Friday, September 30

For an audio version of this, click here.

Ephesians 4:11

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

The Christmas after Lorene and I bought our first home my brother sent me an usual gift. It was about the size of a small board game – but it was way too heavy to be a backgammon set! I wracked my brain and, for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what exotic gift the mysterious package might contain. So imagine my response when I finally opened the box to find … a ratchet set. A 40 piece ratchet set. “Really?” I thought, “for Christmas!?”

I pretended to be both happy and grateful for my brother’s gift, all the while thinking, “What was he thinking? Has he ever heard of a new golf club?” And I put the ratchet set on a shelf in my garage.

But the truth is, some 25 years later I still have that ratchet set. The metal box it came in is rusted now and I have probably lost of few of the 40 pieces over the years. But of all the gifts I have received in all the Christmases since then, that ratchet set has probably been the most useful. I am certainly not a handy-man in any sense of the word, but I have used that ratchet set to build swing-sets, fix (or try to fix) bikes, and dozens of other small issues around the house.

Looking back, my brother gave me the ratchet set because, having owned his own home for a few years, he knew that I would need it before I did. He knew that even though I am not the “handiest” guy around, I would still need to have at least a few tools to take on the odd-jobs that come with owning a home. So his gift was to equip me with the tools I would need to do important things like tighten doorknobs and replace towel racks. In the same way, God has given us the gift of his word which then equips us with the tools to participate in building up the body of Christ: Read the words of Paul again:

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 

Ephesians 4:11

That tells me that God wants to use each one of us to build his Church. He has given us the tools we need – spiritual tools of knowledge and maturity that come through his word and that enable each one of us to serve in some way to build up the body of Christ.

It strikes me that the “tools analogy” actually has two applications. First, God has given us the necessary spiritual tools that enable us to take on the challenges that life presents to each one of us; tools like faith, knowledge, wisdom, endurance, and peace. But second, as we grow in faith and spiritual maturity, we become tools in the hands of God as he uses our service to build his church.

Years ago a high school student filled out an application to serve on a short term mission team I was leading in Student ministries. In answer to the question, “Why do you want to go on this trip?” he answered, “I want God to use me like a tool.” I loved that response and have always appreciated that young man’s simple desire to be used by God.

As we conclude this week – thank God for the gift of his word and ask him to grow and mature your faith so that your life can be used like a tool to build his church.

Pastor Brian Coffey

Thursday, September 29

For an audio version of this, click here.

Ephesians 4:11

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Well, it’s football season and everyone is excited about their favorite high school, college or professional team. I saw a statistic last week that said that on the opening weekend of the NFL over 107 million Americans watched at least some pro-football on T.V. It made me wonder how that number compared to the number of Americans who attended a church worship service? But that’s an issue for a different time!

On most football teams the person who gets most of the attention – both positive and negative – is the quarterback; followed closely by the head coach – and rightfully so. But there is a player on almost every team who bears enormous responsibility for the success of the team – who rarely gets headlines and whose name is usually unknown to all but the most dedicated fans. He is the “long-snapper”. The long snapper is the guy who enters the game when the team needs to punt or kick a field goal. His job is to bend over the ball, snap it in a perfect spiral straight back to the punter or the holder so that the play can be completed successfully. Oh, and he knows that on almost every snap, a large angry defensive lineman will try to knock him into next week right after he delivers the snap. He does this job over and over again – and generally only gets noticed if he fails. Nonetheless, his job requires specific skills that are only honed through hours and years of dedicated practice.

In this passage from Ephesians, Paul is not talking about football teams and long-snappers – but I believe we can find the same principle in his words. He is teaching us that God has placed all kinds of people with all kinds of different gifts and abilities in his church – so that the church will become all he wants it to be in the world. Some are pastors; some are teachers; some are missionaries; and some serve in the nursery or by making the coffee (my paraphrase!)! But the point is that the team needs much more than a quarterback and a coach - the team needs long-snappers too!

Sometimes I fear that some people think that because they aren’t called to be a pastor, or that because they aren’t gifted as a teacher or a leader – they aren’t important to the church. Nothing could be further from the truth! Imagine a football team trying to kick a field goal – or trying to punt – without a long-snapper! Without someone willing to learn how to do that particular task; without someone properly equipped to serve the team in that way – the team will likely fail. The same is true with the church!

Notice that it is the role of pastors and teachers to “prepare God’s people for works of service.” Just as the role of a coach is to teach a player the skills required to play a certain position on the team, so it is the role of pastors and teachers to teach God’s word in a way that inspires and instructs God’s people so that they can play the role God has in mind for them in his church. And just as the responsibility of the player is to allow himself to be taught, and then to hone his skills through hours of dedicated practice, so also the role of “God’s people” (or the “congregation”) is to allow themselves to be taught and to be willing to invest their gifts in service.

Thank God for calling you to be part of his church – and ask him to show you the role he has in mind for you!

Pastor Brian Coffey

Wednesday, September 28

For an audio version of this, click here.

