Devotions

The world needs illustrated sermons — powerful personal examples — of God’s love.

In John 17:21, Jesus prayed: “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” (my italics).

Think of it: Even in His final hours, Jesus was still yearning over lost humanity. And He was giving His church specific direction on how to win those lost multitudes. Consider His final words on the subject: “Be as one! Put aside all strife and division, that the world may believe in Me.”

You may think, “That sounds so simplistic. Is that really how the church is going to reach hardened hearts? Does simply loving each other truly provide supernatural power to combat hatred?”

The answer is yes, yes and yes — absolutely! According to Jesus, the powerful love of God is revealed most clearly to the world by the unconditional love between His people.

Right now, one of Satan’s primary strategies against the church is to plant division and strife. Everywhere I look in the Body of Christ worldwide, I am convinced hordes of demons have been sent on assignment within church walls. And their aim is to destroy the love of Christians for one another.

The devil’s strategy is subtle: He pits race against race and rich against poor in the Body of Christ. The racial strife, specifically, is being fed worldwide through television and other media. I have not seen such racial hatred spewed forth in years, and now it is infiltrating the walls of God’s house.

I thank God that Times Square Church was raised up with no color lines and no distinction between rich or poor. All who come through our doors are treated with the same respect and welcoming love. We have enjoyed God’s blessing for many years and I believe this is partly because we have obeyed Christ’s command to love one another as He has loved us.

During His time with the disciples just before His crucifixion, Jesus warned, “Some of you will be rejected, some will be imprisoned, some will be killed. And all of you will be persecuted” (see John 16:2). What a send-off message!

Yet, at the same time, Jesus gave them a word of direction about how to reach their generation after He was gone. This direction had nothing to do with methods for evangelism. Jesus had already told the disciples they were to go into all the world preaching the gospel, and it was clear that they would need the power of the Holy Ghost to do that.

Jesus told them plainly: “If you obey this new commandment, all men will know who you are. And they’ll know exactly where you stand. They may hate you, call you fanatics, and turn you out of their synagogues, but they will know you are Mine.”

Here is what Jesus told His disciples: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34, my italics). This is not an option; it is Jesus’ commandment. And it is where every evangelistic effort must begin.

You see, Scripture makes clear that we are to feed the poor, and the church will always do so faithfully. We are to do many good works through which we preach Christ boldly. But to penetrate the “gross darkness,” we need to lay hold of this new commandment from Jesus. Christ explains: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (13:35, my italics).

According to Jesus, only this particular love — a love for fellow believers — will gain the attention of a lost generation. It is the same kind of self-denying, sacrificial love that Jesus shows to each of us. And such love for our kin in Christ cannot be accomplished in word alone, but must be in deed.

There is much talk these days about the fearful condition of our world. Nation after nation is troubled, on the brink of economic disaster. Yet amid all the fear and turmoil, God is still loving and saving lost souls.

His marvelous work of salvation never changes — it is not affected by the economy. His wooing, convicting Holy Spirit isn’t hindered by conditions on Wall Street or by teetering global finances. God’s saving power has never been limited by shrinking bank accounts.

The fact is, our Lord never amends His promises. They are always “yes and amen” at all times and in every circumstance (see 2 Corinthians 1:20). God didn’t promise to provide all our needs except when we are unemployed. And He didn’t promise to be Jehovah Jireh, our provider, except when economic times get scary.

Our Lord’s promises never change! And that includes His promise about saving the lost. When God commanded us to go into all the world to win the lost, He did not include an exemption clause. He didn't say, “Preach the gospel of my Son Jesus Christ to all nations — except in hard times.” And He never said, “Believe for the salvation of many — except when there is a great shaking in the world.”

Thank God, He has never said the world is too wicked, too hardhearted, too given over to lust to be reached by His Good News. At no time in history has the Lord ever limited His tender mercies — and He never will. Right now, America and the rest of the world could still be spared judgment — if there is true repentance. Of course, such repentance would require a great humbling and a mass return to the Lord. But our God has never rescinded His amazing offer of mercy.

When the children of Israel were in the wilderness they were tormented by thirst and began to argue with Moses. “‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us…?’ Then Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.’ So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on” (Exodus 17:3-6, NLT).

The details of this scene — and of God’s compassion for the people — is replayed through Jesus’ sacrifice. Christ is the rock that was struck for our transgressions when we were lost and wandering. And He is the living water that sustains us. Paul tells us, “I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago… For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:1, 4, NLT).

The scene in the wilderness demonstrates what Jesus does for grumbling people: He takes on their punishment. He declares, “I’ll stand condemned for them; I’ll be scourged; I’ll be nailed to the cross in their place — all so they might receive abundant life.” Some Christians forfeit this awesome gift by holding on to bitterness. Paul goes on to say, “Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. These things happened as a warning to us” (10:5-6).

Our lives can wither away in bitterness, or we can be revived by the beautiful grace God offers us — it is our choice.

The great temptation in Christianity today is to make our message so palatable to the masses that we lose the element of fire.  “John answered, saying to all, ‘I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose . . . [who] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire’” (Luke 3:16).

We create services filled with candy and fluff. But that will not extend the kingdom and see Jesus glorified. People cannot come to God without the fiery work of the Holy Spirit.

I’ll never forget a personal experience with God years ago when I was new to the ministry. I was praying alone before a Tuesday evening service. At that time, the church was housed in a little rundown building, and I knew we would have fewer than ten people attending that night’s prayer meeting. I had been praying that God would draw more people to the church and increase the enthusiasm of the congregation.

As I prayed, the Holy Spirit worked. He went right to my core and seemed to say, “The main problem is not the lack of people and their spiritual immaturity. You’re the one who needs to be changed. You’re lacking in compassion for the people, and you do not love them the way I want you to. In your insecurity, you’re just trying to get through another meeting.”

Talk about fire! Talk about penetration! That wasn’t easy to hear. I ended up on my face before God. I had come to ask God to help me with the problems of all the people of the church, and instead His fire penetrated to my problem.

When the Spirit works in our lives, He keeps us away from superficial excuses and the blame games we like to play. Fire burns away the false and leads us to the truth.

Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson.