All posts by Athol Barnes

Athol Barnes is the Senior Pastor at Grace Point Baptist church in Kansas City, Missouri. Born in South Africa, as a son of a pastor, Athol became a follower of Jesus at an early age. He studied and worked as a mechanical engineer for almost 14 years before being called into fulltime Christian mission work. Emigrating to the USA in 2000 with his wife Debbie, Athol has served as the Director of Project Management at Adventures in Missions between 2004 and 2009, and a Discipleship training school leader with Youth with a Mission and Call2all from 2009 till 2014. In 2014 Athol graduated with a MATS degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In the same year, Grace Point called Athol to be their Senior Pastor. Athol has a heart for missions and seeing the Great Commission fulfilled in our lifetime. He is passionate about seeing the church on mission, being and doing what Jesus called the church to do. Athol and Debbie were married in 1996 in South Africa and have two adopted Children, Christine and Joshua.
Sermons

Summer of Community part 2

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While I was studying Missiology in 2013, the Lord called me to be a pastor. Initially I had no desire or vision for the pastorate, but as the Lord began to impress on me the desire to see a missional church in Grace Point, I submitted to His leading.

Every church is called my God to be missional. Today, billions of people are heading for an eternity separated from God in hell. I believe there is no greater need today than to preach the Gospel to those that do not know the name of Jesus (see Matthew 28:19-20).

Healthy missional churches are growing churches. However, we are not responsible for the growth of the church, that role belongs to Jesus. We are called to be obedient to his instructions and leading and the Holy Spirit will bring about the multiplication (see Matthew 16:18). Jesus promised to build his church.

For 2000 years, the church has always known the mission and the vision of the church. The preacher would proclaim the Word of God and the church went out and did the work of the ministry (see Ephesians 4:11-12), transforming communities by the power of the Gospel message.

The Vision Movement

In 1974 Peter Drucker published his book on Management theory and since the 1980’s almost every business in the world began using mission and vision statements. This became universally accepted and was embraced by the church. Church leaders felt the pressure to come up with unique, catchy vision statements.

We have ours at Grace Point:

Our Purpose Statement

The purpose of this church shall be to exalt God through Jesus Christ through worship, witnessing, ministry, missions and fellowship.

Our Vision

Love God – Love Others – Change the World

To be a loving church family, worshipping God and transforming our community with the message of the Gospel.

They are both good statements, but what is our priority, the Great commission or the church vision? I would argue that many churches love their mission and vision statements, because they are easier and more marketable than the Great commission.

The Vision Verse

For the last few decades church leaders have used a verse to promote the need for a vision statement in the church, Proverbs 29:18. This verse has become so well known because many Christian leaders have used it to inspire, to motivate the church.

Rick Warren writes: “MY IMAGINATION INFLUENCES MY ASPIRATION. In other words, your dreams determine your destiny. To accomplish anything, you must first have a mission, a goal, a hope, a vision. “Without a vision the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18.1                           

The phrase, “the people perish” is interpreted to mean that a church without a 21st century vision statement, will eventually close its doors.

But is that what God’s word says?

Interestingly, Warren and many others use the King James version of this verse which reads, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he”, Proverbs 29:18 KJV.

I find it interesting that leaders who use this verse would never use the King James Version from the pulpit. And they would probably discourage using it as a devotional Bible. So, why would these motivational leaders use an older translation?

Looking at some of the newer translations, we see a different understanding of the verse:

NIV – “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint…”
NLT – “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild…”
CEV – “Without guidance from God, law and order disappear…”
HCSB – “Without revelation people run wild…”
ESV – “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint…”

Looking at the word translated as “vision” in the Hebrew, we see that it means, “revelation, a communication from God to be communicated to others, with a focus on the visual aspects of the communication.”

Simply put, this is a divine word of God, to be communicated to others. I think this is far more significant and valuable than sitting around the table and coming up with a cool slogan for the church.

Additionally, the phrase, “my people perish” in the King James Version, does not mean to die, it is better translated as, “casting off restraint”, or “casting off the law of God”. God’s word restrains us from walking in sin. It is a guide to our path, for our good.

Based on the Hebrew dictionary I prefer the English Standard Version translation, “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint…”

Furthermore, the rest of the verse backs up this interpretation, “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 29:18 ESV.

The incorrect translation of this one verse has birthed the sale of millions of books, conferences around the world.

The Vision of Jesus

Having a vision statement is not a bad thing, but sadly some have used catch phrases and motivational conferences to build the church without Jesus as the head of the church.

When Jesus was asked for a vision statement, what did he say?

In Matthew 22; a lawyer tried to test him and asked him which was the greatest commandment? Towhich Jesus responded, “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

These are the restraints, the law for the church.

In our 21st century worldview, Jesus would have been a terrible visionary leader (see some of his vision statements, Luke 14:27, Luke 9:23, John 6:53, Matthew 20:26, John 16:33b).

I would suggest that sometimes we want a mission and vision statement because the ones Jesus gave don’t look great on a billboard.

A vision statement is not wrong, but vision must come out of prayer and meditation on God’s word, rather than from a church growth handbook or seminar.

Let’s ask the Lord for his vision statement for Grace Point.

1 https://www.walkingwithgiants.net/bible/prov-2918-where-there-is-no-vision-the-people-perish/

Sermons

Summer of Community part 1

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During the spring and summer of 2020, we all experienced the effects of the COVID pandemic. Life was severely disrupted and many people lost loved ones.

