Truth That Changes Lives

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us on Truth That Changes Lives. Pastor JP Jones is the senior pastor of Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills, California, and a professor in Biblical Studies at Biola University.

Today on Truth That Changes Lives, Pastor JP will be giving us a message from a series entitled Devotion. Let's listen in as JP gives part two of Take The Next Step.

JP Jones: Next week, I'm going to be talking about the second coming of Jesus. Talking about Jesus's coming for the church, the rapture. We're going to be talking about the tribulation and when these things come about, and what has scripture told us about this phenomenal, awesome hope of the coming of Jesus.

And I believe that is the key for understanding this command, especially this command as it relates to taking next steps about leading a quiet life and being personally responsible and taking care of your own affairs. If you were to study in history the impact that the teaching of the end times and the teaching of the second coming has on Christian groups, it's kind of interesting. It's not that impressive, however.

You see, we today are prone to be just like the people 2,000 years ago when they heard this teaching about the fact that Jesus could come back at any moment and the whole world order is going to be reworked and these are some of the signs that indicate his coming and this is going to be the reality of his coming.

You see, some people take that truth and they want to sell everything they own, buy a bunch of guns, and move to Utah, which by the way, leads me to one of my JP-isms. This isn't in the Bible, this is first JP. You know what happens when a wacky person becomes a Christian? They become a wacky Christian.

And there are wacky Christians out there. There are wacky Christians who would tell us, Jesus is coming back, let's sell everything, buy some guns, and move to Utah and just kind of hold the fort until he comes. No, Paul says, don't do that. Lead a quiet life, be responsible, take care of your own affairs. Let the people see by the way you live that you're a follower of Christ.

There are other people when they hear this teaching, whether they live today in the 21st century or whether they lived in the first century like the folks at Thessalonica, there are other people who become so excited about this, they are so heavenly minded they're no earthly good. They lose all touch of living in the real world as a follower of Jesus Christ.

And so Paul warns us as he warned these folks, listen, this is what I want you to excel at. This is where you maybe need to take a next step, being personally responsible for your life, taking care of your own affairs, providing for yourself, working hard, being a person of consistency and integrity, being personally responsible. Because when you live like that, other people will look at you and they will respect you and you will provide a platform for your witness of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes our lives get in the way of our words when we're trying to witness for Jesus. So some of us may need to take a next step in just being responsible for our own lives. Paul here in this passage in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4 says, I'm writing to you about how you ought to please God. That's the goal of life. Make it your ambition to please God.

And I'm writing to you under the authority of Jesus Christ. That's the bottom line. You need to make sure that you've surrendered your life to the authority of Christ so that the decisions you make are not based on your own sense of authority, but you're looking to the one who knows all things, who has a plan for your life, who's called you and gives you instructions as to how you ought to live.

And he says take a next step in personal holiness, take a next step in your love for one another, take a next step in being personally responsible. Let me give you some suggestions based on some other passages of scripture as to where God might be speaking to us as to how we ought to take our next step.

Here's a fourth suggestion. Take the next step in financial stewardship and giving. Why are you mentioning that? Well, listen to these scriptures. Malachi 3, Old Testament, 2 Corinthians 9, New Testament. Return to me and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty. But you ask, how are we to return? Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.

But you ask, how do we rob you? In tithes and offerings. You're under a curse, the whole nation of you, because you're robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you'll not have room enough for it. Wow.

And lest you might think, well, that's kind of an Old Testament, under the law type thing, listen to what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians Chapter 9. Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he's decided in his own heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. You cannot outgive God. And we as individuals cannot outgive God. And whatever we give to God, he gives back to us. In fact, he gives back to us in proportion to what we give to him. Take a next step.

Listen to this parable. It's called the parable of the McDonald's French fries. There was a dad who loved his kids, he loved giving good gifts to his kids. He knew his kids loved McDonald's French fries, which by the way, they're the best French fries out there. So this dad took his kids down to McDonald's. Said get some fries. Yeah!

They went up, they all ordered French fries. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, paid the money for the fries. The kids sat down, they start gorging on these fries. The dad was delighted, he was excited, he loved his kids, he saw them eating the fries. He reached over to grab one of the fries and his son slapped his hand and said, "those are my fries."

Same story. Dad loved his kids, knew they loved fries, took them down to McDonald's. They all ordered fries. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his money, paid for the fries. They're eating the fries, they're having a great time, he's just feeling so good because his kids are enjoying the fries that he bought them. He reaches over to grab one of the fries, his son said, "Dad, these are my fries, but here you can have a couple," and throws them at him.

