Inclusive Environment

Acts chapter two is a record of the grand entrance of the Holy Spirit into the life of the church. The Spirit did not come in quietly but with “a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, …. then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them, ….and they all began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The sound was so loud that the Bible said “the multitude came together,…. and everyone heard them speak in his own language.”

The Holy Spirit definitely wanted everyone’s attention. When Jesus walked on the earth, His teaching and miracles attracted people from every walk of life, and out of this diverse group of people He called an equally diverse group to be His disciples, one-hundred and twenty of whom were in the upper room seeking for the promise of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit made His grand entrance, the Bible records in Acts 2:5 that He attracted “Jews from every nation under heaven.”  The writer records the names of fifteen of these nations that heard the disciples praising God in their own language. If you were to look for these nations on a map, they cover a 360 degree circle around Israel, fanning in every direction on the face of the globe.

None of this happened by chance. God is very intentional in all that He does. Why did Jesus and the Holy Spirit’s ministry attract such a diversity of people?  I believe it is because God by His very nature is inclusive, and everything He does is inclusive. Why then are we as the church so exclusive? We exclude people by our traditions, doctrines, and practices. We surround ourselves with people who act and think just like we do.

Jesus is not calling us to sameness but to oneness. Jesus prayer for us is “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”  Inclusion is not watering down your belief or condoning that which is wrong. Inclusion is loving people where they are and allowing the diversity to enlarge us and our vision and understanding of God. It is having “fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." (I Peter 4:8) It is removing the plank from our eye before we attempt to remove the speck four of our brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:4-5) It is by love, trusting the Holy Spirit to do His work in each of our lives as He sees fit according to His unique will and plan for each of us.

We need to cultivate an inclusive environment. The conclusion of the grand entrance of the Holy Spirit among this diverse group of nationalities, traditions and practices is recorded in Acts 2:46-47, “Now all who believed (3,000 diverse people) continued daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

Andy Clark

Jesus Journey

As you read in my devotional last week entitled “Jesus,” the only hope for our world that groans in the bondage of sin is the manifestation of the children of God, that is Jesus Christ in us the hope of glory. (Romans 8:17, Colossians 1:27) For God’s glory to manifest in us we must walk the Jesus journey.

The summary of the first thirty years of Jesus’ journey are written in Luke 2:52,

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Jesus is twelve years old and has gone to the temple with his parents, and Luke records in 2:47

“And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.” Though Jesus had revelation knowledge that surpassed the greatest teachers of His day, he spent His first thirty years growing “in wisdom and stature, and favor with God and men.”  We can become so busy with life that we do not allow time in our journey for God to develop His character in us. When we watch the Olympics, we will see people who have spent a lifetime of discipline in developing the character and skills necessary to stand for a moment on the world stage. Whatever we do in life, our Jesus journey begins with the disciplines of a Christlike character in us. We do not live according to the values of this world but by the values revealed to us in His Word and developed in us by submission to our heavenly coach, the Holy Spirit.

The next phase of Jesus’ journey is recorded in Luke 3:22, “and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased." Wherever our journey takes us, the voice of affirmation over our lives must come from heaven. While Jesus grew in favor with man, the affirmation of who he was and what he did came only from the Father. No matter what kind of work we do, our only measure of success and sense of fulfillment can come from God. God’s pleasure with His son did not come from performance, because Jesus’ ministry had not yet begun. God’s pleasure was with Jesus the carpenter who had learned to walk as a son in a love relationship of submission and obedience.

The Jesus journey continues with the test of identity and character in the wilderness in Luke chapter four. The repeated challenge of the enemy was “If you are the son of God,” then prove it. Jesus’ consistent response was “It is written.” Satan constantly tests our identity and our character through success and suffering. He constantly flaunts the world before us, tempting us to measure ourselves by those around us, what we see and what we feel, instead of the Word of God.

The conclusion of Jesus’ journey is in Acts 10:38, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” This can be the testimony of your journey when your identity and life is hidden in Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, you can do good works that God has ordained for you and bring healing to those around you.

Andy Clark

Jesus

Jesus said, “If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all peoples to myself.” John 12:23

I have a friend who played both college and professional basketball and now pastors a growing church that is bursting at the seams. His call to ministry was birthed out of an encounter with Jesus Christ that radically changed his life and created in him a passion for Jesus that marked his basketball career, life, and ministry.

As we look out over our decaying world, our only salvation is a generation that is radically turned on to and passionate about Jesus Christ. Christianity, especially in the West has become too much of a private relationship with Christ. Jesus said, “If I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” Jesus’ death and resurrection was a very public matter, out front where all could see. Jesus told the Jewish leaders, who arrested him, what I have done and taught has been in the open for everyone to hear. The mark of the early church was a bold and public confession of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)  We become so caught up with building churches, programs and ministries to attract people that we loose sight of the central attraction to Christianity and that is Jesus Christ. Somehow, lifting up Jesus is not enough of an attraction to appeal to our modern world. We feel this need to compete with the glitz of our modern age and sugar coat Jesus to make him palatable to our day and age. Relational and social evangelism, the trend of our day, is a wonderful thing, but without an open passion for Jesus it cannot stand.

Jesus is the star attraction of Christianity. Yes, there are many who will ridicule, oppose, and persecute the name of Jesus, but without Jesus we have nothing but a vain and empty religion. When we build our lives, reputation, family, work, church, and ministry on an open and public confession of Jesus Christ, He will draw people to himself and build a church that the gates of hell cannot prevail against.

Philippians 2:9-11says, “Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Ask the Holy Spirit today to help you take Jesus out of the closet and make an open confession so that He can draw all people to himself and glorify God the Father.

Andy Clark