It was during that same period that our church family underwent a significant change. We added many new members from our local community. People came out of seclusion and were hungry for community, desperate for meaningful connections, face to face.

But it seems that as COVID has receded into the review mirror of our lives, we have slipped into relational complacency. The smart phone and the streaming devices seem to have replaced the desire for healthy community.

Eternal Family

But what is a church community? Is it just a gathering of people who share a common belief?

Jesus made a rather shocking statement in Matthew 12, when his family tried to come and speak to him; “While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothersstood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:47-50.

Jesus seems so focused on the task at hand that he dishonors his own mother. But that would be in contravention of the 5th commandment from Exodus 20:12,

Jesus isn’t dishonoring his family; he is rather making a statement of reality. Jesus states that his family is whoever does the will of his Father in heaven. The invitation into the family is open to all who trust in Jesus for salvation (see Romans 10:13).

Jesus had a perfect eternal perspective. Family is important, but family is temporary. Marriage, the foundation of family, is only for this life. Jesus is pointing out that our church family is our eternal family.

Eternal Promise

Matthew 12, ties closely together with an encounter that Peter has with Jesus in Luke 18; “And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” Luke 18:28-30.

Jesus is not encouraging husbands to leave their wives for ministry, rather he is talking about sacrificing being with family for a short time for the sake of the kingdom. An example of this would be a short-term mission trip.

However, sometimes God calls families to leave their place of birth and go to another state or country, leaving behind family. But the promise is that there will be family wherever you go. There are believers who will become your family in this life as a blessing from the Lord. Debbie and I have certainly experienced this reality in our lives.

Broken Family

Despite the clear biblical call to community, many individuals today feel that merely watching an online service is sufficient for their spiritual needs.

I believe that there are two primary reasons for this way of thinking:

1. Without the Holy Spirit drawing us together in community, it will always require more effort than we have. If you are not saved, you don’t have the Holy Spirit’s presence living inside of you. As a result, you will have only limited affinity with believers.

2.  In our Christian community, there is a general apathy and feeling of exhaustion which is a significant trait of our modern culture.

Sometimes exhaustion is legitimate because of travel, babies, sickness, working long hours or two or more jobs.  

Saturated Minds

But more often our minds are exhausted. We are living in an age unlike any previous age, the information age. We have been inundated and numbed by entertainment, sport and social media to the point of practical physical paralysis.

Studies have shown that we are living in an exhausted and stressed age. People have no capacity for community, because they are emotionally drained.

When we spend time watching endless news feeds, social media and the like, we experience rapid emotional changes, and it has a residual and physical effect on our bodies.

The 24-hour cycle of conflicting information and the garbage of social media that you are subjected to daily will pollute your mind and slowly erode your love for the Lord and your love for His church. The Apostle Paul warned us about this in Romans 8:5–6.

The common buzzword today is “burnout”. People feeling exhausted, needing a break, and yes some people do. We do live in exhausting times. But I would propose that not everyone is exhausted because we are doing too much, rather it is a physical manifestation of overstimulated minds.

Healthy Habits

What are you feeding on?

Begin every day by asking the Spirit to take control of your mind and life. Read the Bible and let the Holy Spirit speak to you through the pages of God’s word.

Take a fast from your screens. Try looking up and around when waiting in line or at the doctor’s office. See people and engage with people. Pray for divine appointments and look for ways to serve others.

I challenge you to take an extended media break and use that time to read God’s word, a good book or simply waiting on the Lord.

Research has shown that one of the best ways to restore a tired mind is to get into nature.  

Healthy Church

As the leadership team, we wanted to spend this summer encouraging growth and healthy community in our church family. In addition, we would love to see growth in our engagement with our local mission field in South Kansas City.

The challenge is for all of us, what is our calling as a church family and individually?

Step into community and join us this summer.

Sermons

A Mother that never gave up

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Have you ever needed a miracle of provision or healing that seemed impossible? Maybe you are in that position now, trusting God for what seems impossible. This is faith, faith to believe that God will provide, faith to believe that God will move on your behalf. The truth is that God is pleased with our faith; God rewards faith.

In Matthew 15 we read of a woman who set an example and a standard for what it takes to please God. Do you want to please God?

A Desperate Woman

This Canaanite woman came to Jesus with a problem; her daughter was demon possessed and suffering terribly. She had probably heard that Jesus was coming to town, and she trusted that Jesus could heal her daughter. She had probably tried every other avenue to have her daughter set free. This was her last hope; she was desperate. She cried out saying, “Lord, Son of David”, referring to Jesus as a Jew would even though she was a Gentile.

When you first read the story, it appears that Jesus and his disciples rejected her.  We read in verse 23 that Jesus said nothing to her. He completely ignored her and seemed almost callous to her cry for help. The disciples were probably annoyed by her persistent crying, and they urged Jesus to send her away.

A Tested Faith

The woman’s situation was desperate; why was Jesus not responding to her need? Did Jesus simply not care? Sometimes when we face desperate situations, and God is silent, we wonder, has He forgotten us? Does He not see our situation?

Jesus finally responded to her crying and pleading, saying “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (v24). Did Jesus just reject her completely, proverbially shutting the door in her face? Jesus’ apparent rejection only seemed to grow her courage and faith. She knelt in worship before Jesus. This time she called him Lord, crying, “Lord, help me!”.  

Jesus was not rejecting her; he was testing her, giving her faith the opportunity to prove itself like yeast that it was living and active. 