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Ravi Zacharias tells the story of a Vietnamese man named Hien Pham. Mr. Pham was a devoted young Christian whose ability to speak English made him valuable as a civilian translator for American forces during the Vietnam war. After Vietnam fell to the communists, Mr. Pham was arrested and accused of spying for the Americans. He was repeatedly imprisoned and marked for “re-indoctrination” to Marxist thought. He was prohibited from reading any English literature – and certainly not the Bible. The one day as he was forced to clean out a filthy latrine, a soiled piece of paper with English words printed on it caught his eye. Washing it off, he discovered it was a page from the Bible containing these words from Romans 8:

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose…

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers… nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8: 28, 38-39)

Encouraged that God had not forgotten him, the next day Mr. Pham asked his guards if he could clean the filthy latrine again. Soon he discovered that one of the prison guards was using the pages of an English Bible as toilet paper. Every day Mr. Pham fished the pages from the waste can, cleaned them off, and began to piece together his personal Bible. Eventually Mr. Pham survived the horror of the prison camp and escaped to North America, where he lives today. He credits those soiled pages of God’s word with keeping him from despair and giving him hope that God would sustain and deliver him.

What does the Apostle Paul mean in Hebrews when he says the word of God is “living and active?” He means that the Bible is more than just words on a page that we read every now and then. He means that God’s word is alive because the Holy Spirit has filled each word with the presence and power of God himself. Therefore, the words and verses of the Bible actually have the power to read us - that is, to reveal the motivations and attitudes of our hearts as well as to provide strength and encouragement in the deepest parts of who we are. Just as Mr. Pham discovered the power of God to sustain him through words on soiled scraps of paper pulled from a latrine, so the power of God is made available to us each time we invite God to speak to us through his word.

Ask God to teach you to read his word in a way that allows the Holy Spirit to speak his truth to your heart as well as to your mind.

Pastor Brian Coffey

Tuesday, September 27

For an audio version of this, click here.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

A number of years ago I heard a South American evangelist named Nilsson Fanini tell a story about a village in Africa. He had traveled with a team of “agricultural missionaries” to a remote region of Africa that had been experiencing severe famine. Their mission was to teach the local African farmers new methods of farming that would maximize their crops under very difficult circumstances. But along with their agricultural expertise they also brought something like 1000 Bibles to give to the local church. Dr. Fanini said that, upon their arrival, somehow word leaked out that they had Bibles with them and when they woke up the next day they discovered a line of people standing in the early morning darkness hoping to receive Bibles. The line was over a mile long.

Growing up in a culture where Bibles are readily available in almost any bookstore, in many homes and in most hotel rooms, it’s hard to imagine such hunger for God’s word. Why would people who were in danger of starvation stand in line for hours just for a chance to have their own copy of the Bible?

Jesus said it this way,

“Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

Perhaps those African villagers remind us that there is a part of each one of us that is hungry for more than food. Deep down in that part of us that we call the heart – or the soul – we are each hungry for love; hungry to know that we were created for a purpose; hungry to know how to live in a way that brings joy and peace; hungry to know that our lives have meaning; hungry to know what happens to us after we die. But how do we satisfy that inner hunger? Read the text again:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Just as those agricultural missionaries could equip African farmers with the knowledge, techniques and tools they needed to grow food in an arid climate, so God’s word equips us with knowledge and instruction that allow us to grow good things in our lives. Sometimes God’s word will teach; sometimes it will correct; sometimes it will discipline; sometimes it will train; but notice that the purpose of all this is to equip us for every good work.

Here are a few questions to consider. How equipped are you when it comes to God’s word? Do you regularly seek the guidance of God’s word in areas of obedience and righteousness? Is God’s word producing more and more “good works” in and through your life? And finally, how hungry are you for God’s word? Most of us have stood in line to buy something we don’t need in a store – or waited to get a table at a favorite restaurant – but would we stand in line all night for the chance to have our own copy of God’s word?

Ask God to increase your appetite for his word so that your soul may be satisfied!

Pastor Brian Coffey

Monday, September 26

For an audio version of this, click here.


Acts 2:42

They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Many years ago, while I was in college, my father helped me get a summer job with an electrician who attended our church. Technically, my role was called “electrician’s apprentice,” which is very funny if you know anything about my electrical incompetence! In reality, I was a “go-for” – and my job was to help the electrician by carrying wire and tools – but not to actually do any electrical work!

One day, after I had been on the job for just a few days, I was standing at the foot of a ladder while the electrician worked on top. He called down to me, “Hey, go get the 3/8th channel-locks out of my truck.” Now I had no idea what “3/8th channel-locks” were – he may as well have asked me to go get the man in the moon. But he issued the request so casually that two things were clear to me: first, it was clear that the electrician believed sincerely that any knucklehead should know what a “3/8th channel lock” is; and, second, it would be way too embarrassing to admit that I had lived 20 years, and finished two years of my college education, and still did not know what 3/8th channel locks were. So, in a split second, I made my decision. I said, “You got it!” and headed to his pick-up while praying that there would be just one tool in the truck – and that it would be clearly marked, “channel locks.”

No such luck. The back end of his pick-up looked like a Home Depot stored had exploded in it. There were multiple tool boxes and dozens of oddly shaped tools scattered all over the bed of the truck. I stared at the mess of tools and tried to imagine what a “channel-lock” would look like. But those two words just didn’t seem to go together. There was nothing in the truck that looked like a “channel” and nothing that looked like a “lock” – so I grabbed several tools that looked like they would be useful to an electrician standing on a ladder and shoved them into my pockets and headed back to where he was working.

