Is It Acceptable to Participate in The Festivals of Man?

Is It Acceptable to Participate in The Festivals of Man?  Kelly Durant

 

Luke 7:33-35 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

Note: A large populous classifies ‘Christmas’ festivals as pagan, Thanksgiving is controversial for some as well

 

2. I recall when I was a child, being raised in the church, that there were always adult characters that were always somber and serious, and it seems that for them to worship God they had to put on that stiff face of ‘see me here suffering’ for Christ! The subliminal doctrinal communication of many churches for the longest time is church is not a place for worship, pleasure, and enjoyment, the church is a holy place and you are here for your catharsis, for your purging and painful redemption that must be repeated weekly. So, is this really being holy?

 

As a child it is scary to think that religion is some type of bitter medicine that if you don’t take it you are going to get sick and die and go to hell! If there are any children listening to me now, listen to this, when you are a bit older you must go back and re-read all of God’s word to understand many things you missed as a kid only getting the kids version of the gospel! God is love and he wants us happy!

 

The truth of the Word is powerful and only later in life, as a teenager, or as a past 21-year-old adult do you get a full understanding and eye opening after you decide to obey it and live it.  God’s Word does transform you but that is after you get a touch from the Holy Spirit by seeking Him with all your heart, mind, and soul. It begins when you decide to intensely love God! He loved you first, so the closer you are to Him the more you will experience what holiness and love is.

 

3. Where did this concept of having to be sad, somber, and lifeless in worship originate in order to please the Holy God? Or the idea we must never be festive on the holidays? It began with the dawn of the pagan religions! With the sons of Cain who rejected worshiping God as their loving creator and they formed false gods, animalistic and cruel oppressive gods to be worshipped. Ever since the redemption of Jesus on the cross the Gnostics, the hypocrites, the rebellious and stubborn, the Satanic followers and the ‘spiritually lazy ignorant folks’ have been perverting the gospel to be a bitter pill…so undesirable that no one dare try it. Forget those fridge faces! Pray and discern, not everyone in the Christian church is a true believer and follower of Jesus who said we would be happy if we knew what He taught. John 13:17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

 

Most people think that others will believe what they tell them about their selves; they may be miserable but they lie and say they are happy. Words are only a part of who you are; people are discerning all things about you by the looks on your face be they happy or sad, by the attitudes you express in conversations, and by the feelings they get when they hear your tone when you speak about God and others. Do people feel you love God and others? What do you make people feel anyway, happiness, indifference, or sadness? Do they see you as holy? In church in particular, when you are supposed to be happy and praising God, are you by your somberness figuratively throwing water on the fire of those who are shining for Jesus? Pray for God’s holy fire to purge you so the final result is all the dross will get burnt away and only happiness and joy in the Lord remain! Holiness is happiness! 

 

Churches, or Corps as we call them, are our safe spaces where we can meet and pray and communicate with God. They are places of fellowship where we learn the Word of God, and they serve to have a place to unite us, make us feel love, the love of God and the love of each other. So, these holy and sacred places are supposed to have the function of filling you up with love, and if not then they are not serving their holy reason to exist! If church becomes a ritual, a pain, a bitter pill, then that could be the fault of the theology, pastors, or the people in the congregation for entertaining that unloving and unholy attitude. But the mission is not just behind these 4 walls! It is out where the people are, even in festivals! 

 

4. One of my favorite phrases from the Holy Scriptures is the “Joy of the Lord is your strength”. It is from Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” There was going to be a festival, a holy day, and God was commanding the people to enjoy it! And to share it with all!

 

The Hebrews have several “holy” days a year, and they serve different purposes, some to remember their pain and years of slavery, while others are to be happy occasions. There is a time for everything, but in general when we meet to worship the Lord, we should be doing it with happy thankful hearts. In particular, when we do our praising with music, we all should join in and sing and be happy. If nothing makes you happy about praising God, hearing His Word, and being in fellowship with others, then you had better check your heart and ask God for a repentance and forgiveness for not desiring Him and His people. Pray and get a victory!