A Mature Faith

We expect Jesus to relent; surely upon seeing her persistence he would grant her request, right? She passed the test; didn’t she?

Instead, Jesus took his rejection a step further. He insulted her, calling her Gentile people dogs! He said, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs” (v26).

Has Jesus lost his mind? What more did he want from her?

We would be unsurprised if the woman walked away, dejected, frustrated, and confused. But she didn’t; she quickly responded, perceptively saying, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Her faith was maturing. As Jesus tested her, she grew bolder. She had nothing to lose, and she knew only Jesus could help her.

Her faith was small but maturing. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20 that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can move a mountain. It is not the size or quantity of the faith that Jesus was referring to; rather it is the maturity of that faith.

A Rewarded Faith

As Jesus heard her faith and humility, he responded immediately by commending her faith and healing her daughter. Her faith was rewarded, and her daughter was healed. 

It is interesting to note that Matthew records two occasions in his Gospel of people who Jesus referred to as having great faith: this Canaanite woman and the Roman centurion in Matthew 8. Both were Gentiles, and on both occasions, Jesus healed from a distance.

The reality was that the Gentiles were spiritually distanced from the Jews and the ministry of Jesus. But that is why Jesus came to die on the cross, to reconcile all nations and people groups to himself. It is simply a matter of faith. Jesus still rewards faith today.

A Persistent Faith

Sometimes it seems like Jesus is saying no. Sometimes it seems like he is blessing others while ignoring us. But this isn’t him ignoring us, rejecting us, or lacking care for us; this is him testing our faith and giving it a chance to mature. Today God is looking for people who walk by faith, not by sight. The rewards of a lifestyle of faith are great. God does not allow us to go through trials for no apparent reason; rather it is to develop our faith in Him.

Individually and corporately as a church we are tested in our faith. James 1:2-4 gives us a prescriptive progression relating to faith. Trials test our faith, which produces endurance, which completes us, and then we will lack nothing. We will lack no good thing (see Psalm 37:25).

What is the desperate need of your heart today? Don’t give up; be persistent. Come to the Lord daily, hourly. Keep believing that what His Word says is true and that He is able to give you what you need. Note, this isn’t all our wants; rather all our needs. God knows your needs, and He will provide for you in His perfect timing. You will be able to look back with stronger faith.

A Pleasing Faith

Not only will you have a stronger faith, but you will have a faith that is pleasing to God. Your life will be a testimony to others about the goodness of God.

Faith is pleasing to God. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6; “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

To have faith we must believe that God exists; this is the root of faith.

If we struggle with faith, it may be because we struggle to believe that God exists.

God is the all-powerful creator of the universe, and He is your Heavenly Father. If we truly understand the depths of God’s love for us, we will have no problem with faith.

The final part of Hebrews 11:6 is the promise of God; “that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Trust in God; He will never let you down. The rewards may not be what we expect or thought we needed, but they will come in time.

Sermons

Shrewd Stewardship

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Whenever a pastor preaches on stewardship, people tend to get nervous. But Jesus frequently taught about using our resources for the Kingdom of Heaven, and like with Jesus’s teachings on other topics, his instructions are not meant to be chains that induce nerves but invitations that bring joy.

As Jesus taught, he was surrounded by mostly poor people, people who probably thought that getting more money would solve their problems. Nothing has changed in the twenty-first century; we still tend to think more money is the answer to many of life’s problems.

But Jesus taught about sacrificial generosity and when we read Acts 2, we see that the early church got it.

A Confusing Story

In Luke 16, Jesus taught the confusing parable of the Shrewd Manager. It is a hard parable to understand, but it has eternal lessons for us.

In this parable, Jesus seems to be encouraging theft and deceptive business practices. But looking at the context can clarify our understanding of the parable.

In Luke 15, Jesus had been addressing tax collectors, the financiers of the day. Jesus tells them three parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. All three are about possessions, losing them or squandering them.  

Then in chapter 16, Jesus takes his disciples aside and begins to teach them about money. But the parable is strange; the central character is a crook, a thief.

In this parable, a rich man has a manager over his estate who has been stealing from him. The rich man understandably decides to fire him.

However, the manager decides to get ahead of his fate by making crooked deals with his master’s debtors so that he will have a roof over his head when he is fired. He doesn’t even use his own money; he uses the money of his master to buy favors and temporary security. The debtors quickly agree to this dishonest scheme to benefit themselves.

But there is a twist in the tale; the rich man is so impressed with the shrewdness of his manager that he re-hires him.

Is Jesus teaching that it is commendable to be devious? The words of Jesus in verse 9 add to the confusion, “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9).

A Kingdom Wealth Management Strategy

So, what are we to make of this parable?

Jesus is not commending criminal behavior; that would be contrary to the teaching of the rest of the Scriptures. Rather Jesus is pointing to the shrewdness and characteristics of a criminal and saying that as children of the light, we should be as driven to do the will of God our Father as the manager was to secure his future. Only instead of leveraging shrewdness for self-preservation, we should look for opportunities to gain eternal wealth.

Jesus encourages us to use the resources of this world to invest in eternity. We can take the unrighteous riches of this world and use them for eternal purposes.

We will leave 100% of our possessions behind when we die. But I don’t think we fully grasp the truth that how we steward our earthly resources affects our eternal rewards.  

