All to Him I Owe

Joel Korver went home to be with the Lord earlier this week. If someone ever asked me the question, “Who is Joel Korver and what is his significance in your life?” this is what I would say:

Joel Korver is a humble, simple man who has lived most of his life constructing buildings for ministries. But while he built those buildings, he was ministering to men like me. The buildings he built will slowly fade away, but his ministry in my life will remain for eternity. Joel Korver stepped into my life when I was a hard-hearted, rebellious, fifteen-year-old teenager. Love for others and a love for the gospel are the only possible explanations I can think of for his involvement in my life. He could have easily used his busy construction business or the vast span between our ages as an excuse to ignore me, but he didn’t. Instead, he initiated a relationship with me and was relentless in pursuing me with the gospel. He was not with me the cold November night I received Christ, but the seed he had sown in my life was present. I am eternally grateful for his investment!

Over the years, Mr. Korver has been an example to me in four specific ways that I want to be sure to emulate in my own life. First, he initiated a gospel-driven relationship with me, despite my lack of interest. I had no heart for the things of the Lord and communicated my disdain for Christianity in my words, actions, and demeanor. There was nothing on the surface of my life that would have indicated that I was a reachable soul, but that didn’t stop Mr. Korver. For some reason he zeroed in on my life and relentlessly pursued a relationship with me. My rebellious hijinks and coarse bitter words did not detour him. Instead they seemed to fuel his intensity to reach me.

Second, he creatively looked for platforms in my life to show me love and give me the gospel. Joel Korver gave me the gospel in his pickup, on a job site, and in his office. He was the master of inviting me to tag along with him simply for the purpose of trying to reach my heart. Those “tag along” activities took me to construction sites, his home, and his office where I found myself typically loading his truck with supplies or moving furniture. During those “tag alongs,” he sought to share with me his concern for the direction of my life and the condition of my heart. I heard his words in each of those conversations, but I also saw love displayed in the way he patiently listened and answered my antagonistic responses. One night, while he and I were moving filing cabinets in his office, the first cabinet I moved cut a slice across all five fingers on my right hand. I remember sitting in an office chair that night while he bandaged me up and took the opportunity to plead for me to get right with God. He told me that night that I was a sad young man and I would remain sad until Christ had full control of my life. He told me he was praying for me and that when I got right with God, I should consider going and working at a camp in California called Ironwood. Little did he know that in the months after my getting saved, his words to consider Ironwood would echo in my mind and eventually cause me to apply and then be accepted as an eighteen-year-old counselor right out of highschool. I continued working at Ironwood in the summers through college. While I was there I met my wife Beneth, fell in love with California, and developed a consuming burden to reach it with the gospel. I have served and will continue to serve within this state largely due to a simple word of advice given to me as an unsaved teenager with bleeding fingers. Little did he know that his advice would lead me and Beneth to serve full time at Ironwood for several years, to start a small church in Southern California, and to now pastor full-time a church in Folsom, California.

The third example Mr. Korver has set for me is that he has never taken any credit for my salvation. I have tried to personally share my thanks with him several times, but each time he has responded with humility by just saying that God was good to let him watch God work in my life. I am well aware that God is the One Who saves us, but the Word does say that God uses average men and women as messengers of the Gospel; and Joel Korver was one of those messengers in my life.

Finally, Joel Korver has been a constant encourager to me in my walk with God since my salvation. A few years ago, Mr. Korver showed up in the back of our church service unannounced to me. He stayed through the service and then joined our family for lunch. When I asked him why he was here, he said, “I just wanted to make sure you are staying faithful. So, are you?” His ministry was not just to give me the gospel. His ministry included encouraging me to walk with God and stay faithful. I can count at least three times over the years when he called me just to check on me. One time I even received a book, attached to a short letter which read, “I’m praying for you to remain faithful. This book might help.” Every believer needs someone who will just encourage and keep an eye on him. Mr. Korver has kept his eye on me and has illustrated to me that Gospel relationships don’t end when a person gets saved. Gospel relationships continue long after a person is saved.