As I arrived he said, “Hand it up here,” while sticking out his hand. I reached up with one of the tools I had decided might be a “channel-lock.” He took it and quickly looked down and said, “I said “channel-locks.” I said, “Oh, yeah, sorry,” and handed him another tool. This time the electrician stopped, examined the tool, looked back down at me and said, “You don’t know what “channel-locks” are do you?” I stammered out something like, “Well, not exactly…” and then the electrician started to laugh – and he laughed so hard I thought he might fall off the ladder. Then, with tears still in his eyes, he climbed off the ladder and took me to his truck and showed me what channel-locks looked like so I would know the next time he asked. And believe me, he teased me about that all summer long!

The point is that I was ill-equipped to do the job of an electrician’s apprentice. I didn’t know the work, the language or the tools required. And because I was ill-equipped to help, the electrician wasn’t equipped with the tools he needed to get the job done.

Notice what the Book of Acts tells us about the early followers of Jesus as the church was just beginning to create its “ripple effect” in history. These early believers had seen or heard about Jesus during his earthly ministry. They had heard Peter preach about what Jesus’ death and resurrection meant and now they come to faith in Jesus as Messiah and Savior. But what should they do next? How were their lives to be any different? What did it mean to be part of this movement? How would they equip themselves as freshly born-again followers of Jesus? How would they find the tools they needed to live this new life and to accomplish the purpose Jesus had given them?

They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42

Read the first part of that sentence again: “They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching...” The apostles were men who knew Jesus, and who God had chosen to use to share his good news with the world. So the best way to understand what Luke means by “the apostles teaching” is to think of God’s word. These early Christians devoted themselves to God’s word in order to be fully equipped for the task at hand – that is, living as witnesses to Jesus in a world that was indifferent at best and hostile at worst.

Think of it this way. If, as followers of Jesus, we do not devote ourselves to reading, understanding and applying his word to our lives, we are like that foolish young fellow who went looking for channel locks when he didn’t even know what they were!

Thank God for sharing himself with you and ask him to help you become more and more devoted to his word!

Pastor Brian Coffey

Friday, Sept. 23

For an audio version of this, click here.

Friday

I think that life in the suburbs can easily become a barrier to genuine Christian community if we are not careful.  Let me explain why by telling you about two experiences I had while leading students on missions trips many years ago.

The first experience took place when I took a group of students down to the south side of Chicago on a mission trip.  We stayed in the basement of an old church at night and worked in a homeless shelter and on housing projects during the day.  I noticed something very interesting about the houses in this poor inner-city neighborhood that was very different from the houses in the suburbs where I lived – they all had front porches.  The people were “out front” on their porches talking with each other and calling one another by name.  It seemed like just about everybody knew each other and folks spent time just talking with each other out on the front porch.  I couldn’t help thinking about how different this was from my home in the suburbs.  I knew my neighbors names (at least some of them) but we rarely spent time just chatting with each other.  I could drive straight into my attached garage, and walk straight into my house, and even go out onto my back deck without having to even see a neighbor.

The second experience happened on a mission trip with high school students to Ecuador.  As part of our trip, we spent some time in the jungles of the Amazon basin with an indigenous tribe called the Cofan people.  We helped improve their water supply system, worked on their little church building, played games with their children and just spent time being with them.  One of the things I noticed right away, was that the Cofan people did not view home and personal property the same way that we do in America. They had homes of course, but they spent all of their time in what they called the “common building” of the village.  This was a large open structure in which the men gathered to talk, the women prepared large meals, and the children constantly ran in and out laughing and giggling.  As for personal property, the Cofan people saw all of their possessions as resources for the good of the whole village.  About the only thing they didn’t share were the men’s hunting rifles.  This was partly out of necessity for survival of course, but it still caused me to think about how isolated and private everything is in the American suburbs.

Listen again to how the book of Acts describes life among the earliest Chrsitians…

All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.  – Acts 2:44-47

Both the people of the south side of Chicago and the Cofan people in the jungles of Ecuador were extremely poor in terms of their material wealth.  But they were rich in a different way - they were rich in relationships.  Despite their material poverty, there was something attractive about their life together.  When I read the Biblical accounts of the early church, it is clear that there was something deeply attractive about their life together too.  In fact it was this attractive quality of community that God used to draw so many people into His family of faith.

Now, I am not suggesting that in order to obey God we must all build front porches on our houses, or start sharing all of our possessions with those in our neighborhood.  However, I do think we need to seriously consider how our suburban culture of individualism and isolation may be a serious barrier to the kind of ripple effect of spiritual influence that God wants us, as His people, to have in the world. 

Jeff Frazier 

Thursday, Sept. 22

For an audio version of this, click here.

Thursday

As a pastor, one of my responsibilities is to teach the new members classes at our church.  I always enjoy getting to know the participants in the class and I especially like hearing the stories about how they came to know Christ and how God has led them to our church.  As a part of the class I talk about the difference between being a participating member and just being an occasional attender.  Members are expected to have a deeper level of commitment than those who are just attending and investigating our church.  Members are encouraged to give of their time and financial resources.  Members are expected to serve in some kind of ministry.  Members are expected to be a part of some kind of community group or study.  Most of the people who want to become members understand these expectations because they are already doing them.  However, I recall one man who approached me after the class was over.  He pulled to the side and said in a kind of low voice, “Okay pastor, I heard you talk about the expectations of membership here, but what about the requirements?”  I told him that they were essentially the same thing, though we weren’t going to be following people around to check up on them.  I could tell he didn’t believe me when he said, “I mean what do I really have to do?”  I tried to assure him that there were no hidden requirements for membership in our church. He looked at me kind of skeptically for a minute and then went on his way.  I have often thought about his question.  It kind of reminds me of the question everyone used to ask the teacher when I was in school, “is this going to be on the test?”  In other words, what is the bare minimum I have to know or do in order to pass?  I think too many people approach church in this way – what is the minimum I have to do, serve, give, etc. in order to feel like I am a part of it? 