Jesus continues to teach his disciples with cutting clarity in Luke 16:10-13, shedding light on this parable. Jesus makes it clear that true riches will be entrusted to those who faithfully serve the eternal kingdom of heaven and not the temporal kingdom of this world.

A Holistic View of Riches

God has entrusted each of us with a number of resources to steward. True riches are more than our bank account; there are other resources we are called to steward.

Finances

We tend to view stewardship as an optional extra in Christian disciplines.Some people assume it; others aren’t aware of it. Traditionally it has been taught that we are to give 10% of our income to the Lord’s work, beginning with the local church and then giving above and beyond that to local and international missional causes.

But I believe that these percentages are the training wheels of greater spiritual discipline. Jesus always raised the bar when it comes to the moral teachings of the Mosaic law.

I believe that the foundation for our stewardship is found in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Dead people have no possessions. When we commit our lives to Jesus, he becomes Lord over all our resources. When it comes to the question of tithing, 10% is a good starting point, but that doesn’t mean the other 90% remains for us to use selfishly. I believe God is looking at how we are stewarding that 90% for His glory.

Time 

Time is a constant; you cannot make time, but you can waste time. We are called to make the most of every minute that we have been given. We can be challenged in this respect when we have an unexpected interruption in our day, when someone comes to us in need. Are we willing to shuffle our priorities to be used by the Lord?

There are a multitude of ways we can steward our time for God’s glory. It is an eternal investment.

Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual gifts are given to us by the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. Gifts are not given for our benefit or enrichment; they are given for the work of the ministry and building up of the Body of Christ.

The Gospel

Believers who have believed in the Gospel are entrusted to steward that message and share it with others (see 1 Thessalonians 2:4).

An Invitation to Stewardship

Everything that we have been blessed with should be stewarded to further the Kingdom of God. We are God’s stewards, managing His resources. Just like the wicked and shrewd manager, we need to be discerning in how we use the Master’s resources, only Jesus invites us to use them for eternal purposes.

How are you doing as an investment manager for the King of Kings?

Sermons

He Is Jesus

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He is Risen!

In 2019 we were all struck by the spectacle of the fire that destroyed the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. The world seemed to be in anguish over the destruction of an 860-year-old building. Why were we so caught up in the destruction of a building most of us have never even seen in person? 

One reason is that we, as God’s created beings, desire transcendence; we have a desire for something that endures beyond our lives. We desperately want to know that eternity is real and achievable. The thought that everything we see around us will one day fall to decay is simply too hard for us to face (see Ecclesiastes 3:11).

We were made for so much more than the accumulation of wealth and knowledge and the pursuit of comfort and happiness; we were made for eternal glory with Jesus.

On Easter Sunday, we celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the dead after paying the price for our eternal salvation on the cross. Isaiah 53 is one of the clearest Old Testament prophetic Scriptures that points to the death and resurrection of Jesus. These words also remind us that Jesus was not a victim of a terribly botched trial nor of mistaken identity. Everything that happened to Jesus happened on purpose in fulfillment of prophecies like Isaiah 53. Jesus is the creator God who took on flesh; he was born and lived at a specific time in history to die on a Roman cross and then to be raised to life. Only Jesus could do what He did; only Jesus who was fully God and fully man could pay the price for the sins of man.

In Isaiah 53:10-12 we see five key attributes of Jesus starting at verse 10a, “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief, when his soul makes an offering for guilt…”


Jesus is – the Perfect Sacrifice

Under the Law of Moses, there were multiple different types of offerings. The guilt offering was one of these, and this offering provided a way to be cleansed from unintentional sin. It also provided restitution when someone had been personally wronged because of a sinner’s actions. It covered both unintentional and unknown sins. 

The prophet Isaiah wrote that Jesus was a guilt offering on our behalf. Jesus knows every sin we have (or will) commit, even the ones we don’t realize. On the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sins, including the sins we are yet to commit and including our unintentional and unknown sins. 

Does this mean we can sin without consequence? Absolutely not; it was our sin that drove Jesus to the cross—past, present, and future. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, the only pure spotless lamb of God (see Hebrews 10:11-14).

Jesus is the Risen Lord

Jesus is alive! Isaiah 53:10b-11a says, “he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied…”

Only living people see their offspring; only living people have extended days and prosper.

This is the line in the sand that differentiates Christianity from any other world religion. Our God is alive; the tomb where he was buried was only occupied for a few days. Paul clearly stated this in 1 Corinthians 15:3-6; this is the Good News: he is risen!

Not only did he rise from the dead, but he rose with a body that will never decay, the same kind that we will also get one day if we believe in Jesus as Lord. The resurrection of Jesus is our glorious hope of a certain eternal future.

Jesus is our Righteousness

Isaiah 53:11b says, “by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”

The word righteous means that there is no longer a need for justice or punishment. For the Christian, to be righteous means to be in right standing before God. This is the privilege that we have as those covered by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. We cannot stand before the all-holy God without the righteousness of Christ.

Without the righteousness of Christ, we have no hope of any sin being forgiven, but because of what he had done, no sin is too great for his forgiveness.

In Isaiah 64, we read that those who trust in their own righteousness or good works are like filthy rags in God’s sight. There is no good work that we can do that will make us righteous. Nothing we do will make us righteous before God; only through Jesus can we stand righteous before the all-holy God

In Jeremiah 23:6 we read that Jesus is Jehovah Tsidkenu, meaning Jehovah is our righteousness. Our being in right standing with God is only possible when we place our faith in the completed work of Jesus on the cross. Righteousness comes through faith.