God desires us to be reproductive Christians! We are designed and equipped to be giving the gospel and discipling others to walk with God. Anyone who has watched Mr. Korver, knows that he is a productive man. He is one of the hardest-working men I know. But in the midst of his productivity on the job site, Mr. Korver believed in spiritual reproduction and ministered to people like me. Only eternity will tell how many more lives were affected by his efforts and testimony. I’m confident that I was not the only needy soul that rode in Mr. Korver’s beat-up pickup truck getting counseled. His “tag along-with-me” style of ministry is a part of my ministry today. Countless people have ridden with me to do projects just because of my desire to talk to them about their heart. Each time I do that, I’m reminded of a man who did that in my life.

My life and ministry has been unquestionably touched by Mr. Korver’s life, and I am eternally grateful.

Thank you, Mr. Korver! 

Evangelism does not require an extrovert personality! It does require us to be obedient and loving.

I am afraid that many of us are overwhelmed by the example of evangelistic people who would often be described as being a “people person.” They are outgoing and interesting. They seem to be able to start a conversation with perfect strangers. They have a smile and winning personality that seems to naturally draw people to them. A particular personality may seem like the key ingredient to evangelism but it is not. The Lord does not limit his command to those with certain personalities and neither does he command us to be extroverts.

The gospel’s power is not restrained or enhanced by our personality. In Romans 1:16 Paul states that the gospel “…is the power of God unto salvation.” A gospel message that is this powerful simply needs to be given! I’m convinced that all of us need to simply be obedient to the great commission and go give the gospel. Don’t use your personality as an excuse for failing to obey a God given directive. An introvert personality can be just as equally used as an extrovert personality especially if our obedience is motivated by love. The more we love God and our neighbors the easier it is to rise above the difficulty of a personality to reach someone for Christ.

We are daily walking by people without Christ while the most powerful life changing message is in our hands. What a tragedy for us to waste such a powerful message while we excuse our lack of obedience because of our personality.

Many of us attended the Exchange Seminar and left with an intention to increase our gospel witness. To those who did, I have a question for you: How are you doing? Do you need to get back at it? Make a point this week to pursue one of the people in your find five list.

Many of us have been saved for an extended period of time. Let me ask you this question: When was the last time you initiated a gospel driven relationship with someone and gave the gospel to them?

The excuse of personality is one I highlighted above but is just one of many that we use. Would you join me in throwing out all of our excuses and just obediently, lovingly give the gospel this week?

The term gun shy was originally used to describe a bird dog that cowered at the sound of a gun. Over time, it began being applied to people who are wary, distrustful, and frightened, as a result of a previous experience.

I am a gun-shy pastor. On a regular basis, I have to fight my wariness, distrust, and fear of people. Some people whom I have loved and served and in whom I have invested have fired back at me with hurtful words and actions. Their responses have left me with a reluctance to love others again. But despite what others have said or done, God has not given me an allowance to stop loving people. I’m guessing that some of you can identify with what I’m talking about. You, too, have experienced both the risk and reward of lovingly investing in others. So, how do we overcome a gun-shy complex and love the people God has given us? Let me suggest three things that have been helping me.

1.    God’s hesed love for me

In his helpful book, the Loving Life, Paul Miller defines God’s hesed love as “love without an exit strategy.” Have you ever thought about the fact that God loves us with no anticipation of ever ceasing to love us? Though I may grieve him with my actions, words, and thoughts, He has a relentless love that never takes an exit, while He waits for me to get my act together again. Our hurtfulness towards God is far greater than the hurt others have caused us. God’s faithful love towards us not only sets a standard for us but also inspires us to love as He loves.

2.    Calvary and Christ’s death for me

Calvary shows us the utter selflessness of Christ’s death for us. He endured pain, embarrassment, and harassment to enable God to do us good. He did not just do one kind thing and wait for our response; He endured the cross and all of the difficulty surrounding it, regardless of our response. His disciples fled, betrayed Him, and cowered; but Christ endured. After His resurrection, He did not avoid those who had hurt him but instead pursued them, desiring fellowship with them. I would have had a hard time standing on the beach seeking fellowship with Peter. But Christ loved Peter and sought him out after that fruitless night of fishing. God’s enduring love towards us not only inspires us but also enables us to love others in the same way. Because of Calvary and the redeeming work of Christ in us, love for others is possible. The desire and ability to do the right thing is possible, because of God’s work in us (Philippians 2:13).