Same scenario. Dad loves kids, knows they love McDonald's French fries, takes them down to McDonald's. He said get some fries kids. They all order fries. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out his money, he pays for the fries. They sit down, they're enjoying these fries, the dad's excited because his kids are eating the fries. He reaches over to grab one of the fries, his son said "Dad, 10% of these fries are yours, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. There's your ten, the rest are mine."

One more scenario. The dad has his kids, he knows they love McDonald's French fries. He is a good dad, he wants to give them good gifts. He takes them down to McDonald's, he buys them McDonald's French fries, he reaches into his wallet, pulls out his money, he pays for the fries. They sit down, they're eating the fries, they're loving these fries. Dad reached over to grab a fry, his son said "Dad, all these fries are yours, you bought them, have as many as you want."

Now let me ask you in the parable of the McDonald's French fries, which do you think is the closest to what the Bible teaches about stewardship? It's the last one, of course. You cannot outgive God. Here's an amazing truth to me, and it's both in the Old Testament and it's in the New Testament. Everything we have, whether we realize it or not, everything is a gift from God. Everything.

Everything. But here's what God does. It's a gift from God, he owns it. But when we invest back to him and give back to him, which is actually his stuff, when we give back to him his stuff, he rewards us. And he rewards us now and he rewards us in eternity. We're just giving back to him what's his, and he rewards us now and he rewards us in eternity.

You see, God is such a God who blesses and rewards and who gives. And so he says take a next step. Maybe God is saying take a next step in personal holiness. Maybe he's saying take a next step in loving one another. Maybe he's saying take a next step in living responsibly. Maybe he's saying take a next step in financial stewardship and giving.

Or here's another suggestion. Take the next step in praying for miracles. Jeremiah 33:3 says this: Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. And Ephesians 3:20-21 says: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever. Amen.

God is able to do immeasurably more. God says call to me and I'll show you things you don't even know about. So here's my question to you: what huge, audacious, miraculous request are you praying for for God to do? What beyond imagination thing are you asking God to do for you, for your family?

You see, here's a sad observation that I have. The state of Western Christianity is this: our problem is not that we ask too much of God. We don't ask enough. We ask God to do things that quite honestly, we could do if we just worked hard. We need to be asking God for miracles.

And a miracle by the way, is just Jesus doing what only Jesus could do. And every church in America needs a miracle. They need Jesus to do what only Jesus could do. Every person in this room needs a miracle. We need Jesus to do what only Jesus could do. And we're to ask him.

But God owns everything. And so we're praying that God would put it upon our hearts and in response to our asking, he would provide and he would do things that we couldn't even imagine. Why? Because God says call to me and I will show you great and mighty things that you know not of. I am able to do immeasurably more than you ask or imagine.

And what about in your life personally? What about in your marriage? What about with your kids? It's the same promise. What is the next step God wants you to take in asking him for miracles in your life?

Here's another suggestion. Maybe it's taking a next step in faith and obedience. Taking a next step in faith and obedience. Hebrews 11:6 says this: 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. God rewards those who earnestly seek him.

If you will seek God, he will reward you. And without faith it's impossible to please him. God is pleased with our faith. Whatever faith we bring to God, he is pleased with it. That's why I love that story in the Gospels where the guy brings his son to Jesus and he has the illness and none of the apostles had the means to help him.

And so Jesus says what's the problem and he explains to Jesus how his son falls down and appears to be what looks like epileptic type seizures. And Jesus looks at the man and said, "do you believe?" He says, "Lord, I do, but..." and almost you could see it hanging his head, "but help me in my unbelief."

And maybe we're prone to think, well, I guess Jesus said, well, as soon as you muster up enough faith, then I'll help you. No, you know what Jesus did? He healed his son. See, sometimes I think this is what we do. I want to believe, I just I doubt. I struggle. I'm weak. So I'm not going to ask for anything and I'm not going to attempt anything because I don't want to fail. I don't want to let the Lord down.

I'm not worthy to even ask for anything because I don't have enough faith. When the exact opposite should be true. We should be like the man who said I believe but help me in my unbelief and he came to Jesus with that and his son was healed. God honors whatever level of faith we bring to him.

And he rewards us. And he rewards our obedience. Jesus said in John 14:21: Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me, and he who loves me will be loved by my father, and I too will love him and I'll show myself to him. This is a powerful word. In the New American Standard, it says I will disclose myself to him, and in another translation, it says I will reveal myself to him.