Jesus is our Inheritance

Isaiah 53:12a says, “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,”

The Bible is full of references to the inheritance believers have in Christ (see Ephesians 1:11).

Our inheritance is the sum of all God has promised us in salvation. Our inheritance is not dependent on our works; it is based on being part of the family of God. Being a Christian makes us heirs along with Christ (see Romans 8:16-17).

When we understand and value the glory of the inheritance that awaits us, we are better able to endure whatever comes our way in this life. With an eternal perspective, we realize that this life is gone in a flash, and eternity awaits us all. We can praise God during trials because we have His guarantee that we will receive all He has promised (see 2 Corinthians 4:17).

Jesus is our Advocate

Isaiah 53:12 closes, “because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

An advocate is someone who pleads the cause of another before a court or tribunal. Jesus is our advocate, pleading for us before the Perfect Judge (see 1 John 2:1).

Jesus, the creator of the universe, gave his life for you as the Perfect Sacrifice once and for all so that he could be your Righteousness. He rose from the dead to be your Advocate.  He is now seated next to God the Father where he is pleading and advocating for you until the day when you receive the glory of your eternal inheritance in him (see Hebrews 7:23-25). Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Do you know Jesus?

Sermons

The Stories Jesus Told Part 9

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Do you know who Jesus is?

In Matthew 21, the religious leaders of the day didn’t recognize Jesus as the Messiah, and they questioned his authority, challenging,

“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ( Matthew 21:23).

Jesus took control of the conversation by returning their question with one of his own,

“The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” (Matthew 21:25).

Jesus placed them in a difficult corner; he knew that they could not respond honestly to his question. If they said John’s ministry was from heaven, then they would be responsible for rejecting John’s ministry, ignoring his call to repent and be baptized. If they said his ministry was  from man (in other words saying John’s ministry had no authority at all), they would be at odds with the crowds who believed that John was a prophet sent from God.

They were caught, and they knew it. They lied, saying, “We do not know”, to try and save face (see Matthew 21:27).

Today, many people face the same dilemma: what to do with Jesus? This is the question that faces every human being. One day, every person will bow before Jesus. By then, it will be too late for many.

C.S. Lewis famously wrote, “Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God.”

There is terrible spiritual apathy in the world today, a willful ignorance of Jesus (see Romans 1:19-20). To Ignore Jesus as the Son of God is willful rebellion.

Albert Mohler said, “When people respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ with this kind of intellectual resignation, they send their souls to hell.” Since the religious leaders refused to answer his question Jesus refused to answer theirs.  Instead he taught a series of parables.

#1: The Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32)

To the Jewish hearers listening to this parable a man having two sons would have been blessed by God. But the older son, the heir of the estate, initially refused to work in his father’s vineyard. The older son showed disrespect towards his father; he didn’t really know him, even though he later changed his mind and went to work. The younger son said he would  work but then disrespected his father by not following through on his word. In verse 31a, Jesus asked, “Which of the two did the will of his father?”

Jesus’ audience got it right: the obedient one did the will of his father. But Jesus rebuked them, telling them that the very people they viewed as the worst sinners possible were entering the kingdom of God before them. The religious leaders viewed the tax collectors and prostitutes as unclean people, not even worthy of their attention. But these people had responded to John’s call to repentance, unlike the religious leaders.

Jesus explained the parable, showing that they were neither the first nor the second son (see Matthew 21:32). The religious leaders were desperately lost.

The key to a right relationship with God is not religious posturing or performing duties, but rather humble frequent repentance.

#2: The Parable of the Tenants (Matthew 21:33-46)

Jesus knew that within a few days, he would be crucified. This parable was a direct indictment of those who were questioning his authority.

The hearers of the parable would have understood that the master of the house was someone of extreme wealth and authority. The master built a fence around his vineyard, protecting his investment. He also dug a wine press, indicating that he expected to receive fruit from his investment. In addition he built a tower to further fortify his investment. All these actions refer to dominion, ownership, and rulership. The religious leaders would have heard the echoes of Isaiah 5 in the parable; it would have been hard for them to miss.

Jesus said when the harvest time came, the master sent servants to the vineyard, but the tenants beat and killed them (see Matthew 21:35-36). Jesus is clearly speaking about the prophets from the Old Testament and even John the Baptist.

But then the master sent his own son, the heir to the kingdom. The one with the authority. And the wicked tenants, thinking they would take the land, killed the son (see Matthew 21:39).

This is exactly what the Jewish religious leaders would later do to Jesus. They were plotting the death of Jesus, but they had no idea who he truly was. They didn’t know they were talking to their creator. Jesus indicted them further as they declared their own judgment and punishment (see Matthew 21:41).  

The door to a right relationship with God is recognizing and knowing Jesus for who he truly is.

Jesus the Cornerstone

Jesus kept on the offensive, attacking the source of their pride. The religious leaders were proud of their knowledge of the scriptures, their memorization and knowledge of the Torah. Jesus asks in verse 42, “Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected
     has become the cornerstone;
 this was the Lord’s doing,
     and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

Jesus was quoting Psalm 118. But the theme of Jesus being the cornerstone of the Kingdom of God is found throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Then the penny dropped, “…they perceived that he was speaking about them” (Matthew 21:45).