3.    Hebrews 6:10, my “ministry life preserver”

This is the verse I turn to when I am struggling. I love it because it directs my thoughts toward a proper view of the ministry. For instance, isn’t it interesting that God calls the ministry a “work and labor of love?” God knows the difficulty we face loving others and even describes it as sweaty, laborious work. Sometimes it is just comforting to know that God knows this is hard work. That hard work, though, is never in vain! God also says in Hebrews 6:10 that He is not unrighteous to forget that work and labor of love. Regardless of how people respond to my love and ministry to them, God never forgets.

We have all been called into ministries that involve serving and loving people. Nearly all of us can probably recount the gunshots of hurt that we have received in ministry. Are you gun shy? Have you found yourself creating a distance between you and others, because of fear that you will get hurt again? That distance between you and others needs to be closed. Overcome wariness of people with the Word of God, and go love those whom God has called you to.

Many of you have been striving to read your Bible more this year. Some of  you picked up reading guides and are making your way through the Bible in a systematic way. A week has now gone by and a new week is upon us. So, how are you doing?

Two years ago, in a little town in Missouri, a church decided to put on a live nativity for their community. The goal was to involve the men and women of the church to help provide a Christmas-oriented service for their community.

The months prior were filled with planning, and the church was genuinely excited about what they were doing. Ads had been posted around the town, and a reporter had even interviewed the pastor and then printed an article in the local newspaper.

The plan was for car loads of people in the community to pull into the church parking lot where they would be greeted by a group of friendly folks offering Krispy Kreme donuts and hot chocolate. After receiving those items, the cars would proceed through the parking lot around the back of the church property. There they would see a live nativity and hear the church choir singing Christmas songs as they drove by.

The grand opening night finally arrived. They had planned so well, but something happened that they could not have planned for. Cars had been going through for an hour, and the line of cars was wrapped around the property and out into the street. The choir sounded great, and the characters of the nativity were doing an excellent job. And then it happened….

Now let me pause the story to set the scene for you. One of the unique things about the nativity was that they had live animals. In the first scene of the nativity, Mary sat upon a live donkey held by Joseph (a timid teenager who had never been around animals before in his life.) Mary was a  somewhat ditsy teenage girl who had been asked to do her part simply because her dad was in charge of the nativity. The wise men were three junior high boys who were given three llamas to lead instead of camels.

Back to the story . . . In the line of cars was a man named Ray who came that night simply to appease his wife’s requests. He was encouraged as they pulled into the church that they were first offered hot coffee and Krispy Kreme donuts. But as they made their way around the church to see the nativity, his fingers, slick with the Krispy Kreme glaze, dropped his hot chocolate all down the front of him. He shouted and jerked in reaction. When he did, he stepped on the gas and his car lurched forward to hit the car in front of him. That car hit the car in front of them and a domino effect began. One of the cars that was hit caused its alarm to go off and the night air was filled with an ear-splitting scream.

The donkey carrying Mary reared up in fear, and young Joseph, who had never been around animals, didn’t know what to do; so he let go of the rope, and Mary and her donkey took off. The three junior high boys held tight to their llamas as they began to run and were seen bumping along the ground behind them as the llamas took off.

The local paper the next morning had a front page picture of a group of men chasing a donkey down the street with a young teenage “Mary” on top. The caption read…”Mary Leaves Bethlehem to Take Ride down South Street.” The article went on to say that the coffee and Krispy Kreme table stopped the three wise men and their llamas before they reached the road. To say the least, it was a night of pandemonium and utter chaos.

Unlike that nativity, the original nativity when Jesus was born was not a night of chaos and utter pandemonium. You say, but wasn’t it….

1. A father who lost his voice (Zacharias)?
2. A teenage girl who became pregnant before marriage?
3. Angels who sang and spoke to fearful shepherds?
4. A barn turned into a maternity ward because the town was filled with people?
5. Lost wisemen?
6. An angry, dictatorial king killing thousands of babies?