Listen to how Acts describes the early church and its’ level of commitment…

All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.  – Acts 2:44-47

I don’t know if you caught it, but the text says that they continued to meet together every day!  Did you hear that?  Every day!  What if you came to one of our membership classes and I told you that one of the requirements for membership in our church was that you had to meet with other Christians from our church for prayer, study and worship for two hours every day? Now, I need to tell you that we do not have any such requirement, nor do I think we should.  However, I do think most Christians in America today view their church involvement as a matter of convenience; they go when they have time or when it is not inconvenient.

My guess is that most of you would think that is a little over the top for a church to require its members to meet for two hours a day.  You would probably feel that it is just unrealistic for you to give up two hours out of every day to meet with other believers.  Most of us have a hard enough time carving out one or two hours a week for worship and community. I cannot help but wonder if the members of the early church in Acts would tell us that it is unrealistic for us to think that we can just show up for an hour a week and think that we are going to be able to live the life that Christ has called us to.   Christ saves us as individuals, but He calls us into a community, into His family, to be a part of his Church. None of us can have the kind of influence separately that we can together in Christ.

Jeff Frazier

Wednesday, Sept. 21

For an audio version of this, click here.

Wednesday

Whenever we talk about the early church, we have to be careful not to make two common mistakes.  On the one hand, we have to be careful not romanticize or idealize the early church.  The stories and letters in the New Testament about the early Christians do not describe some perfect utopia.  They are about real people, flawed human beings just like us who sometimes made mistakes and acted in ways that were outside of God’s plan.  The second mistake we must be careful to avoid is the temptation to legalize the patterns we see in the early church.  The stories in the book of Acts are not meant to be exact prescriptions for our day.  We should not try to recreate the early church in our culture today; it wouldn’t work even if we could.  We can, and we should look for those principles, values, and commitments, which can be applied in our own context so that we can continue the “ripple effect” of spiritual influence, which the early church started.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  – Acts 2:42

This single verse gives us a window into what we might call the core commitments of the very first Christians; in it we get a glimpse of the character of the early Christian community.  By all accounts, there was something remarkably unique about this group of people.  Their shared life together was not like anything the world had ever seen.  What was it that made that first Christian community so unique?  What distinguishes Christian community from any other community or group of like-minded people?  Some of the unique and critical distinctions are given right here in this verse.

The first three words of verse 42 read, “they devoted themselves”, the Greek actually means that they were continually devoting themselves.  This was an ongoing commitment.  There is no true community without commitment!  You can have casual friends and acquaintances without much commitment.  You can smile and make small talk at church once a week without much commitment.  But you cannot have true community without some level of sacrifice and commitment.  Far too many American Christians see church and community as an option, something to make their life a little better, but not a central commitment of their existence.  

The very first thing we see that these early Christians were devoted to is the Apostle’s Teaching.  The apostles were essentially the 12 disciples that Jesus chose.  In Luke 6:13 we read, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.  These men were first hand eyewitnesses of Jesus.  They heard Him teach, they saw Him perform miracles, they watched Him die, and they saw Him raised from the dead.  The early church was devoted to the teaching of these men.  Notice that it does not say they were devoted to the apostles themselves.  What were these apostles teaching?  In a word–Jesus. When they read from and taught about the Old Testament law, they did so knowing that it pointed to and prophesied about Jesus. The apostles taught about the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The early church was no cult of personality built around the ego of a few superstars, it was built on the person of Jesus Christ.

This might sound obvious to you, but it is absolutely crucial.  More and more churches today are drifting away from this central conviction.  They teach all kinds of interesting things, but they are fuzzy about the person and the work of Jesus Christ.  I cannot think of a better litmus test for a church than what they believe and teach about Jesus Christ.  Wherever and whenever the church has had the most influence in the world, it has taught Jesus.  Not the Jesus of popular opinion or secular myth, but Jesus as He is revealed to us in the gospels.  The Messiah, the Living Word made flesh, the Righteous Son of God, the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!

The ripple effect of the church throughout history was not, and is not a self-help movement or a humanitarian service movement, it was and will always be a Jesus movement!

Jeff Frazier

Tuesday, Sept. 20

To listen to this in an audio format, click here.

Tuesday

The book of Acts is tells the story of the early church.  It chronicles the actions of the first Christians and the spread of the Gospel in the days immediately following Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven.  It is an incredibly interesting and exciting story.  Listen to how Luke (the author of Acts) describes life in the early church.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  – Acts 2:42-44

In his book, The Rise of Christianity, sociologist and historian Rodney Stark examines how Christianity, a small and insignificant Jewish sect in the first century, could have grown so rapidly, endured so long, and had such an incredible impact on the world.  He writes, “the explosive growth of the Christianity in its earliest days can only be understood as a function of community.”  Community has become something of a buzz word in the church over the last 10-15 years or so.  The Greek word for this idea is ‘koinonia’, it means “commonness”, or having in common.  It is the same word translated fellowship in the passage quoted earlier.  The New Testament authors took this word and gave it new meaning and new significance. 