 

Conclusively, if God wants the hearts of people happy, which only can happen after there has been a purging of the heart and a full acceptance of forgiveness through Jesus, how is it so many people have a hard time with that? I think it is from guilt! Many people feel unworthy to be happy, so they take on the attitude in church, and in festivals, that they must always be sorrowful to please God. Well, if you are doing something that makes you sorrowful, some sin you will not let go of, then let it go! Repent, and go and sin no more! Don’t be a bad testimony for Jesus by making it look like you are sad and never forgiven and week after week you have to punish yourself with a long face. This is totally the wrong way to practice our faith. A religion that wants to hang a ‘Damocles sword’ (look it up) over your head should be considered a pagan one, a controlling one, and sadly a majority of Christian churches (along with all the false religions of the world) practice this very thing. Please, turn your eyes upon Jesus, it is Him that saves!

 

5. So, there exists the strict somber holy ones but what about the Christian who wants to have too much fun? Not here, but in other places you hear the rumors, “Did you know so and so was seen at the Club last night”. Hum, well, how did you know?! We have the perception that living a holy life should be one of depravity, one where all sins are prohibited except for over eating. Again, this Is not holiness, but night clubs are a bad environment.  We must avoid festivals or carnal gatherings that give the appearance of wrongdoing, or partake in things that would stumble someone of the faith. We no longer have a love for the world!

 

Actually, if you are living a holy life, you will feel complete and so good and happy and blessed and full of the Spirit all the time that you will feel little desire to want to be entertained by the world and be around the people of the world. These are folks that are obviously trying to make their selves feel good by being around others with artificial stimulations (excessive, dance and drink, etc.). These people may laugh with friends but you and I can often see in their eyes sadness, worry and confusion. But more often than not many of the local festivals, national ‘holidays’, Thanksgivings, and Spring & Christmas Parades, are inspirational enough and we should be there in them. Some are harmless compared to other things. We should be representing Jesus and the Salvation Army in local kiosks, my wife and I have represented Jesus and TSA in many dozens of festivals, including 5 de Mayo (s), International Fairs, parades, etc. All festivals need Jesus! 

 

Here is a thought, if Jesus attended parties and banquets even with publicans and sinners, why are we not celebrating with others as well?  Marriages, parties, quincianeros (15-year birthdays), new babies, all are motives to get together with others, even those who are worldly. Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. Jesus is saying, go, be friends with those of the world (of course, don’t partake of sins) and by winning them to the Lord, they may have your back one day when you need it! We cannot disqualify ourselves from being with others on holidays and special occasions just because they may not be entirely Christian enough, but by being with them, we have opportunity to tell them about Jesus and our faith.  

 

6. Jesus attended parties. As a matter of fact, the first miracle Jesus did was turning water into wine! The people had already drunk up all the big cisterns of wine and Jesus is making more? Wouldn’t they get tipsy? What does that tell you? He was not against people enjoying life! And these were ordinary folks at this party, not a bunch of holy rabbis debating doctrine. Observe that Jesus attended all kinds of events and mixed with all kinds of sinners so he could share with them all about the Kingdom of God. Are you motivated as He was in this way?

 

Well, in the Salvation Army we can be around people of the world but we do not drink alcohol because Satan messed it up for us. With some of our brothers in our facilities getting over addictions, we just abstain to prevent any temptation. If all the people of the world drank in moderation all could be well, but because quite a few, about 1 in 10 actually, have abused alcohol and changed their DNA into dependency, we no longer drink so we are not tempting these weak ones by them knowing we get to have it and they don’t. For their sake we do without. As God’s people we may do some things in moderation, or even give them up, but not so with the people of the world who are weak without faith, they get out of control!

   Ephesians 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit. We must also recall also that Jesus even said he would not drink wine again until all was finished and then He would drink it again with us, the saints of God, at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. (Which is after His return).