To the average onlooker, it may have seemed like  pandemonium, but it wasn’t. It was the carefully prepared entrance of Christ into this world in the form of man! The nativity had a purpose and a carefully managed plan to fulfill that purpose.

God’s purpose is clearly stated in the name given to baby Jesus in Matthew 1:23: “Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” God’s purpose was to bring God to us through the incarnation. The incarnation of Christ (Deity taking on humanity) provides us with an effective sacrifice for our sin (Hebrews 10:1-19).

God’s plan was perfectly managed. His plan was predetermined and perfectly carried out. Numerous Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled the day Christ was born.

Your week may be hectic and filled with chaos as you celebrate this Christmas holiday. But the first Christmas was not chaotic. It was a perfectly planned event that fulfilled the exact purpose God had determined. I pray that we would find time this week in the busyness to truly meditate on the incarnation of Christ.

Remember this phrase to help you meditate: “Deity took on the form of humanity to die for man’s depravity and offer him eternity.”

I love the seniors that God has brought into my life and our congregation. They are some of the richest blessings to my personal life and ministry. My personal goal as a pastor is to keep learning the best ways to communicate my care for them and to minister to them well. Over the years, I have created a short list of things that I review periodically as I serve them. For your edification, I would like to share them with you.

1. Change my pace to adapt to their pace. This change must happen in both my pace of movements and my speed of communication. I like to walk fast and talk quickly! But as I serve seniors, I must slow down to their pace.

2. Communicate with their limitations in mind. I jokingly say that I have been cursed with the “Perry mumble.” Between my southern roots and my family heritage I can be soft-spoken and not enunciate very well. Because seniors often struggle with hearing loss, we must communicate louder and clearer.

3. Compliment with sincerity. I am struck with how many seniors struggle with depression and discouragement. A large amount of this is due to their sense of worthlessness or inadequacies. I’ve never met a worthless senior! Our sincere compliments placed in letters, emails, and public acknowledgements can be a strong medicine for the senior with a sad countenance.

4. Consider their season of life, and show them they are not forgotten. One of our seniors recently told me that his mailing list of friends to send Christmas cards to keeps getting shorter each year. He said, “Every year we hear that more of our friends have died!” A word that can sometimes best describe a senior’s “season of life” is loss. They are losing strength, memory, friends, etc. The holidays can be extremely difficult for a senior. The normal traditions of Thanksgiving and Christmas can highlight the memories of things or people they have lost throughout the years. A card that reminds them you have not forgotten their spouse that died or the gift that reminds them that you love them just the way they are now can be a huge encouragement.

5. Continually give them honor. Giving seniors honor requires that we should always avoid humor that is at their expense. We should always place their needs above our own agenda or preferences. A simple way that regularly helps me in the area of honor is to seek to learn from every senior I am with. For instance, today I asked the question of a senior, “What has been the most encouraging passage of Scripture God has given you since losing your wife?” I asked another man recently, “Would you please tell me about the times you saw God specifically answer your prayers for financial provision?” Both of these questions set the senior I was with up to be the teacher and enable me to honor them in a special way as I listened and learned.

6. Creatively produce opportunities for seniors to contribute. The feeling of uselessness is one of the worst feelings a human can experience. A person who thinks he or she is too old or without the ability to keep up with this young generation can fall into a lethargic, woe-is-me  mentality. It takes a little creativity, but there is a place for every senior to serve!

By God’s grace I want to be a minister who ministers well to seniors! Together may we implement these 6 C’s to do this as a congregation.

For a number of years, Beneth and I had the privilege of working with Dr. Walt Brock, the founder and director of Ironwood Christian camp  He is a man who has lived in the Word of God for many years and shows evidence of that time in the Word in the practical ways that he lives. One summer night at Ironwood, he and I were sitting in a jeep contemplating the day we had just experienced. We had a full campsite packed with teenagers, the electricity had gone out, our camp speaker was ill, a serious injury had occurred at the lake, and a number of staff members were struggling spiritually. Mr. Walt made a comment that night that has stuck with me: “I think the lion is roaring today!”

