Every Corner

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos… Acts 13:4-6

I love the boldness shown by Paul and Barnabas as they set out on their journey. Where does their boldness come from? Where were they able to find confidence? They found it in the only place that mattered. They found their confidence and boldness in God. He sent them. He prepared them. He called them to this mission. Do you share this confidence? Do you share this boldness?

What was Paul and Barnabas’ first stop once arriving to Cyprus? Did they take a nap? Did they seek out worldly pleasures? Did they go to the beach? No, they immediately started preaching the gospel. They were intentional in their walk. They were intentional in their mission—share the gospel with the lost.

Notice Paul and Barnabas' first stop was the synagogues. Do you think the gospel was welcomed there? Paul and Barnabas stepped out of their comfort zone and risked everything to preach truth. Their comfort zone was found in the gospel. They cared enough to go. They cared enough to see that the spread of the gospel was more important than their life, their success, their money, or their career.

I am inspired by the fact that they did not stop at the synagogues. They made their way through the entire island of Cyprus. They were focused on reaching every corner of that area. They knew that they were called to go, and go they went. Do we share this heart? Do we share this desire? Are we concerned about the gospel reaching every corner of the earth? Are we even concerned about every corner of our city being reached? We must honestly ask ourselves these questions.

These questions scare me. These questions convict me. What are we doing? Why are there still people who have not heard the gospel? We must learn from Paul and Barnabas and continue to carry the torch. Once we do this we will stop being content on the sidelines. Have you ever found yourself making excuses or arguing that God just hasn’t given you the opportunities to go? The opportunities are there, we just have to take them. You will never answer the call if you don’t completely submit your heart and mind to God and trust Him.

This has been weighing on my mind quite a bit lately, especially after seeing this recent poll, http://www.gallup.com/poll/153479/Mississippi-Religious-State.aspx. Take some time to study this data. Gallup asked folks if they considered themselves to be religious. They defined religion this way; “is it an important part of your daily life and do you attend religious services every week or almost every week.” The New England states top the charts as the least religious states in the country while many of the southern states are considered to be the most religious. Regardless of whom tops the chart none of these numbers should bring comfort. There continues to be a number of folks right here in our backyard who have not heard the gospel.

Does this bother you? Do you ever spend time thinking about or praying about the lost around you? We are called to every corner of this world. This should not scare us. We have the greatest news ever given. This truth saves. This truth forgives. This truth loves. This truth frees. This truth will provide you with all the confidence and boldness you need. This truth does not need our additions or subtractions. This Christ-centered truth stands on its own. I praise God for these opportunities and I cherish the time I have to share this truth with others.

Please understand that Paul and Barnabas prayed to and were called by the same God we worship. He was there for them and He is there for us. We should be motivated to go. We should be anxious to go. We should want to go. Oh how precious is a life devoted to the spread of the gospel. Please don’t forget the truth found in Romans 10:15,

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

This is a calling we all have received. Some of you will stay here witnessing to those around you—neighbors, coworkers, friends, family. Some of you will be sent around the world. Some of you will be sent to another state. Regardless of where you are called we all share the same mission—spreading the good news of Christ. We must be intentional about this. The gospel has to be a fixture in our lives.

Are you ready? Are you excited? Are you anxious to see what God has planned? I pray that you are. I pray that we would pick up the torch and shine God’s light around this dark world. I pray that every corner of our lives and of this world would be saturated with this Christ-centered gospel. I pray we would meditate on Matthew 9:37-38.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Brothers and sisters the harvest is there what are we going to do about it?!

You Can't Do It

You remember that line from Waterboy?  You know the one, “You can do it.” People love using this quote. We see this in politicians, actors, athletes, and business leaders. We find this idea in self-help books and DVD’s. They are all emphasizing the same thing, “You can do it.” You can have your best life now. The world is at your fingertips.

   

This is a damning philosophy, which is why I want to focus on the opposite yet truthful statement, “You can’t do it.” I understand that this may be difficult to comprehend but trust me it is a freeing statement and unlike the damning philosophy of “You can do it”, this is a life changing life giving philosophy.

We can’t do it. We can spend our entire life trying to obtain the unobtainable—ultimate satisfaction—but it will all be for naught. In our natural “Adamic” state we constantly are searching. We are searching for happiness. We are searching for that next high. We believe this satisfaction is found in money, spouse, career, or even a hobby. The question I want to tackle is can this satisfaction possibly be found apart from Christ and His work?