 

7. I contend, we should enjoy the local festivals, parades, and parties and as Christians, we should use them as a means to give our testimonies and win souls to Jesus! Isn’t that what the Salvation Army and true Christians have always done? Aren’t we in the Rose Bowl Parades, and in the football half-times with our marching bands? Did you ever go to Blossom type Festivals? We go in uniform to these often so the people can be reminded we are here doing God’s work, and do you want to pray? I love to be with people having fun and some of you do too, but even if you hate crowds, you should do all things to glorify God and be a witness for Jesus. We are the salt and light and we must make our faces to shine!

 

Listen to this, I met a man before who told me of something he remembered as a U.S. Army soldier from the Korean war, that the young Salvationist girls would give out ‘War Crys’ and tell them about Jesus in the bars! Girls, who is brave enough here to go into the bars and do that?! Well, I wish we could do this again, but laws, and dangerous people make it difficult. But that was beautiful, right?

 

My wife and I have gone door-to door and to businesses hundreds of times in our lives inviting people to receive Jesus by doing the sinners prayer and inviting them to a Corps or Church.  So don’t condemn brave ones on the front lines, festivals are good excuses for us to get involved with the people, and it is your and my job to preach the gospel! By the example of Jesus in parties with sinners, we see this implies by all means possible and ways! When people celebrate something in the world, we should show up and offer them God’s love, Jesus, and our happy filled with the Holy Spirit enthusiasm, which really is worth celebrating! Set yourself on fire for God and the world will come out to watch you burn!

 

8. What is the conclusion? We do all things with the intention of glorifying God! The people of the world with their guilty unrepentant hearts always want to throw stones at those (us) who stand up for Christ or just causes, but just shake it off! Great is your reward in heaven! Whether you are sober seeking God sacrificing in the extreme, or whether you are happy serving God even going to parties, some will love you and others will hate you. Those that reject Jesus will despise you seeing you happy and they will despise you if you are preaching to them convicting them to repent as well! But those who want Jesus will think you are just a friendly person who has happiness to share with them. 

 

Luke 7:33-35 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

The Salvation Army is a holiness movement and we do it Jesus’ way! Our history of taking marching bands and preaching to the lost ones in the East London bars proves we are not afraid to go anywhere, do anything for God and souls, and take care of those suffering. It’s because of Jesus’ blood and the fire of the Holy Spirit! Holiness includes a wholeness of all people included, one of not discriminating against the sinful, addictive, worldly lost sheep who may come to Jesus, that is if someone like you and me are present there to tell them.    

 

My friends, we are to be like Jesus! We need to be out there meeting the publicans and sinners where they are, in their activities and festivals. Jesus did not say, be like John the Baptist, make yourself suffer and eat only wild locust and honey preaching repentance only. We are to go to the parties of our heathen sinful neighbors and be a testimony to them so that they can be happy in Jesus if they would only give Him a try. We are their opportunity to see a whole new perspective: God’s Spirit coming alive in their lives! Go for souls and go for the worst!

 

9. In a final conclusion, some Christians define Christmas as a pagan holiday and we are grave sinners if we participate in it?! What? We know the history, the ancient church placed Jesus’ birth on December the 25^th the same day as Horus, Krishna, Mithra, Buddha, Tammuz, Adonis, Dionysus, Hercules, and Herme’s birthday, so purposely choosing that date was to override the worship of these other so-called gods with Jesus as the focus! God sees the intentions of the heart for holidays. Those that celebrate Jesus are worshipping Him only. We give no glory to the story of the big guy in the red suit…we seek to teach others the real story of Jesus. Jesus, as historians conclude, was born in the spring at the time of the zodiac ram (lamb), marking Him the beginning initiator of celestial time, the creator and head of all things. But isn’t it nice to get family and friends together mid-winter when the weather is ugly? Celebrate Jesus with others! Sing songs about Him! And be joyful! Jesus is the reason for the season!

Samuel Brengle: He taught us what Holiness is!