The ironic truth is that the earliest Christians really did not have all that much in common.  They came from many different cultures and racial groups, some were converted Jews and others were Greek speaking Gentiles.  They came from different social and economic backgrounds, some were wealthy, but many were poor or lower class. 

My roommate for my first semester as a freshman in college was a guy named Matt.  Matt and I were just about as different as night and day.  Matt was from a small rural town – I was from the suburbs.  Matt played the cello - I played football. Matt went to a small private Christian high school – I went to a large public school.  Matt was a valedictorian - I was an average student. Matt wore shirts with collars – I occasionally wore shirts with sleeves.  I wasn’t very kind to Matt that first semester, and I am sure that he was more than a little irritated with having me for a roommate.  Sadly, it would take nearly all four years of college for me to realize what a truly great guy Matt really was.  I was too focused on the surface level differences that separated us to see that we shared something amazing in common.  When I think back on that time in my life, it is clear to me that I was far too immature in my faith to realize that what Matt and I shared in Christ far outweighed any of our differences on the surface.

The Christian community should overcome and transcend the social, racial and cultural barriers that often divide us.  Liberal/Conservative, Old/Young, Blue Collar/White Collar, Rich/Poor, Black/White/Brown/Yellow, all of these distinctions fade away when compared to the joy of knowing Jesus.  Here is a question I would like you to consider – Do you have people in your life that you love and you know they love you, but you also know that if it weren’t for Jesus Christ, you probably would not even know them or like them?

When the book of Acts tells us that the early Christians had “everything in common”, it is not saying that they were all exactly alike or clones of each other.  It means that they had everything that really and truly mattered in common, because they had Christ in common! It was the love of Christ that bound them together in such a remarkable community.  What they had in common was Jesus!

Jeff Frazier 

Monday, Sept. 19

To listen to this in an audio format, click here.

Monday

If you drive down Main Street in almost any town in America, you will pass by at least two or three churches, often many more than that.  Have you ever stopped to wonder, where did all of these churches come from?  Why are they all here?  What distinguishes all of these churches from each other?  Where did this whole “church thing” start anyway? 

If someone you didn’t know asked you to describe your church, what would you say? Would you begin by describing the building?  Would you talk about the style of music in the worship services?  Would you describe the various ministries and programs of your church?  Maybe you would talk about its’ history and denominational background?  Perhaps you would mention the preaching and theological convictions of your church?

I know churchgoers who like to describe their church by telling people what they are not like.  They are not like those liberal churches, or they are not like the stuffy, uptight, conservative churches.  We are often far too focused on our differences.  Many people today are hopping from church to church looking for the perfect one.  The truth is that there are no perfect churches because there are no perfect people.  In fact, if you ever did find the perfect church, you probably should not go there because you would screw it up!  The church in which Christ dwells is not some ideal, universal, invisible group of people who behave as we think they should.  No, the church is the local gathering of God’s people with all its cranks and hypocrites, sinners and saints. 

Listen to the way the early church is described in Acts chapter 2…

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.  – Acts 2:42-47

These verses describe the birth of the Christian church.  Jesus has risen and appeared to His followers on several occasions, and He has ascended into heaven.  There are only about 120 Christians in the entire world at this time.  Who could have possibly predicted that this insignificant little band of believers would grow to shake the foundations of the Roman Empire and change the course of history?

Most of us don’t think about these kinds of things when get up on a Sunday morning and head off to church.  We don’t stop to consider the fact that we are a part of something that is truly remarkable in human history.  When we gather together as the Body of Christ, we are continuing in a tradition that traces its roots back to this very passage, and beyond.  When Jesus Christ was crucified and then rose from the grave, He not only accomplished our eternal salvation, but He set in motion a ripple effect of transformed lives throughout the course of human history.  It is a ripple effect that continues still today!  Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ and part of His church today, are direct descendants of this remarkable ripple effect.  We trace our spiritual heritage back to the singular event in human history that started it all – the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jeff Frazier

Friday, September 16

If you would like to listen to this in an audio format, click here.

Acts 1:9-11

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand there looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

A couple of weeks ago I shared the story of how my father’s life changed when he was influenced by several of his high school friends. One of them was a 15 or 16 year old girl who had simply told him that she had been “saved” and that therefore she didn’t do certain things anymore. My father soon experienced the same spiritual rebirth and within two years was preaching in churches.

Think for a moment about that little story from the perspective of the “ripple effect” phenomenon. It’s easy to see the “ripple” that the change in the young woman’s life helped to produce in my father’s life. But back up a bit from the picture of those two young people in the late 1940’s. Who was the now forgotten preacher whose words touched that teenage girl’s heart one night in a small church in a small town in southern Illinois? Back up a couple more steps. What seminary or Bible college professor fanned into flame a passion for preaching God’s word in that preacher as a student. And who were the spiritual influences in his life as a child? Did he have a mother who prayed beside his bed every night? Back up one more time. And what of that Godly mother? Who was the Sunday school teacher who helped her understand what Jesus had done for her?

Do you see it? Do you see the great ripple effect of God? Do you see that the ripple effect is people? Can you look back over your life and see the dozens of people whose lives generated the hundreds and perhaps thousands of ripples that eventually influenced your life?

