Friday Focus...a couple more gems from chapels and conferences (DeYoung & Merida)

Gems come from everywhere and especially in the spring of the year as Christian conferences are plentiful and live streams are now the norm.  I have always appreciated the online weekly chapel services provided by great seminaries but in the spring, we get a plethora of offerings when Moody Founders Week, the Shepherd's Conference, the Ligioner Conference, the T4G, and many others find their way into my email box as a notification of airing.  

So here are a couple gems I picked up this week that I would love to share with you.  The first comes from The Gospel Coalition National Conference titled "Conversations With Jesus."  Pastor Kevin DeYoung, who I enjoy listening to and reading his books, was handling the passage Luke chapter 4 and verses 16 through 30.  I will put the video at the bottom of this blog post so you can get the full message.  

The gem was the handling of this passage in light of spiritual matters over physical matters.  We lean so heavily on the social needs that we miss the ultimate spiritual needs.  Doing something for the poor and needy is so much easier than addressing the spiritual needs that could get us into the "being offensive" territory.  We would need to talk about the exclusive claims of Christ and His words that "You must be born again."

Kevin brought out a point I had not seen before.  In this passage, as with many others, Jesus follows the truth with a lesson to understand it.  Jesus has just spoken from Isaiah chapter 61 and verses 1 and 2 about the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed.  These are all who need some type of health.  But is Jesus speaking physically or spiritually?

A little further down in the passage Jesus gives two examples.  The first is a physically poor women who is a foreigner and also a widow.  She receives help from Elijah the prophet.  The second is a wealthy man with position named Naaman who is also a foreigner but one who is inflicted with leprosy.  He receives help from Elijah the prophet.

One a woman, one a man; one physically poor, one physically rich; one of no position, one of much position; one needing daily food restored, one needing daily health restored; both foreigners but both coming to a holy man named Elijah of the people of God.  Why did they come to the holy man?  Both of these needed to know of the God behind what they were going to experience.  While needs are present in our world, do we neglect to come as the "saved ones" of God and because of God, offering compassionate care not only physically but more importantly spiritually?  

Do we need to look at these words in light of the Bible rather than the current climate of our society and see the poor in spirit, the captives of Satan, the spiritually blind, and the oppressed by sin?  Jesus reacted to physically needs when present but He drove Himself to what was necessary and that was the proclaiming of the gospel.  Just a gem but scroll down and catch the whole message.  It is well worth it.

The second gem comes from a weekly chapel service at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.  The speaker is Tony Merida who is the pastor of preaching and vision at Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, North Carolina.  I will post below the entire message on Acts chapter 17 verses 16 through 34.

This is the passage where the Apostle Paul gives a great gospel presentation in Athens on Mars Hill.  Tony said, 

"Paul was always a missionary, 

not just someone on a missionary journey."

The gem was Tony's application points.  Paul was consistent.  Paul was comprehensive.  Paul was contextual.  Paul was courageous.

Paul was consistent with the message no matter the spiritual climate that he was in.  Paul was comprehensive to offer the gospel message from creation to final judgment.  Paul was contextual to know who he was speaking to and forming his message to reach them with the truth.  Paul was courageous with a compassion that these too would know of God and His sent Son, the resurrected Jesus.  

At the end of the passage we find that some mocked him; some asked him to come back again; and some believed.  It was a mixed response, which is true today, but Paul didn't stop being a missionary of God because all didn't believe.  Paul didn't cancel the next missionary journey because the numbers weren't impressive to report to the Jerusalem Gazette.  To Paul, the number that counts is the number 1.  The next one who God would put before him to share the gospel with, even if it was a Roman guard chained to him in a prison cell.

One last zinger from Tony was this statement in regards to Paul's heart to share the gospel among these who worshiped many gods.  Why don't we do this?

"Many Christians seemly don't care."

Many Christians seemly don't care that others know about Jesus and they won't go somewhere and say something about Him like the Apostle Paul did.  "Ouch" but true.  Again, catch the whole sermon below.

Just a couple gems for this Friday Focus as I think about a Sunday morning gathering of the God's flock (synagogue ministry) but also my next interaction outside of these four walls today (marketplace ministry).

Adam