Brengle: He taught us Holiness!                    Major Kelly Durant. Re 3-9-25

I Peter 1:13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

2.You have heard of Prengles, right? Well, at the CFOT in Chicago we had Brengles! (show can) Ha! Actually, most of us remember by association and this helps, right? Well, you do need to take in, or digest, the holiness teachings! And then practice them!

It has only been about a few years since a talented Major Eddie Hobgood did reenactments at a commissioning on the life of Samuel Logan Brengle. I was reflecting on that and realized some of you who were not there may not have a clue who this man was that the Salvation Army honors for his teachings. When I told everyone that I was going away to a sabbatical at the Brengle Institute in Chicago everyone was like, well okay have a good time, not knowing anything about him and his writings on holiness. The two weeks there were like a refresher course, a refilling of the Holy Ghost, a resting and a calling to live my life in holiness; to live full of the Holy Spirit! Do you want a life full of God’s spirit as well?

3.Samuel Brengle lived in the time that the Salvation Army was at its beginnings in the late 1800’s. He had gone to the University in Indiana and was so well educated that he enjoyed showing off his college education to his colleagues. He was a circuit preacher for the Methodists here in the U.S. and learned about holiness in Boston studying with them. He wrote in those days of his holiness experiences of how the Holy Spirit would touch him praying and he would end up just crying for joy over God’s love and he just wanted to love the lost souls in the world! 

He came to the Salvation Army in an open air in Boston and decided to join the Salvation Army but he wanted to travel to meet General William Booth himself in London.  And as all godly men would do, General Booth evaluated well how to use the young willful Samuel Brengle. Instead of placing him in authority for his university education as Samuel Brengle had pridefully expected, he asked him to first be in charge of shining the shoes of the Cadets that would go out daily to preach in the streets. In other words, he had an idea that he was a cut above the rest and for sure he was not ready to just serve God. Have you ever met people like that? 

4.First, consider what kind of mud and gunk there was in the streets of London at that time? Most people threw away their bedpans in the streets, horse and carriages passed by leaving their business behind, and the smell and appearance of the mud on the shoes was not pleasant at all!

Samuel Brengle was told he could have the job of shining the approximate one hundred shoes every day, day after day. While he would shine them, he would ask himself, what is God showing me? Why can’t others see my value to use me in a better way? How long will I have to do this ridiculous and humiliating job? Shouldn’t I just quit the Salvation Army? Is it worth it? But God showed him that if Jesus washed the disciples feet, he could also do his job with joy. He made the right choice and persisted and God did use him in a way he did not expect! 

5.The next life event that happened to him brought Him close to God for sure. He was sent back to Boston after training and while out in the streets coming from on top of a building someone threw a brick right on top of his head! It was such a serious injury that he needed one year and a half before he was fully recuperated.

That was a horrible attack and injury from Satan, right? Imagine, this man was already giving his all to God, and now this? Well, it was in that year and a half that God came to him in a marvelous way because he became more and more connected to the Holy Spirit because day after day he was taking time for prayer and the study of God’s word and a transformation of holiness occurred in his life. 

6.He experienced a new level of a connection with God that he never knew, holiness and purity beyond the usual and he felt like he wanted to love everybody, even the dogs in the street! After spending much time with God, as he describes it, colors were brighter, things were unexplainable more beautiful and different! This was His authentic experience that he had a burning to share!

In the end, by reaching a higher level of victory against sin, or what we define as living the holy life, he became inspired, being empowered to his maximum potential and he wrote more than 10 books on the subject of holiness. He researched Wesley’s original contributions and practiced staying pure and his writings and contributions have continued to be a great guide for every Christian who has the duty to go deeper with God in their Christian walk.