Notice what the two men dressed in white (most scholars believe these figures were angels) say to the disciples:

“They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand there looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

This passage always makes me smile. The disciples had just been with the risen Son of God; they had heard him give them this almost unimaginable mandate; and then they watched him ascend into the clouds right before their eyes. While they are still gazing slack-jawed into the sky, the angels basically say, “Hey fellas, don’t just stand there, do something!”

I can identify with those disciples! Sometimes I can be so focused on who Jesus is and what he has done for me that I forget that he called me to do something for him! I can be so intent on studying and writing in preparation for preaching in weekend services that I forget that I live in the middle of a sea of people that need to be reached by the ripple effect of the gospel. And I forget that every day is an opportunity for me to generate tiny ripples – through my conversations, through my casual friendships – that God can actually use as spiritual influence.

How about you? Is there any way in which you are like those disciples standing there gazing into heaven? Do you tend to think of your faith in terms of going to church on the weekend? Do you tend to focus more on what Jesus can do for you than on what he asked you to do for him? Ask him to help you see and respond to the opportunities all around you to bear witness to him – and in doing so to generate ripples of spiritual influence that reach the world.

Pastor Brian Coffey

Thursday, September 15

If you would like to listen to this in an audio format, click here.

Acts 1: 8

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

I have an unopened can of Coke on a shelf in my home office that I purchased in China in 1982. I keep it because, in a way, it reminds me of what Jesus is saying in Acts 1.

I have often said that the Coca-Cola company is arguably the greatest marketing achievement in human history. Think about it. Coke is basically carbonated sugar-water. Coke has little, if any, nutritional value and many would argue that it is, in fact, bad for your health. Yet I have traveled to over 20 countries on four continents (some of you have traveled far more than I) and I have never been anywhere in the world where I could not find a Coke product. And in most of those countries – from China to Bolivia to Turkey – I could find a cold Coke (well, maybe not always cold!) within 5 minutes if I tried.

Marketing is nothing more than “bearing witness” to a product or service. The Coca-Cola company has done a pretty good job bearing witness to their product – convincing millions of people every day to buy and consume a soft drink that does not actually quench thirst.

When I look at that Coke can from China on my shelf I sometimes think about what Jesus said:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

As a follower of Jesus I know that the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in my heart. I may not always be aware of the Spirit’s presence and activity in my life – but I know the Spirit lives in me because Jesus promised! And if you have put your faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells in your heart as well. But notice that, as we talked about yesterday, Jesus has given us his Spirit not just so that we can know his peace and presence with us – but to empower us as his witnesses.

Look at the ripple effect in Jesus’ mandate. He says we are to be his witnesses in “Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jerusalem was where the disciples lived – it was their home turf. Judea was a larger region, outside of Jerusalem. Samaria was inhabited by people very different from the early disciples – people with whom Jews had little or no contact. And then, obviously, the “ends of the earth” refer to places and people far, far from Jerusalem.

I think Jesus is saying that the ripple effect of witness starts right where we live – with people who are just like us – who live in our neighborhoods and stand beside local soccer fields with us. The ripple effect of witness continues outward to those who do not live in our towns and are not like us at all (remember that Jews thought themselves to be spiritually superior to Samaritans and usually avoided contact with them). Finally, the ripple effect of witness continues all the way to the far-flung regions of our world. In short, Jesus gave us his Spirit so that we might reach the world with his truth.

Is it possible that more people worldwide know about Coca-Cola than know about Jesus? Is it possible that Coca-Cola has done a better job at witness than the church?

Ask God to remind you often, perhaps every time you see a Coke product, to look for ways to bear witness – both right here in the Fox Valley as well as around the world - to the only one who can quench our spiritual thirst!

Pastor Brian Coffey

Wednesday, September 14

If you would like to listen to this in an audio format, click here.

Acts 1:4-8

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command:

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Twice in a span of about three weeks last year one of my sons (I won’t say which one) had to call me for help when he ran out of gas. He was a bit embarrassed to call both times – because his vehicle is equipped, as most are these days, with a warning light that comes on when his gas tank is nearing empty. As you can imagine, I had my share of fun teasing him about it as I poured gas from my lawnmower gas can into his empty tank. But I also had to confess to him that it had happened to me a time or two in my day as well!

The Holy Spirit is like the gas in the tank of the church; and the gas in the tank of the individual Christian. Just as a car without gas might look nice but does nothing but sit in the driveway, so the church or an individual person does nothing and goes nowhere without the Holy Spirit. Paul refers to both the indwelling and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in this text from Ephesians:

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Ephesians 3:16-17

So what do we need this strength for? Where is the gas of the Holy Spirit supposed to enable us to go? Look at the words of Jesus again:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

There it is! Jesus gave his Holy Spirit; he gave us his strength and power; he filled the spiritual gas tanks of the first disciples – so that they might become his witnesses. And he has done the same for us! Jesus fills us with his Spirit, with his power, so that we, too, may become his witnesses.

What does it mean to become witnesses for Jesus? Does it mean preaching through a bullhorn on a street corner as some do? Maybe – but not necessarily. Does it mean becoming a missionary who travels to a distant land to translate the Bible into an as of yet unwritten language? Maybe – but not necessarily. Becoming a witness to Jesus might begin with befriending a new neighbor who just moved onto your block. Becoming a witness to Jesus might mean showing compassion to a person in need. It might mean sending “10 Minutes with God” to someone you think might find a particular entry encouraging.