His comment was based upon I Peter 5:8 where it states, “…your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” For me, the last few weeks of ministry have felt as though the “lion has been roaring.” Through a number of circumstances, my senses have been alerted to the fact that the ministry includes a spiritual battle against an enemy that is not made of flesh and blood. Your week may have been similar to mine. If not, I’m sure there is a day coming soon when you will hear the roar of the lion. Regardless of your current situation, I want to plead with you to respond to the lion’s roar in 3 ways.

#1. Trust God Confidently: Sometimes I find myself trusting God reluctantly. Because I’ve tried all of my own solutions to the situation, I reluctantly begin to trust God as a last resort. The Bible clearly teaches that we are on the winning side (Psalm 60:12; I Corinthians 15:57). Christ has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5). Standing strong in the power of His might is possible, or He wouldn’t have commanded us to do it (Ephesians 6:10). There is no good reason for us to reluctantly trust God today. Our trust should be confident in the fact that the One we are trusting is trustworthy.

#2. Pray Fervently: Most of us pray throughout the day-to-day events of ministry life. We pray for the Lord’s help with sermon prep, ministry decisions, and the needs of people we serve. Though we pray regularly, it is interesting to me what the “roar of the lion” does for our prayer life. The roar intensifies our prayer life. We find ourselves not just praying but pleading with God. The heightened sense of danger causes us to take our prayers far more seriously. Don’t miss the value of the lion’s roar. It can add an element to our prayer life that might have been missing.

#3. Work Tirelessly: Galatians 6:9 reminds believers in the midst of difficulty to not “grow weary in well doing.” Don’t quit because the lion roared. His roar is a roar of hunger, not a roar of victory. A hungry lion indicates that he has not found a satisfying meal yet. Even though people are struggling, the finances are declining, and you are at the end of your own wits, don’t quit! Keep working tirelessly, because we will reap if we faint not. A sure reward is promised to those who will stay faithful.

The lion will roar! He may be roaring in your life and ministry today. Stay sober and be vigilant (I Peter 5:8). Use these three simple reminders as your punch list of priority when you are reminded of the spiritual battle present in the ministry to which God has called you.

The second verse of the hymn “Rejoice in the Lord” contains a very important truth. The text says, “I bowed to the will of the Master that day; Then peace came…”

Most of us think that peace should precede submission to the will of God. However, the hymn and Scripture both teach that submission to the will of God precedes peace.

So how does a person discern the will of God? Romans 12:1-2 gives a two-step plan for knowing the will of God. It says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Step #1 is PRESENTATION: The phrase “living sacrifice” indicates that this will require a decision of our will. It is a decision to present ourselves to God with a sense of brokenness. Every time I read the phrase “holy, acceptable unto God,” I am reminded of a similar phrase found in Psalm 51:17: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” The presentation that God does not despise is the presentation of a broken and contrite heart. Knowing the will of God starts with brokenness, which is simply yieldedness. It is a heart that is bent and yielded to do whatever God wants you to do. Remember, God does not reveal His will for our consideration. He reveals His will for our obedience.

Step #2 is TRANSFORMATION: It is not transformation that comes through simple discipline or outward conformity. It is the transformation that comes from the renewing of the mind. The renewing of the mind happens through regular, consistent exposure to the Word of God. The Word of God shows us the ways of God helping us understand the will of God. God has chosen the written Word of God to be His primary source of revelation to us. A person who is seldom in it will struggle to have a good grasp of God’s will.

Now that we know better how to discern God’s will, we have to ask ourselves if we are willing to “bow to the will of the Master today?” The peace most of us desperately desire only comes when we have submitted to the will of God.

Addictions are not limited to illicit drugs, alcohol, or immorality. Some addictions are subtle, quiet, and often overlooked. For instance, have you ever considered the possibility of being addicted to noise?

This summer one of our interns shared with me that C.S. Lewis described Hell as the “Kingdom of Noise.” It is a place of wailing, screaming, and the licking sounds of flame. There will be no quiet solitude or quiet times of thought in Hell. Satan loves it when we keep our lives full of noise from music, radio, television, conversation, etc., because the more noise that is in our lives, the less we hear of God. An addict is revealed when his substance of choice is withdrawn from him. What happens to you when you are alone in silence? Does the silence make you anxious or distraught? Do you desperately try to fill it with more noise?