Some people never in this life experience the bliss of gaining the blessings of the great joy and peace the Lord wants to give! Any Christian can have joy no matter what is happening in their lives. While there I heard the life testimony of over 72 Officers and you would be surprised how many have dealt with recent deaths in the family, cancer and long term sickness, horrible broken-nesses from substance abuse, abandonment, or even sexual abuse when they were children, or some were opposite having grown up protected and blessed in a Salvation Army home and dedicating their lives to Jesus at age 14. Each story was fascinating, and each person was dedicating their life to Jesus as a calling with heavenly rewards disregarding the cost of the earthly sacrifice. “The Holy Spirit, dwelling within, turns our eyes from that which is temporal to that which is eternal; from the trial itself to God’s purpose in the trial; from the present pain to the precious promise.” —Samuel Logan Brengle

7.How many of you want more of Jesus so much so that the Holy Spirit fills you moment by moment to experience God’s love as never before? It makes you happy inside, full of love, and so thrilled about life that you just overflow it from your heart onto others in pure love!

In the future we must study on how to gain more holiness because you and I have an immense need for it, but for today, I will just give you a few illustrations to make it more understandable. 

God is holy and he commands that we be holy. (see verses of sermon) What does that mean? It means that we must obey, and we must work at renewing ourselves with the Holy Ghost deepening our relationship with The Lord day by day. Think of all the muddy shoes, they are ugly and undesirable and they had to get cleaned from day to day, but afterwards they shined as new, as if they had never been dirty! You and I and the Lord need each other otherwise you just remain dirty full of your own self filthy and undesirable. But God makes us shine His glory!

8.Think of your faith as a glass of water. You were dry and empty but when you invited Jesus to come into your life, you were full and felt satisfied. But left alone without refilling, the water evaporates; this means you must refill it with your connection to God by worship (not just on Sunday but daily), reading and absorbing His word, and by obeying his commands to love Him with all your heart mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. Let’s review doctrine 9 and 10 that reflect on this.

We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ. We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified, and that their whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9.How many of you are saved and have Jesus in your lives? (hands up) Great! There was given to you a prevenient grace, you could think of it as a special gift of illumination in your heart and mind from God, a Holy Spirit pull on your heart, and you accepted it and had an experience that made you feel a warmth or peace. 

When a person accepts Jesus, they gain a small measure of holiness (which is like a touch of the breath of God), like getting a seed planted, the first getting to know Him meeting took place and the spirit provoked in you or in the person accepting Jesus a will to want to be clean, to not sin anymore, and know more about God and become like this pure loving being… Jesus, God’s Son, to save you from your sins or destructive habits that separated you from God.

Then over time what happens? Well, as you know with the parable of the seed that Jesus told, the seed can either grow up partially, fully, or just die. You are the one who decides. If you water it with God’s word and pray to obey and grow in faith, the product of holiness takes root in the love relationship that grows. You grow and mature and you produce fruit for God. His grace in you then becomes prevalent.

You then have passed on to the phase of having a prevalent grace, a continuing grace, a Holy Spirit power that helps you in the process of growing even closer to God, of helping you to be like Jesus himself! It is a second measure of God’s spirit!

10.Imagine yourself right now as being a pure holy person, a person full of love and Jesus’ love, a person that has lost all desire to sin because you are free from sin, a person who lives every moment guided by God’s spirit. Imagine now a happiness and joy which is more than anything you have ever experienced! 

I know some of you have experienced the Holy Spirit, and felt so wonderful you thought you could fly off to heaven! The infilling of the Holy Spirit which occurs when your heart and mind are clean for the Lord is an amazing experience but it is one that lasts only while you keep the connection alive. Renewing it every day will mean to be faithful until the end! 

Holiness and purity are possible with God and everyone should pray for it, accept it, and allow the lead of the Holy Spirit, and then live moment by moment hearing from the Lord!

The fullness of God comes from abiding in Jesus, God’s word, as the vine in John 15. Imagine every person is comparable to a plant, or the vine that grows, but some give fruit and some don’t. The scripture says, the ones without fruit are thrown away to be burned, but the other ones that stay connected to Jesus absorb all the nutrients and over time mature to grow many grapes. Some of you here have little green grapes, and some of you have large grapes, all of you are in different phases of growth.