When thinking about this question I am reminded of Simon, James and John in Luke 5. The crowds following Jesus were growing and Jesus needed to find a place that would allow Him to speak to the entire group. So Jesus boarded Simon’s boat and asked him to pull out from land. Once Jesus was done speaking He told Simon to cast his nets for a catch. Simon, after working all night and coming up empty, reluctantly threw the nets in the water. They hauled in enough fish to fill two boats. The boats were literally sinking because of the weight of the haul. This brings us to the reaction of the fisherman in verses 8-11.

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Luke 5:8-11

Notice Simon’s obedience and his immediate praise to Jesus. Simon wasn’t focused on his haul. Simon wasn’t focused on the amount of money he was going to make. Simon wasn’t focused on the fish fry he was going to have. Simon was focused on the One who made it all happen. He was focused on the one who provided him with the fish and that haul. Simon realized that he deserved no credit for the catch. As a matter fact Simon realized that he was not worthy to even be in the presence of Christ. Simon understood the weight of his sin. He also understood that he must repent. Simon was screaming out, “I can’t do it!” He knew that he needed a savior and apart from that Savior he was hopeless.

I love verse 11. They brought their boat to land and “they left everything and followed him.” They left EVERYTHING. They just landed the biggest catch of the season—maybe of all time—and they left it all. This catch could have been their big break. This catch could have landed them that coveted reality show on Discovery. Well, maybe not but you see how big of a deal this was.

Why would they leave it all? Why walk away from that business? Why step off that boat into uncertainty? Why walk away from family and friends? They did this because they understood the concept behind, “You can’t do it.” They were dropping everything to follow the King—the One who could do it.

Think about your life and the things you are wrapped up in. What is your passion? What are you searching for? Are you waiting for that big catch, that big client, that big sale? Is your happiness and joy found in the things of this world? If this is the case than I am pleading with you to fall on your knees and scream to our God, our Savior, “I can’t do it.”

Notice here the focus of these verses is not that Jesus provided them with the biggest haul ever. They are not following Him as if He is some kind of genie. They are following Him because they want their identity to be intertwined with Jesus. They want to worship the Savior of the world. To them it wasn’t about the next catch, client or sale. They realized that they had all they needed in Jesus. He was enough—more than enough. Did they know what was ahead of them? Did they completely understand the calling of their lives? Of course not, but they trusted and they knew that regardless of what the future would bring they wanted to spend that time with their eyes fixed on Jesus.

I realize that this is a radical idea. I realize that this type of devotion may be perceived by some to be crazy, but I am encouraging you to follow Him wholeheartedly. This may mean you leave your business and move overseas. This could cause you to restructure your business allowing more of your profits to assist the spread of God’s word. This mindset will also have you focused on the Kingdom Dream being spread instead of the "American Dream."

This type of devotion could cause you to lose friends and even family members. Are you prepared to follow Him? Are you prepared to leave everything? In order for these changes to happen you must embrace the idea that “You can’t do it.” We know and trust in this statement because we know and trust in the One who screams, “You can’t do it, but I—Jesus—can and have!”

Being a Man to the Glory of God

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13:4-5

When you hear the word “manly” what comes to mind? We tend to use terms like; tough, outdoorsman, football player, farmer, hard worker, sweaty, athlete, jack of all trades, or muscular. This is a very superficial defining of this word. I would like to dig a little deeper. There has to be a better more biblical definition of this term, right?

This is what brings me to John 13. I would argue that in verse four and five Jesus’ actions are illustrating exactly what we, as men, should strive to be. I realize I may be losing some of you here. I realize that, on the surface, washing another man’s feet is not manly—at least as it is defined by the world. Please don’t let this superficial thought poison your biblical view of manliness.

Washing people’s feet was typically a task for non-Jewish slaves. This was lowly work. This is why these verses are so powerful. The Leader of all leaders humbled Himself to the point of a foot washer. Think about that for a second. The King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Savior of sinners got down on His knees and washed the dirty, nasty, blister infested feet of the disciples. We also must not neglect the truth that Jesus washed the feet of Judas Iscariot. Jesus was well aware of Judas’ plan to turn Him over to the authorities. So we have our King, our Savior willingly washing the feet of His best friends as well as His enemy—the one who would ultimately betray Him.  

Why would He do this? They should be washing His feet right? Jesus explains His actions in verses 13-16.

You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. John 13:13-16

He did this to show that being a leader/man is so much more than being a jack of all trades, a football player, tough, or any other adjective you can think of. These verses show us we are to be servant leaders. Are you a servant leader at your office? Are you willing to get your hands dirty? Are you a servant leader at your home? Are you loving and helping your wife and children glorify God? Or are you barking out orders like a dictator? Are you a servant leader in the community and in the church? Do people in your community know without a doubt you are saturated with the gospel because of your words and your actions? This is what we are called to be. This is not easy, but it is a must. We cannot continue to allow this fallen world and its influences to define us.

I encourage all of you to be the man you are called to be. Quit looking at athletes, actors, politicians and all the other fallen men of this world and start looking at Christ as the one to imitate. Earlier I defined “manly” in very superficial terms. I now want to define it biblically by looking to Jesus. Jesus willingly gave His life, He then forgave those who put Him on the cross. He faced temptation—directly from the devil—without fear but instead with trust in God. This same Jesus told the disciples to allow the children to come and hear His teaching. This same Jesus cried with friends when Lazarus died. This same Jesus cared for the sick and the hungry. This same Jesus prayed to God with tears in His eyes at Gethsemane. This same Jesus turned the other cheek. This same manly Jesus washed the feet of the man that would betray Him.

Do you get the picture? Jesus embodied all the attributes we as men should want to be defined by. He was tough, sacrificial, loving, forgiving, and caring. He wasn’t consumed with worldly desires. He wasn’t worried about what others might think. He wasn’t worried about impressing His peers. He didn’t spend His time trying to climb the career ladder. He had one motivation, one mission and that was to glorify the creator of the universe—our God.

Men we must stand up and fight for our families, communities, churches, and world. This is not a fight that will be won by climbing the career ladder or by our bank account. This fight will be won by showing our families the gospel through our words and our actions. This fight will be won by being a part of the community around us. This is more than just going to the grocery store. We need to Interact with our neighbors, pray for our neighbors and most importantly share the gospel with our neighbors. Ultimately the fight cannot be won apart from God. He is our treasure and our motivator. We are intentional about sharing the gospel because we want to see souls saved and Him glorified. 

We are defined by the Word. Our identity is wrapped up in our Savior. We are good husbands to the glory of God. We are good dads to the glory of God. We are good children to the glory of God. We are good coworkers to the glory of God. We are good neighbors to the glory of God. He is our motivation. Our goal is not to be manly apart from God. Our goal is to be manly to the glory of God.  

Suffering Well

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

 Isaiah 43:2

I love this verse. Reading it always brings a since of peace. This one verse screams, “GOD IS WITH ME!!” How does that make you feel? Are you comforted by this fact? The peace and the emotions that come with trusting in this truth are amazing, but we must not miss the other truth found here. This verse does not read like this, “You will not pass through the waters, you will not go through the rivers, you will not walk through fire.” This verse is not giving us a free pass from suffering. This verse is emphatically saying that we will suffer, but it is during these times of suffering where we will grow closer to God. He tells us plainly, “I will be with you, the rivers will not overwhelm you, the flame will not consume you.”

We had our first child in March of 2011 but this was no simple task. We tried for over year—with many doctor visits in between—to get pregnant. We wanted a child more than anything, but it always seemed like the door would shut on our plans. We prayed, others prayed, we changed our diets, we took medication and then finally Erin brought me the good news, we were going to have a baby. Many tears and sleepless nights were spent during this time, but we look at Gavin—our now 14 month old son—and those nights are so far from our mind. We look at him and without hesitation say we would do it all over again. Did we suffer that year and a half? Absolutely. Did we feel like the rivers were going to overwhelm us? Absolutely. Did we know without a doubt that God was with us? Absolutely.

   

We assumed our journey would always be difficult when it came to having children, but this assumption changed in January of 2012.  This verse in Isaiah is something that I have looked to quite a bit in the past 4 to 5 months of my life. This past January Erin—my wife—came downstairs holding a pregnancy test that read “pregnant”. This was welcoming news. This meant we could get pregnant on our own. We did it! We were able to get pregnant without a bunch of doctor visits, without years of trying, without worrying. This was amazing news. We were so excited and we immediately starting sharing the news with everyone. We were a little nervous because of how close our children would be in age but that was completely secondary to our since of joy. We praised God and we gave Him all the credit.