What Jesus is promising here is he's promising a further intimate disclosure of who he is to the one who obeys his commandments. So let me ask you: do you want to grow in your relationship with Jesus so you get to know him more? Would you like Jesus to make his will and his purposes more known to you? Would you like to enter into a more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ?

Would you want Jesus to disclose himself to you? What Jesus says is here's the means to that: whatever commands of mine you have, obey them. That demonstrates love and you're in this love relationship with me when you do that. And you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to show myself to you. I'm going to reveal myself to you. I'm going to disclose myself to you.

So maybe there's a next step in some area of your life that you're scared, you don't have all the answers, you're not really sure what's going to happen, but you say I'm going to trust and obey and I'm going to step out. In fact, in the little Baptist church I attended when I was 16, I gave my life to Jesus. I didn't know anybody else who's a Christian.

I knew one guy in high school that was a Christian, he went to this little Baptist church in San Jose, Baptist Temple. We used to sing this song, "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey."

Gosh, it's right there in his scriptures. Maybe there is a next step in faith and obedience. And here's one last suggestion. Never trust a preacher who says he has one last point. Take the next step in surrendering to Christ. We've got people here who are mature, dedicated, committed followers of Jesus.

We have people here who are making a reconnection in their faith for whatever reason, they've gotten distant from God but they're wanting to reconnect. And we have people here who've never been a church, never they don't even know where to turn in the Bible. I quote these scriptures and they don't even know what I'm talking about. Maybe that's what you are feeling this morning.

But you have questions. And you're curious. And you want to check it out. I love that. I love that God meets us wherever we are in our spiritual journey and that we're the kind of church that values the process of the journey. But let me tell you, in your journey and in everyone's journey, just like a line that's drawn in the sand, there is a place where we must all come face to face with God and decide: are we going to be followers of Christ or not?

Are we going to step up and live out what we believe or not? Are we going to open up our hearts to Jesus or not? Jesus put it this way in John 1:12: But to as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believed on his name. Some of us here, our next step is we need to receive Jesus Christ. We need to receive Christ.

Jesus said in Mark Chapter 8: For whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it. Whoever seeks to save his life shall lose it. For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Therefore, whoever confesses me before men, I will confess him before my Father in heaven. Whoever denies me before men, I will deny him before my Father in heaven.

Guest (Male): What a great message for all of us today. Pastor JP provides us with great insight. That is why we'd like to make it available to you on CD. Just get in touch and mention today's date. We'll send it your way for just $5.

Or if you'd like to support this ministry, you can write us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653, or give us a call at 949-916-0250. That's 949-916-0250. For your gift of $25 or more, we will send you a signed copy of JP's new book, Facing Goliath.

Please join us every Sunday at 9:00 or 11:00 AM at Crossline Church in Laguna Hills. The address is 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653. Or check us out on the web at crosslinechurch.com. We're going to get to the address and phone number again in a moment, but before we do that, Pastor JP, do you have any insight from today's message?

JP Jones: Thanks, Greg. Did you know that every one of us has a journey? It's a journey that follows Jesus Christ. You see, God has called each of us to be in a relationship with him, to know him and to experience his life. And whether we realize it or not, we are on a spiritual journey.

But just like a line drawn in the sand that you must step over, that's what it means to make a commitment to Jesus Christ. We must cross the line and invite Jesus Christ to come into our lives. That's when we become alive spiritually, when Jesus comes into our lives. He forgives our sins and he makes us new people. For some of us, that's the next step that we need to take right now, today. We need to open our lives to Jesus Christ.

For others of us as followers of Jesus Christ, we need to surrender our whole lives to Christ. Paul said in Romans Chapter 12: I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. See, some of us we're following Christ, but we haven't opened up every part of our lives to him, and our next step is to fully surrender to him.

For others of us as we've been following Christ, we need to give away what God has given to us. You see, there is a next step for you in your walk with Jesus Christ. Maybe it's to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Maybe it's to surrender your whole life to Christ. Or maybe it's to give away what God has given to you, to share your faith and disciple others as a follower of Jesus Christ.

Would you ask God to show you what your next step is? And you can ask him right now. Lord Jesus, show me the next step you have for me. I surrender my life to you. I want to follow you, Jesus, as the Lord of my life and I want to take the step that you lead me to take as your follower. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Guest (Male): We want to help you in your relationship with Christ. Please get in touch with us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653, or call us at 949-916-0250.

On the internet, you will find us at crosslinechurch.com. We hope to see you at one of our services every Sunday at our new campus in Laguna Hills. For more information and directions, please go to crosslinechurch.com. Please join us next time on Truth That Changes Lives.