The chief priests and the elders heard the parables, but because of their pride—their position and self-righteousness—they refused to recognize who Jesus was. They rebelled against the son of God himself, crucifying him on a cross. Even their rebellion was part of God’s perfect plan, for Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  This rebellion against Jesus still happens today. Even in the church, there are people who don’t truly know Jesus. They know the stories, the history, the theology, but they don’t know Jesus, the Son of God. They don’t have a relationship with him. They do all the religious duties but live in rebellion to the Cornerstone.

It doesn’t matter how many years you have attended church, if you don’t know him, you are in rebellion.

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The Stories Jesus Told Part 8

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Forgiveness is one of the most powerful concepts in the Bible.

In Matthew 18, the apostle Peter asks Jesus for some guidance with regards to forgiving a brother who seems to have offended him frequently.

Within the church family, there will always be people who offend or hurt one another, hence there will be opportunities for forgiveness to be practiced.

While it is hard, forgiveness is powerful because it removes the authority of the enemy over our relationships in our church. It cuts to the very root of unforgiveness, which is pride.

Peter was looking for a statute of limitations on forgiveness, a number that he could attain and thereafter, he would no longer have to practice forgiveness. But Jesus responds with an answer that suggests we should not be counting the times we are called to forgive our brother or sister in the Church. We have no right to count the number of times we forgive.

Jesus proceeds to tell the parable of the unforgiving servant.

Insurmountable Debt

The story is about a king who discovers that one of his servants owes him a debt of ten thousand talents. In the Roman empire that was the equivalent of two hundred thousand years of wages! Jesus made the sum practically inconceivable.

When it comes to debts, we underappreciate the gift of salvation we have been given. We don’t grasp the astronomical debt we owe because of our sin in comparison to the holiness of God. When we get a glimpse of how much we have been forgiven, we can’t help but praise God and thank Him for the great gift of grace that we have received through the Gospel.

Getting back to the parable, the servant begs for mercy. The king doesn’t simply extend mercy; he wipes the slate clean, forgiving the entire debt. This level of grace is hard for us to grasp; it even offends us.

But, I am that servant, and so are you. We who have been washed by the blood of Jesus have been forgiven much.

Miniscule Debt

The parable continues in verse 28, “But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.”

The much-forgiven servant finds someone who owes him the equivalent of one hundred days’ wages. He grabs him and throws him into debtor’s prison.

The same one who had received incredible grace is the one who now shows anger without any mercy at all.

Soon the report of what the servant has done gets back to the King.  He is furious. The king goes back to the original punishment and has the unforgiving servant thrown in prison for what would seem like eternity.

Jesus delivers the punchline in verse 35, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

God despises unforgiveness. If we hold unforgiveness in our hearts, we are willfully stepping outside of the grace of God, and it is painful. When we don’t forgive someone, we are bound by our unforgiveness (see Matthew 16:19).

Unforgiving Debtor

Why do we harbor unforgiveness, holding on to the offense and putting the person into “prison” until they can pay off their debt? The primary reason is pride.At the root of our prideful unforgiveness is a failure to understand that we have been forgiven much. There is no offense that someone can commit against us that will come close to the offense of our sin against the all-holy God. It takes humility to admit this.

When Jesus taught what we know as the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6, he added an addendum on this very subject (see Matthew 6:14-15). Jesus expanded on the sentence, “…as we forgive our debtors”. The Lord’s prayer is so familiar that sometimes we need to be reminded of the meaning of what we are reciting.

Jesus is not saying that to earn God’s forgiveness, we must forgive others. Rather, he is saying that if you have truly experienced the grace and forgiveness of God, you will have a readiness and willingness to forgive others. Our relationship and connectedness with our heavenly Father translate to our relationship with one another; this is where the power for forgiveness lies (see 1 John 4).

When we withhold forgiveness towards another brother or sister, we are hindering our relationship with God. As a result, our prayers are hindered.

 “Fellowship with my brother helps to determine my fellowship with God;

hence, forgiveness is important to prayer.” 

Warren Wiersbe

God desires that we live in a peaceful and healthy community within the church. Let us do everything we can to keep short accounts with one another. May our prayers be powerful and effective as a result.

Who do you need to forgive today?

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The Stories Jesus Told Part 7

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 “When I get to Heaven I shall see three wonders there. The first will be to see many people there whom I did not expect to see, the second wonder will be to miss many people whom I did expect to see, and the third and greatest wonder of all, will be to find myself there” John Newton.

The great hymn writer understood that it is all about grace, the unmerited favor of God shown to those who believe in the name of Jesus for salvation.

We love grace when applied to ourselves, but sometimes, when we see grace applied to others, it offends us. The Kingdom of heaven is counter-intuitive and even offensive to our fallen human reasoning.

Grace Extended

In this parable, Jesus talks about a master who hires laborers to work in his vineyard. During the first century Roman empire, these day laborers may have been foreigners who were offered little to no protection from the Roman labor law. They were vulnerable and often abused.

The master agreed to pay those hired at the break of dawn, a denarius for their day’s wages. This would have been an acceptable wage at the time.

The laborers go to work in the vineyard, but then the master decides to hire more laborers. He hires people at five different times during the day; 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm and 5pm.

When it came time to pay the laborers at the end of the day, those hired at 6am were shocked to discover that everyone received the same payment, even though they had toiled for many more hours than the others. It didn’t seem fair.

Grumbling at Grace

The hard-working laborers began grumbling (see Matthew 20:11-12).