Once we got over our initial excitement Erin made a doctor’s appointment to make sure everything was moving in a positive direction. We were going to get to see our new baby. We were going to get to hear a heartbeat. We were a bundle of nerves. Our excitement was truly uncontrollable as we anxiously waited for the nurse to take us back to the ultrasound room. After waiting for what seemed like hours—probably more like 30 minutes—the nurse called us back. Erin hops up on the table and the ultrasound begins. The technician started to look around and I could tell by the look in her eyes she expected to see more. She said that everything pointed to pregnancy but we were not as far along as we thought we were so there would not be much to see. This news was disheartening but we assumed everything would be fine in a couple of weeks. We would just give it time. The doctor ran some blood work and assured us we would hear something soon.

As you can imagine our excitement was a bit deflated after this visit, but we just knew the phone call from the doctor in a couple days would tell us we were pregnant just really early in the process. On January 18, 2012 the call came in. The doctor informed Erin that she was pregnant, there was a baby but a miscarriage had occurred and Erin was no longer pregnant. I look back to that day and I feel helpless. I am the man of the house. I am the leader, but what am I supposed to tell my wife? What I am supposed to tell myself? How could I explain this? I was not with Erin when she got the news—I was at work. Once I got her phone call I immediately headed toward home. I made a few phone calls in between to my parents. I had to tell my parents the good news and the bad news. See, we were waiting to tell them about the newest addition to the Wood family. So in my phone call I had to say, “Erin was pregnant but we lost the baby.” This was so difficult. I could sense the emotion through the phone of my mom and my dad. They wanted to be there for their son, for my wife, and for my son. They wanted to hold us, but they lived four hours away. They wanted to give me a solution, a remedy. But, again, what do you tell your 27 year old son upon hearing that news?

I finally arrived home and grabbed Erin. We cried and held each other but neither of us really knew what to say. We had never been through something like this. I took this time to do what comes natural to me, I preached. My wife, on the other hand, needed love and her husband not a preacher. This was a learning experience for us and I have apologized to my wife for preaching at her at a time when she needed more love than words. We continue to grow from this and we now understand that we needed to remind ourselves of God’s sovereignty and His power. I knew that questions were going to come up in my mind and my heart and I did not want to allow myself to question God and His plan. Now looking back there is no doubt in my mind He walked us through the fire. There is no doubt in my mind He prevented the rivers from overtaking us. There is no doubt in my mind He was with us as we passed through the waters.

I realize that some of you may ask, “How can you say that? How can you trust Him when your baby was taken away from you?” These questions are tough, but looking back at the past four years of my life I am fully confident in God’s plan. Four years ago we moved to Knoxville. Four years ago we started attending First Baptist Church in Powell, TN. Three years ago, after sleeping in late we visited the church’s Fountain City campus. It was at this campus that things started clicking, new friends were made and the foundation was being laid for an amazing support group for us in January of 2012. Don’t you see God’s work in this? Please don’t miss it. When I was born in 1984 God knew that I would move to Knoxville in 2008. God knew that Erin and I would have some struggles getting pregnant. God knew that we would bring Gavin into the world on March 3, 2011. God knew that Erin would walk down those stairs in January of 2012 with a pregnancy test alerting us of our new baby. God knew that same baby would die later that month.

God wasn’t distant during all of this. He is the great I AM. He is the unchangeable God of the universe. David Platt said it well when he said, “Our Sovereign Lord holds the destiny of this world in the palms of His hands.” This is what Isaiah 43:2 is telling us. God is in our lives not apart from them. We will suffer. We will walk through rough waters. We will walk through a fire in our life. When we are suffering we are not alone. We rest in Him! We build our house on the rock—Jesus (Matthew 7:24-27). We, however, understand that building on this Rock does not exempt us from the storm itself—the suffering.

Some may argue, “What does God know about suffering, He doesn’t know what I am going through.” Please don’t let this be your argument. Have you read the gospels? Have you read about Jesus? Jesus stepped down from His throne to suffer. He was born to die. He did this willingly. I can assure you that any fire you may walk through Jesus walked through a bigger one.

Do I know why we lost our second child? Can I explain why we had to go through this intense pain? I cannot answer either of these questions, but I do know that God was with my family. I do know that I grew closer to Him during this fire in my life. I do know that His plan is supreme. I do know that He is my treasure and I long for the day He returns and eternity is spent praising His name. I long for that day and I pray you do as well.   