Becoming a witness is simply being willing to make a ripple – small or large – for Jesus. Ask God, by his Holy Spirit, to show you how – and to whom – you can be a witness this week!

Pastor Brian Coffey

Tuesday, September 13

If you would like to listen to this in an audio format, click here.


Acts 1:4-5 


On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: 


“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 


The celebration of baptism is one of my favorite parts of being a pastor at FBCG. Last week we had the great joy of watching 21 people take the step of baptism at our annual FBCG “pig-nic” at the West Campus. I love hearing all the faith stories because each one is unique in some way because God is infinitely creative in how he calls people to himself. But I also love hearing them because each is the same in that they are all about Jesus and what he has done for each one of us! Each time we baptize I explain that baptism is an “external symbol of an internal spiritual event.” Just as my wedding ring is symbolic of my love for and commitment to my wife, so baptism is symbolic of our faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection. 


So what does Jesus mean by, “…you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit”? Scholars and theologians have debated this question for centuries but at the most basic level I think Jesus is saying something rather simple. Here it is: Where baptism by water is a symbolic event; baptism by the Holy Spirit is an actual event. 


Jesus had promised on several occasions that, after returning to his Father in heaven, he would send the Holy Spirit to be with and live in his followers. Later in the Book of Acts, on the day of Pentecost, we read… 


“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting…All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.” Acts 2:2, 4 


It seems to me that the baptism of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was talking about was the actual coming of the Spirit of Jesus to dwell in the hearts of his followers through faith. The Bible teaches that when a person puts his or her faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit takes up residence in his or her heart as a guarantee of salvation. 


“Having believed, you were marked in him by a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance…” Ephesians 1:13-14 


The Holy Spirit is not symbolic or imaginary. The Holy Spirit is the very real presence of Jesus in spiritual form who promised to dwell in us and with us by faith. In other words, every single person who puts his or her faith in Jesus is “baptized by the Holy Spirit” because that’s what Jesus promised! Over my years in pastoral ministry I have learned that some people experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the moment they come to faith in Christ. For some it is a powerful emotional experience. For others it is more like a decision – a contract being signed. But still others experience the baptism of the Spirit over and over again – during moments of crisis or spiritual insight when it seems that God pours out more and more of himself and his love into their lives. But the point is, the Holy Spirit is real and is promised by Jesus himself to every believer. 


Take a moment to thank God for pouring out his Spirit into your heart by faith and ask him to help you become more and more aware of Jesus’ presence and work in your life.


Pastor Brian Coffey

Monday, September 12

If you would like to listen to this in an audio format, click here.


Acts 1:1-11

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up into heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command:

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand there looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” 


When my boys were very young Thursday was my favorite day of the week. That was the day I stayed home and took care of our preschoolers while my wife went to work. During those years one of our favorite things to do together, especially at this time of year, was to “throw rocks in the river.” We would load up in the car or van and head to the Fox River where we would walk along the banks of the river for what seemed like hours and toss whatever stones we could find into the water. If we could find flat stones we would see how many times we could skip them on the surface of the river. If we found round stones we would see how far we could throw them. Sometimes we would lug bigger stones down to the water and see how big a splash we could create. But we threw lots and lots of rocks. Sometimes people ask me how all four of my boys eventually became quarterbacks and pitchers – and while I can’t answer the question with certainty - “throwing rocks in the river” may explain at least some of it!

But if I had been paying close attention, each stone that struck the waters surface would have created something called a “ripple effect.” That is, the force of the rock striking the water would have produced a series of small waves – or ripples – emanating from the point of impact and moving ever outward in all directions. We have all seen the ripple effect – in rivers, ponds and swimming pools. But it also strikes me that the ripple effect is true not only of rocks tossed in a river – but in many areas of our lives.

Here’s a simple definition of “ripple effect:”

“The continuing and spreading influence of an event or action.”

This is true in small ways – pebbles tossed into a pond – and in large ways – an earthquake on the bottom of the ocean floor that produces a tsunami over 500 miles away.

Think for a moment about the events we remembered this past Sunday, September 11. The terrorist attack in 2001 not only resulted in several thousand deaths on that day – as well as physical destruction to the World Trade Center and the Pentagon – but also created a ripple effect that continues to this day. The ripples from that day have included war, political upheaval, economic stress as well as religious and social conflict – not to mention measures of security never before imagined in our own culture.

The Bible itself, when you think about it that way, is full of ripple effect stories. The sin of Adam and Eve in the garden spread throughout human history and touches us all today. God’s Ten Commandments have formed the moral and ethical backbone of most modern civilizations. And the church itself is part of the ripple effect created by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!

When we read the opening verses of the Book of Acts from this perspective it becomes clear that God wants us to both see and participate in the great ripple effect of the gospel. There are two ways to think about the gospel ripple effect. When the stone rolled away from the tomb on that first Easter morning it dropped into the great pond of history creating a ripple effect that has continued now for 2,000 years through the church – of which FBCG is a part! So each of us has the great privilege of being part of a movement that Jesus had in mind when he said,

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19

But the second way to think about it is as individuals. Your life – and my life – are like pebbles dropped into that same pond of history. Each of our lives makes an impact – in one way or another. Some lives create large ripples, others create small ripples, but we all create ripples. The question is; what kind of ripples do we create?

