Jesus said, "Let the Evildoer Still Do Evil." (Wait, JESUS said that?!)

It’s hard to watch the news as a Christian sometimes.

Another 10 Commandment Monument removed. Atheist victory.

Another law passed to impose the will of LGBT. Gender is what you make it. Bathrooms are multiple choice.

Another ISIS attack. Video posted on YouTube.

Another debate over abortion. And while children are slaughtered in utero, our hearts mourn a gorilla.

We live in a day of rampant immorality, and often Christians can be guilty of going into wrong mindsets:

Despair: “The world is going worse and worse. What are we going to do?! What can turn this ship around?!” Yes, the world is going to get a lot worse before it gets perfectly better – as advertised (John 16:33).

Hatred: Just as we saw (in our 6/5 message) Stephen show grace to the people who were murdering him (Acts 7:60), we, too, must ask God to fill our hearts with love, even for those who hate us. Jesus commanded this (Matthew 5:44)! Yet, too often, our response is hatred. “Can’t wait until God casts those people straight into hell.” Even God Himself doesn’t delight in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23) but desires all men (people) to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4).

Indifference: “Well, nothing we can do about it. I’ll just mind my own business. Doesn’t really affect me.“ Yes, it does. Because you have the answer. Can you turn a blind eye? If the Gospel of Jesus Christ has changed you, why do you think it lacks the power to change them? You are an ambassador of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) – God has chosen you to share the love and Gospel of Jesus with the world. You are like a doctor walking around with the cure to an illness that afflicts everyone who has not taken that cure! Can you really keep it to yourself while people die from the illness?

Wrong solutions: “We just need to elect the right politicians. The wrong politicians in office will mean certain doom for the church.” While you should vote, and yes, let’s acknowledge that some seem more detrimental to the mission on the surface... but God is not limited by who is in office. In Acts 8:1-8, we saw God actually used persecution to advance the church! We must look to God's Word - not to Washington DC - for answers.

Jesus has a Word. Actually, it’s how the Bible ends. You would think as God completes His book that He worked on for more than 1500 years, He would speak some impactful words to close the Canon. And He does.

Revelation 22:10-13 – And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

“Let the evildoer still do evil”? What is that all about? Is Jesus telling sinners to sin?

He is. Jesus is saying, “Keep it up. Sin. Go ahead. You want to sin, then sin.”

But the warning follows. “I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me.” So go ahead and sin if that’s what you want more than Me. But know this: I am coming back to “repay each one for what he has done.” The day is coming when every hard hearted act of rebellion will be righteously and permanently judged by the Lord. So you can indulge yourself in the passing pleasures of sin now. Go for it! Live it up! Do whatever you want! But know that it is not going to pay off in the long run. 

And there’s a promise in there for us, too. Let “the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” Just as sinners will persistently stay the course, so must we. We must be just as persistent in love, in grace, in evangelism, in standing on the Word, in reaching out to a lost and dying world. And the promise of “recompense according to deeds” is also, gloriously, graciously, given to us.

So choose in what you are going to persist. Because the Lord is taking note. And He is coming to settle accounts.

Pastor Jeff

-for the time is near

Why Are We Talking So Much About Persecution?

Can’t we talk about something nice? Like charity or kittens? This talk of persecution and suffering is a downer!

The easy answer is: we follow the text. But there are more reasons we need to talk about persecution, and they are listed in 1 Peter 4. As promised Sunday, here they are. In case you’re wondering why we are so fired up to share these truths with you from Acts, read Peter’s Holy Spirit-inspired take on the subject.

1 Peter 4:12-19:

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

We Are Studying Persecution:

1. So I Won’t Be Surprised. (1 Peter 4:12) Sometimes Christians seem genuinely shocked when the world acts like the world. Peter says, “Don’t be surprised, like this is a strange thing.” It’s a world that hates Jesus. And if you align with Him, the world hates you, too.
    
2. So I Will Know How to Respond. (1 Peter 4:13) Like the early church, persecution suffering shouldn’t result in “woe is me, poor me, pity me” attitudes – they should result in rejoicing! A hymn of praise lifted to heaven for this opportunity! How can this be? Read on...
    
3. So I May Share in the Sufferings of Jesus. (1 Peter 4:13, see also Acts 5:41, Philippians 3:10) It is a glorious truth from God’s Word: suffering isn’t just some unfortunate event. You are actually sharing in the sufferings of Christ! Share in suffering now, rejoice in glory with Him soon. What a marvelous thing to share the life of Christ now AND in eternity!
    
4. So I May Be a Strong Witness. (1 Peter 4:16, see also 2 Timothy 2:3) Suffering persecution isn’t a season of delay in ministry – it is a new opportunity to glorify God!
    