One type of noise that we often forget about is the noise of activity. The calendars of our lives are filling up quickly. Some of you have very little empty space on your calendar. One man told me last week, “I know I’m busy; but remember, ‘Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop!'” While that is often true, it is also true that busy hands often make for busy lives that keep us from quietly spending time in God’s workshop-His Word. You probably have many good activities on your calendar that involve family, vacation, and fun. But as you think through the things you are planning to do, please remember this question I’ve asked you often: when does a good thing become a bad thing? A good thing becomes a bad thing when it prevents me from doing the best thing! Don’t let the busyness of good things keep you from the best things!

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Let’s discipline ourselves to be comfortable with stillness and silence. Let’s also discipline ourselves to create silence in our lives. In the still silence, we often hear God’s still, small voice-a voice we desperately need to hear, in order to build a relationship with our Lord. The best things are always the things that truly draw us closer to Him. Don’t let the good things prevent you from the best things.

Early one morning, a number of years ago, I had the privilege of meeting the famed Utah Jazz basketball star Karl Malone at the Salt Lake City airport. Even though he worked hard not to be noticed, a number of people recognized Karl and asked him for his autograph. I was reminded that day of how one author humorously defined a celebrity: “a person who works hard all of his life to be known, then wears sunglasses to avoid being recognized.”

The word celebrity comes from a word that means “to frequent” or “to gain notice.” Some people, like firemen or good Samaritans, gain notice unintentionally. Other people, like actors, politicians, athletes, and even preachers, seem to actively pursue celebrity status. Whether the status was intentional or unintentional those people gained the attention of others.

In recent days, the Lord has been teaching me that within my fleshly nature is a desire to conduct myself in such a way that I gain the favorable attention of man. How destructive this behavior is! It facilitates so many sinful struggles that we face in life. For instance, it is often one of the root sins that can lead us into depression and deep discouragement, because we are living to be seen by men but sometimes don’t get the attention we crave. It serves as the sinful motive that leads us to purchase things we can’t afford to better present ourselves in the eyes of others and leaves us with excessive debt. It sometimes leads us to bizarre or outlandish behavior in our speech and dress. It causes us to lead our families into excessive schedules built around extracurricular activities and hobbies that are motivated by looking good in front of others.

One of the verses that God has been using in my life to reveal my sinful desire for attention is Philippians 1:20-21 which says, “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” The Apostle Paul desired the magnification of Christ in his life more than the magnification of himself. Rather than trying to gain attention through the way he lived, he wanted to give attention to Christ in the way he lived.

As you seek to grow in the area of giving attention to Christ, let me share three simple concluding thoughts.

1. Always remember that life is not about you! Your life has been given to you by God for a far greater purpose than your own self-magnification. Colossians 1:16-18 clearly teaches that we were created by God and for Him! We were created and we are being sustained so that Christ may have the preeminence.
2. Identify the ways in your life in which you attempt to magnify yourself in the eyes of others, and put those behaviors off. For instance, think about your dress. The whole issue of modesty/immodesty can be easily addressed by insuring that your motive in the things you wear and the way you wear them is to draw attention to God rather than yourself. Think about your speech. Do you speak quickly, loudly, or brashly simply to seize and capture the attention of others. Do you excessively use the word “I” in your sentences, making yourself the hero of all your stories so that others think well of you? What about Facebook? Do you post certain comments, pictures, or articles with the simple hope that you will receive multiple likes. What if you were to ask yourself this question before you post anything on social networks: “What could I say that brings God the most attention?” Finally, what about your purchases? Do you buy things for the purpose of causing others to think you are of a certain financial status or to gain the oohs and ahhs of others?
3. Finally, actively endeavor to promote Christ in your life! Paul said in Philippians 1:21, “For me to live is Christ.” He was both driven by and content with Christ being at the very center of his life. I pray that we would strive to live humbly beneath the shadow of Christ and His glory.

As you may guess, this really is a call for humility! Humble people strive to take any attention they receive (either intentionally or unintentionally) and divert it to God, Who is worthy of all praise!