Grumbling is a sin that is often overlooked in our churches and homes. We tend to look at grumbling as less than desirable, but not really sinful. This is because grumbling is so easy to do, it is second nature. When we are troubled by something we struggle to keep quiet about it to those around us.

But what does the Bible say about grumbling?

A classic biblical example of grumbling is found in the children of Israel in the wilderness, they grumbled a lot even after God performed so many miracles on their behalf (see Exodus 16:8). But grumbling is also addressed in the New Testament (see James 5:9, Philippians 2:14).  

Albert Mohler writes, “To grumble is to complain about the goodness of God. In this sense, grumbling is the consummate act of ingratitude.”

We like to justify our grumbling, but grumbling doesn’t fix anything, it usually leads to gossip.

Grumbling is a sign of weakness; it takes courage to sit down with someone and humbly share your offence or disagreement and constructively seek to grow in understanding and love for one another.

The laborers in the parable were grumbling because they felt that the decision of the master was unjust. But the master has every right to do what he wants with his resources (see Matthew 20:14-15).

This parable speaks to us about the sovereignty of God. His decision to show grace to whomever He chooses. We sometimes struggle with this, because we don’t have a right perspective of the holiness and the sovereignty of God. The creator has every right to bless His creation as He chooses.

God’s Grace

Just like the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, we struggle with what seems to us to be an injustice if we are honest with ourselves (see Matthew 25:28-29).

We are so closely tied to the religion of humanism that we struggle with the concept of God’s grace when it is applied to people that we have determined are beyond God’s favor.

Grace seldom seems fair, but fairness is subjective at best. Fairness works well when handing out cookies to children on a playground but doesn’t come close to understanding what is at stake with our sinful state before an all-holy God.

If God dealt with us fairly, we all deserve the punishment of hell.

But grace is God’s free gift to all who repent and put their faith in Jesus. Grace goes against the pride and arrogance of our fallen human nature.

Are you saved by grace? (see Ephesians 2:8-9). Have you encountered Jesus Christ, as your savior, repented of your sins and received his free gift of salvation? Maybe you need to respond to Jesus today for salvation.

Grace that Offends

But maybe you are offended by the grace of God? As you think about your life and the people that have hurt you or even those that you have heard of who have done terrible things to others. Who have you determined is beyond the grace of God?

The words of the master in the parable apply here, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity? Matthew 20:15”

When we refuse to forgive someone for their past, that they have repented of before the Lord, we are not offended at them, we are offended at God.

If you are offended at God, you need to repent and bring that sinful attitude to the cross of Jesus today.

Do you really know the gift of grace?

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The Stories Jesus Told Part 6

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The Parable of the Talents is one in a set of parables focused on the return of Jesus. Jesus was preparing his followers for his departure and the formation of the Church.  

This parable is about the Kingdom of Heaven. What does the king expect of his people? Or more directly, what does Jesus expect from us?

The Talent

The Greek word translated as “talent” is the word “talanton”, which was an ancient weight of currency. The master entrusts each of his servants with differing weights of currency. Some scholars say that one talent was worth about twenty years of wages.

In the same way, when Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave the Holy Spirit to the church and entrusted the church with the task of preaching the Gospel to every people group on the earth. (see Acts 1:8).

In verse 15 we read that the master entrusted the talents according to the ability of the servant. The master knew the individual and their ability. If five talents were given to a person who has little ability, it would be a load too heavy to bear. It would end in discouragement and pain.

God knows how He has designed and created us; He knows our abilities. We are all assigned talents and responsibilities from the Lord. God has given each of us a ministry, and it is our privilege to serve the Lord and multiply what He has given us for the Kingdom.

The Reckoning

The master comes back and calls the three servants to give an account of his entrusted treasure. Notice that he never told the servants to go and trade or make a profit. But they knew him and what he would have desired for them to do.  All three servants responded in proportion to the relationship they had with the master.

The Faithful Servants

The first two servants were incredibly successful, doubling their Talents. The first servant didn’t seem to worry about the potential for loss. He boldly traded because he knew his master, and he knew his master was more interested in faithfulness than profit margins.

When it comes to the kingdom of heaven, our Lord desires faithfulness and obedience far above what we accomplish in human understanding (see Micah 6:8).  

Our lives should be lived with eternity in mind so that when Jesus comes again, we will be expectant and fearless because we know we have done what he asked us to do (see 1 John 4:17).

The master was pleased; he rewarded both diligent servants with an incredible promise (see Matthew 25:21). Their faithfulness gave each of them a capacity for greater service and responsibility. We simply have no idea how incredible heaven will be and how great are the rewards that God has in store for his faithful children (see 1 Corinthians 2:9).  

Are you living for eternity? Are you being faithful with the talents that the Lord has entrusted to you?

The Unfaithful Servant

When the third servant comes to the master, his response is very different (see Matthew 25:24-25).

This servant didn’t seem to do anything wrong, but the problem was that he didn’t do anything at all. He hid his talent under the ground. From his response, it is clear that he did not know his master; he was afraid.

We may ask the question: does he represent a Christian or a non-Christian? At that time when Jesus told the parable, that term did not exist. But we know that Jesus was speaking to the future church, knowing that there would be people who attend churches, claiming to be followers of Jesus, yet do not have a relationship with him (see Matthew 7:21-23).

Jesus ends the parable with a terrifying warning, “And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,” (Matthew 25:30).

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” C. S. Lewis.

The “Offense”

In the parable, the master instructs the servants to remove the one talent from the unfaithful servant and give it to the one who has ten. It’s a classic example of the rich getting richer, and it offends us.