I want to end with more scripture. During this season of suffering for my family God and His providence placed Erin in a bible study. This bible study focused on the book of James. We didn’t know then but it is clear now that God was working through all of that. James 1:2-4 deals specifically with suffering.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

So once again we see God’s hand in all that we do. When Erin joined that bible study we had no idea we would be receiving the news of a miscarriage. We had no idea that the verses in James would be so applicable to us and our current circumstances. These verses coincide with Isaiah 43. We find comfort in our God. As a matter of fact we “count it all joy” because these trials bring about faithfulness and closeness to our Father that can never be overlooked.

When you are suffering and you feel alone go to His word and soak in it. Soak in these truths. God is there. He has always been there and will always be there. I pray this brings you comfort and I pray that during your times of suffering you would look to the only remedy available—God. 

Saved Through the Grace of the Lord Jesus

Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” Acts 15:10-11

The context of this scripture places us inside the Jerusalem Council. The council was dealing with the topic of Gentile salvation. Some argued that the Gentile must first convert to Judaism and uphold the Mosaic Law as well as be circumcised before they could convert to Christianity. Obviously not all agreed with this logic but there were enough people concerned about it that they decided to hold a council to discuss the issue further.

It is during this debate that Peter steps up to defend Paul and his missionary work. Peter is the best to defend because he also saw, firsthand, the Holy Spirit given to the Gentiles—specifically Cornelius in Acts 10. Peter was simply pointing out that the circumcision party was missing the point. Instead of celebrating the salvation of others they were focusing on the law. Peter argued this to be a mistake.

Why is this a mistake? Why would doing your best and upholding the Mosaic Law be a negative thing? Are we not called to be obedient? Are we not called to be more like Christ? Peter’s point was not that the Law in and of itself was negative or sinful. The Law was given to man from God. This means that it—the law—was intrinsically good. The Law was also given to man to show our complete dependence and need for a Savior. Apart from God and His saving grace and mercy we have no chance—NO CHANCE—of entering the Kingdom. Apart from God and His saving grace and mercy we have no hope. This is where the problems arise with the circumcision party’s argument.

Peter has to remind them of the yoke—burden—that comes with this works based philosophy. He also reminds the group that none of them or their fathers had been able to uphold the law. So why would they think that new converts could do this? Peter simply points out what should be obvious, this is an unnecessary burden. This is a burden because we can spend our entire life trying to earn our way into heaven and always miss the mark. This way of thinking is poison for the soul of a believer. This poison shows itself when one finally sees the impossibility of being “good” enough to earn salvation.

I am not arguing for disobedience or for complete disregard to the commandments laid out in the scriptures. We are called to be like Christ. We are called to obey. The problem with the burden or yoke that Peter is referring to is the begrudging obedience it brings. We are called to obey lovingly not begrudgingly. Apart from Christ we are simply trying to be “good”. We are so focused on the law and the obedience of it that it becomes our God. We shift our focus from God and His sovereignty to our idol, the law. This is a major problem. We must understand that we will never be good enough. We will never reach a point or a level where we have earned salvation.

The other side of this coin is that of a lovingly submitted believer. This is someone who understands the cross and the importance of it. This is someone who understands that the gospel is not about what I can do but instead about what Jesus did. This is someone who understands they are a sinner in need of saving. This is someone who understands and loves the authoritative word of God. This is someone who understands, as Peter says in verse 11, we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus. This is not about working your way to heaven. This is about our God gifting us with grace and saving us. This has nothing to do with my personal worth or my personal works. This has everything to do with His—Jesus—worth and His work on the cross. Once we see this and understand it is about Him and not us we began to desire and long to be like Him. So our begrudging submission turns into loving submission to the Savior. This causes us to read scripture differently and appreciate the truth presented to us. The truth begins to pour out of the Word that we are hopeless apart from the saving grace of God. We are hopeless if left to our own works.

Peter was not arguing the law to be sinful. Peter was arguing that our worship of the law apart from God is sinful. Peter was warning the group to not idolize the gift—the law—but instead keep your sights on the One who presents the gift—God. This gift is truly the greatest gift ever offered. This gift then shifts our obedience away from man and the world and toward God and His Word. This shift brings about freedom from sin. The yoke was taken by Christ. He bore that burden. Knowing this and understanding this truth allows us to enjoy the freedom that is the gospel. We trust in His work and not our own.

This freedom does not take us down a path of disobedience. This freedom takes us down a path of loving obedience. We submit to His authority and the authority of His Word. This is such a great truth that I pray everyone would grasp. Please stop trying to work your way into the Kingdom. Stop trying to earn your salvation. You will never be good enough. Let me repeat that, YOU WILL NEVER BE GOOD ENOUGH. This is why we look to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. He was and is more than enough.