11. What does the fruit imply? We know from Gal. 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

If you mature in pureness and holiness you will have these qualities for your continued working at being close to God.  And holiness just keeps on progressing and you feel much less temptation to sin, and you are holy because you have been passing time with the one that is holy! But if not you become lukewarm and neither hot nor cold for God and useless.

You are commanded to be holy by the scripture we read today. Do you think you are prideful and need to improve? Well, just tell God you’re sorry and repent and start right now with a new dedication to Him! Pray for a lifestyle change so you have time for God daily. Pray for a change in character too! I know you and some of you do not yet have the fruits mentioned here in Galatians.  

12. Ask yourself, could I pass the test of shining shoes all day for Jesus? He may have a task for you of helping here, a humble job others will not do. God wants to use so many of us, but we are not cleaned up in holiness as much as God would like. 

Pray Psa 51:10-12 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.   Remember it is a command to be holy as He is holy! Trust and obey, seek holy living, and discover a joy you have never known!

Make Jesus Proud of You: Be Daring, Bold, & Brave!

Make Jesus Proud of You: Be Daring, Bold, & Brave!     Kelly Durant

 

Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

 

2. Some people love excitement more than others. There are some people that love adventure, being in somewhat dangerous situations, while others are happy to just stay at home and be inside of their safe space wishing the world would just go away.

 

For example, I know of people, who love to drive their Jeeps on top of the Colorado mountains, almost flipping them over, having their hearts pump wildly for the thrill, and this is rewarding for them. This involves risk, but it is fun for them, and I hope they have insurance!

 

And then I know some people like how my mother use to be that would only go to the grocery store and to church on Sunday and never wanted any excitement at all. The world has all kinds of people. But all of us take decisions ‘to do or not to do’ many things, but when it comes to our faith and Jesus, we must choose ‘to do’ as it’s known, “nothing ventured, nothing gained’ as God expects it of us.

 

3. People will do bolder things when they are with others in a group than when they are alone. I recall when I was young there were people who would not want to do anything, but if a group was going somewhere, they would go too, even if it meant danger.

 

Think about Jesus and the disciples, he only had a group of 12, not of 12,000 like some mega churches, and they later went on their own, going out two by two, and they accomplished great things spreading the gospel. Mark 6:7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  Here we frequently only have a dozen of faithful ones!

 

We must never lose our vision of what we are to accomplish in life as Christians, and that is of the saving of the souls of the lost, of bringing love and comfort to the hurting, of obeying Jesus to love God and others as ourselves. 

 

4. Have you thought about it, The Salvation Army was founded on being risky and exciting! Every day the Officers and Soldiers would go out and preach on the smelly muddy street corners and sometimes a few hundred at a time would come forward around a bass drum to cry, repent, and pray to receive Jesus! How glorious that must have been to have witnessed that!

 

But at the same time, many of them got hit with tomatoes and other objects as they brought the good news to others. But did that stop them? No! Even after they knew about Samuel Logan Brengle almost dying from blow from a brick, they continued on, even going around the world to start up new outposts, missions, and Corps. They opened hundreds of new Corps in 40 countries within the first 40 years! Now we are in 130 countries!

 

Samuel Brengle spent about a year and a half in a hospital bed recovering from a skull fracture that some violent demon inspired person did to him with that brick. But his heart was for God, and he wrote several books on holiness, he used his time to learn about God and today we honor him by studying his theological contributions. You cannot stop a man or woman of God, wounded or impaired, they will continue on in the fight for good! Holiness is pure love!

 

5. We have studied the book of Acts in the recent past. What did we learn of Peter, John, and of the other disciples? Many of them went to jail for preaching Jesus! And they were killed! The idol worshipping pagans, and the hypocrite Jews, did not want to hear about the love of Jesus. But did even being jailed stop them from talking about Jesus? No!   

