground.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had a problem. If they remained standing in a crowd all folded up like that they would be extremely noticeable. Should they obey God or get themselves in trouble with the king? They made their decision. When the music played and everyone bowed, these three men remained standing. The king was furious!

We sometimes talk about standing for our faith. These three friends literally stood for theirs. When the music played Shadrach could have said, “Hey guys, I lost my contact lens. Let’s look for it.” They would not have been bowing to the idol but they wouldn’t have stood out. True, but their testimony for God would have been ruined. Do you have the courage, not just to stand for your faith, but to stand out in the crowd for your faith? These three did.

Once was bad enough but Nebuchadnezzar gave these men a second chance to sin! Did you know that Satan does not give up the first time a Christian refuses to sin? He doesn’t. Often the opportunity to sin is presented again and again. Remember, a second chance to sin is also a second chance to stand for God!

When Nebuchadnezzar gave them a second chance to bow down to his idol he also told them what would happen if they did not. They would be tied up and thrown into a fully stoked furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not worried about what will happen to us. If we are thrown into the flaming furnace, our God is able to deliver us; and he will deliver us out of your hand, Your Majesty. But if he doesn’t, please understand, sir, that even then we will never under any circumstance serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have erected” (Daniel 3:16-18). Yes, God could rescue them but they were not sure if he would. They had no promise of safety from God. It was more likely that they would die for their faith. Yet in spite of that they remained faithful.

When faced with a second chance to sin what will you do? Obedience to God often has consequences. God can rescue us from them, but will He? That doesn’t matter. Obey anyway. Stand out for God this year and make a difference.

The Pillar of God: The Trinity

by John Wills

Did you know that the Bible never tells us that God is a trinity?  Oh, it must be one of those words like rapture or millennium that is there but not by that name!  Nope, it’s not there under any name.  But wait!  The trinity is one of the foundational doctrines of Christianity.  It must be there!  Yes, it’s there but it is in pieces.  This is a doctrine that must be constructed so grab your hard hats and let’s get busy.

Trinity or triune is a Latin word that means three-one. God is three yet God is one.  Let’s start by showing that God is one God, not a committee of gods.  Deuteronomy 6:4 states “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!”  In the New Testament we read that “There is no God but one” (1 Corinthians 8:4).

OK, God is one.  Now where does the Bible say that God is three?  It doesn’t!  So let’s proceed by showing that God is two.  Jesus once stated “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).  His listeners tried to stone him to death for this statement because they recognized that Jesus was claiming to be God.  John begins his gospel by calling Jesus The Word; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).  Jesus was with God and yet was God.  God is two!

Are you with me so far?  Good; on to God is three.  Jesus introduces us to the Holy Spirit in John 14:16, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.” The Greek word for “another” that Jesus chose to use here is the word allos (allov) which means “another of the same kind”.  Since Jesus is God this new helper, the Holy Spirit, is another helper of the same kind as Jesus.  He also is God.  God is three!

As further proof that our one God is three Jesus tells us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).  These names would not be linked like this if all three were not God.

The Apostle Paul tells us that he kneels “before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name” (Ephesians 3:14-15).  When we use the term God we are talking about either the entire Trinity or about the Father alone.  We see this in Paul’s beautiful benediction to the book of 2 Corinthians, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”