Thinking about the purpose of our existence according to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

The purpose of the gifts that God gives to His children is to bring glory to His name.

God is the creator and sustainer over all creation, which He created to glorify Him. Thus, if He gives us a gift with the purpose of bringing Him glory, and we don’t use it for His glory, He is perfectly just to take it away and give it to someone who will use it.

We must be careful not to read more than Jesus intended into the parables, but it would seem that the warning is this: if you don’t use what the Lord has given you, you will lose it.

The Requirement

The main point of the parable is being ready for Christ’s return. Too many people are drawn to Jesus merely to get to Heaven and avoid the alternative. They play it safe and try to stay out of trouble. However, membership in the Kingdom of heaven is based on a relationship with Jesus, and authentic relationship with Jesus inevitably leads to the kind of faithful service that produces results (see Acts 1:8).

The Practice

What does this look like in practice?

In our parenting, it is to be the very best parents we can be, to steward the brief moments that we have to raise up our children in the ways of the Lord.

In our profession, it is to be the best student, businessman, firefighter, medical professional or neighbor we can be, using the gifts that the Lord has given for His glory.

It may mean being a pastor, evangelist, missionary, or teacher as the Lord calls.

Are you investing the Talents that the Lord has given you today?

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The Stories Jesus Told Part 5

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From time to time, Jesus would address a small group of people when he was teaching. This parable in Luke 18 was one of those occasions. We read in verse 9, “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt.”

It would seem that this group had two primary character flaws:

1: They trusted in their own righteousness. They thought that their actions gave them right standing with God. This is self-righteousness, and it is rooted in pride. Notice how Jesus ends the parable in verse 14, “…For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

2: They treated others with contempt. Self-righteous people look down on others; they operate out of a “spiritual caste system” that views less religious people as unworthy of their time. We see this today when people display spiritual elitism, when they claim to have a special knowledge or superior access to God.

Before we judge too quickly, we must remember that we will always have a root of pride in our lives; it is part of our fallen human nature. We are sinners saved by the grace of God (See Isaiah 64:6).

Jesus, speaking to this select group of self-righteous people—and to us— tells the story of two men going to the temple to pray.

The Pharisee

Seeing a Pharisee pray would have been a normal and expected thing to witness. The Pharisees were the best of the best when it came to following the law. They were held in high esteem by the common man. Everyone looked up to the piety of the Pharisees, but this man was the epitome of a self-righteous person.

Tax collector

Seeing a tax collector pray would have been a shock to the hearers. Tax collectors were seen as corrupt and sell-outs to the Roman Empire, making a living by stealing from their fellow Jews. The hearers would have been wondering why a tax collector would even be going near the temple, let alone praying.

Jesus allows us to eavesdrop on the prayers of the two men.

The Pharisee’s Prayer 

“God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” (Luke 18:11)

In reality, this wasn’t a prayer; the Pharisee was putting on a show, praying to himself and to those within earshot. To this man, prayer was a way of being recognized and praised.  

He begins his prayer by comparing himself to other people. If we are honest, we are all guilty of comparison; daily we come across people who don’t measure up to our standard of decency or accepted behavior. We can be tempted to judge the addict, the homeless, the corrupt businessman, and many more. We can easily be guilty of our own self-righteous thoughts for which we need to repent.

Comparison can become deadly for our spiritual growth. Our standard for holiness must be Jesus, and him alone. With Jesus as our standard, we will always grow in humility and dependency on his grace and mercy for our daily lives.  

This Pharisee, looked down on the tax collector and mocked his prayer, mocked his display of worship. The Pharisee didn’t realize that he himself was the one who was far off from God.

The Pharisee continued to speak about his accomplishments and his religious credentials, all the while reinforcing his own self-righteousness.  

The Tax Collector’s Prayer

“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13)

This man’s posture, position, and desperation indicated his brokenness and humility. He beat his chest and cried out to God for mercy. His prayer was short and didn’t contain any religious jargon, but it was from the heart and raw.

The tax collector was convicted of his sins, and he was repentant, sadly a posture that is lacking in many churches today.

Two Kinds of Prayers

The Pharisee needed to repent, but he was blinded by his religious activity. In contrast, the tax collector received the forgiveness he was asking for (see Luke 18:14).

The fact that the tax collector received mercy would have shocked the hearers of the parable. The Pharisee went home just as bound up in his pride as he was when he came to the temple.

The tax collector recognized that prayer put him in the presence of God’s holiness. He became fully aware of his sinful nature and his need for forgiveness (see Isaiah 6:5). But the Pharisee only saw himself and his good accomplishments. He was lost in the temple of his own making.

The Pharisee went home thinking that he had worshiped, but he went home unchanged. The tax collector went home changed because he had truly worshiped.

One Kind of Worship

In God’s eyes, there is only one kind of true worship, and it begins with acknowledging His preeminence and admitting our own sinful state. Humility is key to worship.

Worship is the place where we, in a broken and contrite spirit, encounter the profound holiness and majesty of God. It’s the place where we are confronted by our deepest longing, the longing for the presence of God, and we treasure Him as the answer to that longing.

From that place of humble dependency, we worship as we remember all that God has done for us on the cross and in our lives, celebrating and giving Him the glory. We cannot worship God if we think we are good enough; worship and self-righteousness cannot coexist.

Is pride in your past spiritual achievements hindering your worship?