5. So I Learn to Trust God in a Deep Way. (1 Peter 4:19) Trusting God when things are hard always teaches us to trust Him in ways we don’t experience when things are smooth. You want to go deeper in your walk with God? It happens when you are persecuted.

We’re going to suffer persecution if we stand for Jesus. Let’s suffer well.

Every So Often, We Have This Membership Class...

...and the questions come up: Why officially become a member of the church? What difference does it make? Does is really matter, really change anything just to formalize my membership?

It does. Certainly taking the class doesn't MAKE you a member of the church, but it gives you the information so that you can make an informed decision. 

At Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North, membership results in the following perks: 

1. Automatically go to the front of the line for prayer after service – no waiting!
2. Warm baptism water (guaranteed to be at least 77 degrees) for any of your family or friends getting baptized. 
3. Personalized car window decal: “>your name here< is Loved at HBC!”
4. 5% off your tithe. 

That was a joke. We don’t have any of those decals. 

But kidding aside, I don’t think membership itself is a joke. I do think it is really important, speaking from the pastor’s perspective, to know who is considering themselves part of the flock, part of this body of Christ. 

The bottom line: membership is about unity. I am a part of this team. I am taking responsibility for what happens at this church. 

We actually interview everyone who wants to place membership with us, for three main reasons: 

1) We can explain what it means to be a member (expectations, ministry involvement, etc), 

2) We want to hear the prospective member’s testimony. (To join the church, it’s pretty important to be a Christian first, right? Plus: I just LOVE hearing testimonies. They never get old!) Oh, and 

3) It gives the prospective member opportunity to ask any questions about the church. 

Recently, I came across this article about church membership. I thought it had some great points on the subject, so if you have ever struggled with the value of formally joining a church, take a minute and read this! 

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2009/09/29/why-membership-matters/

You are Loved!

Pastor Jeff

-membership has its privileges

Do Not Harden Your Heart - Some Final Words…

I have spent a lot of time on this issue because obviously this is something close to the heart of God. Warning after warning is given in His Word: “Do not harden your heart”. It’s the most passionate warning because it results in the most serious danger.

The warning is given so we don’t go down that road. Here are a few more things God wants you to know about hard-heartedness (Hebrews chapter 3).

BATTLING HARD HEARTEDNESS IS A TEAM EFFORT (v12-13)

You are never on your own in this battle. And when battling hard-heartedness, God has surrounded you with people who can help you. Did you see the “this is a group issue” mentality? Look at all the plurals:

fathers (v9), generation, they, they (v10), they (v11), brothers, any of you (v12), one another, none of you (v13), we, we (v14), all those (v16), they, those (v18), they (v19)

It is true that salvation is an individual issue, but Christians are called to be a part of a body. And part of the dynamic of being part of the body is group identity. We suffer together, we rejoice together (1 Corinthians 12:26). This can be a great thing, but the danger is when the group identity is being affected by negative things, such as bitterness (Hebrews 12:15) or hard-heartedness.

So what do we do, team? Verse 13: we exhort each other every day. Encourage each other in the word. A visit, a call, a text, and e-mail, a letter, smoke signals, whatever - we encourage each other in the Word of God. This is Who God is, these are His promises, this is who you are in Christ…

Notice, today…today, over and over in this chapter. Delay only results in a harder heart!

HARD HEARTEDNESS WILL NEVER LEAD TO VICTORY (v14)

The Bible teaches that the proof of salvation is endurance - God gives us enduring faith. You want to cross the finish line strong? The only way is constant abiding in Christ.

Hard-heartedness is never on that path. Do you want proof of your salvation? Do you want proof that you are walking in victory? The answer is found not in what did you do, but what are you doing now?

HARD HEARTEDNESS HAPPENS TO THOSE WHO THINK, “THAT CAN‘T HAPPEN TO ME“ (v15-19)

The Hebrew writer hammers us with questions, five of them to be exact. What is he driving at? This is for the person that is saying, “I am a good church-goer. This hard-hearted thing can’t happen to me.”

Wrong - you are exactly the kind of person it can happen to.

These people referred to in the text, these were people that saw God work as no other group in history. Yet for all they say, they still chose not to trust God.

That can happen to you in the church. You hear the Word, you see lives changed, you witness people healed, marriages saved… and you walk away still not personally trusting God yourself. Bad place to be… the worst place to be, actually.

Ask God for a reality check today. Get humble and honest about it. Get invested in others… and allow others to invest in you. Ignoring the symptoms and denying it can even happen to you are the worst things you can do.

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart.

p.s. - today, as in, NOW