 

Have you ever made Jesus proud of you by going to jail for Him? I got that opportunity a couple of times. Once it was in a small southern town in Rio Grande do Sur, Brazil. Five policemen stopped me with machine guns for passing out salvation flyers at some apartments. One policeman got really mad and was yelling in my face that I was preaching blasphemy and if he could have his way, I whould be locked up and tortured the way the Catholic Church historically use to do it! Imagine, if a Catholic wants to harm or kill you for preaching Jesus, then could Jesus really be their center of their worship? But their church is made up of good and bad people like most all organizations. 

 

He took offense because in the gospel pamphlet it mentioned that God had to turn His back on Jesus a few hours to allow Him to die for our sins. God allowed Jesus to die on the cross to be the ultimate sacrifice for us, but obviously this man did not know theology very well. I am thankful I was set free after being about 6 hours in that tiny facility. I have seen angry red hateful faces many times while out preaching a loving peaceful Jesus! God sees what everyone does. The world is a dangerous place and people are lost, ignorant, and really need Jesus! 

 

6. So when something bad happens, it sometimes scares you, or others nearby, to not want to be risky or carry out the mission of preaching Jesus. My friends, if you can ever learn something in life, learn this, never let anyone intimidate or belittle you for standing up for your faith! Remember, Peter and John had boldness, and God expects us to have boldness and the Holy Spirit power as well!

 

Let’s read on the reaction of the people to Peter and John’s boldness. Acts 4:18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

 

Can you do that? Can you not do anything in life but proclaim the good that Jesus has done in your life? 21 “So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done”. It happened to them and may happen to us as well if we speak up for Jesus!

 

7. Later in this chapter we see they prayed for boldness, and they stood on God’s Word to give them strength. They quoted Psalm 2, one of my favorites, as it affirms the final destiny of the evil people of the world who hate Jesus.

 

 Acts 4:23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.’ Now look up Psalm 2 to hear the rest of it. Vs.3“Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. 5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: (skip down to the final verses) 10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear,  And rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

 

8. So it is clear, we must be wise and stand with Jesus no matter the cost, no matter how the red-faced agitated demons who hate us for proclaiming Jesus’ message yelling insults at us, hit us, or even jail us, we have God’s boldness and Holy Spirit power!  

 

To serve in this Salvation Army Church, when you serve Jesus for real, you need to be thick skinned, you need to be bold! You need to be a Soldier that battles! No one respects a wimp. I was at the International Market one day and the young Hispanic cashier I knew went to a Hispanic church (because I had seen him with other Christians before) and I asked him about his faith. I said, “I recognize you, you are a Christian and you go to church, don’t you?” I was hoping to start a conversation.

 

He said, “Hum” and nodded his head about one inch to indicate yes. I thought within myself, how sad! He has no boldness; he is almost ashamed to admit he is a Christian! Then I had another terrible thought, ‘Could it be some of the people in our Corps Church are the same way?’ Are they also afraid to admit they love Jesus and come to worship here’? Please, let’s be bold and make Jesus proud of us! I try to talk about Jesus with every person I meet when I am out in the city!

 

 9. The decision is yours day by day, hour by hour, will you be bold for Jesus? All day long we will meet people who were like the pagans mentioned in Psalm 2 who want to undo us, or like the hypocrite Pharisees who hate us for standing for Jesus who is righteousness, holiness, and God’s love. The government was on the shoulder of Jesus, (Isaiah 53) and the ones of the top too want your adoration and absolute dedication as they do not like a competitor controlling your spirit!

 

In the Christian faith, you had better get use to adventure, excitement, danger, risk, resistance, and the battle. You are not in a Salvation Army just to look pretty in uniform, you are here ‘to fight for the good’ and to be so full of the Holy Spirit that your glow attracts others to want to get to know the Jesus you talk about!

 

Is Jesus proud of you? Am I and your leaders proud of you? How long has it been since you have come with a testimony to talk about who you shared your faith with? Jesus expects it of you and if you get persecuted, it will motivate you even more as the Holy Spirit will be filling you up. Be sure you live to reach the poor lost souls out there who need the hope of salvation, or you will regret it after death in heaven when you arrive empty handed! 

Matthew 10:32-33

32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

Let’s pray…