Ask God to make you more and more aware of how he wants to use your life to create ripples of spiritual influence!

Pastor Brian Coffey

Friday, Sept. 9

Friday

The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’  “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  - Luke 18:11-14

This final statement of Jesus is an example of what author and professor Dallas Willard has called “the law of inversion”.  Throughout the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly said things that turned the conventional understanding of religion on its head, He had a kind of upside-down theology that often shocked the average person, and frustrated the religious establishment.  Remember that Jesus told this story about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector to challenge those who were “confident of their own righteousness, and looked down on everybody else.” Over and over again, Jesus says that the Gospel does not work the way you think, it is not like “religion”. 

Matthew 19:30 - But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

Matthew 20:16 – “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Mark 9:35 - Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said,  “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Luke 13:30 - Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.

Matthew 23:12 - For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Luke 14:11 - For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Matthew 10:39 -  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Mark 8:35 -  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.

John 12:25 -  The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

To humble yourself doesn’t sound too crazy, but to put yourself last and to lose your life sounds like an impossible way to live.  The conventional cultural wisdom is that you have to put yourself first if you want to get anywhere in this life.  Indeed, this is the natural human tendency, to pursue our own self-interests, to “look out for number one”.  After all, who will defend us or take care of us, or promote our agenda, if we don’t do it for ourselves?  The truth is that aggression & self-promotion do work on the athletic field and in the marketplace.  Our culture celebrates those who achieve wealth and fame, often at the expense of others. 

However, when it comes to our standing with God, there are only two choices; you are either going to trust in yourself, or you are going to trust in Christ.  You can either rely on your own strength and your own righteousness, or you can fall to your knees and humbly acknowledge that you are totally helpless without the mercy of Jesus Christ.  Those are the only two options.  Which will you choose?

Remember that Jesus said one man went home justified in the sight of God, and one man did not.  There are only two options and only two destinations; you must make your choice.  Self or Christ, which will it be? 


Jeff Frazier

Thursday, Sept. 8

Thursday

The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’  “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  - Luke 18:11-14

Sometimes the English translations and our modern culture prevent us from seeing some of the nuances of the Biblical text.  A brief cultural lesson will help us gain a deeper understanding of this story that Jesus told about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.  The typical posture for prayer in our culture is to bow your head, close your eyes, and perhaps even kneel down.  But in Jesus’ day, the typical Jewish posture for prayer was to stand and raise your arms and your eyes up to heaven.  This is the position the Pharisee would have taken as he stood apart from the other “sinners” to offer his self-congratulatory prayer to God.  By contrast, the Tax Collector would not even raise his eyes up to heaven.  His external posture reflected his internal condition.  He was completely humble and contrite before a Holy God. 

This Tax Collector epitomized the contrite heart that David described in Psalm 51; Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge…The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

When this Tax Collector cries out to God for mercy, there is more going on than we might ordinarily suppose.  Luke uses a very unique and significant word for mercy in this story.  The most common word that is translated mercy in the New Testament is the Greek word ‘eleos’ and it means kindness or good will towards another.  But this is not the word that is used in the prayer of this Tax Collector, the word used here is the Greek word ‘Hilasterion’.  This word has to do with atonement, or payment.  In other places in the New Testament this word is translated as propitiation or atoning sacrifice.  It is used to refer specifically to the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.  In fact, this is the very same word used in Hebrews 2:17; For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Now why would Luke use such a specific and unusual word for mercy here in this story?  The significance of this word has to do with what this Tax Collector is asking God to do for him.  When he cries out to God for mercy, he is not simply asking God to let him off the hook, ignore his sin, or look the other way.  He knows he is guilty, and he knows that he cannot pay his debt of sin, so he cries out to God for mercy – hilasterion – atonement.  He is actually asking God to make the payment for his sin!

Most people think of the mercy of God (if they think of it at all) in the sense that God simply ignores our sin, like a benevolent old grandfather figure who smiles and pats us on the head and says; “Oh that’s okay honey, I know you have a good heart, just try to do better next time.”  But this is not the God of the Bible!  When you stop to think about it, this kind of a God would not really be worth our worship, because he would not be a just God.  How can a Holy God ignore sin or look the other way?  He cannot and He will not.  When the Bible talks about the mercy of God, it always requires a payment for sin.  There is no mercy without sacrifice!  The mercy of God simply means that because of Christ, we do not have to pay because God already has!

There is one more way in which this word, hilasterion, is used in the New Testament.  It is the word used to refer to the “Mercy Seat” on the top of the Ark of the Covenant.  The Mercy Seat is the place between the wings of the two gold cherubim (Exodus 25:17-20, Hebrews 9:5) on the top of the lid of the Ark which held the stone tablets given to Moses at Mt. Sinai.  The Ark was held in the Holy of Holies in the Temple and once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would enter and sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial lamb.  The New Testament tells us that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!  Do you realize what this means?  Jesus now sits on the Mercy Seat!  He has fulfilled all of the requirements of the law and made the full payment for our sin!   This why the Tax Collector can cry out to God for mercy, and this is how you and I can fall on our knees and say, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation.  He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.  The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.  How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

 - Hebrews 9:11-14


Jeff Frazier